GeForce RTX 3050 6GB retail listings appear, including a fanless KalmX model from Palit

Recent reports and rumors point to NVIDIA releasing a new GeForce RTX 3050 6GB GPU in February 2024, with a price point of around $179 USD. It will represent the company's entry-level RTX offering for desktop PC gamers, with a sub-$200 price point that could be quite attractive for budget gamers.

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Based on the previous generation's Ampere architecture, this new budget GPU will replace the existing GeForce RTX 3050 8GB card with 6GB of VRAM on a 96-bit bus for an effective bandwidth of 168 GB/s. This notable reduction will also reduce the overall power draw to 115W, according to new listings on Russian retailer Citilink, which has three entries for new GeForce RTX 3050 6GB models from NVIDIA partner Palit.

The most interesting of the three is the GeForce RTX 3050 KalmX 6GB (NE63050018JE-1070H), which features a fanless design - something we haven't seen for a while. A fanless passively cooled lGPU would be great for a mini PC, which should be able to deliver some impressive results thanks to the GeForce RTX 3050 supporting DLSS Super Resolution.

• Read more: GeForce RTX 3050 6GB launching in February 2024 for $179, according to new info
• Read more: It's the end of an era as NVIDIA prepares to discontinue the GeForce GTX line in early 2024
• Read more: NVIDIA RTX 4070 SUPER: Jan 17, RTX 4070 Ti SUPER on Jan 24, RTX 4080 SUPER on Jan 31

Outside of reducing VRAM capacity and bus width, the retail listings also mention a decrease in the Base Clock speed to 1042 MHz compared to 1552 MHz in the current GeForce RTX 3050 8GB. With the same CUDA Core count (2560), the retail listing might have placeholder details, as previous reports have indicated that the new GeForce RTX 3050 will be an across-the-board cutdown GPU that will only draw 70W of power. If so, it won't require external power connectors.

In addition to the GeForce RTX 3050 KalmX 6GB model, Palit also has the single-fan GeForce RTX 3050 StormX OC 6GB (NE63050S18JE-1070F) and GeForce RTX 3050 StormX 6GB (NE63050018JE-1070F) coming.

It seems all but certain that a GeForce RTX 3050 6GB is on the way, and no GeForce RTX 4050, so we'll just have to wait to get final confirmation on pricing and specs. With the release right around the corner, it probably won't be long.