MSI GeForce RTX 3050 GAMING X 8G Review

1. Introduction
2. Everything You Need to Know About Ampere
3. RTX 3050 8GB Tech Specs
4. Detailed Look
5. Test System Specs
6. Benchmarks - Synthetic
7. Benchmarks - 1080p
8. Benchmarks - 1440p
9. Benchmarks - 4K
10. Power Consumption & Temps
11. What's Hot, What's Not
12. Final Thoughts

TweakTown's Rating: 95%

The Bottom Line

MSI has a great card on its hand switch the GeForce RTX 3050 GAMING X -- the fastest RTX 3050 so far, with GPU temps sitting at just 60C.

Buy at Amazon

Introduction

MSI's new custom GeForce RTX 3050 GAMING X 8G arrived a few days late, with NVIDIA sending over the custom EVGA GeForce RTX 3050 XC BLACK graphics card that I just reviewed -- but now it's time for some of that custom MSI lovin' in the form of the new RTX 3050 GAMING X 8G.

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The new MSI GeForce RTX 3050 GAMING X 8G is exactly like any other RTX 3050, rocking its Ampere-based GA104 GPU and 8GB of GDDR6 memory. AMD's new Navi 24-based Radeon RX 6500 XT is pathetic in comparison, dropping to its knees against the RTX 3050 (8GB versus 4GB on the RX 6500 XT) at anything higher than 1080p gaming.

MSI keeps things nice and chill with its in-house TWIN FROZR 8 thermal design, with the dual-fan cooler keeping things nice and cool... while RGB lighting isn't blinding you in the middle of a late-night, or all-night gaming session. GPU temps stay at under 60C, while fans only spool up to 30% which is a norm with MSI's custom TWIN FROZR 8-cooled GPUs.

• Read more: MSI GeForce RTX 3090 SUPRIM X Review
• Read more: MSI GeForce RTX 3090 GAMING X TRIO Review
• Read more: MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ti SUPRIM X Review
• Read more: MSI GeForce RTX 3080 SUPRIM X Review
• Read more: MSI GeForce RTX 3080 GAMING X TRIO Review
• Read more: MSI GeForce RTX 3070 Ti SUPRIM X Review
• Read more: MSI GeForce RTX 3070 GAMING X TRIO Review
• Read more: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti GAMING X TRIO Review
• Read more: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 GAMING X TRIO Review

Everything You Need to Know About Ampere

• HDMI 2.1 - GeForce RTX 30 Series GPUs are the first available to feature HDMI 2.1 support with support for 4K@120Hz (4K120). HDMI 2.1 increases total bandwidth over HDMI 2.0b from 18 Gigabits/sec to 48 and adds support for high-dynamic-range (HDR), which provides brighter images with higher contrast, and more vibrant colors with better shadows and highlights.
• AV1 Decode - AV1 (AOMedia Video 1) is an open, royalty-free video coding format developed by AOM (Alliance for Open Media) that provides better compression and quality compared to existing codecs like H.264, HEVC, and VP9, and is being adopted by many of the top video platforms and browsers. AV1 will generally provide 50% bitrate savings over H.264.

RTX 3050 8GB Tech Specs

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Detailed Look

MSI does its usual great job on the retail packaging, even on the entry-level GeForce RTX 3050 GAMING X graphics card. A great shot of the card on the front, and everything you need to know about NVIDIA, RTX, and MSI's respective technologies on the back.

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From the front and the back, MSI's new custom GeForce RTX 3050 GAMING X looks just like previous entries in the Ampere-powered GAMING X series GPUs.

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It's a bit thicker than I'd like for a GeForce RTX 3050... but the single 8-pin PCIe power connector is nice.

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Display connectivity includes 3 x DisplayPort 1.4 and 1 x HDMI 2.1 connectors, all capable of 4K 120Hz+ and 8K 60Hz.

Test System Specs

Latest upgrade:

Sabrent sent over their huge Rocket Q 8TB NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSD, which will be my new Games install SSD inside of my main test bed.

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I've got a new upgrade inside of my GPU test bed before my change to a next-gen test bed, where I will be preparing for NVIDIA's next-gen Ampere graphics cards and AMD's next-gen RDNA 2 graphics cards.

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Sabrent helped out with some new storage for my GPU test beds, sending over a slew of crazy-fast Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 SSDs. I've got this installed into my GPU test bed as the new Games Storage drive, since games are so damn big now. Thanks to Sabrent, I've got 2TB of super-fast M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD storage now.

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Anthony's GPU Test System Specifications

I've recently upgraded my GPU test bed -- at least for now, until AMD's new Ryzen 9 5950X processor is unleashed then the final update for 2020 will happen and we'll be all good for RDNA 2 and future Ampere GPU releases. You can read my article here: TweakTown GPU Test Bed Upgrade for 2021, But Then Zen 3 Was Announced.

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3800X (buy from Amazon)
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG X570 Crosshair VIII HERO (buy from Amazon)
• Cooler: CoolerMaster MasterLiquid ML360R RGB (buy from Amazon)
• RAM: G.SKILL Trident Z NEO RGB 32GB (4x8GB) (F4-3600C18Q-32GTZN) (buy from Amazon)
• SSD: Sabrent 2TB Rocket NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 (buy from Amazon)
• PSU: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 11 1200W (buy from Amazon)
• Case: InWin X-Frame 2.0
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional x64 (buy from Amazon)

Benchmarks - Synthetic

3DMark Fire Strike

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3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.

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3DMark TimeSpy

Heaven - 1080p

Heaven is an intensive GPU benchmark that really pushes your silicon to its limits. It's another favorite of ours as it has some great scaling for multi-GPU testing, and it's great for getting your GPU to 100% for power and noise testing.

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Benchmarks - 1080p

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Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is the latest game to be inserted into our benchmark suite, with Ubisoft Montreal using its AnvilNext engine to power the game. It scales really well across the cards, and has some surprising performance benefits with AMD's new Big Navi GPUs.

You can buy Assassins Creed: Valhalla at Amazon.

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Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.

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Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games' latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.

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1080p Benchmark Performance Thoughts

MSI's new custom GeForce RTX 3050 GAMING X is a great 1080p gaming card, and will have you gaming at 1080p at around 60C -- while being whisper quiet, I might add.

Benchmarks - 1440p

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Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is the latest game to be inserted into our benchmark suite, with Ubisoft Montreal using its AnvilNext engine to power the game. It scales really well across the cards, and has some surprising performance benefits with AMD's new Big Navi GPUs.

You can buy Assassins Creed: Valhalla at Amazon.

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Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.

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Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games' latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.

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1440p Benchmark Performance Thoughts

I wouldn't recommend the new GeForce RTX 3050 for 1440p gaming, but with DLSS set to "Performance" mode you will at least see 60FPS in decent titles.

Benchmarks - 4K

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Assassin's Creed: Valhalla is the latest game to be inserted into our benchmark suite, with Ubisoft Montreal using its AnvilNext engine to power the game. It scales really well across the cards, and has some surprising performance benefits with AMD's new Big Navi GPUs.

You can buy Assassins Creed: Valhalla at Amazon.

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Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.

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Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games' latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.

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Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.

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4K Benchmark Performance Thoughts

Just... don't.

Power Consumption & Temps

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MSI keeps GPU temps pretty low at just 60C under load, while the GPU hot spot hits 70-73C with the dual fans spinning at 1200RPM (around 30% or so).

What's Hot, What's Not

What's Hot

• A great mid-range card: The MSI GeForce RTX 3050 GAMING X is a great graphics card -- like the rest of the RTX 3050 cards -- it's just priced too high (but that's because it's 2022 and the GPU shortage situation). Things will change in the future, but if you take price away -- you've got an entry-level card that does RT + DLSS -- not too damn bad.
• 8GB of GDDR6 memory: AMD is new Radeon RX 6500 XT throws 4GB of GDDR6, where in a world of 8GB, 16GB, and even 24GB VRAM on cards, the 8GB of GDDR6 on the GeForce RTX 3050 is very welcomed. You won't be gaming at 1440p or 4K, but it gives you wiggle room for RT and DLSS.
• HDMI 2.1 connectivity, great for HTPC: Another win here is the HDMI 2.1 connectivity over HDMI 2.0 on older-gen cards, as HDMI 2.1 allows a single cable to drive 4K 120Hz (and above) even on the entry-level GeForce RTX 3050. This is great for HTPC users.

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What's Not

• Single 8-pin PCIe power connector: It would be nice to do away with the PCIe power connector, maybe with the Ada Lovelace-powered GeForce RTX 4050 and its PCIe 5.0 connector, then we'll see no PCIe power connector on a 50-series card.
• Entry-level ray tracing + DLSS: This is a serious win for NVIDIA over AMD, and while you wouldn't want to run out and buy the RTX 3050 for ray tracing... DLSS on the other hand, will super-pump your FPS in games that you want over 120FPS. Alternatively, older games can be enjoyed with DLSS set to Quality, with higher fidelity graphics.

Final Thoughts

MSI's custom GeForce RTX 3050 GAMING X is a little chunkier than EVGA's custom GeForce RTX 3050 XC BLACK graphics card, but it outperforms the EVGA RTX 3050 by a few FPS in virtually all games.

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The MSI GeForce RTX 3050 GAMING X also runs a few degrees cooler than the EVGA RTX 3050 XC BLACK, thanks to the bigger cooler and MSI's in-house TWIN FROZR 8 cooling technology. GPU clocks stick at around 2000MHz with some wiggle room of 100MHz+ through overclocking.

If you're gaming at 1080p and want to maintain 60FPS with ray tracing and DLSS set to "Quality" then you're going to be in good hands with the MSI GeForce RTX 3050 GAMING X. If you want to aim a little higher and hit 1080p 120Hz or 1440p 120Hz then you can still do that -- depending on the game, graphics settings, and more -- if you're using NVIDIA DLSS set to "Performance" mode.

MSI can't help the pricing but if you find the GeForce RTX 3050 GAMING X in your market for a price you're comfortable with paying, jump on it -- there are plenty of games with RTX and DLSS -- and the MSI RTX 3050 GAMING X will carve through that.