The GeForce RTX 3050 appears to be absolutely abysmal at ray tracing even though RT is literally in its name

[Redaktion]

RTX 3050? More like GTX 3050. Nvidia introduced the "RTX" moniker to imply real-time ray tracing capabilities and acceleration, but the GeForce RTX 3050 is looking worse than even the GTX 1660 Ti.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/The-GeForce-RTX-3050-appears-to-be-absolutely-abysmal-at-ray-tracing-even-though-RT-is-literally-in-its-name.555768.0.html

[Dan Ridenhour]

I picked up a Legion 5 Ryzen 5800h/3050ti machine to replace i78550u ultrabook hooked to a eGPU box with a 1660.   I ran the 3dmark benchmarks (from the 3dmark demo) on both systems and found the 3050ti system to be 20-50% faster... the less taxing the benchmark the more the 3050ti shined.   That said...  I also watch power use as I'm off grid solar and tend to like to track the power I use....  running my current obsession (Albion) which isn't all that taxing of a game...   if I run it at 1080p high settings with the Legion in 'silent' mode...  the whole computer uses 30-35w while playing the game... the fans almost never kick on and you can't ever hear them.   Playing the same game at 4k and the fans run continually and the computer pulls 80-90w.     It definitely has to work A LOT harder to do 4k.

[Superguy]

I'd be interested to know the wattage on each card. The wattage can carry greatly on each card depending how the OEM implements it.

I know Dell's Inspiron 16 Plus caps the 3060 wattage to 60w. I'd bet it's 3050 is in the same neighborhood if not less.

Still the results are pretty bad, and I agree that GTX should start with the 3060. My guess is Nvidia is trying to keep the line consistent, even if the 3050 gpus don't deserve the RTX.

[Crnkoj]

In 3dmark you can set custom test scenarios. Perhaps rerun port royal on the said  3050 and 1660 laptops in 720p or 1080p to check your claim of a ram bottleneck.
I mean who in his right mind will assume a 50 series card can run 1440p raytracing, when the 90 series card can't do it properly???

[toven]

They should remove RT cores, increase cuda cores and call it gtx2650.

[Muhammad Anhar]

What about DLSS capability? This article only tells half of RTX 3050 capability, while clickbaiting the title to just explaining how low RT capability.

[Alex Read]

Nvidia have been blurring the line between RT and DLSS for a while now. It's all in an effort to be able to brand their cards with RTX and not have any real RT capabilities.
DLSS is great, especially v2, but it isn't RT, and on cards this low spec'd, it's the only stand-out feature they have.

[idklol]

I went out and tested the DLSS Benchmark on my RTX 3050 60-75W laptop
I set DLSS mode to Performance, and the resolution to 1920x1080 (forgive me).
The difference is MASSIVE.
From a tiny 2.32 FPS with DLSS enabled to a WHOPPING 26.04 FPS with DLSS enabled.
Considering this card only has 4GB of VRAM, that is pretty impressive.
So far I have been pretty happy with this card, and it will happily accompany me for another 5 years.

[idklol]

P.S: OH GOD I MEANT 2.32 FPS WITH DLSS DISABLED

[Crnkoj]

Sad that readers have to write something sensible into comments, like idklol with his bench run at the appropriate settings, instead of you guys doing your job properly and not just clickbaiting...
Notebookcheck.net used to be the site to check on reliable and sensible reviews, but like this, meh.

[Cheesit]

DLSS is only available on select games though, more will follow but the vast majority of games just won't use it. Same goes with RT, it will take a gen or two before MOST games use it and then the midrange will be able to keep up at 1k+ 60fps. Low range like x50 will be like 45fps RT on then. Wouldn't bother with anything below x60, waste of money below that if you want to do midrange regular gaming.

[Syzerix]

Really? People out here defending the rtx 3050? Man, there's literal rtx 3060 laptops cheaper than the rtx 3050 laptops. Heck germany has a 1000 euro gigabyte g5 with a rtx 3060. What defense do y'all have? They're not even any more efficient than a 1660ti. Despite being on a new node.

Good god, the article even said the CHEAPER gtx 1660ti scored higher in ray tracing. Sure its at 1440p but just goes to show you how pathetic these cards are. And that vram will bite the rtx 3050 and rtx 3050ti in the future. Not to mention their lackluster performance. By the time ray tracing becomes good, rtx 3050 and 3050ti will be woefully underpowered. And I will guarantee it these GPU's will age worse than the 1050 and 1650 have have done in their lifetimes.

And before you jump on the bandwagon of DLSS, remember FSR is a thing too. And that runs on any GPU. It even gets modded into older titles like gta v.

'Bout time nvidia got called out on their crappy xx50 class releases. Even the 1650 wasn't this bad on launch. 

[Panji Hadinugraha]

I've seen you bashing on RTX 3050 twice now my man, while it's been super clear from the very beginning that the 3050s are more beneficial for the content creators than gamers.