RTX 5050 release date speculation, potential price, and expected specs
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Nvidia released the RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti over the past two months. Both are budget-friendly options in the RTX 50-series lineup and arrived a bit later than the more powerful models in the range. We reviewed the Ti variant and gave it a four out of five rating for its solid performance. However, the standard version lagged behind the RTX 3070 in some gaming benchmarks.
While both cards are budget options, some people are looking forward to an even cheaper alternative: enter the RTX 5050. While the RTX 4050 was a mobile GPU for laptops, Nvidia is reportedly planning to introduce a desktop version of the RTX 5050. At the moment, Nvidia has not officially announced the card, but several leaks and rumors have confirmed its existence, making its official announcement only a matter of time. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what we know so far about the RTX 5050’s expected release date, specifications, and price.
RTX 5050 expected release date
Nvidia has not yet confirmed the RTX 5050 or its release date. However, according to the latest rumor, the card is expected to be released in July 2025. While the leak doesn’t provide an exact release date, it does indicate that fans will be able to purchase the budget card starting next month. If accurate, the RTX 5050 would be released six months after the RTX 5090. Its launch would complete the entire lineup, at least until Nvidia decides to introduce Super or Ti variants of some cards.
RTX 5050 expected specs
The RTX 50-series cards offer significant upgrades over their predecessors, including more CUDA cores, improved clock speeds, and better memory types. As for the RTX 5050, rumors claimed that the upcoming budget GPU would utilize GDDR6 memory, unlike the rest of the series, which uses GDDR7. This disappointed many fans, especially those planning to build a budget system with the RTX 5050. However, Benchlife recently claimed that, as per their sources, Nvidia is planning to use GDDR7 memory for the RTX 5050 as well. However, even with this improvement, the card is still expected to have only 8GB of memory.
In any case, here are the expected specifications of the RTX 5050, based on leaks and rumors. We’ll also mention the specifications of the RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti so you can see how it compares to them.
| RTX 5050 | RTX 5060 | RTX 5060 Ti | |
| Board | PG152 SKU 50 | PG162 SKU 25 | PG152 SKU 10 (8GB model) PG152 SKY 15 (16GB model) |
| VRAM | 8GB | 8GB | 8GB/16GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 or GDDR7 | GDDR7 | GDDR7 |
| CUDA Cores | 2,560 | 3,840 | 4,608 |
| Memory Bus | 128-bit | 128-bit | 128-bit |
| TDP | 130W | 145W | 180W |
As you can see, the expected specs place the RTX 5050 significantly behind the 5060 and 5060 Ti in terms of CUDA cores. We also don’t have any leaks about its clock speeds yet, so we’ll have to wait for that information.
Overall, the RTX 5050 isn’t shaping up to be a strong contender, even for budget-conscious PC builders. If Nvidia opts for GDDR6 memory instead of GDDR7, many users might even stick with the older RTX 40-series cards.
RTX 5050 potential price
The RTX 3050 launched with a price tag of $249. There was no desktop version of the RTX 4050, as it was exclusively available in laptops. As for the RTX 5050, given its leaked specifications, it might also launch at a price similar to the 3050. This is mainly because the RTX 5060, released last month, had an MSRP of $299, so the RTX 5050 should be around $50 cheaper. Of course, board partners will offer their versions at a higher price.
Will I need to upgrade my PSU for the RTX 5050?
The RTX 5050 is expected to have a TDP of only 130W, meaning you likely won’t need to upgrade your power supply unit (PSU) if you currently have one of at least 450W. However, keep in mind that this will also depend on the TDP of your other components.. For budget builds, a 450W PSU is more than enough in most cases.
Will the RTX 5050 be enough for 1080p gaming?
According to the leaked specifications, the RTX 5050 will be a suitable card for 1080p gaming. However, video games are becoming increasingly demanding, and 8GB of VRAM, paired with a low CUDA core count, may soon struggle to keep up. So, if you’re looking for something more future-proof, it would be better to invest in a card that offers at least 16GB of VRAM.
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