Nvidia silently confirmed the release of the new RTX 3050 variant today, which is a slow model for the OEM market only. This variant has a slight reduction in core clock and CUDA core. However, all other core specifications, such as memory configuration and TDP, remain the same.
Unfortunately, Nvidia doesn’t say why this new model was created. This is almost the same as the standard model. The neutral version reduces the number of CUDA cores from 2560 to 2304 (20SM to 19SM) by 11% and the core clock by about 2%.
In actual use, the performance degradation between the two cards should be completely inconspicuous with a small deviation in the number of cores, especially the clock speed. In addition, Nvidia’s GPU Boost 4.0 algorithm should be able to boost even higher clocks than the standard variant, as the power consumption remains the same between the two models.
Perhaps Nvidia has disabled some cores to increase yields from the slightly defective GA106 die manufactured in the factory. This is the only logical explanation we have right now, but it makes a lot of sense.
This isn’t the first time Nvidia has done this in the GPU market. Over the past few generations, we’ve seen several GPU models with 2-4 different versions to optimize manufacturing efficiency. The most prominent examples of this were the RTX 30801 2GB and GTX 1060 3GB, which had more or less CUDA cores than the corresponding vanilla.
Nvidia has also released OEM-only models of graphics cards in the past, but it hasn’t been released for a very long time. However, unlike previous OEM models, this new 3050 model does not have an OEM brand and shares the same naming scheme as the Vanilla RTX3050 8GB.
This can be a problem for customers who choose gaming PCs from OEMs or who are considering graphics cards in the second hand market. Without proper distinction between the two 3050 models, customers will not know which GPU they are purchasing until they purchase the machine and launch GPU-Z on their system. Hopefully this potential problem doesn’t become a reality.
The price and availability are unknown, and since this castrated 3050 is OEM only, it is doubtful if there is any MSRP. However, Nvidia has released a new GPU specification on its main website, so it should already be in the hands of many of Nvidia’s OEM partners. Therefore, expect new machines to be updated with the new 3050 at any time.
