The gaming industry has reached a point of absurdity that I can no longer ignore. After seeing Linus Tech tips talk about this topic on his Youtube channel, it brought my full attention.
Nvidia’s recent launch of their RTX 5060 series GPUs exemplifies everything wrong with how major tech companies treat their customers, partners, and the media.
What should have been a straightforward product launch has instead become a chaotic mess. Nvidia announced three new GPUs—the RTX 5060Ti 16GB, the RTX 5060Ti 8GB, and the RTX 5060—but only made one available for review. When we contacted Nvidia’s board partners about the missing cards, responses ranged from complete silence to utter confusion.
How can we possibly review products that don’t exist in the real world? This isn’t just frustrating—it’s impossible to do our jobs properly.
Out of Touch With Reality
Nvidia claims these budget-oriented cards are “laser focused” on users of older 60-class GPUs and console gamers. On paper, this makes sense—nearly 25% of Steam users run some form of 60-class GPU. But here’s what Nvidia is missing: if I bought a GTX 1060 for around $200 years ago, I’m probably not the person willing to spend $300-430 on its successor.
The comparison to console gaming is even more laughable. Just one week after Nintendo announced the $450 Switch 2, Nvidia essentially suggests: “Instead of a whole console, how about just a GPU and dinner for two at McDonald’s?” The disconnect from consumer reality is staggering.
A Launch Without Products
The problems with this launch extend far beyond pricing:
- Board partners don’t have cards to sell
- Retail partners don’t have products on shelves
- Customers can’t afford what little inventory exists
- Media outlets were told to “make content whenever the card arrives”
This last point is particularly troubling. Without coordinated review dates, whoever rushes out benchmarks first gets the views. This encourages low-effort, low-quality reviews and promotes unhealthy crunch culture in tech media.
Marketing Hype vs. Reality
I won’t deny that some of Nvidia’s new AI features are genuinely impressive. Features like DLSS and Multi-Frame Generation (which creates three artificial frames for every real one rendered) can significantly boost performance. Most gamers don’t demand pixel-perfect image quality and will happily use these features.
The problem is Nvidia’s bombastic marketing claims like “50 times the performance for millions of gamers.” Sure, if you cherry-pick games that support these features and compare to a 9-year-old card, you can make such claims. But this selective presentation glosses over real downsides like reduced image quality and increased input latency.
It’s like saying my 2021 Civic is faster than a 2003 model—just don’t race them against each other.
MSRP: Meaningless Suggested Retail Pricing
For Nvidia, MSRP seems to be a complete fiction at this point—more “Marketing Strategy to Rip Off People” than “Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price.” When real-world prices consistently diverge from announced prices, it becomes nearly impossible to assess value properly.
A $50 price increase dramatically changes the value proposition of a budget card while barely impacting a high-end one. This uncertainty is particularly concerning given the current global trade situation, where tariffs and supply chain issues could push prices even higher.
Why I’m Sitting This One Out
I want to be excited about new technology. I want to highlight the bright spots in an increasingly stagnant PC gaming industry. But Nvidia is acting like that person who used to be popular and thinks everyone will drop everything when they call.
I’m not playing that game anymore. We’ll still do our best to get some basic numbers posted on our website and show unboxings on our Short Circuit channel, but I refuse to push my team through unnecessary crunch for an incomplete product launch.
To be clear—I still use Nvidia products at home. We still have cool projects with them in the pipeline. But right now, it’s hard to be enthusiastic about a launch that seems designed to manipulate rather than inform.
The gaming community deserves better than this. We all do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What exactly is missing from Nvidia’s RTX 5060 series launch?
While Nvidia announced three new GPUs—the RTX 5060Ti 16GB, RTX 5060Ti 8GB, and RTX 5060—only the 5060Ti 16GB was made available for review. Board partners and retailers appear confused about the availability of the other models, making it impossible to properly evaluate the entire product line.
Q: Are Nvidia’s performance claims for the new cards accurate?
Nvidia’s claim of “50 times the performance” is highly selective and misleading. This figure only applies when comparing specific games that support all their AI features against very old hardware that lacks these capabilities. Real-world performance improvements in native rendering appear to be much more modest.
Q: Why is MSRP such a problem with graphics card launches?
When actual retail prices consistently differ from the announced MSRP, it becomes nearly impossible for consumers to make informed purchasing decisions. A $50-100 price increase can completely change the value proposition of budget cards like the 5060 series. Current global trade uncertainties and potential tariffs make this problem even worse.
Q: What are the downsides to Nvidia’s AI features like DLSS and Multi-Frame Generation?
While these features can significantly boost frame rates, they come with trade-offs including reduced image quality, increased input latency, and potential visual artifacts. Nvidia’s marketing tends to highlight the performance benefits while downplaying these disadvantages.
Q: Is the RTX 5060 series a good upgrade for current GTX 1060 owners?
This depends heavily on your budget and expectations. While the new cards offer features like DLSS and ray tracing that older 60-class GPUs lack, the price point ($300-430) is significantly higher than what typical budget-conscious GTX 1060 buyers spent originally. For many, a console might represent better value for gaming, despite Nvidia’s attempts to position these cards as console alternatives.
Finn is an expert news reporter at DevX. He writes on what top experts are saying.
