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On paper, the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 8 GB makes a lot of sense. I was particularly impressed with the RX 9060 XT 16 GB when I tested it last year, and the 8 GB variant is typically much cheaper. In fact, among all of AMD and Nvidia's current-generation graphics cards, it's the most affordable option. Reducing the VRAM to 8 GB shouldn't make that much of a difference, right? Well, I hate to deliver bad news, but yes, it can. Not all the time, of course, but certain games at high settings can severely hinder the AMD card's performance, and notably, in a more significant way than its main competitor, the Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB.
Does this mean that the RX 9060 XT 8 GB should be completely dismissed? Not at all. In fact, if the Nvidia card didn’t exist, I would be tempted to say that the AMD GPU’s performance is quite good for its low MSRP of $299. The RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB doesn’t always dominate in my benchmarks either. Sometimes the AMD contender pulls ahead, so it’s not a completely straightforward comparison.
However, there are a couple of caveats to keep in mind. First, you won’t find one of these for less than $350 at the moment, while the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB tends to start around $390-$400. Secondly, when the RX 9060 XT 8 GB falls behind, it can sometimes be by a significant margin. Again, these drops occur in specific games and settings, so it's not entirely consistent. But it's enough to make me hesitate, and I think you should consider your options as well.
It's far from a bad graphics card, and it will serve you well if you're on a tight budget and need something that can handle modern gaming. However, the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB manages VRAM-constrained scenarios much better in many of my tests, and that’s the kind of headroom I think is worth paying for, especially when the price difference between the two is so narrow.
If you can't stretch to the RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB: While the little Nvidia card is more expensive, it has fewer issues operating within its VRAM constraints. Nevertheless, cheaper is cheaper, and the AMD card isn't entirely outclassed. If you want excellent thermals: It’s quite impressive how cool this card runs under stress, making it a good option for small form factor builds.
If you are a high settings + high resolution gamer: The RX 9060 XT 8 GB can struggle with the settings turned up, more so than its competitors on average. If you are a Cyberpunk 2077/open world fanatic: Night City gives this GPU trouble with ray tracing enabled, and it tends to lag behind the RTX 5060 Ti in VRAM-heavy games in general.
If there were any RX 9060 XT 8 GB models available for its $299 MSRP, I would likely rate it much higher. However, while the Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB can be found for just $40-$50 more than the AMD card's $350 retail price, the performance difference between the two doesn't quite add up.
