While the GeForce RTX 3050 didn’t exactly light the world on fire upon its release, it has nonetheless managed to build a decent install base among budget builders. Sadly, it appears that Nvidia could be looking to discontinue the current version of the graphics card, replacing it with an altogether worse version.
We’re yet to see a 50 class pixel pusher materialize in the Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 series, so the best graphics card you can get in its place for now is the GeForce RTX 4060. Following this proposed change in the technical makeup of the RTX 3050, opting for the GPU might not be a smart move.
According to a source on Board Channels (via Videocardz), Nvidia plans to end the production of the existing GeForce RTX 3050 with 8GB of VRAM and replace it with a new model. This one, though, will come equipped with just 6GB of VRAM.
As I noted in my RTX 4060 and GeForce RTX 4060 Ti review, many modern releases can easily saturate 8GB of VRAM, which is naturally more of a problem should you have less, in this case 6GB.
Rather than release this new model, I’d much rather see the RTX 3050 discontinued entirely and see the cost of the RTX 4060 series and Radeon RX 7600 come down in price. Not only would this provide better value to consumers, it would reduce unnecessary confusion too.
Currently, the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB is expected to be released sometime in January 2024. In which case, it will launch alongside the heavily rumored GeForce RTX 4000 Super series, though I’m sure it won’t receive quite as much fanfare.