The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 has been released very recently, but it seems that Nvidia may already be working on refreshed versions of the GPU.
New rumors suggest that we might soon see even more budget-friendly versions of the RTX 3050, including a variant with a lower TDP and a variant with just 4GB of memory, supposedly priced at $199.
The rumors come from two sources and talk about two different variants of the GPU. It’s hard to know with certainty that these will be separate cards, but it’s very possible that Nvidia is, in fact, preparing to launch two refreshed models of the entry-level RTX 3050.
The first leak comes from harukaze5719 on Twitter, who spotted the card in the TechPowerUp GPU database. Full specifications of the graphics card were released, but keep in mind that this is not an official listing from Nvidia, so any and all specs can still be subject to change. With that said, the listing is quite interesting.
If this proves to be true, Nvidia may soon release a new version of the RTX 3050 based on the GA107 graphics processor. That marks a difference from the version we’ve already seen which comes with the GA106 die. In terms of other specs, the GPU is not going to be too impressive: It comes with just 4GB of memory across a 128-bit memory bus, 2,304 CUDA cores, and a base clock of 1545MHz that can be boosted up to 1740MHz.
The 4GB version of the RTX 3050 was already present in laptops prior to the release of the desktop version. Needless to say, we can’t expect this GPU to play AAA games on high settings without a hitch. However, for an MSRP of $199, it could prove to be a decent option for non-demanding gamers. Nvidia is clearly hoping to compete with AMD here, given the price tag is the same as AMD’s latest Radeon RX 6500 XT.
The second leak comes from Igor’s Lab and talks about another possible version of the RTX 3050. This time, the card in question also comes with a full 8GB of memory, although it also uses the same GA107 die as the cut-down 4GB version. According to Igor’s Lab, this card will have a reduced power rating compared to the GA106 version, dropping to 115W from 130W.
Although the other specifications remain largely the same between the two 8GB RTX 3050 models, the GA107 die only comes with an x8 PCIe link. Combined with the 12% lower TDP, we could see a small difference between the performance of these two cards.
Igor Wallossek of Igor’s Lab claims that Nvidia will be releasing these slightly cut-down versions of the card in order to increase the supply. If that’s the case, we may still see more of the GA106 GPU on the market, with the 8GB GA107 version adding an extra source of this GPU with very similar specs. The 4GB version, on the other hand, is another model entirely and will likely show a noticeable performance drop.
In times of chip shortage, any GPU release is a good thing. AMD has failed to impress the masses with its latest budget offering, the RX 6500 XT, but Nvidia’s RTX 3050 has received better reviews. We gave it an 8 out of 10 because, for a budget graphics card, it has proven itself to be a worthy contender in the best GPU arena. However, much like pretty much any GPU, it suffers from being priced fairly high if you don’t manage to snag it at MSRP.
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