Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 review: a necessary update, not an exciting one

Entry-level Blackwell brings a much-needed performance boost, but not enough to justify its price.

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Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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To represent the RTX 5050 in our testing, we picked Gigabyte’s Windforce OC version of this card. Ringing in right at Nvidia’s $249 MSRP, this model offers everything you need and nothing you don’t for the kind of entry-level gaming build that’s most likely to include an RTX 5050.

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Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Typical of cards built to hit MSRPs, the Windforce OC RTX 5050 lacks any fancy extras, like RGB LED lighting or heavy-duty metal shrouds. You get two counter-rotating fans, a plastic fan shroud and backplate with some prominent Gigabyte and GeForce branding, and a metal mounting bracket, and that’s about it. We do appreciate this card’s compact 7.8" x 4.6" by 1.6" (LWD) dimensions (199 x 116 x 40 mm), which should allow it to fit into most any case.

Gigabyte still outfits the Windforce OC card with a proper aluminum fin stack rather than a cast affair, and two beefy copper heat pipes run through it to transfer heat from the GB207 GPU itself into those fins.

We didn’t pull our 5050 apart entirely to examine the base plate of the heatsink, but it appears that this card cools the four GDDR6 memory chips with thermal pads or gel, making contact with an aluminum base plate. Those are all signs that this card should keep its most important components cool under load.

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Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

As is common nowadays, Gigabyte cuts a vent in this card’s backplate to allow air from the forward portion of the fin stack to escape directly upwards into the case’s airflow path.

The single 8-pin power connector is located toward the rear of the card, a somewhat annoying trend that we’ve seen several graphics card OEMs adopt recently. PCIe power cables really have to stretch to reach these distant power connectors in many cases. We’d much prefer that the connector be placed toward the front of the card.

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Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Around back, we find a somewhat unusual complement of two DisplayPort 2.1 connectors and two HDMI 2.1 outputs. The mounting bracket features large vents to allow exhaust air to flow out the rear of the card.

Overall, we have no complaints about Gigabyte’s design choices with this card, given that it rings in right at MSRP. Let’s see how it performs.

Jeffrey Kampman
Jeffrey Kampman
Senior Analyst, Graphics

As the Senior Analyst, Graphics at Tom's Hardware, Jeff Kampman covers everything to do with GPUs, gaming performance, and more. From integrated graphics processors to discrete graphics cards to the hyperscale installations powering our AI future, if it's got a GPU in it, Jeff is on it. 

21 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Notton
    Geforce Give-me-my-money RTX 5050

    $150 performance levels at best.
    Reply
  • Neilbob
    Notton said:
    Geforce Give-me-my-money RTX 5050

    $150 performance levels at best.
    Yes, indeed.

    For the tiny number and type of games I play these days, 8GB and this performance level is perfectly sufficient, but NOT at this stupid price.

    I wonder if we will ever again see a properly priced budget GPU segment (not what should be mid-range). I'm kind of hoping AMD will churn out something, but I think we all know that isn't going to happen. And I'm still not quite prepared to hold my breath on Intel.

    My current system is pushing 6. It is starting to make me nervous...
    Reply
  • usertests
    RTX 5050... a necessary update
    It's basically a 4060 or a little slower, with worse efficiency. This review is actually more positive than some of the launch reviews I saw, which had it losing even more performance and efficiency against the 4060. Perhaps the Blackwell drivers have improved between launch and this late review.

    That along with the 5060 shockingly having greater performance per dollar, as well as the unloved 9060 XT 8 GB annihilating it at similar pricing, shows that it's unnecessary.

    The 5050 is so close to the 4060 that I bet a silently introduced GDDR7 desktop variant could raise the efficiency and maybe even the performance to above the 4060, even if the effect was as low as 0-5%. I believe efficiency is the reason why the laptop 5050s are getting GDDR7 instead of the GDDR6 in this one. The desktop 5050 card is truly a second class citizen.
    Reply
  • bourgeoisdude
    "The Dells, HPs, and Lenovos of the world that need to build cheap gaming PCs for buyers at Wal-Mart and Best Buy now have access to a product that says RTX 50 rather than RTX 30 on the shelf sticker..."

    ^Well said; this is exactly what this card is for. At least this means less GTX 3050s in 'new' gaming PCs. But yeah the GTX 5050 is not really meant for the Toms Hardware audience.
    Reply
  • 8086
    Notton said:
    Geforce Give-me-my-money RTX 5050

    $150 performance levels at best.
    No.
    This was a $79 card before the pandemic hit.
    Reply
  • Amdlova
    4060 is better than that card... you can run phsyx :)
    Reply
  • LordVile
    8086 said:
    No.
    This was a $79 card before the pandemic hit.
    No it’s not, stop pretending it’s 15 years ago. Things are more expensive in general and even a 1030 was $79 at launch. And that thing lost to iGPUs. The 5050 had increased the same percentage as every other product
    Reply
  • atomicWAR
    LordVile said:
    No it’s not, stop pretending it’s 15 years ago.
    Fair point but prices have increased well past inflation as well though. Ngreedia has to milk and all. All skus are also one lowered down by at least one sku too. 90 replaced 80 (by die size and perfomance metrics), 80 replaced 70ti, 70ti replaced 70, 70 replaced 60ti, 60ti replaced 60, 60 replaced 50 and 50 replaced 30. It is well documented shrinkflation hit nvidia gpus. Either way we have been getting screwed as consumers by Ngreedia (amd as well)

    2tJpe3Dk7Ko:2View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2tJpe3Dk7Ko&t=2s
    Reply
  • LordVile
    atomicWAR said:
    Fair point but prices have increased well past inflation as well though. Ngreedia has to milk and all. All skus are also one lowered down by at least one sku too. 90 replaced 80 (by die size and perfomance metrics), 80 replaced 70ti, 70ti replaced 70, 70 replaced 60ti, 60ti replaced 60, 60 replaced 50 and 50 replaced 30. It is well documented shrinkflation hit nvidia gpus. Either way we have been getting screwed as consumers by Ngreedia (amd as well)

    2tJpe3Dk7Ko:2View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2tJpe3Dk7Ko&t=2s
    90 replaced the Titan not the 80 so your entire point is moot
    Reply
  • atomicWAR
    LordVile said:
    90 replaced the Titan not the 80 so your entire point is moot
    Watch the video. I am talking silicon used, performance upticks etc. So no the 90 didn't replace the titan...it replaced the 80 class. Try again with a good source like I did, please. If you can prove me wrong with out just saying I am wrong, I am happy to listen and learn. Because it you want to go the titan route. It was the start of replacing the 80 TI class. Way back when the top 110 dies (now 102 dies) fully unlocked was the 80 class card. It really started to show up with the GTX 680 when we got a GK104 instead of a 102 and kicked into high gear after the GTX 700s/kepler which is the gen Titan launched with. Point being Nvidia set the stage with the lesser GTX 680/ gk104 and excuted the move with the 700 series. And things have snowballed from there. When you use mm^2 we are getting less gpu per class than ever now.
    Reply