In the never-ending GPU war between AMD and Nvidia, Team Red hasn’t had the best time in the past few years. Not only did AMD lag behind their rivals in terms of hardware-bound upscaling, but they’ve even completely stopped competing in the highest-end segment, now electing to make mid-segment cards to the best of their ability.

Of course, things have changed this year with the phenomenal RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT cards, which can do laps around Nvidia’s RTX 5070 and 5070 Ti at significantly lower prices without making customers feel like they’ve compromised. While we know that AMD won’t be bringing out any cards bigger and better than the RX 9070 XT, which is their flagship GPU at the moment, we are waiting for the RX 9060 XT. Here’s everything we know about this upcoming Team Red card that would take the fight to Nvidia’s budget RTX 5060 family of graphics cards.

4 The RX 9060 XT will have two memory variants

Smart move or unnecessary gamble?

From the looks of Acer’s upcoming Nitro and Predator laptops, AMD plans to offer the RX 9060 XT in both 8GB and 16GB variants. Nvidia’s RTX 4060 Ti did the same in 2023, and the 5060 Ti would most definitely be following suit. Is it a calculated risk to be copying this marketing move from Team Green? It makes sense to a degree. Sure, games today require more VRAM, and AMD is letting users choose according to their budgets. The 128-bit memory bus and GDDR6 memory, however, are not easy to swallow.

While the RX 9060 XT 8GB graphics card could be a great GPU for 1080p gaming, the extra VRAM in the 16GB variant positions it as a fantastic 1440p purchase in the mid-range segment. Sadly, it’s hard to think about the 8GB model being a must-buy — 8GB GPUs have already been struggling with VRAM-hungry titles, and if AMD prices this variant at anything about $300, it will be a rather tough sell. I’m starting to question if history is repeating itself.

3 RDNA4 is going to make the RX 9060 XT a fantastic 1080p card

FSR has now caught up with DLSS

Let’s face it — raw specs haven’t mattered to GPU makers in a while now. DLSS, FSR, and XeSS have been the law of the land for the longest time, and upscaling tech will not be going away anytime soon. That being said, AMD’s FSR has lagged behind Nvidia’s DLSS for the longest time regarding visual quality and pain points such as ghosting, haziness, and shimmering.

FSR4, AMD’s latest iteration of their upscaling tech, has now bridged the gap between DLSS and FSR, thanks to machine-learned frame generation. Armed with FSR4, the RX 9060 XT, along with a stronger L2 cache and Infinity cache, compensates for the 128-bit memory bus, and the upcoming GPU seems to be shaping up to be a killer option for high-refresh 1080p gaming and solid 1440p performance. If AMD prices the RX 9060 XT right, it could be the go-to GPU for gamers who want next-gen performance without the next-gen price tag. Now, all that’s left is to see how well it holds up in the real world.

2 We don’t know the exact core of the Radeon RX 9060 XT

Mum’s the word for Team Red

Here’s where things get a little murky. We don’t exactly know the exact GPU core of the RX 9060 XT. While some rumors suggest it might be based on the Navi 44 die, everything comes with a huge grain of salt at the moment. The RX 9060 XT’s Compute Unit count is what will truly decide where it sits in the market lineup, and how it fares against its direct rivals, the RTX 5060 and the RT 5060 Ti from Nvidia.

Then, there’s also the fact that the 5060 family of Nvidia GPUs runs on GDDR7 memory, while AMD’s latest RDNA4 cards will be running GDDR6 memory only. RDNA isn’t just about brute force, though — it’s an efficient architecture which should make the most out of the available bandwidth on the RX 9060 XT. All of this, paired with the bigger L2 cache, could help the graphics card compensate for the memory bottleneck, especially on the 8GB variant, but whether it’s enough to truly go toe-to-toe with Team Green remains to be seen. With launch inching closer, all eyes are on AMD to see what kind of silicon is really under the hood.

1 The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT isn’t too far away

The mid-range showdown is all set for Q2 2025

This doesn’t come as a surprise at all, does it? Nvidia seems set to be launching their RTX 5060 lineup around April, and that’s the time when rumors suggest AMD will be stocking the shelves with their RX 9060 XT as well. The mid-range GPU battle is certainly shaping up to be a VRAM chess match, with both companies offering 8GB and 16GB variants. However, Nvidia does have a shiny new GDDR7 memory and Multi Frame Generation.

AMD, on the other hand, isn’t too far behind this time, banking on FSR 4 frame generation, RDNA4’s efficiency, and a competitive price tag that would lure budget-conscious gamers over to Team Red. The real question, though, is whether AMD will price it right. We weren’t too happy about the RX 7600 XT’s $329 launch price, and if the RX 9060 XT comes bearing a $350-$400 price tag, it’ll be a tough sell. Then again, if AMD manages to undercut Nvidia while delivering strong 1080p and mid-range 1440p performance, we’ll have a classic mid-range slugfest on our hands.

Prepare your popcorn

With the RX 9060 XT, AMD seems set to finally match NVIDIA’s mid-range strategy, offering similar VRAM options, a strong feature set, and solid performance at 1080p. It's shaping up to be a great card even at 1440p, which is definitely becoming more popular. While we’re still waiting for core counts, clock speeds, and pricing, one thing is nearly certain — NVIDIA’s RTX 5060 series will face availability issues and inflated launch prices, as always. That opens the door for AMD to steal the spotlight if the 9060 XT lands at the right price. If AMD plays its cards right, this could be the budget-friendly mid-range winner gamers have been waiting for.