NVIDIA has remained the top graphics card manufacturer in the market for many years, and you might’ve come across the names of their two popular GPUs, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is a great low TDP graphics card that can run most games at 1080p quite smoothly, but how does it compare to NVIDIA’s latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 in performance? How much difference is there in the performance between the last GTX series and the latest RTX series? In this NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 vs RTX 3050 comparison, we’ll compare these two GPUs with gaming benchmarks to determine which is the best in 2023.  

Related: RTX 3060 vs GTX 1080

 In April 2019, NVIDIA released their last GTX lineup of graphics cards before they moved on to the RTX label. This generation was titled the GeForce GTX 16 and is the predecessor to the GeForce RTX 20 series. In this series, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 shines because of its low TDP of just 75 W, which can play most AAA titles at 60 FPS at 1080p resolution.  

Talking about its generation, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is built on the Turing architecture with its 12nm process; the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 comes with 4GB of GDDR5 memory with a standard 128-bit memory interface. Moreover, it has a base GPU core clock of 1485 MHz which goes up to 1665 MHz when boosted. With a 200mm2 di area and 12nm process, the chip also supports 4700 million transistors.    

With its support for DirectX 12 (12_1) version, it can play all modern games and has support for upcoming ones. Other graphical features include OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.3, and CUDA 7.5.  

When talking about the rendering capabilities of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, we can see that it has 896 shading units, 56 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. Moreover, it has a 64KB L1 Cache and 1MB L2 Cache.  

Furthermore, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 is a dual-slot graphics card, but it doesn’t require any additional power and can draw all the power it needs from the PCIe x16 slot on the motherboard. It also has a low-profile variant which has been released by NVIDIA for smaller gaming rigs.  

To finish off, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 was launched with a price tag of 149 USD and is actively being manufactured and sold in the market. Even if NVIDIA has discontinued the GTX lineup of GPUs, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 still offers incredible performance in all modern titles, and it’ll remain that way for many years.     

Let’s begin with the release date to give you a quick rundown of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 and its specifications. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 was released earlier this year in January 2022, making it one of the most recent graphics cards to come out of NVIDIA in recent memory. While the weakest in the lineup of the RTX 3000 series, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 still offers considerable performance when it comes to gaming. 

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 is built on the latest Ampere architecture and packs 8 GB of GDDR6 memory along with a 128-bit memory bus. It allows 12,000 million transistors on its chip area of 276 mm2 and 8nm. The GPU has a core clock speed of 1552 MHz on stock and 1777 MHz when boosted.  

As for graphics support, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 has support for DirectX 12 (12_2) version, which enables it to play all modern and upcoming games. Moreover, it also supports OpenGL 4.6, Vulkan 1.3, and CUDA 8.6.  

Moving on to rendering configuration, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 has 2560 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 32 render output units. It also has a 128KB L1 Cache along with a 2MB L2 Cache.  

As it is a dual-slot card variant, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 requires a powerful PSU to power its 130 W rated TDP. It draws the power from a 1 x 8-pin power connector attached to the PCIe x16 slot.  

Being the successor to the RTX 20 series, the RTX 30 is the latest generation of GPUs that NVIDIA has to offer. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 is an excellent graphics card that is both cheap and less power hungry than its other GeForce 30 series graphics cards, making it the perfect card to buy if you want to run games smoothly with raytracing and DLSS.   

In this section, we’ll be comparing the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 in multiple games to find out how much difference there is in performance. The benchmarks used for this comparison were obtained from YT/Testing Games. 

Starting off the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 vs RTX 3050 comparison, we have Days Gone, a critically acclaimed third-person zombie game. Similar to other games on the list, this game has been benchmarked at 1080p resolution with the highest settings. While the game doesn’t require a lot of CPU cores to run smoothly, it depends more on the GPU’s capabilities.  

For the Days Gone benchmark, we saw the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 reach 58 FPS on average, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which reached 106. This means the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 was 45% faster at rendering frames than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, which is close to double the performance.  

The lowest 1% FPS drops were noted at 49 FPS for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 and 89 FPS for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which means even the lowest FPS drops of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 were higher than the average frame rate of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650. Moreover, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 fell down to 47 FPS in case of 0.1% lows, as opposed to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which went down to 84 FPS.  

Cyberpunk 2077, a huge futuristic open-world game, was tested on the 1080p resolution at the highest settings on both GPUs. While full of bugs and glitches at launch, the game received a lot of patches afterward, making it much more optimized. Even so, the game is GPU and CPU-intensive, so you’ll see much lower frame rates here than other games on this list. 

In the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark, we can see the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 barely making it with 37 FPS on average compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which was reaching 70 FPS. With that said, we can say that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 gave an average 48% higher frame rate than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 in Cyberpunk 2077.  

As for the lowest 1% FPS drops, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 dropped to 30 FPS compared to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050’s 58 FPS, and again, we can see that even the 1% low FPS drops for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 are greater than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650’s average FPS. Additionally, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 dropped down to 28 FPS for the lowest 0.1% FPS drops, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which fell to 51 FPS.   

God of War is a critically acclaimed action-adventure game with top-rated reviews from critics and casual audiences alike. The game was tested with 1080p resolution at the highest possible settings for both graphic cards. God of War, released in 2018, is more CPU intensive however it still requires a powerful GPU to render the graphics. 

Regarding the God of War benchmark, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 was reaching an average of 44 FPS. Meanwhile, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 was reaching 82 average FPS. That’s almost double the number of frames in favor of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050. With that said, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 was 47% faster at outputting frames than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650. 

Moreover, the 1% FPS drops show the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 dropping down to 37 FPS, with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 being at 67 FPS. In the end, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 is still ahead by a long margin and is still higher in 1% FPS drops than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650’s average FPS. Moreover, the 0.1% FPS drops show a similar result, with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 dropping down to 35 FPS while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 reached 44 FPS.   

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Moving on to Dying Light 2, one of the best first-person survival games, the game was tested at 1080p resolution at the highest settings that the engine could muster. Dying Light 2 is also a very new game that came out earlier this year in 2022 and is more CPU intensive than other games on the list, which means we can see a smaller difference in FPS between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050.  

From the benchmark, it can be observed that the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 was reaching 37 FPS on average, with the 3050 being ahead by 20 more frames at 57 FPS. To compare, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 was 36% faster at outputting frames than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, which is smaller than other benchmarks in this list but still quite a large difference.  

For the 1% lowest FPS drops, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 dropped to 30 FPS, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 dropped to 47 FPS. As for the 0.1% FPS drops, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 was dropped down to 16 FPS, whereas the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 fell down to 18 FPS.   

As the 5th game on the list, we have Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG), a very popular recently made free-to-play battle royale game. Like other games on the list, PUBG has also been tested at 1080p resolution with the highest settings. While the game doesn’t require an extremely fast CPU, it must rely on the GPU to render most of its rendering.  

For the PUBG benchmark, we saw the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 reach 69 FPS on average, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which reached 116. Mostly, it means that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 was 41% faster at rendering frames than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, putting a lot of difference in the FPS.  

The lowest 1% FPS drops were noted at 46 FPS for the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 and 72 FPS for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which means that once again, even the lowest FPS drops of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 were higher than the average frame rate of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650. Furthermore, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 fell down to 45 FPS in case of 0.1% lows, as opposed to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which went down to 38 FPS. 

Continuing the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 comparison with Forza Horizon 5 benchmark, on the highest settings that the engine would allow on 1080p resolution. Forza Horizon 5 has been one of the best racing games ever to come out, and looks incredible. To add on, the game isn’t as CPU intensive compared to other games on this list and instead requires a powerful GPU to carry the FPS.  

With the Forza Horizon 5 benchmark, we can see the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 reaching an average of 86 FPS compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which was reaching 136 FPS. So, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 was much behind in comparison to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which outputted a 17% higher average FPS. 

As for the lowest 1% FPS drops, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 dropped down to 79 FPS compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which went down to 121 FPS. Similarly, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 reached a smaller frame rate of 75 FPS for 0.1% lows, compared to 118 FPS of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050.  

Hitman 3, a recently released stealth game, was tested on the 1080p resolution at the highest settings on both GPUs. While the game follows similar gameplay mechanics to its predecessors, it’s still very fun and enjoyable. Also, the game is less CPU intensive rather than GPU compared to previous entries, so you’ll see a larger difference in FPS here compared to other games in this list. 

In the Hitman 3 benchmark, we can see the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 barely making it with 63 FPS on average compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which was reaching 114 FPS. With that said, we can say that the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 gave an average 45% higher frame rate than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 in Cyberpunk 2077.  

As for the lowest 1% FPS drops, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 dropped to 51 FPS compared to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050’s 92 FPS, and again, we can see that even the 1% low FPS drops for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 are greater than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650’s average FPS. Additionally, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 dropped down to 49 FPS for the lowest 0.1% FPS drops, compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which fell to 79 FPS.   

Horizon Zero Dawn is a critically acclaimed action roleplaying game with a 9.3/10 rating from IGN and 9/10 from Steam. Horizon Zero Dawn was tested with 1080p resolution at the highest possible settings for both graphic cards. Even after 5 years, the game looks breathtaking, from its landscapes to its character models. Moreover, it is more GPU intensive and can run on a wide spectrum of CPUs. 

Regarding the Horizon Zero Dawn benchmark, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 was reaching an average of 45 FPS. Meanwhile, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 was reaching 78 average FPS. That’s a much closer difference in comparison to other games tested in this list. With that said, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 was 43% faster at outputting frames than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650. 

Moreover, the 1% FPS drops show the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 dropping down to 38 FPS, with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 being at 68 FPS. In the end, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 is still ahead by a long margin and is still higher in 1% FPS drops than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650’s average FPS. Moreover, the 0.1% FPS drops show a similar result, with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 dropping down to 37 FPS while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 reached 62 FPS.   

Moving on to Red Dead Redemption 2, one of the best open-world action games, it was tested at 1080p resolution at the highest possible settings on the system. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a 5-year-old game, but the detail in its world is still unmatched to this day. Also, Red Dead Redemption 2 is more GPU intensive in most areas on the map. However, towns with more NPCs require greater CPU power. 

From the benchmark, it can be observed that the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 was reaching 32 FPS on average, with the 3050 being ahead by 34 more frames at 66 FPS. To compare, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 was 49% faster at outputting frames than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, which is almost double the speed of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650.  

For the 1% lowest FPS drops, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 dropped to 28 FPS, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 dropped to 59 FPS. As for the 0.1% FPS drops, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 was dropped down to 27 FPS, whereas the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 fell down to 38 FPS.   

Finishing off the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 comparison with the Microsoft Flight Simulator benchmark on the highest settings that the engine would allow on 1080p resolution. Microsoft Flight Simulator has been one of it, not the most realistic flight simulator that the general audience has access to, and it looks incredible. Moreover, the game isn’t CPU intensive compared to other games on this list and requires a powerful GPU to carry the FPS.  

With the Microsoft Flight Simulator benchmark, we can see the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 reaching an average of 41 FPS compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which was reaching 77 FPS. So, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 was much behind in comparison to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which outputted 47% higher average FPS. 

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As for the lowest 1% FPS drops, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 dropped down to 34 FPS compared to the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, which went down to 55 FPS. Similarly, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 reached a smaller frame rate of 32 FPS for 0.1% lows, compared to the 48 FPS of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050. 

From this NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU comparison, it’s clear that there exists an enormous difference between the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 in terms of FPS. In most games that were tested, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 had almost double the number of frames as the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650. You should keep some things in mind before buying one of these GPUs. 

Firstly, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 is a much more recent graphics card with more software support and newer technologies such as raytracing and DLSS. Also, it has a higher VRAM and faster core clocks compared to the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, which allows it to perform much better. 

In all the games that were tested, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 had a 40-45% higher frame rate than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650. Both GPUs also had similar temperatures while gaming.  

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 is certainly the best GeForce xx50 series card to come out of NVIDIA up till this point. However, it’s much pricier and has power consumption than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650. If you’re looking to upgrade, go with the GPU with the least bottleneck with the rest of your system.  

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[Comparisons Expert]

Abdemanaf is a skilled creative writer who has been honing his craft since 2011. While initially working in different fields, he found a passion for technology and has been exploring the tech world since early 2015. Over the years, he has developed an in-depth knowledge of the latest tech trends and product offerings by various companies.

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