NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 rumored to feature 8GB RAM, might compete with Intel ARC A380 with 6GB

NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel are all preparing to compete in the entry-level segment

It is truly interesting how suddenly we have information on not one but three entry-level cards from all competing GPU makers. Yet this is exactly what has happened right after the rumors of Radeon RX 6500 XT/6400 have emerged. 

The most recent update from @kopite7kimi confirms that the RTX 3050 non-Ti is to feature 8GB GDDR6 memory. This information was missing from our report from last week. We have only been able to confirm that RTX 3050 is indeed featured in a roadmap as a GA106-150 product and it should launch around the second quarter of 2022. Kopite appears to have more information, including memory specs and as reported earlier, CUDA core configuration: 3072 units.

With all this in mind, the desktop RTX 3050 series would depart from GA107 GPU, which was used by the mobile series introduced almost half a year ago. However the decision to upgrade to a better GPU was not dictated by NVIDIA’s good heart for budget gamers, but a fierce competition that is emerging almost at the same time.

The RX 6500XT and RTX 3050 will not be the only new cards coming to this GPU segment. Intel is also preparing a new model with DG2-128EU GPU, possibly called Arc A380, as revealed by @TUM_APISAK in a tweet. The leaker claims that the card currently offers GTX 1650 SUPER performance, which seems rather slow considering how late it is supposed to launch. However, this could be just the current state of the GPU driver, in other words, not showing its full performance just yet. According to the tweet, the card is to feature a 2.45 GHz boost clock and 6GB GDDR6 memory. APISAK did not confirm whether this is a mobile or desktop part.

All these budget cards are to launch in the first half of 2022. The release dates don’t appear to be set in stone though as there are constant changes to the schedules.

Source: @kopite7kimi, @TUM_APISAK