Budget video cards do not cease to be in demand in the domestic market. The GeForce GTX 1050 is no exception because it is one of the best solutions on a budget. With low heat and power consumption, the video cards in this series show good performance.
GeForce GTX 1050 and 1050 Ti
NVIDIA announced new video cards long before the release, which took place on January 3, 2017, so that the technical specifications of the GTX 1050 (regular and titanium versions) were known to avid gamers and just interested users for quite some time. Both models use a compact 14-nanometer chip with 3.3 billion transistors. For comparison: the GeForce GTX 750 Ti chip is slightly larger in size, but includes 1.87 billion transistors, so a decrease is very appropriate.
The processor GeForce GTX 1050 Ti includes 768 calculators (GeForce GTX 1050 - 640 computing units), 32 rasterizers (in the regular version they contain exactly the same number) and 48 texture modules (40 pieces in the GeForce GTX 1050). All technologies that were used for earlier models based on Pascal software are available to processors. There is also a SLI mode, which is not available for NVIDIA discrete graphics in basic solutions.
"Pentecost" - strong middle peasants with low consumption (maximum 75 watts) and relatively high frequencies. This is confirmed by advanced user reviews and software tests. When comparing the performance of the GeForce GTX 1050 and the titanium version, it becomes clear that Ti copes with rather difficult modes in extremely difficult games (for example, Overwatch, Gears of War 4, Battlefield 1, Battlefield 4, DOOM, Unigine Heaven). In the vast majority of games, the frame rate approaches 60 at maximum settings.
Titanium "fifty" allows you to play completely without complaints at high settings (with a frame rate above 60 frames) in the popular CS: GO, Dota 2, Minecraft or League of Legends. Judging by the reviews, on the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti “The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine” looks much better than on console counterparts. This is confirmed by the test results. The difference with the previous generation (GTX 750 and 950) is very noticeable.
On the other hand, there is a GeForce GTX 1050, with which all fears about lack of memory are confirmed. Modern designs with quality textures definitely require more than 2 GB. In some games, the difference is very noticeable.
The layout and description of the GeForce 1050
The video card comes in a compact cardboard box. There are no adapters or other additional accessories included. Typically, the manufacturer emphasizes the graphics accelerators of the line in white, but this is just an adapter with small light elements on a dark case.
The length of the video card is 20 cm. The system occupies two slots, there are two fans. The printed circuit board is 17.5 cm long. One screw is protected by a warranty breakdown, which is necessary to prevent disassembly of the device. To display images on the screen, you can use one of three interfaces: DVI, Dsplay Port or HDMI.
The radiator occupies most of the system in the center, and there is a lot of empty space between the fans. In fact, one cooler could be dispensed with. The design with two is redundant, because the GPU itself heats up very slightly. But all the elements on the board are well blown.
Main characteristics
The core circuit board has a three-phase power system. The processor with 640 active cores, the memory is typed by four chips from Samsung. We used factory overclocking of the GeForce GTX 1050: the base frequency was increased to 1400 MHz from 1354, and with Boost Clock it is possible to reach 1519 MHz. Memory at standard frequencies equivalent to 7000 MHz. At the same time, the real frequencies during the game load may exceed the declared ones. The fact is that with budget video cards it all depends on the limitations on power and a specific instance.
At 22 degrees Celsius in a room on an open bench, the chip warms up to 62-65 degrees, which is the standard temperature for this series. Fans with low noise spin up to 1600-1700 rpm. The power limit for the video card is fixed, which limits overclocking. However, the results are still excellent. The average core frequencies in the tests are about 1900 MHz (with the base 1555 MHz).
In some games, the frequency rises to 1924 MHz (the maximum figure is 1962 MHz), sometimes there were drawdowns up to 1872 MHz in the tests. It was possible to achieve a frequency of 9 GHz. This is not the limit of software modules, but we must not forget that there are restrictions on overclocking in the program plan. The result is the highest optimal frequency combination among the video cards of this series. To maintain normal temperature, the fan speed increased to 1900 rpm. The noise is more pronounced, but without noticeable discomfort.
As for the memory, GDDR5 is used. The memory bus is 128 bits and the throughput frequency is 112.1 GB / s. About 20% of the video card's capabilities are improved by the fact that the developers managed to improve the compression when transmitting color schemes. For the adapters to work, no additional power is needed, and the PCI Express x16 slot on the board provides the required power.
Comparison with competitors
It is advisable to compare the GeForce GTX 1050 gaming graphics card with the 950, 960 and 760 models, which are ahead of the titanium “fifty”, and as regards competitors, AMD Radeon R9 270 and 270X. Below are the official specifications in nominal values, for ASUS video cards - also in overclocking.
Testing methodology
Performance tests of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card were carried out on the Intel Core i7 processor with a frequency of 3.0-4.1 GHz, the Intel X99 motherboard. Resolution - 1920 × 1080 (27-inch monitor).
GeForce GTX 1050 in games
Assassin's Creed Origins uses a standard profile (high graphics settings), and anti-aliasing is reduced to the lower level. The video card used a game benchmark (built-in), which was run separately for each adapter. Battlefield 1 runs fine on ultra graphics quality in Direct X 11. In general, the GeForce GTX 1050 graphics card performs well in games, but there are differences in results (compared to other ASUS models and competitors).
Test results
In the new part of Assassin's Creed, the results were at the GTX 960 level. In addition, a huge gap was found with the titanium version - more than 40% at the minimum frame rate and more than 35% at the average. The amount of memory is very small. The GTX 1050 leaves behind the Radeon 270X and 760 model from NVIDIA.
In Battlefield 1, the performance at the start of testing is comparable to the 950 and 960 models. Manual overclocking even achieves the performance of the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. There is also little memory, which is associated with small slowdowns and uncomfortable moments in the game. During overclocking, you can get around the Radeon 270X. By the way, in Battlefield 1, the GTX 760 has the lowest scores, but with lower graphics settings, the old model improves.
Budget video cards show good results in the last released part of Call of Duty. Only muddy textures spoil the game experience. Initially, the GTX 1050 approaches the characteristics of the Radeon 270X, and when overclocked, it almost catches up with the titanium version.
Judging by the reviews, the GeForce GTX 1050 is at a distant position when tested in Far Cry 5. Visually, everything looks very bad, and the difference in performance with the GeForce GTX 960 is very small in terms of output. Overclocking speeds up adapters by a maximum of 10%. The gap between the Ti version and the regular 1050 reaches 29%.
In SpellForce 3, NVIDIA budget solutions have a significant advantage. This is also confirmed by the reviews of the GeForce GTX 1050. Thus, the GTX 1050 overtakes the 950th model and is only a few percent (according to test results) inferior to version 960. At maximum frequencies, the GeForce GTX 1050 shows almost the same performance as the 1050 Ti. But the application takes up all 4 GB of memory or more, so that with long sessions, the benefits of Ti will become more apparent to the user.
Performance Conclusions
The description of the GeForce GTX 1050 indicates that this is the best budget model. In comparison, the general situation is such. The GeForce GTX 1050 shows better results than the 950th model, but often turns out to be lower than the GeForce GTX 960. The lag behind the titanium "fifty" depends on the specific game. In some games (this is especially true for MMO games), the GeForce GTX 1050 is not inferior to Ti. Other applications have a small memory footprint. The lag behind the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is noticeable.
The cost of the GeForce GTX 1050
The recommended cost of a video card is just a little over $ 100. Retail price - from 11 600 to 14 300 rubles. For the titanium version will have to pay 13,990-16,190 rubles. Typically, they don’t expect high performance from budget solutions, but the GTX line successfully copes with most games (albeit not without problems with graphics, which are forgivable at this price).
Short conclusion: what to choose?
The GeForce GTX 1050 is suitable for those who want to save money and do not seek to try all the gaming innovations at maximum settings. Verified by users, the video card successfully copes with the popular CS: GO and League of Legends. A more advanced GeForce GTX 1050 (Ti version) will allow you to try the most demanding and colorful modern games. Reviews of the GeForce GTX 1050 from users who have installed this adapter in their gaming PCs fully confirm the positive test results.
This is really a very solid solution with good features and the optimal amount of internal memory. GeForce GTX 1050 Ti is a balanced choice if you do not need to save on a graphics card in any way possible. In other cases, you should not overpay, but you need to prepare for subsidence due to insufficient memory.