ZOTAC leaks NVIDIA's flagship GPU lineup; a lack of RTX 5060 bodes well for Intel

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
(Image credit: Future)

NVIDIA's next-gen RTX 5000 graphics cards (GPU) keep becoming more real as information leaks out. While we're still waiting for an official confirmation from NVIDIA, the latest update comes from Videocardz, spotted during one of its regular checks for NVIDIA leaks.

This time it's GPU partner ZOTAC that posted some NVIDIA RTX 5000 information early on its website. Videocardz found the new GPUs with the help of Google, and I can recreate at least the major search result that lists GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5090 D, RTX 5080, RTX 5070 Ti, and RTX 5070.

Some of NVIDIA's RTX 5000 GPUs still show up in Google when searching through ZOTAC's website. (Image credit: Future)

Information from inside the ZOTAC website seems to have now been largely scrubbed from the live view, but screenshots grabbed by Videocardz before the purge back up these listings with extra info.

In the GPU filter section, the GDDR7 memory type briefly became an option, and the maximum VRAM had a 32GB option. That all but confirms the RTX 5090's previously leaked specs that pointed to the same 32GB GDDR7 VRAM in the flagship card.

You might have noticed the RTX 5090 D in ZOTAC's leaked list, which is a variant of the regular card made to get around Chinese market restrictions. While I was expecting also to see an RTX 5080 D, it could be that NVIDIA created the standard card to align with the restrictions.

The lack of RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti listings also aligns with release date rumors gathered by Videocardz via Benchlife. According to the rumors, it's expected that NVIDIA will push its cards ranging from the RTX 5090 down to the RTX 5070 first, with the more budget-friendly RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti coming later in 2025.

Why is NVIDIA waiting to launch the RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti?

NVIDIA launched its RTX 4090 and RTX 4080 six months before it unveiled the RTX 4070, so delayed launches aren't out of the ordinary. (Image credit: Daniel Rubino)

It's not out of the ordinary for NVIDIA to announce and launch its most high-end GeForce RTX GPUs first. NVIDIA unveiled its RTX 4000 "Ada" GPUs in September 2022 starting with the RTX 4090 and RTX 4080, only branching out to the RTX 4070's announcement about six months later. The NVIDIA RTX 4060 finally hit markets a couple of months after that, near the middle of 2023.

NVIDIA has not confirmed anything, and so far the RTX 5000's official announcement is up in the air. However, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang is scheduled to deliver a keynote CES speech on January 6 at 6:30 PM PST, one day ahead of the official event kickoff. I don't think there's a more fitting place to finally clear up all the rumors and speculation.

The RTX 4060 has not exactly aged well less than a couple of years after its launch, mostly owing to its meager 8GB of VRAM. New games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle that have massively detailed textures run better on the RTX 3060 with 12GB of VRAM in a lot of instances, and this type of situation isn't going to change as games become more demanding.

The GPU powering Intel's new Battlemage desktop cards. (Image credit: Intel)

NVIDIA also has some extra competition in the mid- to low-end market now that Intel has launched its Battlemage desktop GPUs. The Arc B580 is the first card to hit the market, boasting 12GB of GDDR6 VRAM and a $249 price tag.

Reviews are very positive, helped out by the fact that it costs less than the RTX 4060 by a significant amount, while also outperforming it with the help of all the extra VRAM. Intel's B570 GPU is expected to launch in January 2025 at $219, coming at us with 10GB of VRAM.

Again, we won't know for sure until NVIDIA officially unveils its RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti, but so far the rumors point to the same 8GB of VRAM in the former card. It'll be GDDR7 VRAM like in its siblings, but the total amount is worrying if true. Intel is clearly attempting to corner the budget GPU market, while NVIDIA remains provider of the most powerful GPUs on the market.

The delayed RTX 5060 launch no doubt bodes well for Intel, as plenty of gamers searching for an affordable and capable GPU can turn to the new Battlemage hardware. The problem now is that the newfound popularity has Intel's B580 sold out everywhere.

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Cale Hunt
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Cale Hunt brings to Windows Central more than eight years of experience writing about laptops, PCs, accessories, games, and beyond. If it runs Windows or in some way complements the hardware, there’s a good chance he knows about it, has written about it, or is already busy testing it.