There was a time after I’d be satisfied to bits to be clicking a brand new entry-level graphics card into its PCIe house. Suppose again to the GTX 1050 Ti or the Radeon RX 570 – these weren’t simply nice GPUs as a result of they had been accessible, however since you might virtually really feel the scrappiness bouncing off their circuitry. Like barking little chihuahuas, throwing down towards a pack of mastiffs. You may see they’re no match for the larger boys. However you type of love them for not caring.
The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 isn’t any such card. It’s the most inexpensive of the RTX 50 collection, undercutting the RTX 5060 by about £40 / $50, and it does include a full set of DLSS 4 instruments together with Multi Body Era (MFG) assist. Its efficiency, sadly, leans extra gradual than scrappy, and it isn’t even actually that low-cost. Costs begin round £220 / $250 and this overclocked Zotac mannequin I’ve examined is £248 / $270, so it’s nonetheless going to be by far the priciest part in any funds PC construct.
It is not fully ineffective – for these with particular tastes in light-weight, esports-scented multiplayer video games, the RTX 5050 will do the trick at 1080p. But for harder fare, there are different GPUs that come higher outfitted to cope with these tough high quality settings, even without having to spend way more.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 evaluation: 1440p benchmarks
Unsurprisingly, given its 8GB of VRAM runs at an excellent thinner bandwidth than the RTX 5060’s, the RTX 5050 struggles to rise above its 1080p station. Solely in Murderer’s Creed Mirage and the practically seven-year-old Shadow of the Tomb Raider did it climb past 60fps, and in each circumstances, it’s crushed by each the 12GB Intel Arc B580 – which is presently going for round £240, making it a direct funds rival. Nvidia’s earlier era didn’t embody an XX50 desktop GPU, however it bodes poorly for the RTX 5050 that it additionally will get repeatedly pipped by the RTX 4060.
DLSS helps, and certainly, larger resolutions are all the time a greater match for deploying upscalers with no distinct minimize to visible niceness. Cyberpunk 2077 definitely benefitted, leaping from 48fps to a easy 64fps with DLSS on High quality mode. Others, sadly, nonetheless fell brief. Horizon Forbidden West – which, it have to be mentioned, was largely cured of the steep framerate drops I skilled on the RTX 5060 – solely improved to 54fps with High quality DLSS, whereas F1 24’s equal settings solely pushed it to 47fps. Only a single body greater than what the B580 can do at native rez, alas.
This degree of frameweaving successfully yanks premium path tracing options off the desk, and though the RTX 5050 can apply commonplace ray tracing with out utterly coughing itself to demise, you’re nonetheless huge slowdowns. Metro Exodus fell from 59fps to 42fps with the addition of Extremely RT results, and Cyberpunk 2077 – bracing itself with DLSS – might solely common 34fps with Psycho RT enabled, practically half what it was pulling earlier than.
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 evaluation: 1080p benchmarks
Inside the hotter embrace of 1080p, the RTX 5050 has far much less hassle maintaining. Of my regular Extremely-quality, native decision benchmark video games, solely F1 24 averaged beneath 60fps, and that specific Extremely preset included some ray tracing results. Including High quality DLSS was sufficient to get it as much as 61fps, too. Often, the RTX 5050 additionally manages to shut the hole with Arc B580, particularly in Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Murderer’s Creed Mirage (the 2 video games that, maybe prophetically, ran finest at 1440p).
Nonetheless, Intel’s GPU stays the sooner cheapo card total, and the RTX 5050 remains to be haunted by the ghost of the RTX 4060. The RTX 5060, in the meantime, persistently lands far, far forward – for those who’ve received (or are getting) a monitor with any refresh fee above 60Hz, you wouldn’t have hassle seeing the distinction.
Body era is, not less than, extra viable a helper right here than it’s at 1440p – you all the time need a wholesome base of normal frames with instruments like MFG (or FSR 3 or 4, or Intel’s XeSS 2) to counteract its added enter lag. On the RTX 5050 particularly, thoughts, it’s nonetheless finest utilized with a lightweight contact. In Cyberpunk 2077, this GPU averaged 48fps on a mix of Extremely settings, High quality DLSS, and Psycho RT, which then rose to 89fps with MFG set to 2x. This was playable, latency-wise, and regarded visibly smoother: a body gen success. Besides switching to 4x mode noticeably cranked up the lag to the purpose the place Evening Metropolis could as properly have been flooded with custard, for all of the responsiveness of the driving controls and digital camera actions. That simply wasn’t definitely worth the 113fps, which you’ll notice isn’t even near what 4 x 48 truly is.
Alan Wake 2 had an analogous downside, even with none ray tracing. On Excessive with High quality DLSS, 48fps grew to become 78fps with 2x MFG, and was roughly snappy sufficient to get by. 4x mode then juiced all of it the way in which up 144fps, however once more, the additional lag made aiming really feel floaty and imprecise. I nonetheless assume DLSS 4 is the most effective of the present upscaling/body gen combos, particularly on per-frame visible high quality, however when it’s this dangerous to go above 2x mode, MFG doesn’t provide a lot that DLSS 3 cannot. And that’s supported in a wider collection of video games than DLSS 4’s MFG, in addition to on price-cut RTX 40 GPUs just like the 4060.
To not overdo the canine analogy but when the RTX 5050 was a pup, it’s in all probability extra the sort that prefers to chop its walks brief so it might probably curl up on a discarded towel again house. As a result of in its true consolation zone, it does start to indicate flashes of being a loyal companion, and that zone overlaps neatly with the aggressive shooter-and-or-MOBA discipline. Counter-Strike 2? Most maps will do 100fps or extra at Very Excessive, simply. Dota 2? Throughout a whole match I averaged 114fps on max settings. And Apex Legends, on Excessive, had no hassle in any respect filling out a 144fps restrict. It’s true that mainly any desktop GPU launched within the final three years will pull related numbers or higher, however even discounting the mahoosive ones that might be pure overkill for these at 1080p, the RTX 5050 will work out cheaper than most.
Exterior this multiplayer area of interest, nonetheless, there are merely higher choices. The Arc B580 may lack the identical diploma of body gen sophistication, however its straight efficiency benefit makes it much less in want of assist – and it’s usually higher outfitted for larger resolutions, in case you ever wish to improve to a 1440p or 1080p ultrawide display. Stretch your funds just a bit bit additional, and you may alternatively nab a base-price RTX 5060, which is quicker than each and retains you from lacking out on any DLSS 4 options.
Then there’s the RTX 4060. As typically as I’ve introduced it up, I wouldn’t truly recommend this over the RTX 5050 to any readers becoming a member of us from the States, the place it’s weirdly staying above the $300 line regardless of its age. Fellow Brits, alternatively, ought to have the ability to discover one new between £250 and £260: a bit of further money for a bit of further efficiency.
The evaluation is predicated on a retail pattern supplied by the producer.
