The 2025 hardware landscape is more active than ever. With the arrival of the RTX 5060, the upcoming launch of the RX 9060 XT, and the announcement of new technologies like FSR Red Stone, one question echoes across the simracing world: Which GPU gives the best experience without overspending?
Intel Lags Behind, AMD Gains Ground
While Intel has yet to release its long-expected B770 GPU, AMD continues to gain market share in both CPUs and graphics cards. The Ryzen 7000 series with 3D V-Cache is dominating gaming performance, which translates well to simracing where low latency and strong CPU performance are critical.
At Computex 2025, AMD introduced several new products, but for most gamers, the spotlight is on the RX 9060 XT, arriving in two versions: 8 GB and 16 GB of VRAM.
RX 9060 XT vs RTX 5060: Mid-Range Showdown
The RX 9060 XT promises excellent value. According to AMD’s own data, the 16 GB version is about 6% faster than the RTX 5060 Ti on average, while being cheaper.
And this is crucial for simracing: in 1440p ultra settings, where high-res textures and dynamic elements are abundant, 8 GB of VRAM may fall short. If you’re running mods, triple monitors, or VR, you should plan for the future.
8 GB in 2025: Still Justifiable?
This is one of the hottest debates right now. Why release a $300+ GPU with only 8 GB? Even worse, why give two versions (8 and 16 GB) the exact same name?
From a simracing enthusiast’s perspective, it’s a user-hostile decision. Between the 8 GB and 16 GB RX 9060 XT, there’s a significant difference in sustained performance. Long endurance races with heavy weather and AI traffic will make that memory difference crystal clear.
FSR Redstone: AMD’s Answer to DLSS 4
AMD also unveiled FSR Red Stone, a major leap forward from FSR4 that introduces three AI-powered features:
- Neural Radiance Cache: boosts lighting quality with ray tracing using AI.
- AI Ray Reconstruction: a smart denoiser similar to Nvidia’s Ray Reconstruction.
- AI Frame Generation: to increase smoothness in demanding scenes.
But here’s the catch: all of these features are exclusive to RDNA 4 GPUs. If you have something like a 7800 XT, you’re out of luck.
And while AMD has improved its frame generation tech, they still don’t offer anything like Nvidia’s Multi-Frame Generation, which can generate up to three frames per one traditionally rendered frame.
So What Is Nvidia Up To?
Nvidia, for its part, is preparing a response. Rumors suggest “Super” variants of the RTX 50 series, including a possible RTX 5080 Super with 24 GB of VRAM at 32 Gbps.
Although the RTX 5060 has been criticized for its 8 GB limitation, it performs very similarly to the 4060 Ti in rasterization and brings benefits like DLSS 4 and multi-frame generation. For 1080p players, it’s a decent deal—but if you’re aiming higher, it’s not your best bet.
Which GPU Is Better for Simracing?
It all depends on your setup and goals:
Go for the RX 9060 XT 16 GB if:
- You race in 1440p or VR.
- You want long-term performance headroom.
- You value more VRAM over proprietary technologies.
Choose the RTX 5060 if:
- Your budget is tight.
- You stick to 1080p racing.
- You want DLSS 4 and Multi-Frame Generation benefits.
As simracers, we have to make smart, future-proof decisions. And in 2025, VRAM capacity is just as important as core count or TDP.
If I had to recommend a GPU for the next 2–3 years in simracing, I’d look for at least 12–16 GB of VRAM. Yes, it might cost more. But when you’re in the final laps of a 2-hour race at Spa, and the rain starts pouring down, you’ll be thankful your frames aren’t dropping due to a memory bottleneck.
See you on the track!
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