The GPU wars are heating up again, and this time, NVIDIA’s rumored mid-range contender—the GeForce RTX 5050—is poised to go head-to-head with AMD’s Radeon RX 9060 XT in a critical arena: raw performance per dollar. According to leaked benchmarks circulating among industry insiders, both cards could deliver nearly identical value at their expected $299–$329 price points, shaking up the budget gaming segment.
For months, speculation swirled around NVIDIA’s Blackwell architecture trickling down to its 50-series lineup. Now, hardware leaker Zed Wang has dropped a bombshell comparison showing the RTX 5050 trading blows with AMD’s RDNA 4-based RX 9060 XT across 1080p and 1440p gaming tests. In titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Horizon Forbidden West, both GPUs reportedly hover within 3–5% of each other’s average frame rates—a statistical dead heat.
"NVIDIA’s efficiency gains with TSMC’s 4nm process let them close the price gap AMD usually exploits," Wang noted in a now-viral analysis.
🔗 See the full performance breakdown and thermal testing here
What makes this rivalry unprecedented? Historically, AMD dominated the budget tier with aggressive pricing, while NVIDIA leveraged DLSS and ray tracing. This time, sources suggest the RTX 5050’s trimmed-down AD104 die and 8GB GDDR6X memory allow NVIDIA to undercut its own RTX 4060 pricing while offering 20% faster rasterization. AMD retaliates with the RX 9060 XT’s 16GB VRAM buffer and FSR 3.1 support—but sacrifices power efficiency to hit performance parity.
The timing couldn’t be more critical. With Steam’s hardware survey showing 60% of gamers still on 1080p, both companies are targeting upgrades from GTX 1000 and RX 5000 series holdouts. If NVIDIA delivers DLSS 4.0 exclusives or AMD pushes VRAM advantages, the tiebreaker may come down to software—not silicon.
For builders eyeing current-gen deals while waiting:
🔗 Check today’s GPU discounts on Amazon
Why This Matters
A price-performance tie would mark a seismic shift. NVIDIA hasn’t matched AMD dollar-for-dollar in the mid-range since 2016’s GTX 1060 vs. RX 480. If these leaks hold, consumers win either way—but expect both teams to unleash marketing salvos pre-launch. The RTX 5050 and RX 9060 XT are projected to hit shelves by October, just in time for the Black Myth: Wukong and GTA VI hype cycles.
Stay tuned for confirmed specs as Computex 2025 unfolds.
Disclaimer: Rumored specs/performance may change before launch. Retail links support our reporting via affiliate commissions.
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