GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 — Specs & Performance Compared
Verdict: The GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB is ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 on all 5 shared benchmarks on file, by 31% to 134%, including 31% in 3DMark Time Spy (8,718 vs 6,657). On llama3.1:8b, the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB generates 64.5 tokens/s (per TyoLab) against 37.8 for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 (per LocalScore.ai), best community run on file for each.
Side-by-side GPU comparison of the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050. MSRP range: $329 · $249. Specs, synthetic benchmarks, AI inference tok/s, and Amazon availability below; each column header links to that part's benchmark page.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Price and availability subject to change.
Where to buy
A listing for each part; the current price and stock are on the retailer's page.
Specs side-by-side
| Spec | GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 |
|---|---|---|
| vram gb | 12 | 8 |
| vram type | — | GDDR6 |
| tdp w | — | 130 |
| cuda cores | — | 2560 |
Synthetic benchmarks
Each row says whether a higher or a lower number is better (ranks and times are lower-is-better). Scores come from Club386, Notebookcheck, 3DMark, GPU-Monkey, WCCFTech, TopCPU.net, UL Benchmarks, Trusted Reviews and Geekbench Browser; each row links its sources, and where they differ the cell shows their median. Empty cells mean we don't yet have that benchmark on file for the SKU.
| Benchmark | GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 |
|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Fire Strike (higher is better) Source: Club386, Notebookcheck, 3DMark |
21,653 points | 14,754 points |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Extreme (Graphics score) (higher is better) Source: GPU-Monkey |
— | 7,355 points |
| 3DMark Port Royal (higher is better) Source: GPU-Monkey, 3DMark, WCCFTech |
5,168 points | 3,569 points |
| 3DMark Speed Way (higher is better) Source: Notebookcheck, 3DMark, TopCPU.net |
2,294 points | 980 points |
| 3DMark Speed Way (Graphics score) (higher is better) Source: GPU-Monkey |
— | 1,429 points |
| 3DMark Steel Nomad (higher is better) Source: UL Benchmarks |
1,974 points | 1,337 points |
| 3DMark Time Spy (higher is better) Source: 3DMark, Notebookcheck, TopCPU.net |
8,718 points | 6,657 points |
| 3DMark Time Spy (Graphics score) (higher is better) Source: GPU-Monkey |
— | 6,077 points |
| 3DMark Time Spy Extreme (higher is better) Source: Trusted Reviews |
— | 2,991 points |
| 3DMark Time Spy Extreme (Graphics score) (higher is better) Source: GPU-Monkey |
— | 2,787 points |
| Geekbench 6 OpenCL (higher is better) Source: Geekbench Browser |
82,071 points | — |
| Geekbench 6 Vulkan (higher is better) Source: Geekbench Browser |
91,383 points | — |
AI inference (tokens/sec)
Top community-reported tokens-per-second results for popular LLMs whose weights fit the card's memory, each linked to its source. See the per-SKU benchmark page for the full set including quantization and prompt length.
GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB
- llama3.2:1b: 211.9 tok/s (TyoLab)
- llama3.2:1b: 211.9 tok/s (TYO Lab blog)
- llama3.2:1b: 185.0 tok/s (LocalScore (Mozilla Builders))
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050
- llama3.2:1b: 98.0 tok/s (LocalScore.ai)
- qwen3:0.6b: 47.1 tok/s (LocalLLaMA)
- llama3.1:8b: 37.8 tok/s (LocalScore.ai)
Quick answers
Which is faster, the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB or the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050?
The GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB is ahead of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 on all 5 shared benchmarks on file, by 31% to 134%, including 31% in 3DMark Time Spy (8,718 vs 6,657).
Which is better for running local LLMs?
On llama3.1:8b, the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB generates 64.5 tokens/s (per TyoLab) against 37.8 for the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 (per LocalScore.ai), best community run on file for each.
What did the GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 cost at launch?
The GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB launched at a $329 MSRP and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 at $249. Street prices drift from launch pricing; the Where to buy section links current listings.
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