Nvidia has officially announced the launch of its latest GeForce RTX 5050 GPUs, designed for both desktops and laptops. These new graphics cards come with advanced features, including support for ray tracing and DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation, aiming to elevate the gaming experience to new heights.
On the desktop front, the RTX 5050 will be available at a starting price of $249. This powerful GPU is designed to draw a maximum of 130W of power and is equipped with 8GB of last-gen GDDR6 video memory (VRAM). Additionally, it features 2,560 Blackwell CUDA cores, making it a formidable option for gamers seeking a balance between performance and affordability.
The RTX 5050 desktop cards will be manufactured by well-known third-party partners such as Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Zotac, and others. Anticipated shipments for these graphics cards are expected to roll out in the second half of July. Nvidia also plans to update its Game Ready Drivers for compatibility with the new cards in early July, ensuring a seamless gaming experience for users.
For those seeking a portable gaming solution, Nvidia has introduced the RTX 5050 laptop GPU, which will consume between 35W to 100W of power. Similar to its desktop counterpart, the laptop version boasts 8GB of GDDR7 VRAM and 2,560 Blackwell CUDA cores. Laptops equipped with the 5050 GPU are expected to start at $999, with some models available for purchase starting today.
Interestingly, early models that launch prior to the release of Nvidia’s Game Ready Drivers will come pre-installed with the necessary drivers for the 5050 GPU. The inclusion of GDDR7 VRAM in the laptop version is noteworthy, as it offers improved power efficiency over GDDR6, allowing the GPU to fit seamlessly into slimmer notebooks without generating excessive heat.
While the choice of GDDR6 for the desktop version may seem unconventional, Nvidia assures that the RTX 5050 will outperform its predecessor, the RTX 3050. In fact, the desktop RTX 5050 matches the RTX 5060 with its 8GB of VRAM. However, the GDDR6 memory and 1,280 fewer CUDA cores suggest a performance gap between the two models.
Nvidia claims that the RTX 5050 is capable of delivering "an immersive ray-traced experience with high settings" in popular single-player games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Avowed, utilizing DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation. According to their performance chart, the 5050 can achieve over 150 fps under these conditions, although it is important to note that this figure was obtained with a $479 AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU at a 1080p resolution.
In full raster performance, Nvidia claims that the RTX 5050 is approximately 60% faster than the two-generations-old RTX 3050, making it a compelling upgrade for gamers. As the direct successor to the RTX 3050, which remains one of the most popular GPUs among Steam users, the RTX 5050 is poised to capture the attention of both new and existing gamers. Notably, Nvidia has not announced a desktop RTX 4050, emphasizing the significance of this new release.
