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NVIDIA launches RTX 3050 6GB

Translate from : NVIDIA lancerer RTX 3050 6GB

The new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6GB graphics card has been re-released with some pretty significant changes compared to the previous 8GB model. These changes go far beyond simply reducing the VRAM capacity from 8GB to 6GB. Among the most notable changes is that the new GeForce RTX 3050 6GB has been relaunched with a reduced power rating from 130W to 70W. This means that the new card ships without a power connector and is powered solely by the motherboard and PCI Express slot.

This makes it ideal for HTPC systems or SFF builds. With a lower price of around $169 compared to the GeForce RTX 3050 8GB's $240, you'd think this is a clear win. But the reduction of the power rating to 70W also means significant cuts overall, which has a significant impact on performance. According to reports, the new card is around 20% slower than the previous model. The core of the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB has also dropped from 2560 in the 8GB variant to 2048 in the new model. The GPU boost clock speed has also dropped to 1,470 MHz from 1,777 MHz, and the memory speed has dropped to 168 GB/s on a much slower 96-bit bus.

Despite these changes, the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB is still the first sub-$200 GPU that NVIDIA has released since the GeForce GTX 1650 in 2019 and the GeForce GT 1630 in 2022. It seems that NVIDIA's approach here is to make RTX technologies and DLSS available at all levels. Looking at the raw specs, the new GeForce RTX 3050 6GB has 2.5 times the core count compared to the GeForce GTX 1650.

On the plus side, the 20% reduction in performance when looking at 3DMark results for the new card might not be so bad considering it uses 46% less power. As far as models go, these things are small, with Palit offering a passively cooled variant in the form of the Palit GeForce RTX 3050 6GB KalmX. They also have a Mini-ITX friendly GeForce RTX 3050 6 GB StormX with a single fan and a length of 170mm. Interestingly, Palit's variants come with a DVI port - a display 'blast from the past.'

GIGABYTE also has two models available - the two-slot twin-fan GeForce RTX 3050 EAGLE OC 6G and the GeForce RTX 3050 OC Low Profile 6G, which has a height of only 69mm. There is serious competition in this price range; The $179 Intel Arc A580 is 19% faster than the GeForce RTX 3050 8GB for 1080p gaming. But the catch is that it's a 185W card that requires two 8-pin power connectors, limiting its versatility compared to the new GeForce RTX 3050 6GB.