Hong Kong-based GPU manufacturer Inno3D, which shares a parent company with Zotac, has just released benchmarks for the RTX 5050. @haruzake5719 shared the performance comparison on X, where the benchmarks showed the new GPU outperforming the RTX 3060 and running almost on par with the last-generation RTX 4060. The RTX 5050 is Nvidia’s entry-level 50-series graphics card, sporting only 8GB of slower GDDR6 and a maximum TDP of 130 watts.
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | Nvidia RTX 5050 | Nvidia RTX 3060 | Nvidia RTX 4060 | Nvidia RTX 5060 | Intel Arc B580 |
Launch Price | $249 | $329 | $299 | $299 | $249 |
VRAM | 8GB | 8GB / 12GB | 8GB | 8GB | 12GB |
Type | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR6 | GDDR7 | GDDR6 |
Cores | 2560 | 3584 | 3072 | 3840 | 2560 |
Clock Speed (GHz) | 2.31 | 1.32 | 1.83 | 2.28 | 1.70 |
Boost Speed (GHz) | 2.57 | 1.77 | 2.46 | 2.50 | 2.67 |
Processing Power (TFLOPS) | 13.2 | 12.74 | 15.11 | 19.2 | 27.34 |
Interface | PCIe 5.0 x8 | PCIe 4.0 x16 | PCIe 4.0 x8 | PCIe 5.0 x8 | PCIe 4.0 x8 |
TDP (W) | 130 | 170 | 115 | 145 | 190 |
This GPU launched last week and is only priced at $249, allowing budget gamers to buy into the RTX 50-series family for 1080p gaming. Although the RTX 5060 also has 8GB of VRAM, it uses GDDR7 and features more CUDA cores for better performance. It also has a higher MSRP of $299, and you can expect add-in board partners to put a premium on some variants. The RTX 5050 goes head-to-head with the Intel B580, which launched in December last year, and has the same price. However, the latter has 4GB more VRAM and a larger memory bus of 192-bit (over the RTX 5050’s 128-bit memory bus).
Inno3D’s tests show the RTX 5050 outperforming the RTX 4060 in several 3DMark tests, including Steel Nomad, Speed Way, Port Royal, Fire Strike Ultra, and Fire Strike. The latter garnered better scores in TimeSpy Extreme and TimeSpy, but its advantage sits at less than 10%. The company then ran benchmarks on four games, and although the RTX 4060 exceeded the new GPU in all titles, the FPS numbers weren’t that far off.
It seems that the budget gamers will get a base-level 50-series GPU that can perform almost as well as a higher-tier GPU from the previous generation. However, if you already have an RTX 4060 or even an RTX 3060, the RTX 5050 might not be an upgrade for you. This is built for those who are running older GTX 10-series or 16-series GPUs, or entry-level RTX 20-series graphics cards.
The Intel B580 is an attractive alternative, though, because of its higher VRAM — if you can find one, that is. Or if you can spare an extra $180, consider getting the RTX 5060 Ti (16GB) instead, as you’ll likely struggle with just 8GB of VRAM. We recommend holding off on any purchases until you've seen an in-depth review on the RTX 5050 — that way, you can make the most of your hard-earned money.
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