Nvidia GPU leak hints budget gaming laptops could be in for an upgrade

A brand new Nvidia GPU leak hints at there being a brand new model of the laptop computer RTX 3050 incoming that makes use of a brand new Ada Lovelace (RTX 40 collection) GPU as a substitute of the older Ampere GPU within the present model. If true, it may imply a significant improve in efficiency and doubtlessly would mark the primary time a non-RTX 4000 branded Nvidia GPU will get entry to the most recent Nvidia options, equivalent to DLSS 3.

Complicating is that there’s a desktop model of the RTX 3050 and a laptop computer RTX 4050 however there isn’t but a desktop RTX 4050. Such a card would in all probability wrestle to discover a place on our greatest graphics card information but it surely would possibly make Nvidia‘s low-end graphics card stack a bit extra interesting.

The brand new leak, then, comes instantly from an Nvidia driver launch, with references being noticed within the driver recordsdata to an “RTX 3050 A”, which the PCI ID database claims refers to a brand new model of the RTX 3050. The positioning features a submit that claims merely “AD106M [GeForce RTX 3050 A Laptop GPU]… 3050 is not any typo.”

There are a couple of key particulars right here. The primary is the A on the finish of the RTX 3050 identify in Nvidia’s driver (as pictured – picture courtesy Videocardz), which is believed to discuss with the Ada structure. This alone suggests there’s a brand new model of the RTX 3050 that makes use of an Ada structure GPU. In the meantime, the submit on PCI ID explicitly claims that new GPU is the AD106M, the place the M refers to it being a cell chip, somewhat than desktop.

What’s actually complicated right here is that the present RTX 3050 desktop card makes use of the GA106 GPU, which is predicated on the previous-gen Ampere structure and options 2,560 CUDA cores. In the meantime, the RTX 3050 laptop computer model makes use of the smaller GA107 GPU, although it nonetheless homes as much as 2,560 CUDA cores. Nevertheless, whereas there may be presently no desktop RTX 4050, there’s a cell RTX 4050 that makes use of the AD107 GPU that once more homes 2,560 CUDA cores.

All of which signifies that we might naturally count on any RTX 3050 A to make use of at most the AD107 GPU with maybe even fewer cores/options enabled than the RTX 4050. As an alternative, the leak suggests it is going to use the bigger AD106 GPU that additionally powers the RTX 4060 desktop card (3,072 CUDA cores) and RTX 4070 cell chips (4,608 CUDA cores).

So, going by the chip identify aspect of this leak, it might recommend there’s a extra highly effective laptop computer graphics card within the works, however going by the RTX 3050 A graphics board identify, it might make sense that the brand new chip is slower and fewer succesful than the RTX 4050.

Regardless of the case, it is going to in all probability be a while earlier than you’ll be able to choose up a laptop computer that includes this thriller new GPU, so within the meantime you would possibly as effectively have a gander at our present finest gaming laptop computer suggestions as they’ll keep the most effective for some time but.