Nvidia RTX 5050 again rumored to pack slower VRAM than other Blackwell GPUs, but don’t write off this budget graphics card yet

• Nvidia’s RTX 5050 desktop GPU is rumored to have 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM, slower than the rest of the Blackwell range
• In theory, it’ll run at the same speed as the GDDR6 in AMD’s RDNA 4 GPUs
• Whatever the video memory spec turns out to be, Nvidia can still have a winning budget GPU if the price is pitched right

We’re again hearing that Nvidia’s RTX 5050 desktop graphics card is nearing launch, and will be using slower video RAM than the rest of the Blackwell GPU range.

In fact, according to a new rumor aired on X that VideoCardz noticed, the RTX 5050 will employ GDDR6 video RAM (rather than GDDR7 as seen elsewhere with Blackwell) running at a speed of 20Gbps. As per previous chatter, it’ll run with 8GB of this VRAM.

This is from leaker MEGAsizeGPU, who is generally regarded as a reliable source, and further notes that this is the same speed of VRAM as seen in AMD’s RDNA 4 graphics cards (meaning the likes of the RX 9070 XT).

If the grapevine is right, the RTX 5050 desktop will launch in the near future, maybe as soon as July, and it’ll probably arrive alongside the mobile variant for budget gaming laptops, too.

Analysis: Pricing is key, as ever

At this point, the volume of RTX 5050 leaks has been pretty hefty, so much so that it’d be a surprise if Nvidia didn’t have this GPU inbound. Rumors must be carefully seasoned, naturally, but when enough of them are consistently floating around, it’s difficult to deny that they’re likely to come to pass.

What’s odd about the speculation around the RTX 5050, both laptop and desktop versions, is that the various sources can’t seem to decide on the type of VRAM used. Some laptop rumors still insist the RTX 5050 mobile may get the faster GDDR7 video RAM used in other Blackwell GPUs, while the desktop theories have plumped for GDDR6. Indeed, recent laptop listings that have leaked the RTX 5050 mobile have shown both GDDR6 and GDDR7 video memory.

Is it possible we could see both types of VRAM used in laptops? That seems highly unlikely, as it would be seriously confusing for consumers (not that Nvidia hasn’t done that before). We might see GDDR7 for laptops, and GDDR6 for the desktop RTX 5050; that’s certainly possible.

But what I think is more likely is that Nvidia intended to use GDDR7 at some point, but changed to GDDR6, and this is what we’ll get for all models of the RTX 5050, laptop and desktop.

Whatever the case, the RTX 5050 is sure to pack 8GB, as that’s the leanest amount Nvidia could possibly get away with. And while there has been a lot of complaining about 8GB being an insufficient pool of video RAM for modern gaming, remember, this is very much a budget GPU, so it’ll have a configuration oriented towards making it cheap.

That is, of course, the key. While there’s been disappointment that the RTX 5050’s rumored specs make it look rather weak sauce – and this latest nugget from X hasn’t helped – if Nvidia frames that spec with attractive enough pricing, then we’ll have a winner. It really is that simple.

You might also like

• AMD looks like it’s losing the GPU war based on new Steam survey, with Nvidia’s RTX 5060 Ti proving itself to be popular already
• Rumored Nvidia RTX 5080 Super specs disappoint some gamers, but I don’t think there’s anything to worry about with this GPU
• AMD could be working on a faster RX 9070 Extreme graphics card

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel – ‘I Know What You Did Last Supper’ – was published by Hachette UK in 2013).