The rumored NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 with 9 GB of VRAM may have been cancelled before even entering production. According to information gathered by the well-known source MEGAsizeGPU, NVIDIA’s board partners have not received any launch schedules, instructions, or updates regarding this specific variant. While this doesn’t officially confirm its cancellation, it strongly indicates that, as of now, this graphics card is not part of NVIDIA’s immediate plans.
It’s important to note that we are not discussing the standard GeForce RTX 5050, but rather an enhanced version with 9 GB of memory. The official GeForce RTX 5050 is expected to feature 2,560 CUDA Cores based on the Blackwell architecture, paired with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and a 128-bit interface. This ‘RTX 5050 SUPER’ version was quite peculiar, as it increased VRAM capacity while simultaneously limiting the memory interface, potentially reducing bandwidth.
The 9 GB GeForce RTX 5050 Was Expected to Offer More VRAM and a Slight Performance Boost
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 with 9 GB always had a rather unusual design approach. Rumors suggested it would utilize new 3 GB GDDR7 modules, allowing for 9 GB of VRAM through a 96-bit interface. On paper, the upgrade wasn’t particularly compelling: just 1 GB of additional VRAM compared to the standard RTX 5050, a switch from GDDR6 to GDDR7, but with a narrowed bus that would cap any significant performance gains. The leaked bandwidth figure was 336 GB/s, only slightly higher than the 320 GB/s of the 8 GB GDDR6 RTX 5050. This translates to a mere 5% improvement.
| Model | Memory | Bus | Bandwidth | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 5050 | 8 GB GDDR6 | 128-bit | 320 GB/s | Available |
| GeForce RTX 5050 9 GB | 9 GB GDDR7 | 96-bit | 336 GB/s | Cancelled or Delayed |
| GeForce RTX 3060 | 12 GB GDDR6 | 192-bit | 360 GB/s | Re-released |
The prevailing hypothesis is that NVIDIA decided to cancel this 9 GB RTX 5050 because it lacked strong commercial sense. Adding only 1 GB of extra memory, narrowing the bus, and relying on GDDR7 for an entry-level card could have negatively impacted costs and market positioning. Furthermore, the reintroduction of the 12 GB GeForce RTX 3060 for the same market segment places the 9 GB RTX 5050 in an awkward position. While it boasts a more modern architecture, its lower VRAM and challenging memory configuration might be difficult to sell against an older but established card with 12 GB.
Consequently, MEGAsizeGPU suggests that the RTX 5050 9 GB is either cancelled or indefinitely delayed. Their reasoning is that NVIDIA may have reintroduced the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB to fill that market gap, rendering the new RTX 5050 9 GB irrelevant for a considerable period. It’s worth noting that this same leaker had previously predicted the return of the RTX 3060 12 GB months ago. After all, 8 GB of VRAM is already becoming a limitation in demanding AAA games, so increasing it to just 9 GB wouldn’t have significantly altered that narrative.
