As flagship cards battle for headlines, AMD’s Radeon RX 9060 XT quietly targets the gamers who matter most—those playing at 1080p and 1440p.
While it’s tempting to focus on the high end of the GPU market when looking at benchmarks, that’s simply not what most people buy. Flagship GPUs may grab the headlines, but it’s the mid-range that earns the most attention—and often ends up in the hands of the average gamer or content creator. That’s why the NVIDIA RTX 4060 has remained one of the top cards on the Steam Hardware Survey, and why the new AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT is such an exciting release.
While it still offers many of the same features as the rest of the RDNA 4 lineup, this trimmed-down model is designed specifically for budget-conscious users targeting 1080p or 1440p gaming. Based on the specs, it looks well equipped to deliver on that promise. With the card in hand and our benchmarks complete, we’re ready to weigh in on whether AMD’s latest GPU is worth the investment.
Much like the Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070, there are no reference cards being sent to reviewers. For this review, we received the GIGABYTE AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB variant. The card follows the familiar design language seen in other Radeon GPUs from the brand, featuring a triple-fan layout with subtle RGB lighting along the side. It includes two DisplayPort 2.1 outputs and a single HDMI port, all powered by a single 8-pin connector, making installation straightforward for most modern systems.
The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT is built on the company’s advanced RDNA 4 architecture and manufactured using TSMC’s refined N4P process. At its core, the card features 32 unified compute units with 2,048 stream processors, providing ample computational power to meet the demands of modern gaming. The architecture also includes 32 dedicated ray tracing accelerators and 64 AI accelerators, positioning the GIGABYTE AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT as a forward-looking solution for both current and emerging gaming technologies. Its specifications line up closely with NVIDIA’s RTX 5060, though notably without support for DLSS 4, offering AMD’s FSR 4 as an alternative.
Looking at the specifications of the Radeon RX 9060 XT, it’s impressive how much AMD has packed into this card, especially considering its price point. The reference design features boost frequencies of up to 3,130 MHz, with a game clock of 2,530 MHz. These are among the highest clock speeds in AMD’s current lineup, allowing the card to deliver up to 25.6 teraflops of single-precision performance. This high-frequency operation is supported by an enhanced power delivery system, with total board power rated at 150 watts for the 8 GB variant and 160 watts for the 16 GB model.
“The architecture also includes 32 dedicated ray tracing accelerators and 64 AI accelerators, positioning the GIGABYTE AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT as a forward-looking solution…”
AMD is offering both 8 GB and 16 GB GDDR6 variants of the RX 9060 XT, operating at 20 Gbps across a 128-bit memory interface. The 16 GB model provides ample headroom for texture-heavy games and offers a degree of future-proofing, while the 8 GB version is aimed at budget-conscious users seeking solid 1080p performance. The card’s memory runs at 20 Gbps, offering plenty of bandwidth to push performance to its limits. While this is slightly lower than the 28 Gbps memory found on the RTX 5060 Ti, the practical difference should be minimal in real-world scenarios.
Both configurations benefit from 32 MB of third-generation AMD Infinity Cache, which helps reduce memory bandwidth demands and improve overall efficiency. For this review, we’re focusing on the 16 GB variant, as that’s the model we received for testing. As such, we cannot speak to the performance of the 8 GB version at this time.
As part of the RDNA 4 family, AMD has upgraded the Radeon RX 9060 XT’s ray tracing capabilities compared to its RDNA 3 predecessor. The card includes third-generation ray tracing accelerators, delivering up to twice the ray traversal performance of the previous architecture. These improvements feature dual ray intersection engines and a new “oriented bounding boxes” technology, which reduces the complexity of ray tracing calculations. The enhanced performance makes the Radeon RX 9060 XT more competitive in games that use advanced lighting, shadows, and reflection effects.
As mentioned in our design overview, the Radeon RX 9060 XT supports both DisplayPort 2.1a UHBR13.5 and HDMI 2.1b standards. The card uses a full PCIe 5.0 x16 interface, providing maximum bandwidth for data transfer and ensuring compatibility with next-generation systems. In comparison, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti is limited to PCIe 5.0 x8, while AMD’s own RDNA 3–based Radeon RX 7600 XT operates on PCIe 4.0 x8.
Looking at the content creation and streaming capabilities of the Radeon RX 9060 XT, the card delivers significant improvements in encoding quality across all major video formats, including H.264, HEVC (H.265), and AV1. AMD specifically highlights notable image quality gains when using H.264 encoding at 6,000 Kbps—a popular bitrate for streamers.
For content creators, this translates to cleaner, more professional-looking streams and recordings, with fewer artifacts and improved visual fidelity. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT supports full AV1 encode and decode capabilities, making it well-suited for next-generation streaming platforms that use this efficient codec to deliver higher image quality at lower bitrates and smaller file sizes.
The card’s enhanced media engine can handle demanding decode workloads, including 4K content at high frame rates. It supports VP9 4K at up to 210 fps, H.264 4K at 330 fps, HEVC 4K at 210 fps with 8K48 support, and AV1 4K at 240 fps—scaling up to 8K60 for both 8-bit and 10-bit content.
“The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT supports full AV1 encode and decode capabilities…”
On the encoding side, creators benefit from H.264 4K encoding at 180 fps, HEVC 4K at 180 fps with 8K48 support, and advanced AV1 encoding performance reaching 4K240 and 8K60 levels. Combined with AMD’s Smart Access Video technology, which intelligently distributes encoding and decoding workloads across available video engines, the Radeon RX 9060 XT offers strong capabilities despite its mid-range price point. It provides a solid level of support for modern encoding standards, making it an excellent choice for creators seeking a meaningful upgrade in content production, especially for those whose previous GPUs may have fallen short in this area.
With the specs and features covered, it’s time to put the GPU to the test. For benchmarking, we installed the Radeon RX 9060 XT into the same setup used for our recent GPU reviews. The system features an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor paired with an ASUS ROG Crosshair Hero motherboard, along with 32 GB of G.Skill DDR5 RAM running at EXPO 6000 speeds. Storage is handled by a 2 TB SK Hynix PCIe Gen 4 M.2 SSD. We used two configurations: one powered by an NZXT 1,200-watt PSU with an NZXT Kraken AIO cooler, and the other using a be quiet! 1,200-watt PSU and a Corsair Titan AIO.
“…the Radeon RX 9060 XT offers strong capabilities despite its mid-range price point.”
Since the Radeon RX 9060 XT is positioned as a 1080p and 1440p-focused GPU, we’ve opted to skip 4K benchmarks in this review. While we did run them, many of the results fell below acceptable performance levels for 4K gameplay, making them less useful in evaluating what this card is designed to do. Focusing on 1080p performance, the GIGABYTE AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT compares well to the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB model we reviewed previously. It delivered similar results across much of our test suite and even outperformed the RTX 5060 Ti in F1 24 when frame generation was enabled.
| 1080P Benchmark | RTX 5070 | RTX 4070 TI | RTX 5060 Ti | RTX 4060 Ti | RX 9060 XT | RX 9070 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 185.00 | 188.00 | 139.00 | 115.00 | 133.00 | 160.00 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider + Frame Generation | 254.00 | 243.00 | 221.00 | 146.00 | – | – |
| Returnal | 154.00 | 156.00 | 98.00 | 92.00 | 95.00 | 128.00 |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | 183.00 | 197.00 | 154.00 | 115.00 | 156.00 | 155.00 |
| Watch Dogs Legion | 143.00 | 157.00 | 93.00 | 87.00 | 67.00 | 132.00 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra) | 156.06 | 153.18 | 120.32 | 112.76 | 118.38 | 166.20 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 RT | 69.76 | 70.03 | 53.57 | 54.96 | 49.00 | 54.39 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 RT + Frame Generation | 329.48 | 246.30 | 259.07 | 65.13 | 84.63 | 124.07 |
| F1 24 (Ultra Preset) | 171.00 | 186.00 | 137.00 | 131.00 | 105.00 | 133.00 |
| F1 24 + Frame Generation | 241.00 | 263.00 | 182.00 | 142.00 | 201.00 | 222.00 |
| Metro Exodus (Extreme) | 88.60 | 99.33 | 63.27 | 63.27 | 62.01 | 96.02 |
| Black Myth: Wukong | 63.00 | 64.00 | 46.00 | 38.00 | 25.00 | 38.00 |
| Black Myth: Wukong + Frame Generation | 93.00 | 95.00 | 69.00 | 54.00 | 47.00 | 72.00 |
Notable exceptions include Black Myth: Wukong and Watch Dogs: Legion, where the performance gap between the two GPUs was more pronounced. Black Myth: Wukong continues to favour NVIDIA hardware, with the Radeon RX 9060 XT delivering just 25 fps, 59 percent lower than the 46 fps achieved by the RTX 5060 Ti. Watch Dogs: Legion showed a smaller but still notable 32 percent difference in performance. That said, both cards delivered smooth, playable framerates in this title.
“Focusing on 1080p performance, the GIGABYTE AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT compares well to the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB model we reviewed previously.”
Moving over to our 1440p tests, we see a similar story, with the Radeon RX 9060 XT trading blows with the NVIDIA RTX 5060 Ti. What’s especially notable is how close the two cards are in nearly every benchmark, including the Cyberpunk 2077 ray tracing test, where the difference was just three fps, something that would have been unlikely last generation.
| 1440P Benchmark | RTX 5070 | RTX 4070 TI | RTX 5060 Ti | RTX 4060 Ti | RX 9060 XT | RX 9070 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 124.00 | 129.00 | 91.00 | 74.00 | 89.00 | 157.00 |
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider + Frame Generation | 214.00 | 209.00 | 130.00 | 101.00 | – | – |
| Returnal | 117.00 | 119.00 | 60.00 | 59.00 | 60.00 | 114.00 |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | 141.00 | 157.00 | 116.00 | 86.00 | 113.00 | 117.00 |
| Watch Dogs Legion | 110.00 | 120.00 | 72.00 | 67.00 | 47.00 | 117.00 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra) | 102.61 | 95.24 | 76.89 | 68.45 | 75.31 | 101.49 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 RT | 43.10 | 48.77 | 33.55 | 48.67 | 30.10 | 47.06 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 RT + Frame Generation | 242.82 | 177.39 | 187.45 | 55.44 | 64.66 | 92.34 |
| F1 24 (Ultra Preset) | 138.00 | 149.00 | 100.00 | 111.00 | 77.00 | 98.00 |
| F1 24 + Frame Generation | 186.00 | 202.00 | 137.00 | 140.00 | 145.00 | 162.00 |
| Metro Exodus (Extreme) | 65.84 | 69.32 | 49.09 | 49.09 | 47.29 | 66.02 |
| Black Myth: Wukong | 44.00 | 46.00 | 31.00 | 25.00 | 16.00 | 13.00 |
| Black Myth: Wukong + Frame Generation | 69.00 | 70.00 | 50.00 | 36.00 | 30.00 | 26.00 |
The RTX 5060 Ti only pulls ahead when frame generation is factored in. DLSS 4’s multi-frame generation feature continues to demonstrate how effective it is at maximizing frame output. That said, the RX 9060 XT still manages to outperform the RTX 4060 Ti, delivering nearly 10 more frames per second when comparing FSR 4 to DLSS 3. Once again, we saw F1 24 favour the Radeon RX 9060 XT with frame generation enabled, reaching 145 fps compared to the RTX 5060 Ti’s 137 fps—a notable win, especially given how dominant DLSS has been for NVIDIA’s mid-range GPUs up to this point.
Once again, Black Myth: Wukong performs significantly better on the NVIDIA card compared to the AMD offering. At 1440p in cinematic mode with ray tracing enabled, tthe Radeon RX 9060 XT delivered a paltry 16 fps—and even with frame generation, it only managed to reach 30 fps—compared to 31 fps natively and 50 fps with frame generation on the RTX 5060 Ti, making it nearly unplayable on AMD’s card in this configuration—unless you factor in FSR 4.
“While the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT is clearly positioned as a mid-range GPU, I was genuinely impressed with its performance throughout testing.”
While the Radeon RX 9060 XT holds its own against NVIDIA’s latest mid-range option, it falls well short of its more powerful siblings. Both the RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT deliver performance in an entirely different league, further highlighting the Radeon RX 9060 XT’s position as a budget-conscious choice in the RDNA 4 lineup.
Jumping over to our synthetic benchmarks, the story remains consistent: the Radeon RX 9060 XT compares very well to the RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB. In 3DMark Time Spy, the AMD card edged out a slight win with a graphics score of 16,701, compared to the NVIDIA card’s 16,254. Both GPUs outperformed the RTX 4060 Ti across the board in these tests, with the Radeon RX 9060 XT securing a solid lead over last generation’s mid-range option, at least until we reached AI benchmarks.
| Synthetic Benchmarks | RTX 5070 | RTX 4070 TI | RTX 5060 Ti | RTX 4060 Ti | RX 9060 XT | RX 9070 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3D Mark Time Spy | 22230 | 22732 | 16254 | 13672 | 16701 | 26950 |
| 3D Mark Port Royal | 14102 | 14184 | 10420 | 8179 | 9791 | 15936 |
| Procyon Video GPU Editing | 55130 | 45828 | 45022 | 30807 | 35193 | 50089 |
| Procyon PHI 3.5 | 3902 | 2879 | 3160 | 2625 | 1297 | 1798 |
| Procyon MISTRAL 7B | 3903 | 2859 | 3031 | 2363 | 1288 | 1966.00 |
| Procyon LLAMA 3.1 | 3443 | 2783 | 2667 | 1406 | 1152 | 1729 |
| Procyon LLAMA 2 | 2246 | 1487 | 2744 | 277 | 1197 | 1554 |
Here, the GIGABYTE AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT falls short of what NVIDIA offers. Even the RTX 4060 Ti outperformed it in all LLM-related testing. It’s also worth noting that while the RTX 5060 Ti won in our Procyon Video GPU Editing test, the Radeon RX 9060 XT still managed a strong result against the RTX 4060 Ti, scoring 35,193—more than sufficient for most casual and advanced creative workflows.
While the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT is clearly positioned as a mid-range GPU, I was genuinely impressed with its performance throughout testing. With the benchmarks behind us, it’s worth turning to value—and this is where AMD clearly dominates NVIDIA.
The Radeon RX 9060 XT is priced at an MSRP of $299 USD for the 8 GB model and $349 USD for the 16 GB version. In contrast, the RTX 5060 Ti starts at $379 USD for 8 GB and increases to $429 USD for 16 GB. Considering how closely the two cards perform in most benchmarks, there’s no question that AMD offers significantly better value. In the majority of games, the difference between the two cards amounts to just a few frames per second. Unless you specifically need DLSS 4’s multi-frame generation or plan to use the GPU for AI-related workloads, the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT stands out as the more cost-effective choice.
Heading into CES 2025, I was skeptical that AMD could keep pace with what NVIDIA had planned for the year. But now that we’ve had the cards in the office and put them through their paces, I have to say—AMD has delivered impressive value and performance with the RDNA 4 lineup so far.
The cards consistently come close to matching their NVIDIA equivalents in most benchmarks, and they do it at a far more aggressive price point. NVIDIA still holds the high-end market—for now—but with the RX 9070 range delivering for enthusiasts and the Radeon RX 9060 XT hitting the mark in the mid-range, AMD is making all the right moves. And people are starting to take notice. It’s great to see such healthy competition in the GPU market. With the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT, the mid-range space just got a lot more exciting—and I can’t wait to see what AMD does next.
