RTX 3050 6GB: Price Slashes, Performance Remains High

Recent reports indicate that NVIDIA has updated its strategic plans for the GeForce RTX 3050 series product line, informing AIC brand manufacturers of these changes. The existing 8GB memory version is being phased out, to be replaced by a new 6GB memory version, which is expected to be available in January of next year and will subsequently hit the market.

According to Benchlife, the pricing for the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB version is likely to range between $179 and $189, which is lower than the initial market price of $249 for the 8GB version.

At the CES 2022 expo, NVIDIA officially launched the GeForce RTX 3050, featuring the GA106-150 based on the Ampere architecture. This model boasts 2560 CUDA cores and comes with 8GB of GDDR6 memory, a 128-bit memory interface, and a memory speed of 14Gbps. The Total Graphics Power (TGP) is rated at 130W. NVIDIA later introduced a version equipped with the GA107, reducing the TGP to 115W.

Rumors suggest that the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB version will be based on a modified GA107-325, with a reduced core frequency from the original 1777 MHz to 1470 MHz. The GDDR6 memory interface width will also be reduced from 128 bits to 96 bits, and the TGP further lowered from 115W to 70W, eliminating the need for external power. However, it remains unclear whether there will be any changes to the number of CUDA cores.

Moreover, Benchlife speculates that NVIDIA might introduce a new GeForce RTX 40 series graphics card between the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB and the GeForce RTX 4060 8GB, aiming to cater to consumers in different price ranges. Given the significant performance gap between the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB and the GeForce RTX 4060 8GB, and NVIDIA’s typical approach, this speculation seems plausible.

Currently, NVIDIA has only released the GeForce RTX 4050 mobile version for laptops, with no news yet on a desktop variant.