NVIDIA continues its rollout of 50 Series GPUs, with some of its board partners offering the graphics cards with their own custom design. That means that, as NVIDIA's RTX 5060 makes its debut, its partner ASUS is debuting another entry to its Dual series alongside it — the ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060. While the ASUS Dual is ultimately just a custom design for NVIDIA's latest GPU, however, the key element is still the RTX 5060.
The GeForce RTX 5060 is NVIDIA's newest entry-level GPU in the RTX 50 Series lineup, but its aim is to feel like anything but entry-level. At the heart of that aim is its DLSS 4 technology, which powers AI-powered rendering like Multi Frame Generation, Ray Reconstruction, and improved Super Resolution. If that's not enough to justify an upgrade for those still using previous-gen entry-level cards like the 3060 or 4060, its $299 price tag might do the trick. Even so, how it holds up under pressure is the primary deciding factor, so The Best War Games recently plugged in the ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060 and put some pressure on it with games like Star Wars Outlaws and Alan Wake 2.
Asus Prime GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Graphics Card Review
The Asus Prime 5070 Ti graphics card offers the exciting multi-frame generation tech at an affordable GPU price.
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060 Design
At first glance, while the ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060 isn't accompanied by RGB or angular flash, its simplistic design nonetheless feels and looks deliberate. There's a kind of industrial clarity to the ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060, as it's not trying to be more than what it is — a highly capable GPU. The card's casing is characterized by a glossy black that seems to be semi-resistant to fingerprints and dust, along with some matte silver highlights that are reminiscent of earlier-gen Founders Editions.
Looking at it from the top, the card's dual-fan layout is enclosed by geometric panels for a clean, symmetrical look. The casing both feels and looks durable rather than showy, like a sturdy, futuristic box that could stand the test of time. It isn't without distinction, however, as etched arrows and the word "Dual" are scattered around the casing to lean into its own performance-oriented identity. The backplate seems to follow that same philosophy, opting for a metallic gray with clean white circuit-inspired graphics instead of the black and silver that appear on every other side. And, of course, it wouldn't be an NVIDIA card without the bold "GEFORCE RTX" label near the top edge of the backplate.
At first glance, while the ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060 isn't accompanied by RGB or angular flash, its simplistic design nonetheless feels and looks deliberate.
Along the side, the card's piping and form factor are exposed and therefore more noticeable. Its overall design screams "efficiency," as it appears to avoid wasting space while still ensuring it can remain cool under stress and durable for years. The heatsink fins and power connector also fit into the ASUS Dual's clear design philosophy to ensure it not only looks great but also functions well. In short, the ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060 isn't trying to be flashy, but one could argue that's what makes it stand out. It feels perfect for those who want something clean and focused, fitting solidly into a high-performance build without being the center of attention.
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060 Specs, Performance, and Testing
|
NVIDIA CUDA Cores |
3840 |
|---|---|
|
Shader Cores (AI) |
Blackwell 19 TFLOPS |
|
Tensor Cores |
5th Generation 614 AI TOPS |
|
Ray Tracing Cores |
4th Generation 30 TFLOPS |
|
Boost Clock (GHz) |
2.49 |
|
Base Clock (GHz) |
2.28 |
|
Standard Memory Config |
8GB GDDR7 |
|
Memory Interface Width |
128-bit |
|
Display Support |
Up to 4K at 480 Hz or 8K at 165 Hz with DSC |
At the end of the day, whether NVIDIA's RTX 5060 is worth the upgrade depends on what users currently have installed in their build and how the 5060 stacks up against them. Since the RTX 5060 is an entry-level GPU, this means its fairest comparisons are made to its direct predecessors, the 3060 and 4060. In controlled benchmarks, the RTX 5060 has shown up to a 25% performance increase over the RTX 4060 when utilizing DLSS 4, but those numbers will vary depending on the overall build of a system.
Since the RTX 5060 is marketed as a 1080p GPU, it's only fair that any games used to test it have their resolutions set to 1080p. Nevertheless, we did our best to give the RTX 5060 a run for its money with some of PC gaming's most demanding titles, including Alan Wake 2 and God of War Ragnarok. During the test, we measured average FPS across every degree of Multi Frame Generation, average PCL (PC Latency), as well as the 1% lows for each title. We also maxed out settings using provided presets, enabled Ray Tracing on every title, and set DLSS Super Resolution to "Quality."
1% lows represent the average of the lowest 1% of frames over a given period, which is essentially a measure of how smooth the game feels during dips.
Alan Wake 2 Testing
Max Settings, Ray Tracing On, DLSS SR Quality, 1080p Resolution
- No Multi Frame Generation: 38 FPS, 80 PCL
- 2x Multi Frame Generation: 75 FPS, 68 PCL
- 3x Multi Frame Generation: 112 FPS, 58 PCL
- 4x Multi Frame Generation: 150 FPS, 50 PCL
Among the titles we tested, Alan Wake 2 was by far the most demanding of the RTX 5060's power, especially with Ray Tracing enabled. Without Multi Frame Generation turned on, it was essentially unplayable, regardless of what we were doing. However, performance significantly improved once Multi Frame Generation was enabled, even with it being set at only 2x. With Multi Frame Generation maxed out at 4x, we were regularly getting upwards of 150 FPS and only 50 PCL, with 1% lows at around 100 FPS.
Star Wars Outlaws Testing
Max Settings, Ray Tracing On, DLSS SR Quality, 1080p Resolution
- No Multi Frame Generation: 60 FPS, 65 PCL
- 2x Multi Frame Generation: 105 FPS, 55 PCL
- 3x Multi Frame Generation: 130 FPS, 48 PCL
- 4x Multi Frame Generation: 175 FPS, 42 PCL
Star Wars Outlaws didn't prove to be as taxing on the RTX 5060 in 1080p as Alan Wake 2 was, but it still didn't give the GPU a break. Without Multi Frame Generation enabled, we still managed to get an average of around 60 FPS in most cases, but that number dipped significantly and frequently when big firefights broke out or when traveling through a busy, densely-populated city in Star Wars Outlaws. With Multi Frame Generation maxed out at 4x, however, Star Wars Outlaws effortlessly achieved close to 175 FPS the majority of the time, with 1% lows at around 115 FPS.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Founder's Edition Graphics Card Review
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 is an efficient, sleek member of the latest graphics card line, and the Multi-Frame Generation tech is eye-catching.
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Testing
Max Settings, Ray Tracing On, DLSS SR Quality, 1080p Resolution
- No Multi Frame Generation: 63 FPS, 60 PCL
- 2x Multi Frame Generation: 110 FPS, 50 PCL
- 3x Multi Frame Generation: 145 FPS, 44 PCL
- 4x Multi Frame Generation: 190 FPS, 38 PCL
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle performed the best of the four titles we tested, inching just over the 60 FPS mark without any Multi Frame Generation. With it set at 4x, on the other hand, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle maintained around 190 FPS and only about 38 PCL, and sometimes even crept toward 200 FPS. There were some cases when these numbers would dip dramatically, making Indiana Jones and the Great Circle's 1% lows an average of 135 FPS with Multi Frame Generation set to 4x, but those moments were only occasional.
God of War Ragnarok Testing
Max Settings, Ray Tracing On, DLSS SR Quality, 1080p Resolution
- No Multi Frame Generation: 55 FPS, 63 PCL
- 2x Multi Frame Generation: 95 FPS, 52 PCL
- 3x Multi Frame Generation: 135 FPS, 45 PCL
- 4x Multi Frame Generation: 165 FPS, 40 PCL
Alongside Alan Wake 2, God of War Ragnarok was one of the more intensive games we tested, but the RTX 5060 still proved itself more than capable with Multi Frame Generation enabled. With it turned off, God of War Ragnarok was a bit rough, but that changed drastically once it was turned on. With Multi Frame Generation maxed out at 4x, God of War Ragnarok regularly offered up a solid frame rate of around 165 FPS, with 1% lows at around 110 FPS. Needless to say, regardless of what was happening on the screen, God of War Ragnarok still ran smoothly at 1080p with the RTX 5060 plugged in.
Game testing was done on a build featuring an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X CPU, 32GB DDR5 RAM, Digital Storm M.2 Performance Series SSD, and 1000W Digital Storm Performance Series PSU.
DLSS 4 Is Clearly the RTX 5060's Secret Ingredient
While we didn't test the RTX 5060 side-by-side with every previous-gen card, the GPU's DLSS 4 capabilities put it leaps ahead of earlier iterations. DLSS 2, which powered cards like the RTX 2060 and RTX 3060, focused on AI-based upscaling and image reconstruction. While that was impressive at the time, it lacked frame generation entirely. DLSS 3, which was introduced with the RTX 40 Series, added frame generation but then often struggled with latency and visual artifacts during fast-paced gameplay.
DLSS 4 goes even further with an upgraded transformer model, improved Ray Reconstruction, and Multi Frame Generation capable of inserting up to three additional frames per rendered frame. Based on our experience with the RTX 5060 in games like Alan Wake 2 and Star Wars Outlaws at max settings and in 1080p, DLSS 4 not only improves performance but also manages to do so with better visuals and negligible input delay.
Furthermore, while the RTX 5060 is marketed as a 1080p GPU, it's reasonable to assume that performance at 1440p would still remain well above the 60 FPS threshold in most titles, even at high or ultra settings. Of course, those results are going to depend on how reliant a game is on VRAM and rasterization as opposed to DLSS. Still, everything about the RTX 5060, especially Multi Frame Generation and Transformer-based Super Resolution, makes 1440p gaming entirely within reach for the GPU.
ASUS ROG G700 Gaming Desktop Review
The ASUS ROG G700 is quiet, powerful, and built to last, offering a stylish design and strong performance across today’s most demanding PC games.
ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060 Review: Final Thoughts
The ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060 is clearly a no-nonsense graphics card built around NVIDIA's most accessible 50 Series offering to date, and the results speak for themselves. Paired with DLSS 4, the RTX 5060 punches well above its weight in modern games, especially when Multi Frame Generation is pushed to its limits. ASUS' clean, industrial design makes this particular model quite the looker, but its performance leaves little room for doubt as long as players are okay with enjoying their games in 1080p. That being said, at just $299, it offers serious value for 1080p players and enough headroom to flirt with 1440p. For anyone still clinging to a 3060 or older, the 5060 is a smart, future-proofing upgrade.
NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 5060 and the ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060 are currently available for purchase, starting at $299. The Best War Games was provided with a unit for this review.