TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5060 Ti OC Edition review: Not flashy, but it gets the job done

Regular readers of HWZ may recognise the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5060 Ti OC Edition graphics card described here, as it bears a striking resemblance to the TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Edition (read it here) that was reviewed recently. Apart from the obvious difference in GPU, the RTX 5060 Ti version of the card features the exact military-grade components of its Radeon cousin – from the protective PCB coating (that protects it against short circuits caused by moisture and dust), 3.1-slot design, down to the large fin array and three Axial-tech fans that help to cool the card.

As covered in my GeForce RTX 5060 Ti review (check it out here), NVIDIA has made available two RTX 5060 Ti variants: one with 8GB and another with 16GB of GDDR7 memory. The TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5060 Ti OC Edition comes with 16GB, and I suspect most gamers will wisely go with this option, as 8GB don’t really cut it these days for modern games – and a 16GB graphics card will also have a longer lifespan in your PC. Here’s a quick glance at the rest of the card’s specifications.

Unlike the MSI GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16G Ventus 2X, which is basically a vanilla base-level GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB GPU, the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5060 Ti OC Edition comes with a higher engine clock at 2662MHz. But does this translate to faster performance? Let’s find out.

Gaming performance (rasterisation)

To benchmark the TUF Gaming card, I went with the same list of games used to test the MSI RTX 5060 Ti 16G. I’ve also switched the card BIOS to “P” mode, ensuring the card’s fastest settings are used. Here’s how our test rig looks like:

• AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
• ROG Crosshair X870E Hero
• Samsung 990 Pro 1TB SSD
• Kingston Fury 32GB DDR5
• Windows 11 Home 64-bit
• ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM 4K Gaming Monitor

My game list includes a mixture of old and recent games to test the Astral RTX 5090’s performance, and

My game list includes a mixture of old and recent games to test the TUF Gaming RTX 5060 Ti 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.

While it's the 1440p performance numbers that we'll be focusing on, I’ve also included 1080p and even 4K results just for reference.

Both GeForce RTX 5060 Ti (16GB) GPUs here are true 1440p gaming cards and the benchmark results above show, and as expected, the TUF Gaming card outperforms the MSI card in almost all games tested but only just. Despite its superior boosted clock speed. It's only with Shadow of the Tomb Raider that it beats the MSI RTX 5060 Ti very convincingly. 4K gaming is possible too, but only with titles that support DLSS and Multi-Frame Generation.

The TUF Gaming card surprised me here though, with its lower than expected power draw as compared to the MSI card. With more fans, a sliver of RGB (that the MSI card does not have) and a higher boosted clock speed, you'd think that it will require more power than its competitor. But that's clearly not the case here. As a bonus, it even runs cooler – thanks to its far superior cooling solution.

Final thoughts

If you're in the market for an RTX 5060 Ti, the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5060 Ti OC Edition presents itself as one of the more considered options. Its 1440p rasterisation performance is decent enough to handle modern games without leaning too heavily on DLSS, and ASUS has done well with the card’s rugged industrial design. The die-cast shroud and metal backplate lend it a reassuring sense of build quality, and the darker grey palette plays nicely with most PC builds. A white variant would’ve been a welcome alternative, especially for themed rigs, but alas, ASUS is keeping things monochrome for now.

Its size, however, might be a sticking point. Occupying more than three slots, it’s a chunky card for what’s essentially a low- to mid-range GPU. That’s not going to matter if you’re building into a mid-tower case, but it’s something to flag for small form factor setups. Then there’s the price – at S$899, it feels like a tough sell when framed against what gamers typically expect from this tier. But context matters. The next step up in the RTX 50 Series ladder is the RTX 5070 Ti, and that’ll set you back at least S$400 more. Factor in DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation, and it’s not hard to imagine the RTX 5060 Ti aging a little more gracefully than expected. It might not feel like a bargain now, but this TUF card walks the line between price and performance in a way that could make sense for the right kind of buyer.

The TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB OC Edition is available for $899.

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