Graphics card comparison

RTX 5060 vs RTX 3060

The RTX 5060 is about 41% faster than the RTX 3060. Here is where that gap comes from, what each one draws to get there, and whether it is the difference you are actually paying for.

Faster card

RTX 5060 +41%

Measured against the RTX 3060 across the catalogue's combined workload index.

Where the gap is

RTX 5060RTX 3060
Performance index
5,500
3,900
Memory
8 GB
12 GB
Performance per watt
42.3
22.9
Power draw Lower is better
130 W
170 W

Each row is scaled to the larger of the two values, so the bars show how much of the leader the other one reaches — not a shared scale across rows. The real figure is printed on every bar.

Side by side

Specification RTX 3060 RTX 5060
Performance index3900 5500
Memory12 GB8 GB
Power draw170 W130 W
Performance per watt22.9 42.3
ArchitectureBlackwell
GenerationRTX 30 SeriesRTX 50 Series
function

How the gap is worked out

The percentage compares the two parts on the same relative performance index the site's bottleneck and build tools use, expressed as a share of the slower one. It is a single combined figure, not a frame rate: a specific game at a specific resolution can and will land either side of it, and a card with more memory pulls further ahead the moment a title needs that memory. Treat it as the size of the gap, not as a measurement of your machine.

What each one needs to run

The RTX 5060 and the RTX 3060 do not draw the same power, and the difference often outlives the card — a supply is the part you keep. Each page works the total out for a complete system.

Pair it with a processor

A faster card only shows up as faster frames if the processor can keep up with it. The bottleneck detector takes both and says which one is holding the other back.

Open the bottleneck detector

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