GeForce RTX 5050 vs GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB

Compare the GeForce RTX 5050 and GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB on real gaming benchmarks, full specifications, live retailer prices and performance-per-dollar, then jump straight to the cheapest in-stock version of either card.

From$299.99
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The short answer

The GeForce RTX 5050 is the better buy here: it's both faster at 1080p and gives more performance per dollar.

  • GeForce RTX 5050 is about 9% faster at 1080p (gaming index 39 vs 35).
  • GeForce RTX 5050 is the cheaper card right now, by roughly 67%.
  • GeForce RTX 5050 delivers about 82% more frames per dollar at 1080p.
  • GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB carries more VRAM (12GB vs 8GB), an edge at 4K and in memory-heavy games.
  • GeForce RTX 5050 draws less power (130W vs 170W), so it runs cooler and asks less of your PSU.

Gaming performance

Gaming score: geometric mean of in-game FPS, normalized so the RTX 5090 = 100. Switch resolution with the toggle above.

1080p gaming
GeForce RTX 505039
GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB35

GeForce RTX 5050 is about 9% faster at 1080p.

Performance per dollar

1080p gaming score for every $100 of the card’s current cheapest price. Higher is better value.

GeForce RTX 5050

12.9

per $100 spent

Better value

GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB

7.1

per $100 spent

Specs head-to-head

GeForce RTX 5050
GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB
Price (from)
$299.99
$499.99
1080p gaming index
39
35
VRAM
8GB GDDR6
12GB GDDR6
Memory bandwidth
320 GB/s
360 GB/s
Boost clock
2572 MHz
1777 MHz
Shader cores
2,560
3,584
Ray tracing cores
20
28
Tensor / AI cores
80
112
TDP
130W
170W
Recommended PSU
550W
550W
Upscaling
DLSS Super Resolution, Ray Reconstruction, Frame Generation, Multi Frame Generation
DLSS Super Resolution, Ray Reconstruction
Architecture
Blackwell GB207
Ampere GA106
Process node
TSMC 4N
Samsung 8N
MSRP
$249.00
$329.00

Productivity & compute

GeForce RTX 5050
GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB
3DMark Steel Nomad (points)
2,321
1,974
Geekbench 7 OpenCL (points)
89,631
78,476
PassMark G3D (G3D Mark)
16,885
16,713

Where to buy

GeForce RTX 5050from $299.99
From$299.99
7 versions in stock
GeForce RTX 3060 12 GBfrom $499.99
From$499.99
6 versions in stock

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