The latest generation of NVidia graphics cards saw prices rise faster than benchmarks, leading to lukewarm reviews of the high-end models favored by gamers and AI aficionados. This has led to shenanigans from Nvidia PRs eager to read positive coverage of the affordable mid-range 5060 model coming to market.
Gamers Nexus claims that the company is trading access to reviewers who emphasise software features that improve perceived performance: Nvidia "has made repeated attempts to get multiplied framerate numbers into its benchmark charts. We will not play those games."
"In the time since, NVIDIA has offered certain unqualified media outlets access to drivers which actual qualified reviewers do not have access to, but allegedly only under the premise of publishing "previews" of the RTX 5060 in advance of its launch. Some outlets were given access to drivers specifically to publish what we believe are puff pieces and marketing while reviewers were blocked.
Videocardz.com posted that Nvidia restricted access to drivers to outlets willing to "share previews" it could influence, citing a German-language site which disclosed the arrangment.
GamerStar Tech made it clear that they only agreed to the preview to have access to the driver itself, which will allow them to publish the review later. They explicitly mention that although they agreed, they weren't able to choose settings, graphics cards, or how they measured everything themselves—this was dictated by NVIDIA.
And as Sean Hollister at The Verge writes, they launched the card during a major trade show, derailing media coverage by other outlets. The result: day 1 reviews with questionable benchmarks.
But the reality, according to reviews that have since hit the web, is that the RTX 5060 often fails to beat a four-year-old RTX 3060 Ti, frequently fails to beat a four-year-old 3070, and can sometimes get upstaged by Intel's cheaper $250 B580.
Nvidia has the right to pick and choose who gets access to the gear, and reporters have the right to complain about being pushed around. TechSpot's review is exemplary.
I have a 12GB 3060, not even the Ti model, and don't feel much need to upgrade. That the latest model has less RAM than one two generations old does seem rather stingy!
