Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop Performance Preview - Almost at the level of the RTX 5070 Laptop

At Computex, we had the opportunity to test the new mid-range GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU for a day and run benchmarks. We had an engineering sample of the new MSI Stealth A16 at our disposal, which combines the new GPU with the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350. This makes it a direct rival to the recently tested Gigabyte Aero X16, which combines the Ryzen chip with the RTX 5070 Laptop.

Our test time was limited, which is why we were only able to run a small number of benchmarks. These included the four 3DMark tests; Fire Strike, Time Spy, Port Royal and Steel Nomad. Our results must take into account that the TGP values of the graphics cards are not identical, but the results still allow a fairly good classification. As soon as we are able to carry out further tests (also with fixed TGP values), we will supplement the article.

In the two older tests, Fire Strike and Time Spy, the 95-watt variant of the RTX 5060 Laptop performs very well and can even outperform the 85-watt variant of the RTX 5070 Laptop in the Gigabyte Aero X16. Only in the two newer tests, Port Royal and Steel Nomad, is the RTX 5070 Laptop then slightly superior. Across all four benchmarks, however, the two variants are virtually on a par, and even the 105-watt variant of the RTX 5070 Laptop in the Asus ProArt P16 is just 10% faster. So even if the two GPUs are operated with the same performance, there is only a minimal difference here.

Gaming benchmarks are relatively time-consuming, which is why we first tested the two titles Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur's Gate 3. In the 1080p resolution test, the RTX 5070 Laptop and the RTX 5060 Laptop are practically on a par, and with the same power limits, the RTX 5070 Laptop would only be marginally faster (we can assume around 5%). In Baldur's Gate 3, the RTX 5070 Laptop has a slightly larger lead (4%) and with the same power limits it should be around 10-12%.

In QHD resolution, the differences between the three comparison models remain practically identical to the 1080p results, but in Cyberpunk 2077, the RTX 5070 Laptop has a slight lead over the RTX 5060 Laptop. With comparable power limits, the RTX 5070 Laptop should again be around 10% faster. However, the 5060 Laptop is completely sufficient for smooth gameplay and both graphics cards have to contend with the limitation of 8 GB VRAM in some titles, especially in QHD resolution.

In our Analysis of the new GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU we were disappointed by the new card, as the performance was hardly any better and the RTX 5070 Ti Laptop should actually have become the new RTX 5070 Laptop. The low amount of VRAM (8 GB) is also a problem, which will not improve in the future.

Nvidia has now extended the lineup downwards with the RTX 5060 laptop, which also uses 8 GB of VRAM. In the first tests, the 5060 Laptop is surprisingly close to the 5070 Laptop and with comparable power limits, the advantage of the more expensive card is often only in the single-digit percentage range. If you then consider that both cards have the limitation of 8 GB, it hardly makes sense to choose a configuration with the RTX 5070 Laptop. Provided there are no other compromises (e.g. combination with a weaker processor or less RAM), you get almost the same performance for less money with the RTX 5060 Laptop.

We will carry out further benchmarks as soon as possible in order to be able to assess the performance of the new RTX 5060 Laptop even better.