Announced at this year’s CES, Nvidia has released a new entry-level graphics card for their 30 Series. Introducing the GeForce RTX 3050. To get us all nice and excited, we’re taking a look at three cards from Asus and all the graphical power they’ll be offering.
The Ultimate Play
As part of the 30 Series, you can expect the RTX 3050 to be packed with incredible gaming features. Even with its entry-level status. With Nvidia’s Ampere architecture at its core, the RTX 3050 is equipped with second-gen ray tracing (RT) cores, third-gen Tensor Cores, as well as new streaming multiprocessors. Paired with 8GB of high-speed GDDR6 memory, you have the recipe for a graphics card that can handle anything.
As the graphic shows, there are a number of premium features and gaming enhancements that the GeForce RTX engine brings to your PC. In fact, it is the most advanced platform for ray tracing and AI technologies in the gaming and content creation sphere. Ray racing intelligently recreates the way light behaves, thus making incredibly realistic graphics, and this technology is now supported by over 150 top games and applications. Realistically render in Photoshop and Lightroom, then immerse yourself in the world of Cyberpunk and Guardians of the Galaxy. Even Minecraft can get the ray tracing treatment!
AI technologies, such as Nvidia DLSS and Nvidia Broadcast, enhance the realistic graphics with ultra-fast performance. DLSS, or Deep Learning Super Sampling, utilises the Tensor Cores to boost game FPS speeds, delivering uncompromised image quality. With DLSS on, you can hike up the settings and resolution and enjoy the best visual experience possible.
But Wait, There’s Even More
The GeForce RTX 30 Series is all about bringing you the fastest experience with minimal latency. The 3050 is no exception. Pairing your RTX GPU with a monitor featuring Nvidia G-SYNC, you can use Nvidia Reflex to unleash the best responsiveness and lowest latency. All for that competitive edge. This intelligent suite of technologies can be used to measure and ultimately reduce your system latency, allowing you to target faster, aim more precisely, and react quicker. You’ll be dominating the battlefield in no time.
Nvidia has made every RTX 3050 Game Ready, thanks to their extensive Game Ready Drivers. These are finely tuned in collaboration with game developers and then extensively tested across a whole range of hardware and PC configurations. The result? Maximised performance and reliability for your favourite games. With a simple click, you can optimise your game settings and arm yourself with the latest and greatest from Nvidia. Juicy.
For the Content
Of course, graphics cards are for more than gaming. For content creators out there, they are a vital piece of equipment. From streaming, to vlogging, or digital rendering, the RTX 3050 supports a wide range of applications to streamline your experience, as well as produce the best content.
Utilising the Nividia Encoder (NVENC), your live-streaming can reach professional quality. There are even optimisation options for streaming apps, for a show-stopping performance every stream. Any time you are on-screen, you can enhance your setting to a home studio with the AI-powered application Nvidia Broadcast. Whether live-streaming or conference calling with the boss, you can apply effects such as noise cancellation and virtual backgrounds. Individually adjust the settings on all your hardware to achieve the perfect configuration for your needs. Never apologise for the pup barking in the background again!
Nvidia has enforced many creative applications with AI-acceleration, enabling you to enhance your workflow. Work smarter, not harder, right? 3D rendering, editing 4K, and live-streaming become a cinch when equipped with the dedicated drivers and exclusive tools from Nvidia Studio. You can unlock all this high-quality performance, and more, with the GeForce RTX 3050.
RTX 3050 Graphics Cards
Now for the best part. The graphics cards, themselves. For each card I will be listing the specs we have and generally getting excited about what these cards mean for gaming. What? I’ve had a lot of coffee today.
Small note, these specs are not 100% finalised, but they still give us a pretty good idea of what performance to expect!
Asus Phoenix GeForce RTX 3050 GPU
| Specification | |
|---|---|
| CUDA cores | 2560 |
| OpenGL | OpenGL 4.6 |
| Video Memory | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Speed | 14 Gbps |
| Power Connector | 1 x 8-pin |
| Bus Standard | PCIe 4.0 |
| Slot | 2.55-slot |
| I/O | 1 x Native HDMI 2.1 3 x Native DisplayPort 1.4a |
| HDCP Compliant | HDCP 2.3 |
| Digital Max. Res | 7680 x 4320 |
| Max Display Support | 4 |
| Length | 177mm |
With its small form factor and singular fan, the Asus Phoenix GeForce RTX 3050 GPU is perfect for Mini-ITX and other SFF builds. Even with its diminutive size, this graphics card utilises the enhanced performance of PCIe 4.0 and is equipped with the full Nvidia tool kit. What’s more, this GPU is fully supported by Asus GPU Tweak II – software designed to maximise your FPS to enhance your in-game performance. This graphics card just goes to show that you don’t need a behemoth to game with a competitive edge.
Asus Dual GeForce RTX 3050 GPU
| Specification | |
|---|---|
| CUDA cores | 2560 |
| OpenGL | OpenGL 4.6 |
| Video Memory | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Speed | 14 Gbps |
| Power Connector | 1 x 8-pin |
| Bus Standard | PCIe 4.0 |
| Slot | 2-slot |
| I/O | 1 x Native HDMI 2.1 3 x Native DisplayPort 1.4a |
| HDCP Compliant | HDCP 2.3 |
| Digital Max. Res | 7680 x 4320 |
| Max Display Support | 4 |
| Length | 200mm |
The Asus Dual GeForce RTX 3050 sports two fans for enhanced cooling. With support from OpenGL 4.6, this graphics card has full access to the current standard of OpenGL. This includes Anisotropic Filtering, Vertex Shaders, and the SPIR-V language. As a result, there is little this graphics card cannot handle. Plus, with its touch of RGB lighting, this is a stylish addition to any gaming PC.
Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3050 GPU
| Specification | |
|---|---|
| CUDA cores | 2560 |
| OpenGL | OpenGL 4.6 |
| Video Memory | 8GB GDDR6 |
| Memory Speed | 14 Gbps |
| Power Connector | 1 x 8-pin |
| Bus Standard | PCIe 4.0 |
| Slot | 2.7-slot |
| I/O | 1 x Native HDMI 2.1 3 x Native DisplayPort 1.4a |
| HDCP Compliant | HDCP 2.3 |
| Digital Max. Res | 7680 x 4320 |
| Max Display Support | 4 |
| Length | 300mm |
Armed with three fans, this is the largest of the RTX 3050 range. As a result, the package contents include a ROG Velcro Hook and Loop, in addition to the collection card and manual. The Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3050 weighs a whopping 1.123kg! Featuring the iconic ROG Strix aesthetic, each fan is lit up by RGB lighting. Powered by Asus Aura Sync, you can experiment with over 16.8 million colours and a number of lighting effects to perfect your look.
Is Your Gaming PC 3050 Ready?
Due to these graphics cards being part of the 30 Series, they demand next-gen connectivity and greater support from your gaming PC. In addition to making sure your case offers enough clearance, ensuring your motherboard and power supply are up to the task is vital. Utilising PCIe 4.0 as its bus standard, you’ll need a motherboard that is at least PCIe 4.0 ready or upgrade to a model equipped with this technology. Plus, it is recommended your PSU operates at 550W, minimum. Should you need an upgrade, Overclockers UK has you covered. Check out our motherboard and power supply category pages.
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- 7 min read
Emily Haylock
Author
Emily is a board and cosy gamer, keyboard obsessive, and content copywriter for Overclockers UK. She has been with Overclockers UK since 2020, writing about everything from noblechairs to 8Pack PCs. She writes from within her desk nest with a foster pup at her feet. (What, a desk duvet is a totally normal thing!) In her downtime, she likes to play board games, farming sims, and old-school Final Fantasy. IX to be specific. It is the best, and that is a hill she will die on.
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