NVIDIA Launches GeForce RTX 3050 Series GPUs For Laptops

After months of speculations and wild rumours, NVIDIA is finally breaking its silence and making the GeForce RTX 3050 series official. As per earlier reports, the series comprises two GPU models, the RTX 3050 Ti and RTX 3050, and will only be available as laptop GPUs.

Specs-wise, both the RTX 3050 Ti and RTX 3050 are based on NVIDIA’s Ampere architecture and feature 4GB GDDR6 graphics memory. Additionally, both cards utilise a 128-bit memory bus and like all RTX 30 series GPUs, they are able to make full use of the PCIe 4.0 interfaces.

As they are part of NVIDIA’s RTX family, both the RTX 3050 Ti and RTX 3050 are also capable of real-time ray-tracing and also support the GPU maker’s DLSS anti-aliasing technology.

There are, obviously, parametres that set both cards apart from each other; the RTX 3050 Ti comes with 80 Tensor Cores, 20 RT Cores, and a maximum boost clock of 1695MHz. For the RTX 3050, the GPU has 64 Tensor cores, 16 RT Cores, and a maximum boost clock of 1740MHz.

NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 3050 GPUs should be available starting this month, with the GPU maker’s brand partners launching their latest gaming laptops that are also being launched right now. To that end, these laptops are also being paired with Intel’s latest 11th generation Tiger CPU lineup.

Epic Games Launcher Reportedly Drains 20 Percent More Battery Than Steam On Laptops

Game launchers are notorious for causing systems to consume more power and if you’re on a laptop, leaving those programs to operate in the background while not connected to a power source clearly means that its battery is going to run out of juice a lot faster. With the Epic Games launcher, it’s actually even worse.

A study by PC World found that running the Epic Games Store (EGS) launcher in the background of a Microsoft Surface Pro 7+ equipped with an Intel 11th generation Ice Lake CPU consumed up to 20% more battery power than when the Steam launcher was active. Moreover, the site found that running just the Steam launcher alone in the background made little to no impact on the battery life of the Surface Pro 7+.

Statistically, the laptop’s battery lasted a total of 587 minutes with Steam active, while running it with the EGS launcher reduced that time to 482 minutes.

It’s a similar story with a Ryzen-based Surface Laptop 3, in which PC World noted that a clear run with the Steam launcher active depleted its battery in 472 minutes, while another run with the EGS launcher depleted it faster by 434 minutes; that’s approximately an 8% difference.

This marks the second time that Epic Games’ launcher has come under the spotlight. Back at the end of 2020, the digital distribution store gained attention when it was discovered that just running the app in the background was causing AMD Ryzen CPUs to run 20°C higher than average.

It was discovered that the surge in temperature was being caused by the launcher sending data to a server belonging to Epic Games. Then, as now, the only solution to the issue was to simply disable or shut down the launcher.

Tech Armory’s Commandos GeForce RTX 30 Series Laptops Coming Soon; Price Starts At RM 5,599

Tech Armory, a PC boutique based in Sunway has recently teased several new laptops that will be made available to customers starting later this month. To be released under its in-house brand Commandos PC, these laptops will be featuring the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series graphics.

Among them is the Glock 5 Ace Gen 3 which will also be featuring a 16.1-inch Full HD 144Hz IPS display and interesting enough, Intel Core i5-11400 CPU that is part of the yet-to-be-announced 11th Gen Intel Core processor lineup for desktop PC. Comes standard with 16GB RAM and 512GB solid state drive, Tech Armory teaser showed that customers can also choose either GeForce RTX 3070 or RTX 3080 for the laptop.

Another new Commandos laptop that Tech Armory has planned to launch is the Carbine 5.2 and Carbine 7.2 which will feature an Intel Core i7-10870H processor and GeForce RTX 3060 graphics. As you might be able to guess from their names, both laptops can be differentiated from each other mainly through their screen size.

Specifically, the Carbine 5.2 comes with a 15.6-inch display while the Carbine 7.2 carries a larger 17.3-inch screen although both models do come with a Full HD 144Hz IPS panel. Just like the third-generation Glock 5 Ace that we have mentioned earlier, the base unit for both Carbine models is equipped with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD as standard components.

In terms of pricing, Tech Armory teaser stated that the Glock 5 Ace Gen 3 will start from RM 5,599 while the Carbine 5.2 and Carbine 7.2 will be available from RM 5,699 and RM 5,899 respectively. For more details regarding the actual availability and component options for these upcoming Commandos laptops, you can reach out directly to Tech Armory via its Facebook page.

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 Series Laptops Now Official; Starts From US$999

Aside from the revelation of its GeForce RTX 3060, NVIDIA’s CES 2021 keynote was also about the launch of its new laptops with GeForce RTX 30 series GPU and it didn’t disappoint. In total, the GPU brand announced three mobile variants of its 2nd generation mobile graphics solution.

At the very bottom of the list and quite obviously catering to entry-level gaming laptops is the RTX 3060 mobile. Based on NVIDIA’s presentation, gaming laptops fitted with this particular GPU are expected to deliver an average framerate of 90 fps or higher at Full HD resolutions. Price-wise, gaming laptop fitted with it will start at US$999 (~RM4050), and at the very least, we know that the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is going to be one such model.

Moving up the line, there are the gaming laptops powered by the mobile version of the RTX 3070, and on that note, we also at least know that the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15, the follow-up to last year’s wildly popular Zephyrus G14, is one model that will house the GPU. To that end, NVIDIA says that the discrete GPU will be better suited for laptops with displays running, at long last, 1440p resolution with refresh rates as high as 144Hz. In regards to pricing, laptops in this range are expected to start from US$1299 (~RM5267).

Last, and certainly not least on the list, are the top-tier laptops, powered by an aggressive, mobile variant of the RTX 3080. As per our initial reports, NVIDIA has confirmed that its new king-of-the-hill mobile GPU will indeed be running with 16GB GDDR6 memory, making it the fastest GPU in its class for gaming laptops.

Like the laptops housing the RTX 3070, it appears that the majority of laptops running with the RTX 3080 will also be offering gamers options for displays with 1440p resolutions. With high refresh rates as well, although it wouldn’t surprise us if OEM partners will offer consumers 4K display as potential options too. Oh, and pricing for these laptops are expected to start at a premium US$1999 (~RM8105), which is to be expected.

Regardless of the mobile GPU, NVIDIA also assured viewers that the new laptops and its corresponding GPUs will also support its Max-Q technology, which is already in its 3rd generation. This includes features such as Dynamic Boost 2.0, WhisperMode 2.0, improved support for DLSS, and access to Resizable BAR, which is similar to AMD’s Smart Access Memory (SAM) feature that was announced during the launch of its Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards. But has been around long before that.