Best RTX 3050 graphics card in 2022
We help you make the best choice for your budget friendly card
After AMD’s release of their low-end RX 6500 XT, Nvidia is bringing out their own budget competitor, and we find the best RTX 3050. The next-gen card is meant as an entryway into ray tracing and low-end performance with comparisons being made between it and the 1650 and 1050. Supposedly giving you a third more performance and along with DLSS can even perform with ray tracing.
If you’ve been waiting to upgrade from your older hardware or have been waiting to build your first budget PC then the RTX 3050 release may be the one for you. However, with a new release, there’s a whole range of choices and it might be difficult to know which one to buy.
To make it a much easier choice for you, we go through all the available AIB choices and compare, evaluate, and test the range to choose the best one available. With availability from six different manufacturers, there are at least 20 options the 3050 so we bring you just the top few to choose from.
Our Top Picks
Best RTX 3050 graphics card 2022
In-depth Review
ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3050 OC
ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3050 OC
Our top spot for the best RTX 3050 goes to the ASUS ROG Strix RTX 3050 OC. The card has the classic Strix design that features strong materials a great build quality. With that sort of build, you can expect longevity out of both the die and the card.
The 2.7 slot design of the card along with three fans gives the card great cooling to keep up the great performance as well as longevity of the card. The efficient design keeps the card cool and quiet so you can expect both great performances as well as not hearing it. Also helped with the cutout backplate to allow the airflow through for better cooling.
With that cooling, there’s plenty of overhead for more overclocking, as the card already comes factory overclocked. This gives it the edge in performance and quality over the other options. However, it is a larger 3 fan card is the bigger option being 300 mm long, so it may not suit everyone as well as ending up more expensive.
ZOTAC GAMING RTX 3050 Twin Edge OC
ZOTAC GAMING RTX 3050 Twin Edge OC
The Zotac option provides the usual quality and design and at a better cost offering. The specifications do suggest that this card only has an 8x PCI express lane compared to the x16 that everyone else offers. However, with the lower-end performance of the card, they won’t use that much or it is just an error on their website.
The card also provides a great cooling solution with a large heatsink and three heatpipes to redistribute the heat out more efficiently. The two fans also make sure that the airflow through the solution is enough to keep the whole card cool and keep up the performance. While also providing the same features of four display outputs while keeping the design to just two slots.
Colorful iGame RTX 3050 Ultra W DUO OC
Colorful iGame RTX 3050 Ultra W DUO OC
Most GPU offerings are very much similar in color and design. With black being the main offering and not much variety in between just different cooling and branded shrouds. So you may be looking for something different and more colorful. Or if you’re looking for the final piece for that whiteout build then Colorful has the choice for you.
With a white shroud with highlights of purple and blue, it definitely stands out from the crowd. And it doesn’t just rely on the design to be the better option but does also come with great performance. It has an overclock button so you can easily choose in what mode to run it in without having to pick which one before you buy.
Along with a great cooling of two fans and a large heatsink, it makes sure it keeps performing as well as it can. It also gives you the opportunity for personalization with software allowing you to change the color of the RGB to best fit into your system.
PNY RTX 3050 8GB UPRISING Dual Fan
PNY RTX 3050 8GB UPRISING Dual Fan
Sometimes you may not be looking for anything too flashy or the biggest performer. So going for the cheaper option may be the better option for you and get the best out of what you’re getting. But even with that, it will still be performing up to scratch with the base performance of the RTX 3050.
It does mean that the card doesn’t have the best build quality. Made from plastic materials rather than solid metal than the other options. It will still get the job done and does still have two fans and great cooling for keeping up the performance. And then you still could try overclocking the card.
PNY RTX 3050 8GB XLR8 Gaming REVEL EPIC-X
PNY RTX 3050 8GB XLR8 Gaming REVEL EPIC-X
Some builds have a lot smaller space to try to fit in cards. So with graphics cards growing ever bigger finding ITX or smaller cards is becoming more tricky without sacrificing that much performance. However, PNY has a great choice for a small form factor offering.
The single fan card has the same performance of a non OC card and so will provide the same great experience. As well as offering the same four displays out so you will not be missing out on anything. However, with such a small cooling solution you may not get a quiet performance. The fan will be working harder to keep it cool but will get the job done.
Final Word
There is our choice for the best RTX 3050 currently available and a selection of other choice options. There are a lot of choices out there in the market so it can be confusing and hard to pick the right one for you. So we hope we have helped with your decision, especially for an entry-level card, it can be a good way to get into PCs and not spend too much money on a GPU.