TECH NEWS – Nvidia’s strategy with this graphics card is somewhat puzzling, as another model is in the works.

While it isn’t the first time Nvidia has installed a different GPU chip in an existing card, it’s rare for graphics cards to receive new GPUs years later. The GeForce RTX 3050, which debuted in laptops in 2021 and on desktops in 2022, is reportedly getting a new version with the newer Ada Lovelace architecture. The original GPU features the Ampere-based GA106 chip for desktops and the GA107 chip for laptops, but the upcoming version will be based on the AD106 chip.

The latest GPU-Z (2.67.0) patch notes reference the new GeForce RTX 3050 as “RTX 3050 A,” highlighting the difference between Ampere- and Ada-based variants. Nvidia confirmed the new RTX 3050 A last year, but only for laptops. The specifications mention a new AD106 chip, although in a cut-down form to match the performance of the Ampere-based RTX 3050. This card will offer 1,792 CUDA cores, compared to the Ampere laptop RTX 3050’s 2,048 cores.

In several ways, this new RTX 3050 A will be a downgraded card, though the memory configuration will remain unchanged. In GPU-Z, the RTX 3050 A appears without the “mobile” label, which suggests a desktop graphics card. Previous GPU-Z versions did not include support for either the mobile or desktop RTX 3050 A. It’s likely Nvidia wants to use up its leftover Ada chips for entry-level video cards. The new desktop RTX 3050 is expected to use the AD106 chip and, like its laptop counterpart, will come with fewer cores. Specs include 8 GB GDDR6 memory, a 128-bit memory bus, and TDP between 100 and 150 W.

Nvidia will attempt to match the performance of the Ampere-based RTX 3050 by cutting back on specs. We might see slightly better performance, similar to the modest improvements observed in mobile synthetic benchmarks. Fortunately, users will be able to distinguish Ampere- and Ada-based RTX 3050 cards by their naming conventions.

Recently, the RTX 3050 received a version with 6 GB of VRAM instead of 8 GB, but it was downgraded in other areas as well — to the point where it might as well have been called the RTX 3040.

Source: WCCFTech, Techpowerup