- According to a leak, Nvidia is working on a new RTX 3050 graphics card.
- RTX 3050 (6GB) is expected to launch in February 2024 at $179 USD (sub-$200) as per current expectations from the leak.
- This affordable version of the Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU will have cut-down specifications. VRAM will be lowered to 6GB, along with fewer CUDA cores.
NVIDIA is working on a GPU. This is not an RTX 40 Series, but rather a new RTX 30 Series graphics card. The RTX 3050 receives heavy consideration from both laptop & desktop users as their choice for an entry-level graphics card. A new RTX 3050 graphics card with an altered VRAM capacity is supposedly launching very soon.
The new leak comes via WCCFTech. According to the leak, an Nvidia RTX 3050 graphics card with 6GB VRAM will launch in February 2024. Nvidia is also planning a few other product launches in early 2024, specifically the RTX 40 ‘Super’ refresh lineup, which is expected to launch at CES 2024.
The currently launched desktop RTX 3050 has 8GB of VRAM, and at the time of writing, it is available to buy for $219.99. The leak mentions that the RTX 3050 with 6GB VRAM is expected to launch at $179. So, the new RTX 3050 (6GB) would be ~22% cheaper (~$40 less) as compared to the 8GB variant.
Keep in mind this figure can definitely change as there is still a lot of time before the supposed launch. Moreover, Nvidia has not confirmed that they are working on this GPU. As per previous leaks, this new RTX 3050 6GB GPU could have other cut-down specifications, too. This potentially includes a different memory bus width, given the 6GB GPU memory & lower CUDA Core Count as well.
NVIDIA Wants More Gamers on RTX
With the upcoming launch of RTX 3050 (6GB) at under $200 (according to leaks), it looks like Nvidia essentially wants more gamers on RTX rather than the older GTX graphics cards. The Steam Survey from last month shows that GTX 1650 is the #2 most popular GPU within the massive Steam gaming community. On top of the hill is RTX 3060.
The price gap between an entry-level RTX card and last-generation GTX cards will not be as high anymore if this 6GB version of RTX 3050 launches. Hence, more gamers will choose RTX. We will know with time how much the adoption of RTX GPUs grows with the release of new GPUs by Nvidia.
What are your thoughts on a sub-$200 RTX 3050 with 6GB VRAM capacity? Would you buy this new GPU over the GTX 1650? Let us know in the comments below.
