Release date, prices and mobile version

It looks like the RTX 3050 is on its way.

We keep getting fresh rumors that the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 is aiming for the market. Since Nvidia Ampere has been in development for some time, this is not surprising. Now that Nvidia has brought high and mid-range graphics cards to the market, it’s time to update the budget line.

The RTX 2060 is currently the cheapest offering in the RTX series. Meanwhile, the most affordable graphics cards, such as the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, stick to the GTX mark of previous generations. So, it’s time for the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050, which will update the budget segment of video cards. And, we hope that the novelty will give us an idea of ​​Nvidia’s strategy for future budget products.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 could be the perfect solution for esports gamers who play at 1080p, don’t have the extra budget, and don’t need something as powerful as the RTX 3060, which you can’t buy today anyway. In fact, the specifications of the mobile version of the RTX 3050 Ti have already been rumored to be found in the GPU-Z database, confirming the new line of budget graphics cards.

Since graphics cards will hit the streets very soon, we decided to collect all the rumors in one place and maybe make some apt guesses.

In pursuit!

• What’s this? Nvidia’s next budget graphics card;
• When to expect? Probably in June 2021;
• What is the price? Most likely $149 (11500r + VAT);

(Image credit: Nvidia)

NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3050: RELEASE DATE

The predecessor of the RTX 3050, the GTX 1650, hit the market on April 23, 2019, approximately three months after the RTX 2060 was released on January 15, 2019. This year, Nvidia released the GeForce RTX 3060 on February 25th, so if the RTX 3050 follows the same release schedule, the new graphics card should be announced at some point in May.

However, when the GTX 1650 was released in 2019, we didn’t experience the same shortage of graphics cards as we do today. It’s entirely possible that Nvidia will push back the RTX 3050 by a month or two, just to keep up with the surge in demand.

After all, Nvidia did the same with the RTX 3060, though it wasn’t enough to prevent the RTX 3060 from being sold out immediately. We doubt Nvidia would wait too long before releasing a graphics card, but right now we’d be betting on an RTX release date. 3050 in June 2021.

(Image credit: Future)

NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3050: PRICES

One of the best things about the Nvidia Ampere right now is that Nvidia hasn’t raised the price of new graphics cards over their Turing equivalents. And we have no doubt that everything will start with the RTX 3050.

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 entered the market for $149 (11500r + VAT) and remained in the same price category for most of its life cycle. However, Team Green has updated the offer with the GeForce GTX 1650 Super, which goes on sale for a slightly higher price, namely $159 (12000r + VAT). Since these graphics cards are close enough in price, we doubt Nvidia will go for the cheaper option – unless it also plans to release the RTX 3050 Ti, which is heavily rumored, by the way.

Either way, we could safely assume that the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 will hit the market somewhere between $150-$160 and, if the performance is good, it will be a great choice for budget gaming PCs and laptops.

(Image credit: Future)

GEFORCE RTX 3050 MOBILE

Right now, most rumors around the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 point to a mobile version of the GPU, the desktop graphics card is rarely mentioned, and it is often the one that comes out first. In fact, we haven’t heard anything about the desktop version at all.

The most promising information comes not from anyone, but from Lenovo, which has already leaked upcoming video cards several times in the past. The latest rumor suggests an RTX 3050 Ti, along with the regular 3050, both graphics cards with 4GB GGDR6, with the Ti version pulling up the specs.

We also saw leaked Geekbench results back in March 2021 that also promised us an RTX 3050 Ti mobile graphics card. Right now, we wouldn’t be surprised if the mobile version of the RTX 3050 comes out before the desktop graphics card, though that’s rare in the industry. At the very least, this means that you can actually buy a graphics card.

(Image credit: Future)

NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3050: SPECIFICATIONS

Since most of the rumors we’ve found about the RTX 3050 discuss a mobile version of the GPU, our guesses will be based on that variant.

The Geekbench results we mentioned earlier discuss a 4GB VRAM GPU with 20 compute units. We’ll just assume that Nvidia didn’t change the core layout that other Ampere graphics cards used, and assume that these 20 compute units contain a total of 2560 CUDA cores. But these are the characteristics for the Ti-version.

Another rumor tells us what we could expect from the classic RTX 3050 2048 CUDA core version, which will be built around 16 compute units, complemented by 4GB of VRAM.

However, this rumor discusses the real game: Shadow of the Tomb Raider. The results show that the RTX 3050 is able to deliver a solid 60fps at 1080p with Ultra graphics settings, while the RTX 3050 Ti returned 69fps. If these results are accurate – which is not a fact at all – this means that the RTX 3050 Ti is about 15% faster. And this is a significant increase.

It’s probably too early to talk about the RTX 3050 desktop variant, but we’ll probably get similar specs. You can just take a look at the RTX 3060 as an example. The desktop version of the RTX 3060 is equipped with 12 GB of VRAM and 28 compute units, while the mobile version has 6 GB of memory and more compute units, 30.

However, the desktop version compensates for the difference in computing units with an increased power reserve.

After all, we won’t know the final specs of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 or even how the desktop card will differ from the mobile card until Nvidia officially announces the graphics cards. And while we are left to speculate and follow the rumors – we are willing to bet that this will happen just about.