With an MSRP of $249 / £239, the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC is bit of an enigma in the world of video cards right now. Despite the buzz around this product, I'll be the first to admit that it's unlikely to rank among the finest graphics cards for gaming in terms of performance. However, given the appropriate circumstances, it achieves its 1080p60 target brilliantly.

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC 8G

If you're looking for a low-cost GPU to carry you through until the present market stabilises, this may be a good choice. The same may be said if you're playing games on old gear that can't keep up with the latest releases. To be honest, the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC can keep up, but it will require some assistance to get there.

The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC has a design that is extremely similar to the company's other RTX 30 series GPUs, with the difference that it is somewhat shorter. On the aesthetics front, this video card keeps things plain and uncomplicated with twin black fans on top and a grey / blue colour scheme on both the top and the metal backplate. Those 90mm fans rotate in the opposite way to maximise airflow.

Overall, it's the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC's build quality that impresses me the most. Although you won't find a protected backplate or a tough, sturdy metal construction body on certain inexpensive video cards, this GPU has a quality weight and feel to it.


Features of the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC

With a maximum boost frequency of 1792 Mhz instead of 1777 Mhz, the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC is a tad quicker than some of its competitors. When pushed to its capabilities, this results in a very minor performance improvement.

The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC's specifications are comparable to those of other GPUs released in the $250 bracket in recent years. It is priced between the GTX 1660 ($219) and GTX 1660 Ti ($279) as a point of comparison. The RTX 3050 has 2560 CUDA cores and 8GB GDDR6 VRAM, with a 128-bit bus width and 14 Gbps bandwidth.

When we compare the RTX 3050 and the RTX 3060, we can see the changes in maximum power output. The Gigabyte GeForce Eagle OC is $81 cheaper, but it lacks the same grunt beneath the hood as the latter video card. The RTX 3060 is a $329 MSRP graphics card with 3,584 CUDA cores, 12GB GDDR6 VRAM, and a 192-bit memory bus, resulting in a 23 percent power difference overall. The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC bears significantly more in common with the GTX 1600 series than it does with the rest of the 20- or 30-Series lines, at least on paper.


The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC's major limitation is its much narrower memory bus than any other RTX 20- or 30-series GPU thus far. Despite the fact that the RTX 3050 has 8GB of GDDR6 memory compared to the RTX 2060's 6GB, the latter's 192-bit memory bus helps the GPU to attain greater frame rates and perform more reliably. This implies that the RTX 3050 runs similarly to a GTX 1660 Ti while also supporting ray tracing and DLSS.

All of the connectors you'd expect to see on a current-generation GPU are present on the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC, including 2x DisplayPort 1.4 and 2x HDMI 2.1 for compatibility with the greatest gaming displays on the market right now. It's worth noting that many inexpensive video cards, such as the GTX 1660 and RTX 2060, only have one of each connector, with earlier models not supporting HDMI 2.1 as expected. This implies that if you're looking for a reasonably cost GPU for a multi-monitor setup, you'll have a lot of alternatives on which monitors to use.


Performance of the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC 

The Gigabyte Eagle RTX 3050 OC delivers respectable performance across the board if you keep your expectations in check. In recent games, the Nvidia RTX 3050 has been marketed as a 1080p60 GPU that supports both ray tracing and DLSS. So, I figured the best way to put the company's promises to the test would be to check how the RTX 3050 performed in two games that were highly highlighted in the performance marketing material: Guardians of the Galaxy and Control.

In both Guardians of the Galaxy and Control, Nvidia says that the RTX 3050 GPU can reach 60fps at Full HD with both ray tracing and DLSS enabled, and I'm here to tell you that the Gigabyte Eagle RTX 3050 OC hits the mark - most of the time.

Since its release, Control has been the go-to game for its ray tracing capability, and the RTX 3050 holds its own in this title in both Full HD and even 1440p. Now, I'll state this straight away: in order to attain 60 FPS, DLSS is a must, which may disappoint those looking for strong native performance without relying on the A.I. upscaling technology.

Control could be played at 60 frames per second with both DLSS and ray tracing turned on. However, if you don't want to sacrifice quality (since DLSS renders at 720p and then A.I. upscales the film), you can get 60 FPS natively by turning off ray tracing. High settings with ray tracing set to medium (which still provides you ray traced reflections and clear reflections) were an excellent balance for a workable framerate, averaging about 54 FPS constantly.


The Gigabyte Eagle RTX 3050 OC averages approximately 40 FPS with high settings and ray tracing maxed out in 1080p without DLSS enabled, which is far from ideal for gamers looking for a silky smooth gaming experience. To keep the frame rate and picture quality consistent here, keep DLSS enabled and set to either 'Balanced' or 'Performance.'

Guardians of the Galaxy isn't only a gorgeous game; it's also beautifully tuned, with the Gigabyte Eagle RTX 3050 OC holding its own at 1080p and 1440p under the correct conditions. To begin, I'll state that the video card was capable of running Guardians of the Galaxy at extreme settings with ray tracing and DLSS enabled. It's a remarkable achievement that demonstrates the possibilities of a low-end GPU like this when it comes to the fidelity on exhibit here.

However, at 1440p, you'll have to choose between graphical fidelity and overall performance, since the Gigabyte Eagle RTX 3050 OC doesn't quite touch 60 FPS even with DLSS enabled. When both DLSS and ray tracing are enabled, performance averages approximately 47 frames per second, while it increases to roughly 52 frames per second when ray tracing is removed. Things appeared to run nicely in general, but if you're looking for a rock-solid 60, you'll want to keep it set to 1080p. Finally, we have Metro Last Light for the ray tracing performance testing, which performed admirably on the PC Enhanced Edition. This game is still one of the best-looking PC games for ray tracing in my view, just under three years after its initial release.

Metro Exodus runs at 60 FPS with both DLSS and ray tracing enabled at Extreme (the game's maximum level). Playing natively at 1080p will still give you a workable average of 53 FPS, however 1440p will be a little more difficult. If you want to increase the resolution, you're going to lose a lot of frames. In 1440p, with DLSS and ray tracing enabled, you should expect a 58 FPS average. You'll get roughly 34 FPS if you disable the AI upscaling technology, therefore DLSS is very much required for more demanding games.

These were far from the only games I tried playing on the Gigabyte Eagle RTX 3050 OC GPU, as I also tested its capabilities in more modest games like Planet Coaster, Hotline Miami, PC Building Simulator, Tekken 7, and others, with generally positive results. The RTX 3050 is up to the task if you're looking for a current-generation video card for less demanding games at 1080p; it only starts to suffer when you push it to its limits.



Is the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 EAGLE OC worth it?

If the Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC 8G was widely accessible at its MSRP, my suggestion would be simple: yes, you should get it if you're looking for a low-cost video card that performs well. However, that is in a perfect environment, and rates are already beginning to rise at an alarming rate, as is to be expected. If you can get this GPU for less than the RTX 2060 or rates close to the RTX 3060 or RTX 3060 Ti, you should consider it. Just don't pay more than you would for the RTX 2060 or rates close to the RTX 3060 or RTX 3060 Ti.

The Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3050 Eagle OC does a lot of things well, including correctly achieving 1080p60 while utilising Nvidia's newest innovations. You won't be maxing out everything, so I'd suggest lowering a few settings to maintain a minimum of 60 frames per second. If you're looking for a video card that can bridge the gap between old and modern, this one will suffice as long as your expectations are reasonable. When it comes to RTX 3050 stock, this is one to keep an eye on.