NVIDIA recently revealed the GeForce RTX 3050, featuring 6GB of VRAM. While there was speculation about this SKU for over two months, the specifications were only confirmed in early January.
NVIDIA aims to bring the most cost-effective RTX GPU to the market, potentially competing with more affordable options like the Arc A580 or RX 6600 series. It’s been a while since the company released a GPU priced below $200.
The RTX 3050 6GB runs on the GA107-325 GPU with 2304 CUDA cores, representing a 10% decrease compared to the 8GB variant. The GPU has a notably lower power target of 70W, allowing board partners to offer cards without a power connector. Nevertheless, this leads to a power reduction exceeding 40% compared to the 8GB version.
Examining NVIDIA’s track record of sub-$200 releases, the RTX 3050 6GB emerges as a compelling choice. Contrasting with its direct predecessor, the GT 1630, which had fewer cores but a higher launch price than the GTX 1650, this GPU played a crucial role in stabilizing the GPU market post-COVID challenges.
Contrastingly, the RTX 3050 features 2.5 times more cores than the GTX 1650 and 4.5 times more than the GT 1630. The question here is that why it carries the RTX 3050 label and how closely it resembles the 8GB version.
ComputerBase has provided an initial insight into the new model’s performance, and the media promptly acquired the sample even before its official release. NVIDIA is also offering a dedicated driver for this GPU.
The 2GB VRAM reduction doesn’t notably affect performance in synthetic benchmarks. However, across all four tests, the card exhibits a 20% speed decrease compared to the 8GB version, despite a substantial 46% power reduction. Early gaming tests, primarily using Cyberpunk 2077, reveal a comparable gap. ComputerBase plans to release additional benchmarks soon, specifically comparing the RTX 3050 6GB to the Radeon RX 6600 and GeForce GTX 1650.
Source: ComputerBase