I'm deciding between an RTX 5060 with 8GB of VRAM and an RTX 3060 with 12GB. I currently use a laptop with an RTX 3050 6GB, and I mainly play Minecraft with shaders and heavy mods. I also stream Valorant at 1080p through OBS and edit videos in DaVinci Resolve. I don't need 1440p gaming, although I'm curious whether the RTX 5060 can handle it reasonably well. Some people have warned me that 8GB of VRAM could become a bottleneck for streaming or newer AAA games, while others say the 5060's faster GPU and newer features matter more. Would the 5060 be the better choice if I'm willing to lower texture quality or use medium settings in demanding games?
3 Answers
The RTX 5060 is the better overall choice. Its stronger performance and newer features outweigh the extra VRAM on the RTX 3060 for most 1080p gaming. In demanding AAA games, lower texture quality, ray tracing, or other VRAM-heavy settings if necessary. Eight gigabytes isn't ideal for every future game, but it shouldn't be a major problem at 1080p right now.
The 3060 is more likely to run into a performance limit before its 12GB of VRAM becomes especially useful. The 5060 is substantially faster, and you can usually reduce a few settings to keep VRAM usage under control. It should also be a solid fit for DaVinci Resolve and streaming.
That makes sense. I'm mainly wondering how well the extra VRAM helps with video editing and whether the 5060 will remain useful for a few years.
Unless you already know of a specific game or editing project that needs more than 8GB, I'd choose the RTX 5060. The 3060's extra 4GB can help in certain workloads, but for your stated use—1080p gaming, Minecraft with mods and shaders, Valorant streaming, and general editing—the 5060's performance advantage is likely more valuable.
Would streaming at 1080p and 60 FPS with OBS cause any problems on the 5060?