GeForce RTX 3050 8 GB vs GTX 590

Place in the ranking	496	166
Place by popularity	not in top-100	11
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.78	69.22
Power efficiency	1.64	17.41
Architecture	Fermi 2.0 (2010−2014)	Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code name	GF110	GA106
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	24 March 2011 (13 years ago)	4 January 2022 (3 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$699	$249

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX 3050 8 GB has 8774% better value for money than GTX 590.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	1024	2560
Core clock speed	607 MHz	1552 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1777 MHz
Number of transistors	3,000 million	12,000 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	365 Watt	130 Watt
Maximum GPU temperature	97 °C	no data
Texture fill rate	38.91	142.2
Floating-point processing power	1.244 TFLOPS	9.098 TFLOPS
ROPs	48	32
TMUs	64	80
Tensor Cores	no data	80
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	20

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Bus support	16x PCI-E 2.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x8
Length	279 mm	242 mm
Height	4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	2x 8-pin	1x 8-pin
SLI options	+	-

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	3072 MB (1536 MB per GPU)	8 GB
Memory bus width	768-bit (384-bit per GPU)	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	1707 MHz	1750 MHz
Memory bandwidth	327.7 GB/s	224.0 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	Three Dual Link DVI-IMini DisplayPort	1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
Multi monitor support	+	no data
HDMI	+	+
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	no data
Audio input for HDMI	Internal	no data

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 (11_0)	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	5.1	6.6
OpenGL	4.2	4.6
OpenCL	1.1	3.0
Vulkan	N/A	1.3
CUDA	+	8.6

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 590 8.69

RTX 3050 8 GB 32.80
+277%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GTX 590 3341

RTX 3050 8 GB 12612
+277%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

900p	47 −262%	170−180 +262%
Full HD	108 −270%	400−450 +270%
1200p	112 −257%	400−450 +257%

Cost per frame, $

1080p

6.47

−940%

0.62
+940%

RTX 3050 8 GB has 940% lower cost per frame in 1080p

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Elden Ring	24−27 −275%	90−95 +275%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	27−30 −257%	100−105 +257%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 −271%	130−140 +271%
Metro Exodus	21−24 −270%	85−90 +270%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 −275%	90−95 +275%
Valorant	30−35 −255%	110−120 +255%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	27−30 −257%	100−105 +257%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Dota 2	30−35 −255%	110−120 +255%
Elden Ring	24−27 −275%	90−95 +275%
Far Cry 5	35−40 −251%	130−140 +251%
Fortnite	50−55 −273%	190−200 +273%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 −271%	130−140 +271%
Grand Theft Auto V	30−35 −255%	110−120 +255%
Metro Exodus	21−24 −270%	85−90 +270%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	65−70 −277%	260−270 +277%
Red Dead Redemption 2	24−27 −275%	90−95 +275%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	24−27 −265%	95−100 +265%
Valorant	30−35 −255%	110−120 +255%
World of Tanks	120−130 −249%	450−500 +249%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	27−30 −257%	100−105 +257%
Counter-Strike 2	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 −253%	60−65 +253%
Dota 2	30−35 −255%	110−120 +255%
Far Cry 5	35−40 −251%	130−140 +251%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 −271%	130−140 +271%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	65−70 −277%	260−270 +277%
Valorant	30−35 −255%	110−120 +255%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	10−11 −250%	35−40 +250%
Elden Ring	12−14 −275%	45−50 +275%
Grand Theft Auto V	10−12 −264%	40−45 +264%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	40−45 −257%	150−160 +257%
Red Dead Redemption 2	7−8 −243%	24−27 +243%
World of Tanks	60−65 −265%	230−240 +265%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	16−18 −275%	60−65 +275%
Counter-Strike 2	10−11 −250%	35−40 +250%
Cyberpunk 2077	6−7 −250%	21−24 +250%
Far Cry 5	18−20 −261%	65−70 +261%
Forza Horizon 4	18−20 −261%	65−70 +261%
Metro Exodus	14−16 −267%	55−60 +267%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 −250%	35−40 +250%
Valorant	21−24 −264%	80−85 +264%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	3−4 −233%	10−11 +233%
Dota 2	18−20 −268%	70−75 +268%
Elden Ring	5−6 −260%	18−20 +260%
Grand Theft Auto V	18−20 −268%	70−75 +268%
Metro Exodus	4−5 −250%	14−16 +250%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	24−27 −260%	90−95 +260%
Red Dead Redemption 2	6−7 −250%	21−24 +250%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	18−20 −268%	70−75 +268%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	7−8 −243%	24−27 +243%
Counter-Strike 2	3−4 −233%	10−11 +233%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 −250%	7−8 +250%
Dota 2	18−20 −268%	70−75 +268%
Far Cry 5	10−11 −250%	35−40 +250%
Fortnite	9−10 −233%	30−33 +233%
Forza Horizon 4	10−11 −250%	35−40 +250%
Valorant	8−9 −275%	30−33 +275%

This is how GTX 590 and RTX 3050 8 GB compete in popular games:

RTX 3050 8 GB is 262% faster in 900p
RTX 3050 8 GB is 270% faster in 1080p
RTX 3050 8 GB is 257% faster in 1200p

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	8.69	32.80
Recency	24 March 2011	4 January 2022
Maximum RAM amount	3072 MB (1536 MB per GPU)	8 GB
Chip lithography	40 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	365 Watt	130 Watt

RTX 3050 8 GB has a 277.4% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 10 years, a 166.7% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 400% more advanced lithography process, and 180.8% lower power consumption.

The GeForce RTX 3050 8 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 590 in performance tests.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.