For a while, the existence of the RTX 5050 was a bit of a mystery, but we recently saw that it exists and it is a laptop GPU, as seen in a laptop specs sheet from Acer. However, another rumor is swelling up that the RTX 5050 might not be limited to laptops.

You may remember that last generation, the RTX 4050 was exclusively a mobile GPU for laptops – a desktop card was never released. The last xx50 series card we got for desktops was the RTX 3050, which came in 8GB and 6GB variants. It was generally panned as a budget option versus its bigger siblings, unless you could find one for a really competitive price.

RTX 5050 desktop GPU?

The folks over at Videocardz report that NVIDIA is working on a new desktop GPU and that it might be the RTX 5050. They also claimed that their sources verified this information and that Nvidia is planning to release this product in the coming weeks. The report specifically mentions a possible July release window.

TechPowerUp also has some specs for the RTX 5050, which show some stark differences from the RTX 5060. It has 2,560 shading units, whereas the RTX 5060 has 3,840, but the most interesting change is the downgrade in memory type. However, before we continue, it is important to know that this is just a rumor and should be taken with a pinch of salt. Nvidia has yet to confirm the RTX 5050.

It apparently has 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, but there are other reports that say that Nvidia might change it to GDDR7, which would keep in line with the rest of the 50 series lineup. In all honesty, releasing a GPU that is weaker than the RTX 5060 and with 8GB GDDR6 VRAM (or less) might put Nvidia in hot water in the gaming community, as they are already facing backlash over the 8GB VRAM decision, and gamers demand more VRAM for the budget and mid-range offerings.

With the ever-increasing graphical fidelity of modern games, 8GB VRAM is slowly starting to limit performance, as that was barely enough to run DOOM: The Dark Ages and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

Also, the biggest factor is competing with AMD in the budget and mid-range GPU market, and with the release of the RX 9060 XT, Nvidia already seems to be on the back foot, indicated by the early reviews. So, Team Green would need to play their cards right to make the best of this situation and not dig themselves a deeper hole. There’s also Intel to think about, considering we’d expect the RTX 5050 to compete with something like the Intel Arc B570, or B580 at a stretch.

About the Author

Ussamah Mehmood

Ussamah works as a content writer and editor at BGFG. He is experienced in tech, hardware, gaming, and marketing.