Nvidia just announced its new RTX 3050 desktop GPU today in a live stream during the CES 2022 event. Now Nvidia's partners are ready to showcase new aftermarket models of the RTX 3050, including models from Asus, Zotac, PNY, EVGA, and more. Will any of these be among the best graphics cards for its price range? We'll have to wait and see.
Asus
Asus will have three models of the RTX 3050 coming to market, including the ROG Strix, Dual, and Phoenix variants.
The ROG Strix will be Asus' flagship model for the RTX 3050 lineup, equipped with a hilariously-large, 2.7-slot triple-fanned heatsink, a cooler you'd normally find on higher wattage parts such as the RTX 3060 Ti. We are not sure why Asus decided to put such a massively-overkill cooler on a 130W GPU, but at least it looks good.
The ROG model has the same aesthetics as other ROG variants, featuring a black-on silver theme, with ROG Strix text stealthily located all over the card. To the side is a long RGB strip, with a ROG-themed accent, plus a "GeForce RTX" logo to the top left.
The ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3050 will come in both vanilla and factory overclocked versions, equipped with dual HDMI 2.1 ports, and three DisplayPort 1.4a ports. Clock speed information is not available at this time.
In stark contrast to the ROG Strix is the RTX 3050 Phoenix, featuring a much more appropriate dual-slot single-fan cooler, with a much more compact design. Length is barely any longer than the PCIe slot itself, meaning it'll fit in a lot more compact chassis.
The Phoenix is painted in a matte-black finish with no LED lighting to speak of. The only thing accenting the black finish is the white Asus and GeForce RTX logos on the side. Where you can also visibly see an 8-pin power connector.
Unlike the Strix, the Phoenix will not have a supplementary factory overclocked model, so you are stuck with the 3050's reference clock speeds unless you manually overclock yourself. Display outputs remain the same as the ROG Strix, except for the deletion of the second HDMI output.
The Asus RTX 3050 Dual as the name suggests, is Asus' version of a dual-slot dual-fan cooler for the RTX 3050 to give it some extra cooling power over the single fan Phoenix.
The dual remains very similar to the Phoenix in its design language, featuring a matte black finish, with some stripped accents by the fans. To offset the black appearance, a single RGB light stripe has been implemented near the top of the card and can be seen from both the front and sides of the GPU.
The Duel will feature both a factory overclocked model and a vanilla model with the 3050's reference clocks. Display outputs are the same as the Phoenix.
PNY
PNY is showcasing three RTX 3050 models today, including the Uprising and Revel families. The Revel lineup comes with both a single fan and dual fan setup, meanwhile, the Uprising is a dual fan exclusive.
The Uprising is PNY's most stealthily looking RTX 3050 of the bunch, packing a fully blacked-out color aesthetic, accented by the very visible silver heatsink you can see in-between the fan blades, sides, and rear of the card.
The GPU features a 2-slot form factor, along with a large cutout in the rear backplate for air to pass through, which is reminiscent of Nvidia's RTX 3080 and RTX 3090 series of founders edition cards.
Outputs include three DisplayPort 1.4a connections, plus a single HDMI 2.1 output.
The PNY RTX 3050 Revel EPIC-X Dual Fan edition and single fan editions appear to be the company's more attractive looking and more compact options.
The dual fan version packs a respectable 9.72-inch length dual-slot cooler with the same cooling strategy of the Uprising, featuring a cutout in the rear backplate for extra airflow. Compared to the Uprising, it is nearly an inch shorter as well.
The single fan version obviously is a significantly shorter version of both dual fan models from PNY. Measuring at just 6.69 inches, this card will fit in very compact cases without an issue.
Both Revel models feature the same aesthetic featuring a brushed metal finish pained in black, offset by red logos in the middle of the fans. The only other accent piece to mention is a side illuminated GeForce RTX RGB logo as well.
Zotac
Zotac has decided to go the simple route for its RTX 3050 offerings by only releasing a model called the Twin Edge. But there are two official SKUs for the Twin Edge, one packing a factory OC model and the other the 3050's reference clock speeds.
The RTX 3050 Twin Edge is a relatively modest-looking card, featuring a grey color theme, accompanied by white accents. As the name implies, the cooler is equipped with a twin fan configuration and features a maximum length of 8.8 inches
Power is supplemented by a single 8-pin connector and video outputs consist of three DisplayPort 1.4a connections, plus a single HDMI 2.1.
Clock speeds for the factory OC model have been increased to 1807MHz on its boost frequency compared to just 1777 on the standard card.
Colorful
Colorful has revealed three RTX 3050 models today, including the 3050 NB, 3050 Ultra W OC, and 3050 Ultra W Duo.
The Ultra W OC is Colorful's flagship card for its 3050 lineups. It features an all-white color scheme paired with blue and purple accents, along with yellow and red gaming text by the fans.
The card itself features a monstrous triple-fan cooler design powered by two 90mm fans and a single 80mm fan in the middle. The heatsink itself is configured with dual 8mm heat pipes and dual 6mm heat pipes. Like the Strix, we're not sure if putting a beefy triple-fan cooler on a 130W GPU makes any sense. But, it'll be a very good product for the very few that can take advantage of such a card.
The next card in the lineup is the Ultra W Duo and, as the name implies, is a dual fan version of the Ultra W. This cooler looks identical to the triple-fan cooler. The only difference is the lack of a single fan, and its slightly shorter length of 9.9 inches compared to 12.2 inches on the Ultra W.
Last but not least is Colorful's lower-end model the 3050 NB EX. This card, despite looking much cheaper than the Ultra W, still packs a triple fan design, giving the card a ton of cooling potential for the RTX 3050 GPU.
The card's aesthetics are much more humble than Colorful's other models, featuring an all-black color scheme offset by two red accents. Despite its looks, the card is shortage than it seems at just 9.9 inches in length, giving the card the same form factor as the Ultra W Duo.
All these cards will come with three DisplayPort outputs and a single HDMI output, along with an 8-pin supplementary power connector.
EVGA
EVGA is keeping it simple with its 3050 lineup, and is only shipping two variants this time around, including the XC and XC Black.
Like other entry level EVGA products, the 3050 XC and XC Black maintain a very stealthy appearance, with an all black shroud and black fans. Both the XC and XC Black feature tiny dual fan coolers. The only difference between the two is the addition of a backplate on the XC model. The XC black lacks any kind of backplate, making it less aesthetically pleasing compared to the XC.
All specifications for both SKUs have remained hidden at this time. But, expect EVGA to unveil detailed product pages rather soon.
Gigabyte
Gigabyte is unveiling three new RTX 3050 SKUs in its current lineup, the RTX 3050 Gaming OC, Eagle and Eagle OC.
The Gaming OC appears to be the companies flagship RTX 3050 for the time being, the card includes a very hefty triple-fan cooler design, similar to that of the already overkill ROG Strix and Colorful models. The card comes with three homemade windforce fans, featuring a unique configuration involving the outward two fans spinning in the opposite direction of the middle fan. Gigabyte tells us this strategy reduces air turbulence and promotes airflow.
Aesthetically the Gaming OC has an ordinary look, with a black shroud and silver accents -- it's not too stealthy but it's not too blingy either. The color scheme is accompanied by a Gigabyte logo on the side that is RGB illuminated.
To the back is an all silver backplate with a large cut out to the right, purposefully designed to give the right fan as much airflow potential as possible.
The Eagle models are Gigabyte's entry-level focused offerings, equipped with a dual-fan design and with a rather compact form factor of just 8.3 inches. The card comes with dual 90mm wind force fans which also spin in the opposite direction of each other to improve airflow.
The card features a greyish finish, accented by a black finish near the top of the card, that also houses a blue Eagle logo. The rear of the card features a black backplate, with a very small cut out towards the rear, promoting airflow -- similar to that of the Gaming OC.
The Eagle will come in both a vanilla and factory overclocked model, however, specifications for both model's core clocks remain unknown at this time.
Gigabyte's Eagle RTX 3050s will feature dual DisplayPort 1.4a's and a single HDMI 2.1 connection. While the Gaming OC model gets an additional HDMI 2.1 port, for a total of two.
