GeForce RTX 60 Series Generational Improvements: 1080p & 1440p Across Popular Games

VRAM limitations and generational improvements in RTX 60 series affecting performance, frame times, and future-proofing in modern titles.

Hardware by Nakiro on Aug 30, 2025

GeForce RTX 5060, which Nvidia just unveiled, attracted a lot of interest from gamers and PC enthusiasts. Strategic release scheduling and limited driver availability made testing and assessing the card difficult.

Notwithstanding these challenges, preliminary testing has provided intriguing insights into the limitations, value, and performance of this GPU when compared to earlier GPUs from the 60 series.

GeForce. RTX 60 Series, Generational Improvements, 1080p, 1440p Across Popular Games, NoobFeed

Early Access Challenges

Nvidia made it difficult for reviewers to assess the RTX 5060 by withholding necessary drivers before the release. Even with cards in hand weeks in advance, testing was impossible without the driver. To make matters more complex, the product was publicly released during the Computex trade show, ensuring most tech media were occupied.

To work around this, we brought a test system and our RTX 5060 sample to Taiwan, where we monitored the driver page and successfully conducted an early review.

RTX 5060 Performance Overview

multiple attachments suitable for cleaning PCs or handling lighter tasks.

We feel conflicted about RTX 5060. As long as workloads stay under the 8GB VRAM limit, performance is good. For a $300 graphics card, this is fine, but for more expensive models, such as the RTX 5060 Ti, which costs more than 25% more, it becomes an issue..

Compared to its predecessor, RTX 4060, RTX 5060 shows significant gains, although VRAM limitations remain a recurring concern.

GeForce. RTX 60 Series, Generational Improvements, 1080p, 1440p Across Popular Games, NoobFeed

Rainbow Six Siege

RTX 3060 outperforms RTX 2060 by 18% at 1080p and 19% at 1440p at medium settings. RTX 4060 offers only a 10–13% improvement over the RTX 3060. RTX 5060, on the other hand, offers a notable improvement over earlier generations with a 35% boost at 1080p and a 32% boost at 1440p.

Increasing to ultra plus settings maintains similar scaling, with RTX 5060 performing 28% faster than RTX 4060 at 1440p.

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered

Medium settings show that RTX 3060 is 16-18% faster than RTX 2060, while RTX 4060 is only 9-12% faster than RTX 3060. The RTX 5060 delivers 33% higher performance at 1080p and 25% at 1440p compared to RTX 4060.

Very high settings push VRAM to its limits, rendering the RTX 3060 playable but the other 8GB GPUs unplayable due to poor 1% lows.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

At medium preset, RTX 3060 is 10-13% faster than RTX 2060, with RTX 4060 providing a similar gain over RTX 3060. RTX 5060 is 34% faster than RTX 4060 at both tested resolutions, though VRAM concerns are still present when using ultra settings.

Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty

Low preset performance shows RTX 3060 is 27% faster than RTX 2060 at 1080p and 19% at 1440p. RTX 4060 offers 19% more performance at 1080p and 15% at 1440p over RTX 3060. RTX 5060 delivers an 18% boost at 1080p but a larger 29% increase at 1440p.

High preset testing continues to show 28-33% performance improvement over RTX 4060.

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine II

At medium settings, RTX 3060 is 16-18% faster than RTX 2060, RTX 4060 is 11-15% faster than RTX 3060, and RTX 5060 is 19% faster at 1080p and 38% faster at 1440p.

Ultra preset with the 4K texture pack highlights VRAM limitations in 8GB cards, where missing textures become evident.

Call of Duty Black Ops 6

Medium preset shows RTX 3060 16-17% faster than RTX 2060. RTX 4060 is 24-25% faster than RTX 3060, while RTX 5060 is only 11% faster than RTX 4060 at 1080p but 22% faster at 1440p, demonstrating inconsistent gains.

GeForce. RTX 60 Series, Generational Improvements, 1080p, 1440p Across Popular Games, NoobFeed

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Using medium preset at 1440p, RTX 3060 provides 13-15% improvement over RTX 2060. RTX 4060 gains 12-16% over RTX 3060, while RTX 5060 achieves 30-33% higher performance than RTX 4060. The highest preset results show similar scaling.

Average Performance and Value

Across seven tested games using lower-quality presets, RTX 3060 delivers a 16-17% improvement over RTX 2060, while RTX 4060 provides a 14-16% uplift. RTX 5060 stands out with 26-28% higher performance over RTX 4060.

With ultra presets, RTX 3060 fares slightly better relative to RTX 2060, but VRAM limitations impact RTX 4060 more severely. RTX 5060 maintains 21-22% higher performance than RTX 4060.

Cost-per-frame analysis at MSRP shows incremental improvements, with the RTX 5060 offering 18% better value than RTX 4060. Value gains somewhat rise when inflation is taken into account, keeping the RTX 5060 as the most noteworthy value increase since RTX 2060.

GeForce. RTX 60 Series, Generational Improvements, 1080p, 1440p Across Popular Games, NoobFeed

Final Thoughts

In numerous generations, the 60-series GPUs have remained unimpressive. VRAM limits are still an issue, despite the RTX 5060 offering the greatest performance and value boost in recent years.

Spending a little more for a 16GB model is advised if lifespan and additional VRAM are important to you. Competitive shooters and esports games with low VRAM requirements can run on the RTX 5060, but over the next three to four years, more demanding games can cause it to falter.

Overall, RTX 5060 delivers decent performance and value, but with clear caveats for prospective buyers regarding VRAM limitations and future-proofing.

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