Nvidia RTX 5050 vs RTX 3060: Which Is the Better GPU?

Here’s how Nvidia RTX 5050 and RTX 3060 perform in the real world. These benchmarks provide a clear indication of which GPU you should buy.

Picture of Nvidia RTX 5050 vs RTX 3060 — Nvidia RTX 5050 vs RTX 3060 (Image via MSI)

Contents

The RTX 5050 and RTX 3060 are two budget GPUs from Nvidia, designed to deliver a great price-to-performance ratio. However, the former is a 50-class graphics card while the latter is a 60-class card. These two GPUs are also generational apart. Therefore, it would be interesting to see how they compete against each other in modern games. In this article, we have compared the Nvidia RTX 5050 and RTX 3060 in some popular games on the market to find out which is the better GPU. Read on to learn more.

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Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer’s opinions.

Nvidia RTX 5050 vs RTX 3060: Detailed Comparison

The Nvidia RTX 5050 is the latest and most affordable GPU in the RTX 50 series. It is based on the Blackwell architecture. On the other hand, the RTX 3060 is based on the Ampere architecture, which is almost 5 years old as of this writing. Will the newer architecture and its advancements be enough for the old GPU to beat the latest one? Let’s find out with a detailed comparison of the two cards, starting with their specs.

Specs Comparison

Picture of MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2x — MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2x (Image via MSI)

Here are the specs of the Nvidia RTX 5050 and RTX 3060:

Specifications	Nvidia RTX 5050	Nvidia RTX 3060
Architecture	Blackwell	Ampere
Shader cores	2560	3584
RT cores	20	28
TMUs	80	112
ROPs	32	48
Base core clock speeds	2317 MHz	1320 MHz
Boost core clock speeds	2572 MHz	1777 MHz
Memory capacity	8GB GDDR6	12GB GDDR6
Memory bus width	128-bit	192-bit
Memory bandwidth	320.0 GB/s	360.0 GB/s
Manufacturing node	5nm	8nm
Thermal design power (TDPs)	130W	170W

According to the specs table, the older RTX 3060 has a significantly higher number of shader cores, TMUs, and ROPs, along with more memory capacity and even memory bandwidth. However, the RTX 5050 has higher core clock speeds and architectural benefits.

Performance Comparison

Here’s how Nvidia RTX 5050 and RTX 3060 perform in some popular games on the market:

Games	Nvidia RTX 5050	Nvidia RTX 3060
The Elder Scrolls Oblivion Remastered	54 FPS	41 FPS
Path of Exile 2	57 FPS	61 FPS
Assassins Creed Shadows	38 FPS	33 FPS
Clair Obscur: Exedition 33	51 FPS	48 FPS
Delta Force	142 FPS	146 FPS
Call of Duty Warzone	74 FPS	67 FPS
The Last of Us Part 2	56 FPS	56 FPS
Helldivers 2	71 FPS	67 FPS

Note: The two GPUs tested here were evaluated at a 1080p resolution with High/Ultra Settings, unless otherwise specified. All the FPS numbers were sourced from the Hardware for Gamers channel on YouTube. For the tests, the two graphics cards were paired with a Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU.

The Nvidia RTX 5050 delivered around 4.6% more frame rates on average than the RTX 3060. The limited 8GB VRAM of the former did hurt its performance in some games, but it still manages to come ahead. The RTX 5050 won despite having fewer TMUs, ROPs, and more, thanks to architectural advancements.

Price Comparison

Picture of MSI Gaming RTX 5050 8G Shadow 2X — MSI Gaming RTX 5050 8G Shadow 2X (Image via MSI)

The Nvidia RTX 5050 is priced at $239.99 on Amazon. On the other hand, the RTX 3060 is currently selling for around $279.99 or higher on Amazon. Despite being almost five years old, the RTX 3060 is still selling for $279.99, which is not a great price in my opinion. In fact, this old GPU is 16.6% more expensive than the newer RTX 5050.

Final Verdict on Nvidia RTX 5050 vs RTX 3060

The Nvidia RTX 5050 is the better GPU as it delivers around 4.6% more performance than the RTX 3060. The former is also significantly cheaper than the latter. The only caveat of the RTX 5050 is its limited 8GB VRAM, which is not a problem for the RTX 3060, as it has 12GB VRAM. However, you should avoid the RTX 3060 in late 2025, considering how old it is. It is just not worth the price.

If you want a modern GPU with similar performance and pricing but with higher VRAM, you can consider buying the Intel Arc B570 or B580. They have 10GB and 12GB of VRAM, respectively.

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Nvidia RTX 5050 vs RTX 3060: Which Is the Better GPU?