Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5060 OC Low Profile 8G review: Small card, big performance

Note: This article was first published on 30 September 2025.

Modern graphics cards have become a spectacle in themselves. It’s not just the performance figures that draw attention anymore, but also how physically massive they’ve grown. Third-party makers like ASUS ROG, MSI and Zotac often chase “fastest card” bragging rights, and the result is triple-slot, brick-like GPUs that can weigh down a case. Many of these cards even need a separate stabiliser to prevent them from sagging. NVIDIA’s own reference designs – the RTX 5090 Founders Edition – is comparatively restrained at just two slots, yet many partner models of the RTX 5070 or even the supposedly modest RTX 5060 still take up far more space than most small-form-factor builders would like.

So it’s very refreshing to see the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5060 OC Low Profile 8G, and as its name implies, is one of this generation’s most very diminutive GPU yet. Measuring just 182mm in length and occupying two PCI slots, this Gigabyte card is designed for mini PC builds. It’s also impressive that all this downsizing hasn’t made the RTX 5060 OC Low Profile any lesser than a regular RTX 5060 card. It still retains the same 8GB VRAM, and a slightly overclocked 2512MHz core clock (standard is 2497MHz). Gigabyte also says it uses server-grade thermal conducive gel to keep thermals in check.

In short, this is as regular an RTX 5060 8GB card as it goes. Only half the size smaller.

So how does this it perform? Let’s find out.

Test Rig specfications

Our test machine remains unchanged from the one used in all of our GeForce RTX 50 series and Radeon RX 9000 series GPU reviews, except for the motherboard (we have switched out to an ASrock), and is powered by the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X alongside 32GB of DDR5 memory from Kingston, and Samsung 990 Pro 1TB SSD

For this review, my focus will be the RTX 5060 OC Low Profile’s performance against our other only RTX 5060 card – the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5060 from ASUS.

Gaming performance

My game list includes a mixture of old and recent games to test both RTX 5060 cards’ performance, and while the list isn’t exhaustive by any measure there are enough different game engines and APIs variety to give us an idea of broader performance trends.

Looking at the benchmarks, what stands out is just how little the downsizing of Gigabyte’s RTX 5060 OC Low Profile card affects actual gameplay performance. In Cyberpunk 2077, which is notoriously heavy on GPUs, the low-profile model kept up with the full-sized ASUS TUF Gaming 5060 at 1440p, both averaging 66fps. At 1080p it trailed a little, but that’s still a solid figure for a card this small.

On the other hand, games like Horizon Zero Dawn and Shadow of the Tomb Raider showed the Gigabyte model actually edging ahead. That slight OC boost Gigabyte gave the card, along with whatever thermal tweaks they’re using, seems to pay off in less demanding or well-optimised titles.

Of course, results aren’t uniformly in its favour. In Total War: Warhammer III, the ASUS card maintained a small lead at both 1080p and 1440p. But even here, the gap wasn’t significant and which most players won’t notice without a frame counter staring back at them.

Power and Temperature

Power and thermals tell another interesting story. Despite its smaller size, the Gigabyte RTX 5060 OC Low Profile doesn’t guzzle more power than its full-sized rivals. Peak chip draw came in at 57W versus the ASUS TUF Gaming’s 60W, and board power draw was slightly lower too. These aren’t massive differences, but they do suggest Gigabyte’s cut-down cooler isn’t being stressed to breaking point.

Temperatures, however, show the inevitable trade-off of a compact design. The low-profile card hit 86 degrees Celsius under load, compared to just 63 degrees Celsius for the bulkier ASUS card. That’s a big gap, though not entirely surprising given the reduced heatsink surface area and smaller fans working with less airflow. The important thing is that it held performance without throttling – the earlier benchmarks show it was still trading blows in games.

Final thoughts

When you put it all together, the Gigabyte RTX 5060 OC Low Profile proves it isn’t a watered-down version of the RTX 5060 at all. Performance-wise, it trades blows with bulkier cards – sometimes trailing, sometimes edging ahead — while keeping the same core specs intact. The real difference lies in the form factor: it’s small enough to slip into cases that triple-slot GPUs could never dream of fitting into, yet still delivers the kind of frame rates you’d expect from a full-sized model.

The trade-off comes down to thermals. The compact cooler means higher operating temperatures compared to larger designs, but not to the point of throttling or instability. Gigabyte’s use of server-grade thermal compound definitely helps keep things in check here too. For DIY builders working with mini-ITX or slimline PCs, that compromise feels entirely reasonable. After all, squeezing RTX 5060 performance into a shoebox-sized build was never going to be a cold affair – and Gigabyte has managed it without losing the essence of what the card should be.

The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5060 OC Low Profile 8G is available for S$485 at Gigabyte’s official e-store at Lazada. Click here to buy.

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