The RTX 3050 is built on NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture. It marks the first time that ray-tracing has been available on an entry level (50-series) card. Second generation ray tracing cores can be switched on for more realistic light simulation, albeit at a hit to performance. The 3050 features 2560 CUDA cores, a boost clock frequency of 1.78 GHz, 8 GB of the latest GDDR6 memory and NVIDIA’s DLSS. DLSS technology uses the 3050’s tensor cores to scale up resolutions whilst maintaining high frame rates and without losing significant image quality. The 3050 also includes an encoder (NVENC) for sharper images and smoother capture whilst recording/streaming. The MRSP of entry models is $249 USD, however, street prices are closer to $600 USD. Early benchmarks show that the 3050 only headlines around 50% faster than AMD's 6500 XT whilst street prices for the 3050 are over 100% higher. Many experienced users simply have no interest in buying AMD cards, regardless of price. AMD’s neanderthal marketing tactics seem to have come back to haunt them. Their brazen domination of social media platforms including youtube and reddit resulted in millions of users purchasing sub standard products. Experienced gamers know all too well that high average fps are worthless when they are accompanied with stutters, random crashes, excessive noise and a limited feature set. [Jan '22GPUPro]
The RTX 4090 is based on Nvidia’s Ada Lovelace architecture. It features 16,384 cores with base / boost clocks of 2.2 / 2.5 GHz, 24 GB of memory, a 384-bit memory bus, 128 3rd gen RT cores, 512 4th gen Tensor cores, DLSS 3 and a TDP of 450W. Performance gains will vary depending on the specific game and resolution. With a 4090 tier card 1080p in-game fps will often get CPU bottlenecked which prevents the GPU from delivering higher fps. At higher (often sub-optimal) resolutions (1440p, 4K etc) the 4090 will show increasing improvements compared to lesser cards. When fps are not CPU bottlenecked at all, such as during GPU benchmarks, the 4090 is around 75% faster than the 3090 and 60% faster than the 3090-Ti, these figures are approximate upper bounds for in-game fps improvements. The fact that the 4090 is currently the fastest performing graphics card available is reflected in its jaw-dropping MSRP of $1,600. Since PC gamers rarely buy AMD GPUs, Nvidia only have themselves to compete with. Surprisingly, $1,600 is actually reasonable value for money, when compared to previous gen. flagship cards. Prospective buyers will need a top of the line system to extract maximum performance from the 4090 and because of its monstrous dimensions, many will also need a new PC case. Consumers that demand value for money, should wait a few more months for the 4060 / 4070 models by which time AMD's 7900 series will also probably be heavily discounted. Alternatively, shoppers looking to buy in the near term should consider the last gen. 3060-Ti, which offers excellent real-world (1080p) performance at a fraction of the price ($400 USD). [Oct '22GPUPro]
We calculate effective 3D speed which estimates gaming performance for the top 12 games. Effective speed is adjusted by current prices to yield value for money. Our figures are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top GPUs. [GPUPro]
Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.