Monday, January 15th 2024
Possible NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6 GB Edition Specifications Appear
Alleged full specifications leaked for NVIDIA's upcoming GeForce RTX 3050 6 GB graphics card show extensive reductions beyond merely reducing memory size versus the 8 GB model. If accurate, performance could lag the existing RTX 3050 8 GB SKU by up to 25%, making it weaker competition even for AMD's budget RX 6500 XT. Previous rumors suggested only capacity and bandwidth differences on a partially disabled memory bus between 3050 variants, which would reduce the memory to 6 GB and 96-bit bus, from 8 GB and 128-bit bus.. But leaked specs indicate CUDA core counts, clock speeds, and TDP all see cuts for the upcoming 6 GB version. With 18 SMs and 2304 cores rather than 20 SMs and 2560 cores at lower base and boost frequencies, the impact looks more severe than expected. A 70 W TDP does allow passive cooling but hurts performance versus the 3050 8 GB's 130 W design.
Some napkin math suggests the 3050 6 GB could deliver only 75% of its elder sibling's frame rates, putting it more in line with the entry-level 6500 XT. While having 50% more VRAM helps, dramatic core and clock downgrades counteract that memory advantage. According to rumors, the RTX 3050 6 GB is set to launch in February, bringing lower-end Ampere to even more budget-focused builders. But with specifications seemingly hobbled beyond just capacity, its real-world gaming value remains to be determined. NVIDIA likely intends RTX 3060 6 GB primarily for less demanding esports titles. Given the scale of cutbacks and the modern AAA title's recommended specifications, mainstream AAA gaming performance seems improbable.
Source:
VideoCardz
Some napkin math suggests the 3050 6 GB could deliver only 75% of its elder sibling's frame rates, putting it more in line with the entry-level 6500 XT. While having 50% more VRAM helps, dramatic core and clock downgrades counteract that memory advantage. According to rumors, the RTX 3050 6 GB is set to launch in February, bringing lower-end Ampere to even more budget-focused builders. But with specifications seemingly hobbled beyond just capacity, its real-world gaming value remains to be determined. NVIDIA likely intends RTX 3060 6 GB primarily for less demanding esports titles. Given the scale of cutbacks and the modern AAA title's recommended specifications, mainstream AAA gaming performance seems improbable.
42 Comments on Possible NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6 GB Edition Specifications Appear
Honestly though at this point just buy a used 2060..
so somewhere around rx 6500xt
But it should called a 3040 or 3030, full stop. There's nothing quite like a trillion dollar company shooting themselves in the PR foot as everyone bashes them for the intentionally obfuscated naming system.
That being said, if the RTX 3050 6GB was offered at $99 or even $119 considering where prices are today, it could have been a pretty nice option for systems that needed a capable card for video playback and some gaming. Unfortunately it will come at an RX 6600 price point and even worst, with all this propaganda from tech press, youtubers, trolls and even simple typical users those last years it will easily outsell the RX 6600. Nvidia is really having a fun ride and people keep bashing AMD for that instead of accepting that they are too responsible for these options at these prices.
All that doesn't mean that 3056 for anything above $100 isn't hot garbage. It of course is hot garbage. But as far as AMD don't offer anything remotely resembling a proper sub $150 GPU things will look like that.
GTX 1630: $150 for 23.7 fps
6500 XT: $200 for 49.7 fps
www.techpowerup.com/review/gainward-geforce-gtx-1630-ghost/30.html
The 6500 XT is a bad product but the 1630 is the very worst in recent memory. Perhaps only the 1030 DDR4 is worse and only because there was a DDR5 version with a similar, obfuscating name with twice the performance.
I don't disagree with 1630 being worse all-around. It's just AMD let it happen.
RX 6500 XT was announced at a time that pricing was completely ridiculous and did gave a less bad option to people desperate for a new card and not an overpriced second hard option.
GTX 1630 is dead slow no matter the bus. Being already slow on PCIE 4.0 doesn't give extra points to the card for not being even slower on an PCIe 3.0 slot. Already happened with the RTX 3050 8GB vs the RX 66x0/XT. It will happen again because people are educated that "Nvidia Good, AMD bad", no matter the models in comparison. Even when AMD was selling the 6000 series against the 3000 series, people where finding any excuse they could to justify going for a pricier and slower Nvidia model over an AMD one. Can we blame AMD for not prioritizing GPUs when the average consumer rejects the idea of even looking at AMD options?
And again you are proving my point here. Blaming AMD for every anti consumer Nvidia choice, will only lead to more expensive Nvidia cards and less interest from AMD to compete. Would we really wait for Intel to come and save us? Let's not forget that Intel is also a premium brand that does business mostly through OEMs, meaning, when their options become really competitive in software and performance, prices will be the same as Nvidia's in the DIY market. RX 6600 at under $200 and RX 6500XT/6400 at under $150 are much more logical options than a cut down RTX 3050 at $180. Again trying to throw the blame on AMD? Thank you for proving for a third time my point.
To be fair Intel's A380 at $100 for video playback and A580 for under $200 are also somewhat valid options. Of course drivers are still a thing, but probably Intel will fix that with their next series. And when they release their next series we will also have an indication if they will start moving to a more Nvidia like way of pricing their offerings. They where dropping prices all those months because they where realizing that building stable drivers for a gazillion of different games, is not something that can be done in 1-2 years time.
1. Ridiculous
2. still cheaper per fps than the 1630
30403050 6GB a bit more, it's everything the 6500 XT should have been:96-bit with the corresponding 6GB
75W slot-power only option
x8 PCIe
hardware encoders (I could let that slide in the 6500 XT if it had all the above features)
I like this. But the problems:
The name - it's a 3040. Useless semantics to me but not your average buyer.
2 years too late or 1 node behind. The above features should have happened right after the 3050 and nowadays it should be an Ada GPU.
$180. The problem is this fits the market right now as IMO this should be $150 max (pending performance reviews) but with the 6400 at $130 and the 1650 at $160, freakin $180 fits.
I hate this market.
I will buy this because it is the cheapest path to my goal. All of the games I want to replay are old, and reach 60 FPS while using the 1920 x 1080 resolution, while the visual settings are slightly below the maximum, while using the RX 6400 card. With this 3050 6 GB card, I could use the maximum visual settings. Plus, all of the "new" unreleased ones I want to play are low-budget games that still have low system requirements, even though they are 3D (the ones that have pre-release demos available reach 60 FPS while using slightly-reduced visual settings).
My desire to play games is too low to buy a new power supply, and too low to buy a new computer, because my CPU is NOT a bottleneck in my games. My goals don't require more than this 3050 6 GB, but still WILL be improved by it. This card is designed for people who have low requirements, but not as low as RX 6400, and who have ensured their CPUs are not the bottleneck.