GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB vs GTX 860M SLI

Place in the ranking	395	307
Place by popularity	not in top-100	27
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	no data	36.58
Power efficiency	7.22	13.55
Architecture	Maxwell (2014−2017)	Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code name	no data	GA107
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	12 March 2014 (10 years ago)	27 January 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	no data	$199

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	1280	2048
Core clock speed	1029 MHz	1545 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1740 MHz
Number of transistors	2x 1870 Million	8,700 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	90 Watt
Texture fill rate	no data	111.4
Floating-point processing power	no data	7.127 TFLOPS
ROPs	no data	32
TMUs	no data	64
Tensor Cores	no data	64
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	16

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop size	large	no data
Interface	no data	PCIe 4.0 x8
Length	no data	242 mm
Width	no data	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	no data	1x 6-pin
SLI options	+	-

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	2x 4 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	2x 128 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	5000 MHz	1500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	no data	192.0 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	no data	1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
HDMI	-	+

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

Optimus

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 (FL 11_0)	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	no data	6.7
OpenGL	no data	4.6
OpenCL	no data	3.0
Vulkan	-	1.3
CUDA	+	8.6

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD

−35.4%

65−70
+35.4%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

no data

3.06

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

18−20

−26.3%

24−27
+26.3%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	27−30 −37.9%	40−45 +37.9%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	20−22 −35%	27−30 +35%
Battlefield 5	40−45 −37.5%	55−60 +37.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	24−27 −40%	35−40 +40%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −26.3%	24−27 +26.3%
Far Cry 5	27−30 −37.9%	40−45 +37.9%
Far Cry New Dawn	30−35 −32.4%	45−50 +32.4%
Forza Horizon 4	80−85 −34.1%	110−120 +34.1%
Hitman 3	21−24 −30.4%	30−33 +30.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn	65−70 −36.4%	90−95 +36.4%
Metro Exodus	40−45 −34.1%	55−60 +34.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 −32.4%	45−50 +32.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	40−45 −37.5%	55−60 +37.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion	70−75 −33.8%	95−100 +33.8%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	27−30 −37.9%	40−45 +37.9%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	20−22 −35%	27−30 +35%
Battlefield 5	40−45 −37.5%	55−60 +37.5%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	24−27 −40%	35−40 +40%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −26.3%	24−27 +26.3%
Far Cry 5	27−30 −37.9%	40−45 +37.9%
Far Cry New Dawn	30−35 −32.4%	45−50 +32.4%
Forza Horizon 4	80−85 −34.1%	110−120 +34.1%
Hitman 3	21−24 −30.4%	30−33 +30.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn	65−70 −36.4%	90−95 +36.4%
Metro Exodus	40−45 −34.1%	55−60 +34.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 −32.4%	45−50 +32.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	40−45 −37.5%	55−60 +37.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	30−35 −29%	40−45 +29%
Watch Dogs: Legion	70−75 −33.8%	95−100 +33.8%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	27−30 −37.9%	40−45 +37.9%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	20−22 −35%	27−30 +35%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	24−27 −40%	35−40 +40%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −26.3%	24−27 +26.3%
Far Cry 5	27−30 −37.9%	40−45 +37.9%
Forza Horizon 4	80−85 −34.1%	110−120 +34.1%
Hitman 3	21−24 −30.4%	30−33 +30.4%
Horizon Zero Dawn	65−70 −36.4%	90−95 +36.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	40−45 −37.5%	55−60 +37.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	30−35 −29%	40−45 +29%
Watch Dogs: Legion	70−75 −33.8%	95−100 +33.8%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

30−35

−32.4%

45−50
+32.4%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	24−27 −25%	30−33 +25%
Far Cry New Dawn	18−20 −26.3%	24−27 +26.3%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	12−14 −33.3%	16−18 +33.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	9−10 −33.3%	12−14 +33.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	12−14 −38.5%	18−20 +38.5%
Cyberpunk 2077	6−7 −33.3%	8−9 +33.3%
Far Cry 5	14−16 −28.6%	18−20 +28.6%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 −39.3%	85−90 +39.3%
Hitman 3	14−16 −40%	21−24 +40%
Horizon Zero Dawn	24−27 −40%	35−40 +40%
Metro Exodus	20−22 −35%	27−30 +35%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	20−22 −35%	27−30 +35%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	12−14 −38.5%	18−20 +38.5%
Watch Dogs: Legion	75−80 −28.2%	100−105 +28.2%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

20−22

−35%

27−30
+35%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	12−14 −33.3%	16−18 +33.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	9−10 −33.3%	12−14 +33.3%
Hitman 3	8−9 −25%	10−11 +25%
Horizon Zero Dawn	55−60 −35.6%	80−85 +35.6%
Metro Exodus	10−12 −27.3%	14−16 +27.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−12 −27.3%	14−16 +27.3%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	7−8 −28.6%	9−10 +28.6%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	6−7 −33.3%	8−9 +33.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	6−7 −33.3%	8−9 +33.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 +0%	2−3 +0%
Far Cry 5	7−8 −28.6%	9−10 +28.6%
Forza Horizon 4	16−18 −31.3%	21−24 +31.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	10−12 −27.3%	14−16 +27.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	5−6 −40%	7−8 +40%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

10−12

−27.3%

14−16
+27.3%

This is how GTX 860M SLI and RTX 3050 4 GB compete in popular games:

RTX 3050 4 GB is 35% faster in 1080p

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	12.47	17.54
Recency	12 March 2014	27 January 2022
Chip lithography	28 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	90 Watt

RTX 3050 4 GB has a 40.7% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 7 years, a 250% more advanced lithography process, and 33.3% lower power consumption.

The GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 860M SLI in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 860M SLI is a notebook card while GeForce RTX 3050 4 GB is a desktop one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.