If you are looking for a good mid-range GPU that will not break the bank, most surely you stumbled over the RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti graphics cards from NVIDIA, but are they worth the investment?
RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti are good choices from a price-to-performance standpoint, the RTX 3050 Ti will give you 10% more performance while the RTX 3050 is a very budget-friendly option. Both options are very well priced for the performance they offer.
RTX 3050 offers a top-of-the-line gaming experience, and yet will not require you to go too deep into your pockets compared to their bigger brothers, RTX 3060 and RTX 3070.
Are RTX 3050 and 3050 Ti Really Worth the Money
Both RTX 3050 and RTX 3050 Ti are very good options for a mid-range gaming PC because they offer great performance at a reasonable price. Independent tests show that RTX 3050 is one of the most cost-effective GPU options on the market.
Here’s a table I put together that compares the different Nvidia RTX graphics cards based on different games:
| Game | RTX 3050 (FPS) | RTX 3060 (FPS) | RTX 3070 (FPS) |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 65 | 71 | 78 |
| Battlefield 5 | 123 | 79 | 88 |
| Crysis Remastered | 55 | 61 | 79 |
| Doom Eternal | 203 | 208 | 341 |
| GTA 5 | 102 | 109 | 145 |
| WatchDog Legion | 63 | 69 | 78 |
| Shadow of Tomb Raider | 115 | 112 | 147 |
| Assassin’s Creed Valhalla | 52 | 59 | 78 |
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 103 | 110 | 148 |
| Average | 97.9 | 97.6 | 131.3 |
The difference between RTX 3050 and 3060 is marginal at best and in some games, RTX 3050 will even offer a few extra FPS. But on average, you will get almost an identical performance level with both of them.
However, when we compare RTX 3050 and RTX 3070 the results are different (the performance gap is much bigger), the RTX 3070 providing on average 30% more FPS.
But, what is the price difference between them?
- RTX 3050 – US$249.00
- RTX 3060 – US$329.00
- RTX 3070 – US$499.00
Clearly, RTX 3050 is a better option price-wise than RTX 3060, they offer the same FPS but the RTX 3060 is about $80 more expensive, not really worth the price difference. RTX 3070 is twice the price of RTX 3050 and only offers a 30% increase in performance.
Therefore, the extra performance doesn’t match the price. Most monitors run at 60 FPS, therefore, more than that is only possible if you have a monitor that has a higher refresh rate, most gamers consider 60 FPS to be good enough.
High refresh rates are required for competitive gamers that need the extra FPS to have an edge. But, for single-player games, 60FPS it’s perfectly smooth and offers a good gaming experience. To increase a game’s visuals a good option is to increase the resolution to 2K or 4K.
For multiplayer games such as Dota 2, CS: GO, and Fortnite the extra FPS is a factor. But, at the low to mid ranks, you won’t be at a disadvantage and can rise through the ranks to where it makes more sense to get a more expensive GPU.
How Does RTX 3050 Compare to Other Gpu Options on the Market
RTX 3050 is in the upper 25% range of GPUs regarding performance, quite surprising considering it’s fairly cheap at only $249.00.
For example, logicalincrements.com provides a range of different PC build and parts recommendations and rates RTX 3050 very highly, as one of the best options for that price.
Therefore, RTX 3050 is definitely one of the best options on the market. The only reason to avoid it would be to go for something that is much more powerful so that you can keep it for a longer time.
Is RTX 3050 Ti a Big Improvement over RTX 3050?
Nvidia brings out two different models of their graphics cards, a regular version, and a faster Ti version. I wanted to know how much faster the RTX 3050 Ti is than the RTX 3050, so I looked into some independent tests.
The RTX 3050 Ti is a big improvement over the RTX 3050. The Ti version offers a 10% increase in performance over RTX 3050 according to independent tests that kept all other computer components and settings the same.
Fortnite – RTX 3050 Ti vs. RTX 3050
| RTX 3050 FPS Low | RTX 3050 FPS Average | RTX 3050 Ti FPS Average | RTX 3050 Ti FPS Low | |
| Graphics setting: | ||||
| Low | 200.49 | 355.99 | 213.63 | 381.46 |
| Medium | 168.76 | 247.71 | 176.73 | 254.40 |
| High | 122.39 | 154.35 | 127.31 | 162.49 |
| Epic | 94.00 | 111.40 | 94.00 | 111.40 |
In Fortnite RTX 3050 Ti will give you 4.44% more FPS than RTX 3050, but because the lowest framerate running Fortnite on RTX 3050 is over 200 FPS, running it on an RTX 3050 Ti will not give you any noticeable improvements even if you are gaming on a 144 Hz monitor.
Cyberpunk 2077 – v1.22 RTX 3050 Ti vs. RTX 3050
| RTX 3050 FPS Low | RTX 3050 FPS Average | RTX 3050 Ti FPS Low | RTX 3050 Ti FPS Average | |
| Graphics setting: | ||||
| Low | 44.79 | 54.98 | 46.93 | 61.60 |
| Medium | 35.05 | 42.52 | 35.05 | 42.52 |
| High | 28.62 | 34.67 | 30.00 | 38.52 |
| Ultra | 20.28 | 28.28 | 24.03 | 33.30 |
| Ray tracing medium | 8.18 | 22.88 | 9.23 | 25.41 |
| Ray tracing ultra | 6.19 | 17.46 | 7.73 | 21.07 |
In Cyberpunk 2077 RTX 3050 Ti will give you 6.89% more FPS than RTX 3050 when taking into consideration the lowest frame rate and will give you a 10.77% improvement on the average frame rate. The almost 7% increase in the lower frame rate is a notable increase and even if you still won’t have the smoothest experience ever (because the lowest frame rate is still under 60 FPS) you will still have a better experience on an RTC 3050 Ti.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – RTX 3050 Ti vs. RTX 3050
| RTX 3050 FPS Low | RTX 3050 FPS Average | RTX 3050 Ti FPS Low | RTX 3050 Ti FPS Average | |
| Graphics setting: | ||||
| Low | 68.00 | 86.00 | 70.50 | 81.50 |
| Medium | 50.50 | 69.50 | 53.00 | 65.00 |
| High | 10.00 | 35.00 | 12.50 | 34.00 |
| Very high | 8.00 | 13.00 | 8.00 | 13.00 |
| Ultra-high | 6.00 | 8.50 | 6.00 | 8.50 |
In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla RTX 3050 Ti will give you 5.25% more FPS than RTX 3050 when taking into consideration the lowest frame rate and will give you a 4.95% improvement on the average frame rate. The 5% increase in the lower frame rate is a reasonable increase, you will have a better experience on an RTC 3050 Ti.
For some games, the difference between the RTX 3050 Ti and the RTX 3050 is not very noticeable (only about 0.50%). For others such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the difference is larger but still not very significant at only 5%.
Based on the data it’s very clear that it very much depends on what game you want to play. And based on the in-depth testing done, the average difference in performance is about 10%.
Is Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti Good for Gaming?
Nvidia RTX 3050 represents a good choice for gaming, being the best-rated gaming GPU on the market from a price-to-performance standpoint.
In the table below you can find out how the RTX 3050 Ti performs in over 9 of the most popular games:
| FPS Low (1080p) | FPS Avg (1080p) | FPS Low (2K) | FPS Avg (2K) | FPS Low (4K) | FPS Avg (4k) | |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 106 | 118 | 89 | 111 | 54 | 78 |
| Assassin’s Creed | 106 | 118 | 84 | 105 | 53 | 76 |
| Microsoft Flight Simulator | 75 | 83 | 60 | 76 | 43 | 61 |
| Call of Duty – Black Ops | 164 | 183 | 120 | 151 | 62 | 89 |
| Death Stranding | 183 | 204 | 134 | 167 | 77 | 111 |
| Marvel’s Avengers | 131 | 146 | 89 | 111 | 44 | 64 |
| Godfall | 180 | 200 | 116 | 145 | 56 | 80 |
| Apex Legends | 213 | 237 | 152 | 191 | 83 | 119 |
| Anthem | 146 | 163 | 106 | 133 | 58 | 83 |
| Far Cry (New Dawn) | 196 | 217 | 142 | 178 | 74 | 107 |
| Metro Exodus | 122 | 136 | 89 | 111 | 53 | 76 |
| World War Z | 207 | 231 | 144 | 180 | 80 | 115 |
On 1080p, and 2K screens it provides perfect and smooth gameplay. But, on 4K sometimes the lowest FPS drops below playable levels.
Can RTX 3050 (Ti) Run 4K Games?
4K games have a much higher demand for graphical resources than 2K or 1080p, For that reason, a high-performing graphics card is needed so that the visuals are smooth.
RTX 3050 (Ti) can run 4K games at a decent quality. The RTX 3050 offers an average of 80 to 110 FPS on 4K screens for games such as Fortnite (less graphical-intensive), with the lowest FPS being 60, but it performs dramatically better on 2K and 1080p screens.
In general, it’s safe to say that the RTX 3050 (Ti) can play games on a 4K screen easily and offers about 20% more FPS than what is required for smooth gameplay.
Does RTX 3050 Have Ray Tracing Capabilities?
Ray Tracing is a new technology that improves the impressiveness of games by improving how the graphics are rendered, Nvidia is saying that RTX 3050 can do Run Ray tracing but can it actually?
RTX 3050 can run Ray Tracing and the framerate does not go down, in fact, it goes up on average 2 to 3 more frames per second (FPS), compared to not using run ray tracing.
Ray Tracing does look better, but it largely doesn’t affect gameplay, both, the RTX 3050 and the RTX 3050 (Ti) can do Ray Tracing. When playing competitive games you generally get so absorbed in the game, that you barely notice the difference Ray Tracing makes. And whether you have it on or have it off won’t really be noticeable except for cut scenes.
Therefore, Ray Tracing shouldn’t be much of a deciding factor for whether you get the RTX 3050 or not. With that said, the RTX 3050 is one of the best GPU options based on performance, and price.
Is RTX 3050 Good for Video Editing?
RTX 3050 is a good choice for video editing because it has 8GB of VRAM, which is more than enough for video editing.
The minimum requirement for Adobe Premiere Pro is 2GB of VRAM, but the recommended amount of memory for maximum efficiency is 6GB of VRAM memory, practically an RTX 3050 will not hold you back when it comes to video editing.
As you may know, a GPU takes the processing load from the CPU, the more memory it has the more load it can take. Because RTX 3050 has more memory than the recommended memory for using Adobe Premiere Pro and other top video editing software in the industry it can easily handle video editing.
Is RTX 3050 (Ti) Future Proof?
Computer technology continues to improve and games continue to look graphical fidelity and are now virtually life-like. But, there is still room for improvement and it’s virtually guaranteed that faster GPUs and games with better graphics will continue to come out.
RTX 3050 (Ti) is not future-proof, No GPU is really future-proof because technology continues to improve. It’s very likely RTX 3050 (Ti) can play the latest computer games at 60 FPS+ until about 2024, especially on a 1080p or 2K screen, currently, it can only just provide 60 FPS on 4K.
