
The MSI Ventus 2X GeForce RTX 3050 6GB is a variant of the RTX 3050 equipped with only 6GB of memory, offering an affordable, albeit limited entry point into NVIDIA's 30-series lineup. This card, with its 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM, is positioned as an even more budget-friendly alternative to its 8GB counterpart.
Launched in January 2022, the RTX 3050 was priced at a reasonable $249 USD MSRP. As of the publication date, this 6GB variant is available at an average price of $169.99 USD from various retailers.
The card is designed primarily for 1080p gaming, while it sacrifices some VRAM, it still manages to provide respectable gaming performance. This performance will begin to falter at higher resolutions, such as 1440p and 4K, where it shows its age, particularly in non-gaming applications.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
THE GOOD
- 1080p Gaming
Surprisingly alright performance for 1080p gaming, despite the 6GB VRAM. It struggles with ray tracing and non-gaming tests, but what more did you want from a card with only 70W TDP and 6GB VRAM.
THE BAD
- Future-Proof
As newer games demand more resources, the RTX 3050 6GB is already quickly falling behind in performance, making it less suitable for users looking for a long-term investment.
THE REST
- Overall
The Ventus 2X GeForce RTX 3050 6GB can still handle some 1080p gaming, but users should probably start looking at the new 40-series or later 30-series.
The MSI Ventus 2X GeForce RTX 3050 6GB utilizes 8nm technology, and is built on NVIDIA's Ampere architecture. The card is based on the GA107 graphics processor, which has 8,700 million transistors within a 200 mm2 die. It features 32 Render Output Units (ROPs), 72 texture mapping units, 2304 shading units, and 18 ray tracing cores. With a typical board power of 70W, the card tested by Labs is manufactured by MSI, and has a dual-slot, dual-fan design that fits in most computer cases. It has 2 x DisplayPort v1.4 outputs, and 1 x HDMI v2.1 port.
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Front of the box.
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Front of the card.
The Ventus 2X GeForce RTX 3050 6GB supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, and NVIDIA's GeForce Experience and G-SYNC features. As well as NVIDIA's full suite of DLSS 3 and ray tracing technologies.
It features NVIDIA's 7th Generation Encoder, and 5th Generation Decoder, with full support for H264 Encode/Decode, and H265/HEVC Encode/Decode, but only AV1 Decode.
As for performance, the Ventus 2X GeForce RTX 3050 6GB is capable of 1080p gaming performance for most modern titles. However, it struggles with higher resolutions like 1440p and 4K, and will require lowering in-game settings. It struggled with ray tracing and non-gaming tests as well.
We will periodically retest graphic cards with updated drivers. We continuously monitor and update our results for accuracy. Stay tuned for the latest test results and insights on this product and others as we aim to provide up-to-date information on a consistent basis.
We actively address test bench variance in our evaluation process. Our methodology involved validation and calibration procedures to ensure consistency and reliability across all tests. The verified testbed variance for benchmarks in this product page is +/- 0.25%.
By monitoring and controlling variables such as hardware configurations, ambient temperatures, and system settings, we minimize potential sources of variance that could affect our results. This detailed approach enables us to deliver the most objective and accurate assessment.