I. Introduction
When it comes to the GeForce RTX 5050, expectations were initially high within the community. With its new architecture, new process, and the potential of GDDR7 memory, many hoped its performance would match or even surpass that of the GeForce RTX 4060.
However, since the GeForce RTX 5050 has significantly fewer CUDA cores and still uses GDDR6 memory, it is impossible for its performance to reach or exceed that of the GeForce RTX 4060, as shown below.
In this case, the more realistic expectation is that the GeForce RTX 5050’s performance will fall between the GeForce RTX 3060 and GeForce RTX 4060. This article shares a gaming performance comparison between the two cards for reference.
II. Specifications Comparison
GeForce RTX 5050
- Release date: June 24, 2025
- GPU: GB207 (Blackwell architecture)
- Process: TSMC 4nm
- CUDA cores: 2560
- Texture units: 80
- ROPs: 32
- SMs: 20
- Tensor cores: 80
- RT cores: 20
- L2 cache: 32MB
- Base clock: 2235 MHz
- Boost clock: 2520 MHz
- Memory: 8GB GDDR6
- Memory speed: 20 Gbps
- Bus: 128-bit
- Bandwidth: 320 GB/s
- FP32: 12.90 TFLOPS
- Power: 130W
- MSRP: $249
GeForce RTX 3060
- Release date: January 12, 2021
- GPU: GA106 (Ampere architecture)
- Process: Samsung 8nm
- CUDA cores: 3584
- Texture units: 112
- ROPs: 48
- SMs: 28
- Tensor cores: 112
- RT cores: 28
- L2 cache: 3MB
- Base clock: 1320 MHz
- Boost clock: 1777 MHz
- Memory: 12GB GDDR6
- Memory speed: 15 Gbps
- Bus: 192-bit
- Bandwidth: 360 GB/s
- FP32: 12.7 TFLOPS
- Power: 170W
- MSRP: $299
III. Test Platform
- CPU: Ryzen 7 9800X3D
- Motherboard: MSI MPG X670E CARBON
- RAM: 32GB DDR5 6000MHz
- GPUs: GeForce RTX 5050 8GB / GeForce RTX 3060 12GB
- Storage: 2 × Samsung 970 EVO 1TB
- OS: Windows 11
IV. Game Benchmarks (1080p, same settings)
1. Ghostwire: Tokyo
- RTX 5050: Avg 67 FPS, 52 FPS min
- RTX 3060: Avg 67 FPS, 47 FPS min
- Result: Tie (3060 consumes more power, higher VRAM usage).
2. Cyberpunk 2077
- RTX 5050: Avg 65 FPS, 59 FPS min
- RTX 3060: Avg 62 FPS, 56 FPS min
- Result: RTX 5050 slightly ahead.
3. Red Dead Redemption 2
- RTX 5050: Avg 81 FPS, 63 FPS min
- RTX 3060: Avg 68 FPS, 58 FPS min
- Result: RTX 5050 clearly ahead.
4. The First Descendant
- RTX 5050: Avg 39 FPS, 30 FPS min
- RTX 3060: Avg 36 FPS, 29 FPS min
- Result: RTX 5050 slightly ahead, but both struggle.
5. Forza Horizon 5
- RTX 5050: Avg 84 FPS, 80 FPS min
- RTX 3060: Avg 88 FPS, 66 FPS min
- Result: RTX 3060 slightly ahead on average.
6. Hogwarts Legacy
- RTX 5050: Avg 66 FPS, 45 FPS min
- RTX 3060: Avg 67 FPS, 48 FPS min
- Result: Tie.
7. Black Myth: Wukong
- RTX 5050: Avg 55 FPS, 41 FPS min
- RTX 3060: Avg 53 FPS, 38 FPS min
- Result: RTX 5050 slightly ahead.
V. Conclusion (GeForce RTX 5050 vs 3060)
Overall, the GeForce RTX 5050 and GeForce RTX 3060 deliver fairly close gaming performance, with the RTX 5050 holding a slight overall edge. However, the 8GB VRAM limitation hurts its potential, as VRAM-heavy games clearly favor the 12GB RTX 3060.
From current reviews, the GeForce RTX 5050’s performance sits roughly between the RTX 3060 and RTX 4060. It doesn’t outperform expectations, nor does it disappoint—it’s a balanced and acceptable upgrade in the entry-level range.
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