I. Preface
The GeForce RTX 5060 has finally been released recently, and many users are paying close attention to this graphics card. Its performance is indeed impressive—compared to the previous generation GeForce RTX 4060, overall performance has increased by about 23%, making it far from a mere incremental upgrade.
That said, pitting the GeForce RTX 5060 against the GeForce RTX 4070 might be a bit unrealistic. However, it’s still a worthy contender against the previous generation’s GeForce RTX 3070. So, can the GeForce RTX 5060 match or even surpass the GeForce RTX 3070 in gaming performance? This article will reveal the answer through a performance comparison in gaming tests.
II. Specification Comparison
The GeForce RTX 5060 was released on May 19, 2025. It uses the GB206 GPU based on the Blackwell architecture, manufactured with TSMC’s 4nm process. It features 3,840 CUDA cores, 120 texture units, 48 raster units, 30 streaming multiprocessors, 120 tensor cores, and 30 ray tracing units, with 32MB of L2 cache.
Its base clock is 2,280 MHz, boost clock is 2,497 MHz, and it comes with 8GB of GDDR7 memory running at 28 Gbps. It has a 128-bit memory bus, memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, FP32 performance of 19.18 TFLOPS, power consumption of 145W, and a suggested retail price of $299.
The GeForce RTX 3070 was released on September 1, 2020. It uses the GA104 GPU based on the Ampere architecture, manufactured with Samsung’s 8nm process. It has 5,888 CUDA cores, 184 texture units, 96 raster units, 46 ray tracing units, 46 streaming multiprocessors, and 184 tensor cores, with 4MB of L2 cache.
Its base clock is 1,500 MHz, boost clock is 1,725 MHz, and it comes with 8GB of GDDR6 memory running at 14 Gbps. It features a 256-bit memory bus, memory bandwidth of 448 GB/s, FP32 performance of 20.31 TFLOPS, power consumption of 220W, and a suggested retail price of $499.
III. Test Platform Configuration
The main test configuration is as follows:
Processor: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Motherboard: MSI MPG X670E CARBON
Memory: 32GB DDR5 6000 MHz
Graphics Cards: GeForce RTX 3070 and GeForce RTX 5060
Storage: Two Samsung 970 EVO 1TB SSDs
Operating System: Windows 11
IV. Game Testing (GeForce RTX 5060 or 3070)
Seven games were tested using the highest graphics settings at 1440P. In the comparison images, the left represents the GeForce RTX 5060 platform, and the right represents the GeForce RTX 3070 platform.
Game 1: God of War
- RTX 5060: Avg FPS 88, Min FPS 76, Frame Time 11.2ms, CPU Usage 12%, CPU Power 49W, Temp 53°C, RAM 11.8GB, GPU Usage 100%, VRAM 6.5GB, GPU Power 149W, Temp 57°C
- RTX 3070: Avg FPS 87, Min FPS 74, Frame Time 10.8ms, CPU Usage 12%, CPU Power 54W, Temp 54°C, RAM 11.4GB, GPU Usage 99%, VRAM 6.3GB, GPU Power 220W, Temp 61°C
Performance and frame rates are nearly identical—it’s a tie. The 3070 draws 71W more power and runs 4°C hotter.
Game 2: Ghostwire: Tokyo
- RTX 5060: Avg FPS 45, Min FPS 42, Frame Time 22.3ms, CPU Usage 10%, CPU Power 39W, Temp 48°C, RAM 11.3GB, GPU Usage 100%, VRAM 6.6GB, GPU Power 150W, Temp 58°C
- RTX 3070: Avg FPS 51, Min FPS 46, Frame Time 19.6ms, CPU Usage 13%, CPU Power 41W, Temp 47°C, RAM 11.2GB, GPU Usage 99%, VRAM 6.6GB, GPU Power 217W, Temp 60°C
The 3070 leads slightly in all performance metrics. It consumes 67W more power and runs 2°C hotter.
Game 3: Cyberpunk 2077
- RTX 5060: Avg FPS 45, Min FPS 32, Frame Time 19.7ms, CPU Usage 34%, CPU Power 64W, Temp 55°C, RAM 12.6GB, GPU Usage 96%, VRAM 7.9GB, GPU Power 141W, Temp 58°C
- RTX 3070: Avg FPS 45, Min FPS 19, Frame Time 21.5ms, CPU Usage 40%, CPU Power 68W, Temp 58°C, RAM 14.0GB, GPU Usage 98%, VRAM 7.7GB, GPU Power 228W, Temp 63°C
Average FPS is tied. The 5060 has significantly better 1% lows and lower frame time. The 3070 draws 87W more and runs 5°C hotter. It’s a tie with a slight edge to the 5060 on smoothness.
Game 4: Red Dead Redemption 2
- RTX 5060: Avg FPS 73, Min FPS 68, Frame Time 13.3ms, CPU Usage 18%, CPU Power 48W, Temp 49°C, RAM 12.3GB, GPU Usage 95%, VRAM 5.1GB, GPU Power 141W, Temp 55°C
- RTX 3070: Avg FPS 69, Min FPS 64, Frame Time 15.2ms, CPU Usage 17%, CPU Power 45W, Temp 46°C, RAM 11.8GB, GPU Usage 95%, VRAM 4.9GB, GPU Power 223W, Temp 62°C
The 5060 outperforms the 3070 by 4 FPS on average and minimum FPS. It also has better frame time and much lower power usage (82W less). The 5060 wins here.
Game 5: Horizon Forbidden West
- RTX 5060: Avg FPS 63, Min FPS 43, Frame Time 16.4ms, CPU Usage 42%, CPU Power 74W, Temp 62°C, RAM 12.3GB, GPU Usage 99%, VRAM 7.4GB, GPU Power 144W, Temp 54°C
- RTX 3070: Avg FPS 62, Min FPS 55, Frame Time 15.7ms, CPU Usage 40%, CPU Power 85W, Temp 68°C, RAM 11.2GB, GPU Usage 99%, VRAM 6.9GB, GPU Power 221W, Temp 62°C
Average FPS is nearly the same, but the 3070 has significantly better 1% lows. Frame time is similar. It’s a tie overall.
Game 6: Black Myth: Wukong
- RTX 5060: Avg FPS 30, Min FPS 27, Frame Time 31.7ms, CPU Usage 8%, CPU Power 42W, Temp 50°C, RAM 12.0GB, GPU Usage 99%, VRAM 6.6GB, GPU Power 145W, Temp 58°C
- RTX 3070: Avg FPS 30, Min FPS 25, Frame Time 31.4ms, CPU Usage 9%, CPU Power 42W, Temp 49°C, RAM 12.0GB, GPU Usage 99%, VRAM 6.6GB, GPU Power 220W, Temp 61°C
Both GPUs struggle here. Performance is nearly identical, but the 3070 uses 75W more power. It’s a tie, though the game is not well-optimized for either.
Game 7: The Last of Us Part II
- RTX 5060: Avg FPS 47, Min FPS 43, Frame Time 21.2ms, CPU Usage 18%, CPU Power 52W, Temp 49°C, RAM 15.6GB, GPU Usage 99%, VRAM 7.3GB, GPU Power 142W, Temp 57°C
- RTX 3070: Avg FPS 48, Min FPS 44, Frame Time 21.8ms, CPU Usage 27%, CPU Power 54W, Temp 50°C, RAM 12.9GB, GPU Usage 99%, VRAM 7.6GB, GPU Power 219W, Temp 60°C
Performance is nearly identical, with the 3070 leading by just 1 FPS. The 5060 is far more efficient, using 72W less power.
V. Comparison Conclusion
The comparison results are clear: the gaming performance of the GeForce RTX 5060 and GeForce RTX 3070 is essentially on par. Overall, the two are evenly matched—there is performance “parity,” but not “surpassing.” This is the final conclusion of the article.
Although there is no “surpassing,” the GeForce RTX 5060 lags behind the GeForce RTX 3070 in terms of CUDA core count, memory bus width, and other specifications, placing it at a disadvantage. Under these conditions, the RTX 5060 achieving such performance is already quite impressive. Moreover, it holds significant advantages in power consumption and thermal output, making its overall value proposition stronger.
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