NVIDIA announces GeForce RTX 5050 starting at $249, 60% faster than the RTX 3050

NVIDIA has officially announced the GeForce RTX 5050 desktop and laptop GPU. The desktop variant is the first new 50-class card for PC gaming since the GeForce RTX 3050. Availability is expected in the second half of July, and pricing will start from $249, making the entry-level GPU the most affordable option in the GeForce RTX 50 Series lineup.

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In its announcement, NVIDIA confirms that "x50-class GeForce GPUs are among the most popular in the world," second only to 60-class GPUs like the RTX 3060. The RTX 5050 is being marketed as an entry-level RTX GPU, an upgrade for older 50-class systems with GTX 1050 or RTX 3050 GPUs, and a solution for home theater PCs.

Although NVIDIA's benchmark and performance charts for the RTX 5050 focus on DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation, there is some raw performance data for esports and competitive games like Apex Legends, Counter-Strike 2, and Overwatch 2. NVIDIA confirms that the new GeForce RTX 5050 is 60% faster on average, in raw raster performance, than the GeForce RTX 3050.

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Although the chart above doesn't include actual numbers, we can see that the new GeForce RTX 5050 presents a massive improvement in performance in these popular titles at 1080p with 'High' settings. Apex Legends on the RTX 5050 hits close to 250 FPS while the RTX 3050's performance hovers at around 150 FPS. Counter-Strike 2 sees a similar performance increase from around 125 FPS on the RTX 3050 to around 175 FPS on the new RTX 5050.

Of course, the other significant benefit of the GeForce RTX 5050 is the ability to access DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation to enable entry-level ray-tracing that wouldn't be possible on the GeForce RTX 3050, as well as boost performance/smoothness from around 60 FPS to 150 FPS. NVIDIA notes that with DLSS 4, you're looking at a 4X increase in performance when enabling DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation.

NVIDIA has also confirmed the GeForce RTX 5050 8GB desktop GPU specs, which show that it will feature GDDR6 memory instead of GDDR7. Like other models in the GeForce RTX 50 Series, expect to see cards from NVIDIA's partners, including ASUS, Colorful, Gainward, Galaxy, GIGABYTE, INNO3D, MSI, Palit, PNY, and ZOTAC.

"With the release of the GeForce RTX 5050, even more gamers can now experience the latest games, and those launching in the future," NVIDIA writes. "DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation, neural rendering, and Blackwell innovations give you the highest ever x50-class frame rates, enhance popular titles with ray-traced effects, make controls more responsive using NVIDIA Reflex technologies, and much more."