Further details have emerged on the potential specifications of GeForce RTX 5050. Following prior rumours that the graphics card would use GDDR6 memory modules, new whispers suggest Nvidia will mirror the speed of AMD’s Radeon RX 9000 Series with its upcoming pixel pusher.
According to X user @Zed__Wang, Nvidia has settled on 20Gb/s GDDR6 memory to pair with RTX 5050. This would make it the only Blackwell GPU thus far to not use GDDR7 VRAM, typically clocked at 28Gb/s. If true, this selection also puts the upcoming GeForce card on par with the likes of RX 9070 XT as well as RX 9060 XT, and just ahead of Arc B580. These chips will likely come from Samsung and SK Hynix.
The leaker also indicates RTX 5050 may feature a 3+2 VRM design, with three phases dedicated to the GPU and two for the memory. This is unusual for GDDR6 carrying cards, which typically carry a single phase for memory power. It’s unclear why Nvidia would adopt this approach but I’m curious to see what benefits it offers.
It’s important to digest the information above with other specifications before coming to any preliminary conclusions. Earlier rumours claim RTX 5050 will be the first, and potentially only, card in the Blackwell lineup to use the GB207 GPU. This should equip the card with up to 2,560 CUDA cores, a 128-bit memory bus, and 8GB of VRAM. After some quick maths, you can expect bandwidth around 320GB/s, superior to RTX 4060 but 28% behind RTX 5060.
How much of an impact will these GDDR6 chips have on performance? Not a huge amount. Still, combined with the architectural improvements of Blackwell, it could make for a compelling budget card. That’s if Nvidia prices the SKU accordingly, of course. Here’s hoping for something in the region of $200-250.
