GeForce RTX 3050 8 GB vs RTX 2060

Place in the ranking	131	166
Place by popularity	19	11
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	39.49	68.22
Power efficiency	15.82	17.37
Architecture	Turing (2018−2022)	Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code name	TU106	GA106
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	7 January 2019 (6 years ago)	4 January 2022 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$349	$249

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX 3050 8 GB has 73% better value for money than RTX 2060.

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	1920	2560
Core clock speed	1365 MHz	1552 MHz
Boost clock speed	1680 MHz	1777 MHz
Number of transistors	10,800 million	12,000 million
Manufacturing process technology	12 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	160 Watt	130 Watt
Texture fill rate	201.6	142.2
Floating-point processing power	6.451 TFLOPS	9.098 TFLOPS
ROPs	48	32
TMUs	120	80
Tensor Cores	240	80
Ray Tracing Cores	30	20

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).

Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x8
Length	229 mm	242 mm
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 8-pin	1x 8-pin

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	GDDR6	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	6 GB	8 GB
Memory bus width	192 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	1750 MHz	1750 MHz
Memory bandwidth	336.0 GB/s	224.0 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	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x DisplayPort, 1x USB Type-C	1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
HDMI	+	+
G-SYNC support	+	-

Supported technologies

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

VR Ready

no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	6.5	6.6
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	3.0
Vulkan	1.2.131	1.3
CUDA	7.5	8.6

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

RTX 2060 36.77
+12.1%

RTX 3050 8 GB 32.81

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

RTX 2060 14137
+12.1%

RTX 3050 8 GB 12612

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	121 +21%	100−110 −21%
1440p	77 +18.5%	65−70 −18.5%
4K	50 +25%	40−45 −25%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	2.88 −15.8%	2.49 +15.8%
1440p	4.53 −18.3%	3.83 +18.3%
4K	6.98 −12.1%	6.23 +12.1%

RTX 3050 8 GB has 16% lower cost per frame in 1080p
RTX 3050 8 GB has 18% lower cost per frame in 1440p
RTX 3050 8 GB has 12% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	75−80 +15.4%	65−70 −15.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	75−80 +20%	65−70 −20%
Elden Ring	120−130 +16.4%	110−120 −16.4%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	90 +12.5%	80−85 −12.5%
Counter-Strike 2	75−80 +15.4%	65−70 −15.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	75−80 +20%	65−70 −20%
Forza Horizon 4	170−180 +17.3%	150−160 −17.3%
Metro Exodus	101 +12.2%	90−95 −12.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2	109 +14.7%	95−100 −14.7%
Valorant	185 +15.6%	160−170 −15.6%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	147 +13.1%	130−140 −13.1%
Counter-Strike 2	75−80 +15.4%	65−70 −15.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	75−80 +20%	65−70 −20%
Dota 2	83 +18.6%	70−75 −18.6%
Elden Ring	120−130 +16.4%	110−120 −16.4%
Far Cry 5	90−95 +17.5%	80−85 −17.5%
Fortnite	155 +19.2%	130−140 −19.2%
Forza Horizon 4	170−180 +17.3%	150−160 −17.3%
Grand Theft Auto V	124 +12.7%	110−120 −12.7%
Metro Exodus	75 +15.4%	65−70 −15.4%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	235 +17.5%	200−210 −17.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2	56 +24.4%	45−50 −24.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	120−130 +17.3%	110−120 −17.3%
Valorant	104 +15.6%	90−95 −15.6%
World of Tanks	270−280 +16.3%	240−250 −16.3%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	80 +14.3%	70−75 −14.3%
Counter-Strike 2	75−80 +15.4%	65−70 −15.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	75−80 +20%	65−70 −20%
Dota 2	110−120 +17%	100−105 −17%
Far Cry 5	90−95 +17.5%	80−85 −17.5%
Forza Horizon 4	170−180 +17.3%	150−160 −17.3%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	117 +17%	100−105 −17%
Valorant	162 +15.7%	140−150 −15.7%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	65−70 +21.8%	55−60 −21.8%
Elden Ring	70−75 +12.3%	65−70 −12.3%
Grand Theft Auto V	65−70 +21.8%	55−60 −21.8%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	170−180 +16.7%	150−160 −16.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35 +16.7%	30−33 −16.7%
World of Tanks	230−240 +17%	200−210 −17%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	65−70 +15%	60−65 −15%
Counter-Strike 2	35−40 +20%	30−33 −20%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +20%	30−33 −20%
Far Cry 5	110−120 +18%	100−105 −18%
Forza Horizon 4	100−110 +16.7%	90−95 −16.7%
Metro Exodus	76 +16.9%	65−70 −16.9%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	60−65 +12.7%	55−60 −12.7%
Valorant	102 +13.3%	90−95 −13.3%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	35−40 +23.3%	30−33 −23.3%
Dota 2	67 +21.8%	55−60 −21.8%
Elden Ring	30−35 +13.3%	30−33 −13.3%
Grand Theft Auto V	67 +21.8%	55−60 −21.8%
Metro Exodus	26 +23.8%	21−24 −23.8%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	115 +15%	100−105 −15%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24 +14.3%	21−24 −14.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	67 +21.8%	55−60 −21.8%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	41 +17.1%	35−40 −17.1%
Counter-Strike 2	35−40 +23.3%	30−33 −23.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 +14.3%	14−16 −14.3%
Dota 2	70−75 +18.3%	60−65 −18.3%
Far Cry 5	50−55 +17.8%	45−50 −17.8%
Fortnite	50−55 +13.3%	45−50 −13.3%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 +20%	50−55 −20%
Valorant	46 +15%	40−45 −15%

This is how RTX 2060 and RTX 3050 8 GB compete in popular games:

RTX 2060 is 21% faster in 1080p
RTX 2060 is 18% faster in 1440p
RTX 2060 is 25% faster in 4K

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	36.77	32.81
Recency	7 January 2019	4 January 2022
Maximum RAM amount	6 GB	8 GB
Chip lithography	12 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	160 Watt	130 Watt

RTX 2060 has a 12.1% higher aggregate performance score.

RTX 3050 8 GB, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 years, a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 50% more advanced lithography process, and 23.1% lower power consumption.

The GeForce RTX 2060 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce RTX 3050 8 GB in performance tests.

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