• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 3GB Memory Bus-width Confirmed: A Major Trade-off

btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 9, 2007
Messages
47,311 (7.52/day)
Location
Hyderabad, India
System Name RBMK-1000
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
Motherboard ASUS ROG Strix B450-E Gaming
Cooling DeepCool Gammax L240 V2
Memory 2x 8GB G.Skill Sniper X
Video Card(s) Palit GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER GameRock
Storage Western Digital Black NVMe 512GB
Display(s) BenQ 1440p 60 Hz 27-inch
Case Corsair Carbide 100R
Audio Device(s) ASUS SupremeFX S1220A
Power Supply Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W
Mouse ASUS ROG Strix Impact
Keyboard Gamdias Hermes E2
Software Windows 11 Pro
NVIDIA's entry-level GeForce GTX 1050 launched in a new 3 GB variant, earlier this month, with 50 percent more memory than the 2 GB which the original GTX 1050 launched with. But there's a major catch that's relegated to the fine-print of the card's specifications on NVIDIA website, and something most NVIDIA AIC (add-in-card) partners won't particularly blare on their product packaging anywhere near as loudly as the memory amount, and that's memory bus width. The 3 GB GTX 1050 has 50 percent more memory than the original GTX 1050, but a 25% narrower memory bus, at just 96-bit.

When you look at a GTX 1050 3 GB graphics card PCB, you'll likely only find three 8 Gb (1 GB) memory chips, with one set of memory chip traces blanked out. It's not even like NVIDIA compensated for the narrower memory bus with higher memory clocks. The chips run at the same 7 Gbps as the original's, yielding just 84 GB/s memory bandwidth, compared to the original's 112 GB/s. The CUDA core count of the GTX 1050 3 GB is the same as the GTX 1050 Ti, with 768 CUDA cores, which twitch their thumbs as data is moved between the GPU and memory over Pony Express. Besides more CUDA cores, the GPU clocks are marginally higher, with 1392 MHz base and 1518 MHz GPU Boost, compared to 1354/1455 MHz of the original. NVIDIA, which recently sermonized the industry on "making products easier for consumers to identify" with its stillborn GPP, is once again caught concealing a major specification. To find it, you'll need to visit the product page of the GTX 1050, scroll all the way down to the specs sheet, and click on "view full specs" to reveal the memory bus width.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Joined
Jan 29, 2012
Messages
6,881 (1.46/day)
Location
Florida
System Name natr0n-PC
Processor Ryzen 5950x-5600x | 9600k
Motherboard B450 AORUS M | Z390 UD
Cooling EK AIO 360 - 6 fan action | AIO
Memory Patriot - Viper Steel DDR4 (B-Die)(4x8GB) | Samsung DDR4 (4x8GB)
Video Card(s) EVGA 3070ti FTW
Storage Various
Display(s) Pixio PX279 Prime
Case Thermaltake Level 20 VT | Black bench
Audio Device(s) LOXJIE D10 + Kinter Amp + 6 Bookshelf Speakers Sony+JVC+Sony
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 80+ Gold 650W | EVGA 700 Gold
Software XP/7/8.1/10
Benchmark Scores http://valid.x86.fr/79kuh6
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
7,412 (2.74/day)
Location
Poland
System Name Purple rain
Processor 10.5 thousand 4.2G 1.1v
Motherboard Zee 490 Aorus Elite
Cooling Noctua D15S
Memory 16GB 4133 CL16-16-16-31 Viper Steel
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage SU900 128,8200Pro 1TB,850 Pro 512+256+256,860 Evo 500,XPG950 480, Skyhawk 2TB
Display(s) Acer XB241YU+Dell S2716DG
Case P600S Silent w. Alpenfohn wing boost 3 ARGBT+ fans
Audio Device(s) K612 Pro w. FiiO E10k DAC,W830BT wireless
Power Supply Superflower Leadex Gold 850W
Mouse G903 lightspeed+powerplay,G403 wireless + Steelseries DeX + Roccat rest
Keyboard HyperX Alloy SilverSpeed (w.HyperX wrist rest),Razer Deathstalker
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores A LOT
Lol @Nvidia, they've skimped on faster ddr5 that could've at least plastered most of the gap.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,865 (2.87/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
One of the reasons I upgraded from the 780 Ti was because 3GB RAM just wasn't enough with some games, even at 1080p. It certainly had enough GPU power left over. The other reason was DX12 capability.

It should have been 4GB for this new 1050 or discontinue the card, in my opinion.
 
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
Messages
1,793 (0.45/day)
Lol @Nvidia, they've skimped on faster ddr5 that could've at least plastered most of the gap.

That would be essentially competing with gtx1050ti, which they probably don't want to do. It's obviously meant to be cheaper than ti, with faster and more expensive memories there won't be price gap to put it.
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
3,975 (0.91/day)
System Name Skunkworks 3.0
Processor 5800x3d
Motherboard x570 unify
Cooling Noctua NH-U12A
Memory 32GB 3600 mhz
Video Card(s) asrock 6800xt challenger D
Storage Sabarent rocket 4.0 2TB, MX 500 2TB
Display(s) Asus 1440p144 27"
Case Old arse cooler master 932
Power Supply Corsair 1200w platinum
Mouse *squeak*
Keyboard Some old office thing
Software Manjaro
One of the reasons I upgraded from the 780 Ti was because 3GB RAM just wasn't enough with some games, even at 1080p. It certainly had enough GPU power left over. The other reason was DX12 capability.

It should have been 4GB for this new 1050 or discontinue the card, in my opinion.
The 1050 is not a 780 ti. It is a low end card, and those who buy them are not super concerned with pushing graphical settings that need 4+ GB. At 1080p, more then 4GB used is exceedingly rare, and requires more GPU power then even the 1060 can provide.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,865 (2.87/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
The 1050 is not a 780 ti. It is a low end card, and those who buy them are not super concerned with pushing graphical settings that need 4+ GB.
It's a much newer generation than the 780 Ti, so are you sure it has lower performance? Even if it does, 3GB still seems to be a bit tight for today's games to me.
 
Joined
Jan 8, 2017
Messages
9,521 (3.27/day)
System Name Good enough
Processor AMD Ryzen R9 7900 - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge
Motherboard ASRock B650 Pro RS
Cooling 2x 360mm NexXxoS ST30 X-Flow, 1x 360mm NexXxoS ST30, 1x 240mm NexXxoS ST30
Memory 32GB - FURY Beast RGB 5600 Mhz
Video Card(s) Sapphire RX 7900 XT - Alphacool Eisblock Aurora
Storage 1x Kingston KC3000 1TB 1x Kingston A2000 1TB, 1x Samsung 850 EVO 250GB , 1x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB
Display(s) LG UltraGear 32GN650-B + 4K Samsung TV
Case Phanteks NV7
Power Supply GPS-750C
People should stop obsessing over paper specs, this isn't 2008 anymore.

Interestingly enough , people cannot read said paper specs and end up being "scammed".

It can have a 64bit memory controller for all i care.

It's also interesting how most of the time when Nvidia does it most people try to undermine their actions.
 
Joined
Jun 10, 2014
Messages
2,999 (0.78/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5900X ||| Intel Core i7-3930K
Motherboard ASUS ProArt B550-CREATOR ||| Asus P9X79 WS
Cooling Noctua NH-U14S ||| Be Quiet Pure Rock
Memory Crucial 2 x 16 GB 3200 MHz ||| Corsair 8 x 8 GB 1333 MHz
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1060 3GB ||| MSI GTX 680 4GB
Storage Samsung 970 PRO 512 GB + 1 TB ||| Intel 545s 512 GB + 256 GB
Display(s) Asus ROG Swift PG278QR 27" ||| Eizo EV2416W 24"
Case Fractal Design Define 7 XL x 2
Audio Device(s) Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus
Power Supply Seasonic Focus PX-850 x 2
Mouse Razer Abyssus
Keyboard CM Storm QuickFire XT
Software Ubuntu
Trading some memory bandwidth for more computational performance is fine, there is no way GTX 1050 at 1733 GFlop/s needs 112 GB/s, that's more bandwidth per GFlop/s than a GTX 1080 Ti.

But I don't get why Nvidia is refreshing their low-end lineup. There is simply no need for this amount of options among low-end hardware, with GT 1030, GTX 1050 and GTX 1050 Ti all having 2-3 variations of memory and/or core configuration, then multiply this with all the AIBs making each of these with different coolers and "OC versions", like if a 3% overclock on a GTX 1050 is going to matter. Two models in total is more than enough to cover the entire low end. And don't get me started on the GTX 1060 variants, what are we up to now, 5?

This is not a Nvidia thing, AMD is just as guilty in this. And vendors, if you want to make it easier for the consumers, make one version of each product.
 
Joined
Apr 10, 2013
Messages
302 (0.07/day)
Location
Michigan, USA
Processor AMD 1700X
Motherboard Crosshair VI Hero
Memory F4-3200C14D-16GFX
Video Card(s) GTX 1070
Storage 960 Pro
Display(s) PG279Q
Case HAF X
Power Supply Silencer MK III 850
Mouse Logitech G700s
Keyboard Logitech G105
Software Windows 10
NVIDIA concealed that memory bus width so bad - it is amazing how well they "concealed" it on the public specifications page. Only the most hardened investigative consumer would know to look at the product specifications buried deep inside something as complicated and little known as "the internet".
 

the54thvoid

Super Intoxicated Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
13,130 (2.39/day)
Location
Glasgow - home of formal profanity
Processor Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard MSI MAG Mortar B650 (wifi)
Cooling be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
Memory 32GB Kingston Fury
Video Card(s) Gainward RTX4070ti
Storage Seagate FireCuda 530 M.2 1TB / Samsumg 960 Pro M.2 512Gb
Display(s) LG 32" 165Hz 1440p GSYNC
Case Asus Prime AP201
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply be quiet! Pure POwer M12 850w Gold (ATX3.0)
Software W10
Non-story. Really, headline news. :kookoo:
 
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
Messages
1,793 (0.45/day)
Trading some memory bandwidth for more computational performance is fine, there is no way GTX 1050 at 1733 GFlop/s needs 112 GB/s, that's more bandwidth per GFlop/s than a GTX 1080 Ti.

But I don't get why Nvidia is refreshing their low-end lineup. There is simply no need for this amount of options among low-end hardware, with GT 1030, GTX 1050 and GTX 1050 Ti all having 2-3 variations of memory and/or core configuration, then multiply this with all the AIBs making each of these with different coolers and "OC versions", like if a 3% overclock on a GTX 1050 is going to matter. Two models in total is more than enough to cover the entire low end. And don't get me started on the GTX 1060 variants, what are we up to now, 5?

This is not a Nvidia thing, AMD is just as guilty in this. And vendors, if you want to make it easier for the consumers, make one version of each product.

Working dies with broken rops/memory channel. Throw them a way or try to get some profit from them. Other than that I don't think next gen lower end graphics cards are any where close of release. What it takes? Some half a year after high end for getting low end to market. And nvidia "might" release something on summer.
 
Joined
Oct 4, 2017
Messages
5 (0.00/day)
I have looking for 1060 5GB vs 3GB and 6GB benchmark (only in Chinese, but the graph itself is enough).
And in some task, the 5GB even worse than 3GB.
There are no point releasing this kind of memory bandwidth cut down in exchange for CUDA core.
Since those card price point is very close. $100 and $130. What is this MSRP? $115?

P/s: yeah, I know it nowhere near the MSRP, that for reference only
 
Joined
Jun 10, 2014
Messages
2,999 (0.78/day)
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5900X ||| Intel Core i7-3930K
Motherboard ASUS ProArt B550-CREATOR ||| Asus P9X79 WS
Cooling Noctua NH-U14S ||| Be Quiet Pure Rock
Memory Crucial 2 x 16 GB 3200 MHz ||| Corsair 8 x 8 GB 1333 MHz
Video Card(s) MSI GTX 1060 3GB ||| MSI GTX 680 4GB
Storage Samsung 970 PRO 512 GB + 1 TB ||| Intel 545s 512 GB + 256 GB
Display(s) Asus ROG Swift PG278QR 27" ||| Eizo EV2416W 24"
Case Fractal Design Define 7 XL x 2
Audio Device(s) Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus
Power Supply Seasonic Focus PX-850 x 2
Mouse Razer Abyssus
Keyboard CM Storm QuickFire XT
Software Ubuntu
Working dies with broken rops/memory channel. Throw them a way or try to get some profit from them. Other than that I don't think next gen lower end graphics cards are any where close of release. What it takes? Some half a year after high end for getting low end to market. And nvidia "might" release something on summer.
With the exception of the early test run of Maxwell, low-end chips usually comes much later than mid-range and high-end.

When it comes to the next generation; Nvidia can release it anytime now…
 

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.
Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
13,064 (2.97/day)
Location
Jyväskylä, Finland
System Name 4K-gaming / console
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X / Intel Core i7-6700K
Motherboard Asus ROG Crosshair VII Hero / Asus Z170-K
Cooling Alphacool Eisbaer 360 / Alphacool Eisbaer 240
Memory 32GB DDR4-3466 / 16GB DDR4-3000
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 3080 TUF OC / Powercolor RX 6700 XT
Storage 3.3TB of SSDs / several small SSDs
Display(s) Acer 27" 4K120 IPS + Lenovo 32" 4K60 IPS
Case Corsair 4000D AF White / DeepCool CC560 WH
Audio Device(s) Sony WH-CN720N
Power Supply EVGA G2 750W / Fractal ION Gold 550W
Mouse Logitech MX518 / Logitech G400s
Keyboard Roccat Vulcan 121 AIMO / NOS C450 Mini Pro
VR HMD Oculus Rift CV1
Software Windows 11 Pro / Windows 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores They run Crysis
Oh great. Cut down the already narrow membus, and few shaders more.

I'm sure that this is the card what we're going to see in OEM PCs.
 
Joined
Aug 6, 2017
Messages
7,412 (2.74/day)
Location
Poland
System Name Purple rain
Processor 10.5 thousand 4.2G 1.1v
Motherboard Zee 490 Aorus Elite
Cooling Noctua D15S
Memory 16GB 4133 CL16-16-16-31 Viper Steel
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage SU900 128,8200Pro 1TB,850 Pro 512+256+256,860 Evo 500,XPG950 480, Skyhawk 2TB
Display(s) Acer XB241YU+Dell S2716DG
Case P600S Silent w. Alpenfohn wing boost 3 ARGBT+ fans
Audio Device(s) K612 Pro w. FiiO E10k DAC,W830BT wireless
Power Supply Superflower Leadex Gold 850W
Mouse G903 lightspeed+powerplay,G403 wireless + Steelseries DeX + Roccat rest
Keyboard HyperX Alloy SilverSpeed (w.HyperX wrist rest),Razer Deathstalker
Software Windows 10
Benchmark Scores A LOT
It's a much newer generation than the 780 Ti, so are you sure it has lower performance? Even if it does, 3GB still seems to be a bit tight for today's games to me.
780Ti will destroy 1050. Even in 2018 games.
 
Joined
Feb 19, 2009
Messages
1,162 (0.20/day)
Location
I live in Norway
Processor R9 5800x3d | R7 3900X | 4800H | 2x Xeon gold 6142
Motherboard Asrock X570M | AB350M Pro 4 | Asus Tuf A15
Cooling Air | Air | duh laptop
Memory 64gb G.skill SniperX @3600 CL16 | 128gb | 32GB | 192gb
Video Card(s) RTX 4080 |Quadro P5000 | RTX2060M
Storage Many drives
Display(s) AW3423dwf.
Case Jonsbo D41
Power Supply Corsair RM850x
Mouse g502 Lightspeed
Keyboard G913 tkl
Software win11, proxmox
Price and performance will decide if there's a market for the GTX 1050 3GB, and nothing else. It can have a 64bit memory controller for all i care.
People should stop obsessing over paper specs, this isn't 2008 anymore.

1060 6gb vs 1060 3gb and you think it performs the same just more memory?
nope, 10% ish difference.
1030 ddr4 vs gddr and it's like going from barely playable to hey it can run windows just like my intel IGP can.

RX560 issue is not to be neglected, it does matter.

Lets say you bought a 1080TI just to find out it performs like a 1080 would it matter? YES it does!
 
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
8,220 (2.15/day)
Location
SE Michigan
System Name Dumbass
Processor AMD Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard ASUS TUF gaming B650
Cooling Artic Liquid Freezer 2 - 420mm
Memory G.Skill Sniper 32gb DDR5 6000
Video Card(s) GreenTeam 4070 ti super 16gb
Storage Samsung EVO 500gb & 1Tb, 2tb HDD, 500gb WD Black
Display(s) 1x Nixeus NX_EDG27, 2x Dell S2440L (16:9)
Case Phanteks Enthoo Primo w/8 140mm SP Fans
Audio Device(s) onboard (realtek?) - SPKRS:Logitech Z623 200w 2.1
Power Supply Corsair HX1000i
Mouse Steeseries Esports Wireless
Keyboard Corsair K100
Software windows 10 H
Benchmark Scores https://i.imgur.com/aoz3vWY.jpg?2
What you have here is Nvidia picking up chips off the ground and trying to make a bigger profit. Sorta like charging $1.98 for a 6 pound can of coffee you know will taste like shit.
 
Joined
Mar 8, 2010
Messages
20 (0.00/day)
NVIDIA concealed that memory bus width so bad - it is amazing how well they "concealed" it on the public specifications page. Only the most hardened investigative consumer would know to look at the product specifications buried deep inside something as complicated and little known as "the internet".
^------ OMG this. I don't know what is going on with the commentary at the end of this article.
 
Joined
Apr 26, 2008
Messages
232 (0.04/day)
System Name 3950X Workstation
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
Motherboard ASUS Crosshair VIII Impact
Cooling Cryorig C1 with Noctua NF-A12x15
Memory G.Skill F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC
Video Card(s) ASUS GTX 1650 LP OC
Storage 2 x Corsair MP510 1920GB M.2 SSD
Case Realan E-i7
Power Supply G-Unique 400W
Software Win 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores https://smallformfactor.net/forum/threads/the-saga-of-the-little-gem-continues.12877/
It's been there for some time now. Late news :rolleyes:
 
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Messages
2,356 (0.50/day)
System Name msdos
Processor 8086
Motherboard mainboard
Cooling passive
Memory 640KB + 384KB extended
Video Card(s) EGA
Storage 5.25"
Display(s) 80x25
Case plastic
Audio Device(s) modchip
Power Supply 45 watts
Mouse serial
Keyboard yes
Software disk commander
Benchmark Scores still running
I guess this is a one-off card to service gaming cafe titles that need a bit more vram but not much horsepower.
 

FordGT90Concept

"I go fast!1!11!1!"
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
26,259 (4.43/day)
Location
IA, USA
System Name BY-2021
Processor AMD Ryzen 7 5800X (65w eco profile)
Motherboard MSI B550 Gaming Plus
Cooling Scythe Mugen (rev 5)
Memory 2 x Kingston HyperX DDR4-3200 32 GiB
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT
Storage Samsung 980 Pro, Seagate Exos X20 TB 7200 RPM
Display(s) Nixeus NX-EDG274K (3840x2160@144 DP) + Samsung SyncMaster 906BW (1440x900@60 HDMI-DVI)
Case Coolermaster HAF 932 w/ USB 3.0 5.25" bay + USB 3.2 (A+C) 3.5" bay
Audio Device(s) Realtek ALC1150, Micca OriGen+
Power Supply Enermax Platimax 850w
Mouse Nixeus REVEL-X
Keyboard Tesoro Excalibur
Software Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Faster than the tortoise; slower than the hare.
Someone has to start the slow clap. Again.
 
Joined
Aug 13, 2010
Messages
5,485 (1.04/day)
1060 6gb vs 1060 3gb and you think it performs the same just more memory?
nope, 10% ish difference.
1. I never said it 6GB and 3GB versions perform the same
2. You got baited on that example. The 3GB version of the GTX 1060 has 11% less CUDA cores (1152) compered to the 6GB version (1280)

You proven exactly what i was talking about. One shouldn't care about paper specs, but actual performance numbers.
 
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
3,975 (0.91/day)
System Name Skunkworks 3.0
Processor 5800x3d
Motherboard x570 unify
Cooling Noctua NH-U12A
Memory 32GB 3600 mhz
Video Card(s) asrock 6800xt challenger D
Storage Sabarent rocket 4.0 2TB, MX 500 2TB
Display(s) Asus 1440p144 27"
Case Old arse cooler master 932
Power Supply Corsair 1200w platinum
Mouse *squeak*
Keyboard Some old office thing
Software Manjaro
It's a much newer generation than the 780 Ti, so are you sure it has lower performance? Even if it does, 3GB still seems to be a bit tight for today's games to me.
The 1050 is not some ubermech GPU. The 780ti is somewhere between 40-50% faster on average then a 1050 (sorry for bad site, but finding direct comparisons is a PITA), and the 780ti is no longer optimized in drivers, while the 1050 is. The 1050 is more comparable to a 680 in raw performance.

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-GTX-780-Ti-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1050/2165vs3650

With that kind of power, you are not going to be pushing things like ultra details/MSAA/2K/4K. At 1080p high settings, 3GB if VRAM is more then enough for most modern games, with the exception of poorly coded ports. Back when I had my GTX 770 2GB in 2016, I was pushing ultra/max MSAA at 1080p in nearly every game and not maxing out the VRAM buffer, except for a few specific games like wolfenstein and Forza.

The buyer of 1050 type GPUs will most likely either be playing at even lower resolutions, playing older or less demanding titles like indie games or esports titles, or doesnt mind playing on medium/high instead of ultra. These use cases dont need tons of VRAM to function, 3GB will be more then sufficient for the GPU in question, especially at 96 bit, where memory bandwidth will hamper performance long before buffer size will.
 
Top