The first tests of Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 performance have arrived, and the results aren’t exactly ideal for the graphics card. Unfortunately for the entry-level offering, its average gaming performance can’t beat what either Arc B580 or RTX 4060 provide without the assistance of Multi Frame Generation.
In case you missed it, RTX 5050 has hit the streets well-ahead of Nvidia’s original “second-half July” release window. Like RTX 5060, no samples were provided to media outlets ahead of launch. However, it evidently hasn’t taken long for publications to test the graphics card and stack it up against its peers.
QuasarZone got its hands on a Colorful iGame GeForce RTX 5050 Ultra OC White and found it was 6.2% slower on average than RTX 4060, the previous generation’s most-affordable option. However, the card also performed worse than its closest current generation rival, Arc B580, which shares the same $249 MSRP.
Examining the test data more closely, there are a few instances where RTX 5050 beats the aforementioned competition. For instance, the graphics card provided 6% more performance than RTX 4060 in Cyberpunk 2077. Curiously, though, Path of Exile 2 proves a sore spot for the new pixel pusher as it frame rates were 35% worse.
Results are rosier against Arc B580, as RTX 5050 bests Intel’s card in Black Myth: Wukong by a massive 26.2% and enjoys similarly noticeable victories in Expedition 33 as well as Path of Exile 2. Meanwhile, Cybperunk 2077 doesn’t prove the stronghold it did against the older GeForce, falling 14% short of Battlemage.
The review also tested the dormant potential of the GPU through overclocking, which helped it gain between 7.2% and 9.7% more performance. Unfortunately, the card’s limited 130W power budget wasn’t enough to push it higher.
We’ll need to wait for more RTX 5050 reviews to emerge before we get a better understanding of how the graphics card performs. For the moment, based on QuasarZone’s results alone, Nvidia doesn’t seem to have an unquestionable budget king on its hands.
