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Gainward GeForce RTX 3050 Pegasus 6GB specifications and in-depth review

Gainward GeForce RTX 3050 Pegasus 6GB

Manufacturer: Gainward

The Gainward GeForce RTX 3050 Pegasus 6GB is a compact, low-power graphics card based on NVIDIA's Ampere architecture, manufactured on an 8nm process and integrating 8700 million transistors. With a 70W TDP and dimensions of 162×117 mm, it is designed for systems where power efficiency and physical footprint are practical considerations, connecting to the host platform via a PCIe 4 interface.

The card's 2304 shading units operate at a base clock of 1042 MHz and a turbo of 1470 MHz, delivering 6.774 TFLOPS of floating-point performance alongside a texture rate of 105.8 GTexels/s across 72 TMUs and 32 ROPs. On the memory side, 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM runs at an effective 14000 MHz over a 96-bit bus, yielding up to 168 GB/s of bandwidth with ECC support included. The feature set covers DirectX 12 Ultimate, ray tracing, and DLSS, alongside OpenGL 4.6, OpenCL 3, stereoscopic 3D, and Intel Resizable BAR, with display output provided by one HDMI 2.1 port, one DisplayPort, and one DVI connector for up to three simultaneous displays.

Pros
  • A 70W TDP allows the card to run within very modest power budgets, making it compatible with systems that lack high-capacity power supplies
  • The compact 162×117 mm form factor fits comfortably in small and mid-range chassis where larger cards would not be viable
  • Ray tracing and DLSS support bring access to current-generation rendering features within a low-power design envelope
  • ECC memory support adds a layer of data reliability for compute workloads where memory error correction is a genuine requirement
  • Intel Resizable BAR compatibility enables the CPU to access the full GPU frame buffer, which can improve rendering throughput on supported platforms
  • The inclusion of a DVI output alongside HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort provides backward compatibility for users with older monitors
Cons
  • The 96-bit memory bus limits available bandwidth and can become a bottleneck in texture-heavy or higher-resolution rendering scenarios
  • 6GB of VRAM is a relatively tight allocation that may fall short for workloads involving large textures or memory-intensive applications
  • 32 render output units constrain the pixel fill rate, which can affect performance in demanding or high-resolution scenes
  • No USB-C or mini DisplayPort outputs are available, reducing flexibility for users whose displays rely on those interfaces
  • Air-only cooling with no hybrid option means thermal performance is dependent on adequate chassis airflow
  • RGB lighting is absent, which may be a drawback for users building systems with coordinated visual aesthetics
Who is this for?

The Gainward GeForce RTX 3050 Pegasus 6GB is a strong fit for users building compact or power-constrained systems, where its 162×117 mm footprint and 70W TDP allow it to slot into smaller chassis without demanding a high-wattage power supply or elaborate cooling. It suits those who want access to a modern feature set — including ray tracing, DLSS, and DirectX 12 Ultimate — for light to moderate 1080p workloads without the bulk associated with higher-tier cards. Users with reliability-sensitive compute tasks will also find value in the card's ECC memory support and OpenCL 3 compatibility, where data accuracy and API coverage outweigh the need for raw throughput.

Who is this NOT for?

Users planning to run demanding workloads at 1440p or 4K will find the 6GB VRAM and 96-bit memory bus insufficient to sustain smooth performance at those resolutions, particularly in scenes with large texture sets or complex geometry. The card is equally unsuitable for memory-intensive professional pipelines — such as large-scale 3D rendering or dataset-heavy compute workloads — where the narrow bus width and limited VRAM capacity become hard constraints rather than minor trade-offs. Those who require USB-C or mini DisplayPort connectivity will also find the port layout restrictive, as neither interface is available on this model.

Performance:

GPU clock speed 1042 MHz
GPU turbo 1470 MHz
pixel rate 47.04 GPixel/s
floating-point performance 6.774 TFLOPS
texture rate 105.8 GTexels/s
GPU memory speed 1750 MHz
shading units 2304
texture mapping units (TMUs) 72
render output units (ROPs) 32
Has Double Precision Floating Point (DPFP) ✓

Clocked at 1042 MHz base with a turbo frequency of 1470 MHz, the GPU's 2304 shading units and 72 texture mapping units deliver a texture rate of 105.8 GTexels/s and a pixel rate of 47.04 GPixel/s across 32 render output units. Total floating-point throughput comes in at 6.774 TFLOPS, with GPU memory running at 1750 MHz. Double Precision Floating Point (DPFP) is supported, extending the card's usefulness to compute workloads that depend on 64-bit precision.

Memory:

effective memory speed 14000 MHz
maximum memory bandwidth 168 GB/s
VRAM 6GB
GDDR version GDDR6
memory bus width 96-bit
Supports ECC memory ✓

The card is fitted with 6GB of GDDR6 VRAM operating at an effective speed of 14000 MHz across a 96-bit memory bus, producing a maximum bandwidth of 168 GB/s. The 96-bit interface keeps the overall power draw modest while still providing sufficient throughput for the card's intended workload range. ECC memory support is included, enabling hardware-level error correction for tasks where data integrity is a practical requirement.

Features:

DirectX version DirectX 12 Ultimate
OpenGL version 4.6
OpenCL version 3
Supports multi-display technology ✓
supports ray tracing ✓
Supports 3D ✓
supports DLSS ✓
has XeSS (XMX) ✕
AMD SAM / Intel Resizable BAR Intel Resizable BAR
has LHR ✕
has RGB lighting ✕
supported displays 3

The card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, and OpenCL 3, covering the main APIs used across modern gaming and compute applications. Hardware ray tracing and DLSS are both enabled, and stereoscopic 3D output is also available alongside multi-display support for up to three screens simultaneously. Intel Resizable BAR is supported for compatible systems, while XeSS (XMX), LHR, and RGB lighting are all absent from this model's specification.

Ports:

has an HDMI output ✓
HDMI ports 1
HDMI version HDMI 2.1
DisplayPort outputs 1
USB-C ports 0
DVI outputs 1
mini DisplayPort outputs 0

The card provides three video outputs: one HDMI 2.1 port, one DisplayPort, and one DVI connector. USB-C and mini DisplayPort are not included, resulting in a concise bracket layout that covers the most widely used display interfaces without additional complexity.

General info:

GPU architecture Ampere
Thermal Design Power (TDP) 70W
PCI Express (PCIe) version 4
semiconductor size 8 nm
number of transistors 8700 million
Has air-water cooling ✕
width 162 mm
height 117 mm

Built on the Ampere architecture using an 8nm fabrication process, the GPU houses 8700 million transistors and connects to the host system via PCIe 4. A TDP of 70W keeps power requirements low, and cooling is handled by air alone — no hybrid or liquid solution is part of this design. The card measures 162 mm wide and 117 mm tall, giving it a compact footprint well-suited to builds where internal space is limited.

Final Verdict

The Gainward GeForce RTX 3050 Pegasus 6GB presents a coherent and well-scoped package for users whose priorities align with its design — namely, a compact, low-power graphics card that doesn't sacrifice access to modern rendering features. Its 70W TDP and 162×117 mm footprint make it genuinely accessible to a range of system configurations that larger cards cannot accommodate, and the inclusion of ray tracing, DLSS, ECC memory, and DirectX 12 Ultimate gives it relevance beyond basic display output. The 96-bit memory bus and 6GB VRAM do impose clear boundaries on how demanding a workload this card can sustain, and users should factor those limits into their expectations accordingly. For builders and upgraders working within tight spatial or power constraints who need a current-generation feature set at 1080p, the Pegasus 6GB delivers a focused and technically grounded solution that stays true to its brief.