NVIDIA
Budget AI pick
GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB
The cheapest new NVIDIA card with 16GB, which quietly makes it the budget local-AI default.
Launch MSRP $429 (2025). Street prices move daily; the links open live listings. Amazon links may earn us a commission.
16GB GDDR7
Memory16GB GDDR7
MSRP$429
Board power180W
Released2025
Will it run your models?
VRAM meter16GB
8B5GB
14B9GB
24B14GB
32B20GB
70B40GB
Local AI fit: up to low-20B class models. Rule of thumb for 4-bit quantized models; context length and other apps eat into the same memory.
Why you buy it
- 16GB VRAM at the lowest price in NVIDIA's current stack
- CUDA support for every AI tool that matters
- Low 180W power draw
Why you hesitate
- Gaming performance is midrange, the price is for the memory
- An 8GB variant exists to confuse buyers, avoid it
The editor's take
As a gaming card it is merely fine. As a budget AI card it is the pick: 16GB and CUDA at $429 means 13B-class models run without drama, and nothing else new does that this cheap. Skip the 8GB version of this card entirely; the memory is the entire point.
Who it's for: 1080p and 1440p gamers who dabble in local AI, or anyone who wants the most VRAM per dollar in a new card with CUDA support.