NVIDIA today released the GeForce RTX 3050, its most affordable "Ampere" architecture desktop graphics card, and we have with us the Palit RTX 3050 StormX OC. The RTX 3050 is being launched as an entry-mainstream product, enabling 1080p gaming with moderate-to-high details and the potential for more eye-candy when you turn on the DLSS feature. The Palit RTX 3050 StormX OC is a compact, ITX-friendly custom-design graphics card targeted at those who just want to get an RTX 3050 and get gaming.
The RTX 3050 is based on the same 8 nm GA106 silicon as the RTX 3060, but with several differences. While the RTX 3060 nearly maxes out the GA106, enabling 28 out of 30 streaming multiprocessors (SM), the RTX 3050 only has 20 out of 30 enabled. This results in a CUDA core count of 2,560 compared to the 3,584 of the RTX 3060. The other key difference is memory. While the RTX 3060 is endowed with 12 GB of it across a 192-bit wide GDDR6 memory interface, the RTX 3050 has 8 GB across a 128-bit wide interface. The memory clock is lowered to 14 Gbps, too, resulting in a memory bandwidth of 224 GB/s, compared to 360 GB/s on the RTX 3060. With a typical board power of just 130 W, the RTX 3050 can make do with just a single 6-pin PCIe power connector, although we see quite a few board partners opt for the 8-pin PCIe connector.
Perhaps the most interesting difference in specifications is the PCIe bus. NVIDIA halved the PCIe bus width to PCI-Express 4.0 x8, from x16 on the RTX 3060, even though the GA106 very much does support x16, and we've seen board partners reuse their RTX 3060 PCBs, with their x16 PCIe wiring intact. Why NVIDIA chose this route is anyone's guess, especially given the fiberglass substrate of the GPU isn't any smaller. On its part, NVIDIA stated that the move is aimed at improving supply, as NVIDIA states that "dropping to 8 PCIe lanes improves supply. It allows us to source a wider variety of chips for the life of the product." We see this as a pretty loud hint that the company may carve future RTX 3050 cards out of the even smaller "GA107" silicon that has 24 SMs (3,072 CUDA cores) and a 128-bit wide memory bus, but a PCIe 4.0 x8 bus.
The Palit RTX 3050 StormX OC uses a simple board design that's under 17 cm long and 12 cm high, and should offer maximum compatibility. It uses an aluminium fin-stack heatsink that's ventilated by a single 100 mm fan. You still get idle fan-stop. The company also packs a factory overclock of 1807 MHz boost, compared to 1777 MHz reference, while leaving the memory untouched at 14 Gbps. The card draws power from a single 8-pin power connector. Display outputs include three DisplayPort 1.4a and one HDMI 2.1 connector. Palit is pricing the RTX 3050 StormX OC at close to NVIDIA's MSRP of $249, which of course is a fantasy. We expect actual pricing to be closer to $500.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Market Segment Analysis
Price
Cores
ROPs
Core Clock
Boost Clock
Memory Clock
GPU
Transistors
Memory
GTX 1650 Super
$400
1280
32
1530 MHz
1725 MHz
1500 MHz
TU116
6600M
4 GB, GDDR6, 128-bit
GTX 1660
$480
1408
48
1530 MHz
1785 MHz
2000 MHz
TU116
6600M
6 GB, GDDR5, 192-bit
RX Vega 56
$800
3584
64
1156 MHz
1471 MHz
800 MHz
Vega 10
12500M
8 GB, HBM2, 2048-bit
GTX 1660 Super
$550
1408
48
1530 MHz
1785 MHz
1750 MHz
TU116
6600M
6 GB, GDDR6, 192-bit
GTX 1660 Ti
$500
1536
48
1500 MHz
1770 MHz
1500 MHz
TU116
6600M
6 GB, GDDR6, 192-bit
RX 5600 XT
$700
2304
64
1375 MHz
1560 MHz
1500 MHz
Navi 10
10300M
6 GB, GDDR6, 192-bit
RX 6500 XT
$350
1024
32
2685 MHz
2825 MHz
2248 MHz
Navi 24
5400M
4 GB, GDDR6, 64-bit
RTX 2060
$570
1920
48
1365 MHz
1680 MHz
1750 MHz
TU106
10800M
6 GB, GDDR6, 192-bit
RX 5700
$950
2304
64
1465 MHz
1625 MHz
1750 MHz
Navi 10
10300M
8 GB, GDDR6, 256-bit
RTX 2060 Super
$800
2176
64
1470 MHz
1650 MHz
1750 MHz
TU106
10800M
8 GB, GDDR6, 256-bit
RX Vega 64
$850
4096
64
1247 MHz
1546 MHz
953 MHz
Vega 10
12500M
8 GB, HBM2, 2048-bit
RX 5700 XT
$1000
2560
64
1605 MHz
1755 MHz
1750 MHz
Navi 10
10300M
8 GB, GDDR6, 256-bit
RTX 3050
$500 MSRP: $250
2560
32
1552 MHz
1777 MHz
1750 MHz
GA106
12000M
8 GB, GDDR6, 128-bit
Palit RTX 3050 StormX OC
$500 MSRP: $250
2560
32
1552 MHz
1807 MHz
1750 MHz
GA106
12000M
8 GB, GDDR6, 128-bit
RTX 2070
$750
2304
64
1410 MHz
1620 MHz
1750 MHz
TU106
10800M
8 GB, GDDR6, 256-bit
RX 6600
$570
1792
64
2044 MHz
2491 MHz
1750 MHz
Navi 23
11060M
8 GB, GDDR6, 128-bit
RTX 3060
$750
3584
48
1320 MHz
1777 MHz
1875 MHz
GA106
12000M
12 GB, GDDR6, 192-bit
RTX 2070 Super
$800
2560
64
1605 MHz
1770 MHz
1750 MHz
TU104
13600M
8 GB, GDDR6, 256-bit
Radeon VII
$800
3840
64
1400 MHz
1800 MHz
1000 MHz
Vega 20
13230M
16 GB, HBM2, 4096-bit
RX 6600 XT
$600
2048
64
2359 MHz
2589 MHz
2000 MHz
Navi 23
11060M
8 GB, GDDR6, 128-bit
Packaging
The Card
Palit's RTX 3050 StormX OC is a super compact design that's dominated by the black plastic cooler, which has some interesting surface details. A backplate is not available.
Dimensions of the card are 17.0 x 12.5 cm, and it weighs 466 g.
Installation requires two slots in your system.
Display connectivity options include one HDMI 2.1 and three DisplayPort 1.4a ports.
The card has one 8-pin power input. This configuration is rated for up to 225 W of power draw.
The GeForce RTX 3050 does not support SLI.
Teardown
Palit's thermal solution uses three heatpipes and provides cooling for the GPU, memory chips, and VRM circuitry.
Along the bottom edge of the card, I found this metal bar. Not sure about its purpose as the card is short enough not to need any anti-bending stabilizers.
High-resolution PCB Pictures
These pictures are for the convenience of volt modders and people who would like to see all the finer details on the PCB. Feel free to link back to us and use these in your articles, videos or forum posts.
High-res versions are also available (front, back).
Circuit Board (PCB) Analysis
The GPU VRM is a four phase-design controlled by an NCP81611 controller.
Alpha and Omega AOZ5311NQI DrMOS chips are used for GPU voltage; they are rated for up to 55 A output current.
The memory VRM is single-phase and managed by a uPI uS5650Q controller.
For memory, a Sinopower SM7342EKKP dual-MOSFET is used. It's specified for currents up to 67 A.
The GDDR6 memory chips are made by Micron and carry the model number D9ZPM, which decodes to MT61K512M32KPA-14:C. They are specified to run at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps GDDR6 effective).
NVIDIA's GA106 graphics processor is made using Samsung's 8 nanometer node and has a transistor count of 12 billion with a die size of 276 mm².