MSI unveils four GeForce RTX 5060 V1 cards with a cut-down GB205 chip

MSI has quietly listed four new GeForce RTX 5060 V1 graphics cards on its global product website, extending the lineup to GAMING and VENTUS variants. The key difference is under the cooler: these cards use a cut-down GB205 GPU instead of the GB206 found in existing RTX 5060 models.

The series includes GAMING, GAMING OC, VENTUS 2X, and VENTUS 2X OC versions. Despite the different chip base, all four cards keep the standard RTX 5060 configuration with 3,840 CUDA cores and 8GB of GDDR7 memory. MSI also left the core connectivity and memory setup unchanged. The memory runs at 28 Gbps over a 128-bit interface, and the cards use PCIe 5.0 x8.

The changes are mostly in clock speeds and power limits. The GAMING OC V1 drops its boost clock from 2,625 MHz to 2,587 MHz, while power consumption falls from 155W to 150W. The standard GAMING V1 keeps its 2,497 MHz boost clock but also gets the lower 150W rating, while the VENTUS 2X V1 cards keep their previous clock speeds and 145W power rating.

The V1 name does not clearly highlight the GPU change, so buyers may need to check the backplate or the full model name. In practice, the RTX 5060 V1 keeps the same final 3,840-core and 128-bit configuration because NVIDIA disables extra processing units and one-third of the memory interface on the GB205-based version. MSI has not announced prices or regional availability for the four V1 models.

Would you pick the GB205-based RTX 5060 V1, or does the unclear naming make it harder to trust the lineup?