Though, the difficulty of finding a card at MSRP hasn’t really changed since the RTX 30 series cards were announced. And the issues surrounding the ability to make a purchase have only gotten worse with the chip shortage in place, exacerbated even further by the ongoing pandemic. Basically, while $249 is a super low-entry cost for this card, there’s a good chance you won’t find it at that price. Having said that, if you really need or want an upgrade and this would be an upgrade for you, don’t let the difficulty of buying one stop you from trying, at the very least.
The NVIDIA RTX 3050 promises ray tracing, but there is a cost
Sure, there’s the monetary cost that’s likely to go up. But there’s another cost to be aware of. The cost of your resolution. While the 3050 may offer ray tracing, it’ll do so at 60 frames per second at 1080p. So if you’re looking for faster frame rates and higher quality graphics with better resolution, this isn’t the card you want. All that aside it may be the only card you can get for a decent price, if you’re able to snag one at the $249 price NVIDIA has set. The card will also offer DLSS-based upscaling. So, all around the card is a pretty good deal for entry level gaming PCs. And would be a great starter GPU for someone just getting into PC gaming that wants to build a machine on a budget. Aside from the downside of a potential increase in price through resellers, the other problem is knowing when and where to buy. Right now NVIDIA hasn’t announced an official launch date by the looks of it. And there were no retailers mentioned either. Though, you can probably expect to find these cards at all the major consumer electronics retailers where other cards have been sold.
