Which One Is Better: RTX 3050 or GTX 1650 Laptop?

Compared to building your own PC, buying a gaming laptop is a cheaper option. Occasionally, the PC components cost more than the whole laptop itself. Another reason to take into account is the portability between both sides which indicates that one is far more flexible to bring anywhere rather than the other.

Low-end gaming laptops offer a great value for those with a limited budget. This option is for you who are after a computer that can handle gaming or 3D modelling without having to complicate the components selection. A few models of low-class GPU are suitable for both purposes, and two of the top-performing model among the rest are RTX 3050 and GTX 1650. So, what makes these two GPUs are different and why is one a better choice than the other? Let’s find out here.

MSI GF63 Thin Gaming Laptop to compare the GPU

Technology

In terms of the technology, Nvidia RTX series are superior considering it has better features. The GPU has been implanted with their latest technology such as Ray Tracing, DLSS, RTX voice, etc. Comparing with RTX series, GTX model is the older generation of the graphics card. If you put them side-by-side comparison, it makes sense that RTX series will outperform the GTX 1650. Though with the newest technology implanted, this does not imply that RTX 3050 is significantly better compared to GTX 1650. As RTX 3050 GPU is a low-end class of Nvidia graphics cards, the implementation of those features might not be as impressive as in high-end GPU. However, a player can experience smoother gameplay even with a low-end RTX Series graphics card, thanks to the DLSS feature that provides undoubtedly significant impact on the gaming performance.

RTX 3050 or GTX 1650 showdown

Performance

The only fair way to compare between RTX 3050 and GTX 1650 for laptops is by seeing how they are performing in real life situations. The test should be performed in the exact same situation and graphics settings for any benchmark. As the source taken from Jarrod’sTech, the test was taken in the fairest way with both laptops have the same manufacturer, CPU and RAM capacity. The only difference from both sides is on the graphics card which shows us the performance gap between them.

From the temperature stretch test, RTX 3050 laptop runs on 71.1 degrees Celsius while GTX 1650 runs on 63.4 degrees. Though it seems a big gap between both sides, these temperatures are far from being a problem that causes performance loss in the games or applications. 

Despite producing more heat, RTX 3050 does not reach as high GPU clock speed as GTX 1650 by looking at the test result, 1,462MHz compared to 1,491MHz. However, the difference between both graphics cards is very small, meaning you can barely see the performance effect between these two.

In the end, the real-life test is taken from 15 games to show how far the gap is between RTX 3050 and GTX 1650. To be specific, any games tested that supports DLSS or FSR features will be played with and without those on as they will give a massive boost to the performance of the RTX GPU.

First game that is tested is Apex Legends. Both GPUs are performing well as they both running in playable framerates, but you can see the contrast between them. On medium settings, GTX 1650 is running 61fps on average with 55fps on 1% low. On the other hand, RTX 3050 runs on 84fps for the average fps with 1% low on 72.92fps.

Another game to be tested to see how much the gap is from the two graphics cards is Call of Duty: Modern Warzone. They are running in max settings on 1080p resolution and RTX 3050 is performing stable on 76fps with 66fps on 1% low. Compared to the performance, GTX 1650 gets less framerates as it runs on 60fps on average and 54fps in some demanding scenes. However, to show how useful the DLSS technology is for lower end GPU, another test taken for the RTX laptop, and the performance improves massively, getting 96fps in most scenes of the game with the lowest 81fps on the most demanding textures.

The rest of the test results can be seen as below for your reference, all numbers are in fps.

Games Settings RTX 3050 Average Framerates RTX 3050 1% Low GTX 1650 Average Framerates GTX 1650 1% Low 
Fortnite Medium, 1080p 112 94 89 74
God of War Default, 1080p 69 56 52 44
Cyberpunk 2077 Medium, 1080p 51 40 51 40
Dying Light 2 High, 1080p 47 40 33 28
Microsoft Flight Simlator 2020 Medium, 1080p 49 40 35 30
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla High, 1080p 45 31 33 25
Forza Horizon 5 High, 1080p 73 61 65 54
Red Dead Redemption 2 Medium, 1080p 55 – 45 –
Far Cry 6 High, 1080p 78 56 69 57
Watch Dogs: Legion High, 1080p 54 45 44 36
Control Medium, 1080p 50 41 42 35
Shadow of the Tomb Raider High, 1080p 65 – 50 –
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Ultra, 1080p 130 111 98 82

Based on the performance comparison, RTX 3050 is an obvious winner against GTX 1650. With DLSS feature on, the RTX series will outclass the GTX GPU, giving extra framerates during the game. This feature works by rendering the texture in lower resolution and then using the AI to produce the image that looks like in higher resolution.

Price

Now talking about price, the performance output should align with the cost from each GPU. Nonetheless, given that inside components may differ from one to another, it makes sense that the price point of both laptops is affected. At this point, finding a laptop which has a better value to buy based on your purposes and budget is challenging.

In order to get the fair price comparison, the two laptops should be having the same specifications apart from the graphics card.

Let’s get an example: MSI GF Series have two identical laptops in terms of the build, equipped with both RTX 3050 and GTX 1650 GPU.

03/14/2024 05:58 am GMT

One thing to note is that prices may vary in different online markets.

Generally, when new series of GPU are released, the prices of the old ones drop slightly, so you better find the latest update for the price after a while.

In conclusion, RTX 3050 gives better value than GTX 1650, though being slightly more expensive if you compare the price. However, different manufacturers have different pricing standards of laptops that are equipped with both GPUs. With DLSS feature, it is difficult for GTX graphics cards to beat any RTX series which belong in the same class. It will boost the performance in the game, giving you smoother experience in the game.

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