NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050: January release date mooted for upcoming GA106-based graphics card
A new release date has been posed for the RTX 3050, NVIDIA's next entry-level desktop graphics card. Previously, it was believed that NVIDIA would wait until Q2 2022 to unveil the RTX 3050, tipped to launch alongside the RTX 3050 Ti. However, a new rumour alleges that the RTX 3050 could appear in Q1 2022, instead.
Supposedly, NVIDIA is working towards launching the RTX 3050 on January 27, possibly around the time that AMD reveals the RX 6500 XT. @hongxing2020 refers to the RTX 3050 being 'on-shelf' by that date, for reference, which should be the card's official launch date.
Hence, NVIDIA could announce the RTX 3050 before its January 27 release date, similar to the RTX 2060 (12 GB). It is unclear how the RTX 3050 and RTX 2060 (12 GB) will compare against each other, though. Theoretically, the RTX 3050 should outperform the RTX 2060 (12 GB) in most tasks thanks to its newer Ampere architecture.
In saying that, the RTX 3050 could have less VRAM operating on a narrower memory bus, so the RTX 2060 (12 GB) could have advantages in some areas. Either way, pricing will be crucial, especially with the prospect of there being no RTX 2060 (12 GB) Founders Edition model. NVIDIA and its partners will begin selling the latter on December 7.