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If all you want is the TL;DR, the RTX 5050 turns in a 58% improvement to average frame rates versus the RTX 3050 at 1080p without RT enabled, basically tying with Intel's $249 Arc B580 and the $299 RTX 4060. Critically, its overall result clears 60 FPS on average across our range of titles, and its 1% lows are good enough for a generally smooth ride.
4K gaming is heavy enough on compute and VRAM that none of these cards are going to be anybody's first choice for a 4K experience without a heavy application of upscaling, assuming you can even keep VRAM usage in check.
If you’re interested in these cards' performance in a particular title, read on for our commentary on individual game results.
Black Myth Wukong
Why it's here: a stunning showcase for PC graphics
What it stresses: Compute, VRAM, RT (when enabled)
Black Myth Wukong is a gorgeous example of what’s possible from Unreal Engine 5, but it places heavy demands on graphics cards in exchange. This title has a free benchmark tool, but to ensure we were getting the benefits of all the updates that Game Science has made to this game since launch, we picked up the full version and devised our own benchmark sequence.
At very high raster settings, the RTX 3050 struggles in this title, but the RTX 5050 at least has enough oomph to potentially benefit from a DLSS boost.
Alan Wake II
Why it's here: One of the richest AAA feasts for the eyes on PC
What it stresses: Compute, VRAM, RT (when enabled)
Alan Wake II is the latest technical tour-de-force from Remedy, and it really puts the hurt on these lower-end cards. As with other AAA heavyweights in our test suite, the RTX 5050 delivers more oomph than the RTX 3050 (as it well should), but you really want DLSS, lower settings, or both to get to a 60 FPS experience at 1080p, and any higher resolutions will need a much more powerful card to achieve playability.
Counter-Strike 2
Why it's here: over a million active players can't be wrong
What it stresses: Compute, driver overhead at high frame rates
Counter-Strike 2 needs no introduction as one of the most popular esports titles out there. The RTX 5050 lands just shy of the 244 FPS average you'd want to drive an ultra-high-refresh-rate monitor at 1080p, but its 1% lows are weirdly low relative to even aging hardware like the RX 7600.
In general, Blackwell cards really seem to struggle with 1% lows in CS2, even as the RX 9060 XT duo posts both the high average frame rates and 1% lows that we want for a smooth gaming experience.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024
Why it's here: One of the most demanding games available on PC right now
What it stresses: Compute, VRAM
Flight Simulator 2024 is honestly too much game for any $300-or-less graphics card, at least at ultra settings. Average frame rates are low on everything that's not an RTX 5060 Ti 16GB or RX 9060 XT 16GB, and that pain is compounded by a hunger for VRAM that sends 1% lows far beneath averages that might appear OK on the surface. Frame rates plummet especially hard as you come in for landings, making consistent control of your aircraft a pain in the butt.
The RTX 5050 basically doubles the RTX 3050's performance in this title, but it's not enough to achieve a truly playable frame rate.
Fortnite
Why it's here: It's Fortnite
What it stresses: Compute
Fortnite may have a reputation as a potato game, but make no mistake: this is an Unreal Engine 5 showcase through and through, and it can deliver stunning visuals in between the heated skirmishes of its pop-culture-blending brawls.
The RTX 3050 struggles to hit even a 60 FPS average at 1080p in this title. The RTX 5050 delivers a nice boost, landing midpack at just above an 80 FPS average and laying a great performance foundation for DLSS if you want it.
The RX 9060 XT duo surprises by landing at the top of the charts in this title. AMD's cards deliver slightly higher average frame rates alongside much higher 1% lows than the RTX 5060 Ti duo. If only Epic would implement FSR 4...
Apex Legends
Why it's here: Unique engine, giant player base
What it stresses: Compute
Apex Legends is another wildly popular esports title that needs no introduction. It normally has a 144 FPS cap, but you can disable it with a launch option to reach a 300 FPS ceiling.
Nvidia called out Apex as a particularly good showing for the RTX 5050 in its launch materials, and it's easy to see why. The baby Blackwell card delivers a 75% performance boost over the RTX 3050 at 1080p, even without the use of DLSS or framegen. You could even push a 144Hz 1440p monitor with this card in this title.
Marvel Rivals
Why it's here: another hugely popular free-to-play title
What it stresses: Compute
Marvel Rivals is another popular free-to-play game that might have a reputation as a bit of a potato title. Unlike other games in our suite that share its UE5 foundation, Rivals doesn’t require a superhero of a graphics card to hit high frame rates. The RTX 5050 can nearly hit a 90 FPS average at 1080p, and it can even hit 60 FPS at 1440p.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Why it's here: One of the most popular RPGs of 2025
What it stresses: Compute
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has stunning Unreal Engine 5-powered visuals. Since it keeps VRAM usage in check even on 8GB cards, its performance is mostly defined by how much compute horsepower you can throw at it.
At 1080p Epic settings, the RTX 5050 ekes out about 40 FPS on average, which is a nice 50% boost over the RTX 3050 but still a case where you'd really want to dial back to high settings and consider using DLSS to get to a truly smooth experience.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Why it's here: a representative older PlayStation port
What it stresses: Compute, VRAM, RT (if enabled)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the kind of experience that will take gamers of a certain age on a nostalgic journey back to summer breaks spent in front of CRT TVs with a PlayStation 2 whirring away nearby. This title features incredibly charming art direction and animation that's still delightful to look at even two years after its arrival on PC.
Rift Apart already demands more than 8GB of VRAM with very high settings even at 1080p, which sort of shows in the relatively low 1% lows alongside high average frame rates on the RTX 5050 and its surrounding 8GB competition. Even so, the RTX 5050 delivers a fine experience, blowing the RTX 3050 out of the water with a 60% boost and taking this game from marginally playable to perfectly enjoyable on an entry-level GeForce.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2
Why it's here: A newer PlayStation port
What it stresses: Compute, VRAM, RT (if enabled)
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is another solid PlayStation port, but like many games in this vein, it really wants both strong compute resources and plenty of VRAM from a GPU to high high frame rates. The RTX 5050 is much faster than the RTX 3050 in this title, but it's not up to the job of delivering a 60 FPS average at 1080p.
Spider-Man 2 is an example of a game where you might want to enable Multi-Frame Generation on Blackwell cards for an extra performance boost, but because it's already spilling out of 8GB of VRAM at 1080p without upscaling enabled, the feature simply didn't work on the RTX 5050 or RTX 5060.
We're sure you could get MFG going on the RTX 5050 withsome further tweaking, but the promise of RT + DLSS + MFG that Nvidia pushes so heavily with Blackwell isn’t really possible on 8GB GPUs. You might only be able to use one of those features at a time.
Stalker 2
Why it's here: A visually stunning revival of a classic PC franchise
What it stresses: Compute, VRAM (to some degree)
Stalker 2 is another beast of a UE5 game, and none of the cards in this entry-level-to-midrange menagerie can even crack 60 FPS on average at 1080p. As we've seen already, the RTX 5050 is a major improvement over the RTX 3050 in this title, but it's still not enough to raise frame rates to a playable level without turning down some settings or enabling DLSS.
Cyberpunk 2077
Why it's here: One of the biggest PC releases of all time
What it stresses: Compute, VRAM, RT (when enabled)
Cyberpunk 2077 may have been a beast of a title when it arrived five years ago, but after a couple of generations of new graphics cards and countless improvements and optimizations to the base game, everything in our suite except the RTX 3050 can run this title at a 60 FPS average or higher at 1080p. Chalk up another boost for the RTX 5050.
The RTX 5060 Ti 16GB turns in weirdly low 1% low frame rates at 1080p in Cyberpunk, and we found this result to be repeatable. We're not entirely sure what the reason is behind it, but we did try to iron it out without success.
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