AMD is causing a stir in the mid-range GPU landscape with the official release of the Radeon RX 9060 XT—a card already making waves among gamers and PC builders. First seen at Computex 2025, the RX 9060 XT will be available in both 8GB and 16GB forms of GDDR6 VRAM and takes on Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Ti. With powerful specs and competitive pricing, AMD is sending a message that it’s committed to providing serious performance without the high cost. And at this point, the figures are promising.
Let’s examine more closely why the RX 9060 XT is generating all the buzz.
Specs and Variants: RDNA 4 Power in Two Sizes
Both 8GB ($299) and 16GB ($349) versions of the RX 9060 XT have the same powerful foundation: 32 RDNA 4 compute units, 32 ray tracing accelerators, and 64 AI accelerators. This new architecture offers a significant breakthrough in ray tracing and upscaling based on AI, with AMD asserting that the RX 9060 XT can double ray tracing performance over the last generation. The card is also supported by FSR 4, AMD’s new AI-upscaling technology that’s aimed at improving the visuals and frame rates in supported games.
If you want the best performance out of this GPU, the 16GB version is the way to go. As The Shortcut’s Kevin Lee wrote, “Go for the 16GB model if you want maximum performance.” The 8GB model is cheaper, but could encounter bottlenecking in games that require more VRAM, particularly as games become more demanding.
Performance Insights: Leaked Benchmarks Tell the Story
Even before official benchmarks fall, leaked tests have already shown us early evidence of what the RX 9060 XT is capable of. Tom’s Hardware reports that the RX 9060 XT’s 16GB variant comes just behind Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Ti—about 5% slower, despite the large pricing difference. At 1080p, the RX 9060 XT allegedly averages 187 FPS with ten games, while the RTX 5060 Ti clocks in at 194 FPS. At 1440p, the gap increases slightly, with the RX 9060 XT averaging 134 FPS against Nvidia’s 142 FPS.
What truly impresses is just how much faster this card is than AMD’s previous-gen product. In early compute benchmarks, the RX 9060 XT is reported to be up to 31% faster than the RX 7600 XT—a huge leap in performance.
Price-to-Performance: AMD’s Aggressive Strategy
This is where AMD truly makes its point. The 16GB RX 9060 XT costs $349, while the 8GB is a mere $299. That is a substantial difference compared to Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, currently selling in the neighborhood of $500. As reported by Tom’s Hardware, AMD’s card is some 20% less expensive while sacrificing only approximately 5% in performance.
The most important question will be if AMD can maintain supply consistency and prices steady, which Nvidia has not been able to do for its RTX 5060 series. If AMD can accomplish that, then this card may become a staple among gamers trying to get the most out of their wallet.
Real-World Use: VRAM Matters, Software Still a Differentiator
Benchmarks are useful, but how well a card plays in real games is most important, particularly when it comes to VRAM. In VRAM-intensive games, 8GB cards will falter, even at 1080p. As Tom’s Hardware reminds us, the RTX 5060 Ti 8GB tends to fall behind its 16GB sibling in VRAM-hungry games. The same will probably be true of AMD’s RX 9060 XT. If you’re aiming for more consistent performance and some future-proofing, the 16GB model is the safer bet.
That said, Nvidia still has an edge on the software side. Its ecosystem includes CUDA, RTX Video Super Resolution, and advanced frame generation features that are hard to match. AMD’s FSR 4 is making progress, but as Tom’s Hardware puts it, “Nvidia still reigns supreme in terms of software.”
What Gamers Should Consider
If you’re in the market for a new graphics card and want strong performance without overspending, the RX 9060 XT 16GB is shaping up to be a top choice. It provides performance similar to the pricier RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, presents a large step up from the RX 7600 XT, and comes with an up-to-date feature set due to RDNA 4 and FSR 4. The 8GB variant is an excellent value for more constrained budgets, but watch out for increasing VRAM requirements in fresh games.
The mid-range graphics card market is becoming increasingly competitive, and AMD’s new release is putting more power, more choice, and more value directly into the hands of gamers.
