By TechTalesLeo for Digital Tech Explorer
Here at Digital Tech Explorer, we’re tracking the latest developments on the GeForce RTX 5050 and 5060 GPUs. While Nvidia remains officially silent, extensive rumours and leaks have strongly suggested their impending arrival. Now, this anticipation is gaining more solid ground as some of the world’s largest laptop vendors have begun listing these upcoming GPUs, lending significant credibility to their existence.
As noted by Videocardz, major brands such as Lenovo, LG, and Razer are now including the RTX 5050 and RTX 5060 laptop GPUs in their product pages. For example, LG specifies that the “Nvidia GeForce RTX 5050 8GB graphics card is only available in 16Z90TR-E.AD88C2 model.” Meanwhile, Razer directly lists the RTX 5060 as an option for its new Blade 16 laptop.
Early Specifications: Power, Performance, and VRAM
While these vendor confirmations signal the imminent launch of these entry-level Nvidia Blackwell GPUs, crucial details such as shader unit counts, clock speeds, and critically for laptop performance, their power limits, remain undisclosed. However, Videocardz highlighted a Lenovo post for its upcoming 16-inch IdeaPad Pro 5. This post mentions a shared 135W power budget for the Intel Core Ultra 200H CPU and the RTX 5050, with the CPU allocated up to 70W. This leaves approximately 65W for the RTX 5050, a figure slightly lower than what is typically seen in many current RTX 4050-equipped laptops.
For comparison, the Acer Nitro V 15, often used by publications like PCGamer for performance analysis, features an RTX 4050 capped at 75W (out of a potential 115W maximum). This GPU provides decent 1080p gaming performance, though its 6GB of VRAM can be a limitation. The vendor confirmations indicating the RTX 5050 will feature 8GB of GDDR7 suggest this new chip could be a strong contender for entry-level gaming laptops, potentially even outperforming the current RTX 4060.
Blackwell Architecture: Energy Efficiency Focus
Nvidia has significantly emphasized the energy efficiency of its Blackwell mobile GPU architecture, both at the CES launch event and during this year’s GDC. This focus is evident in practical examples, such as Razer’s new Blade 16 laptops. The model featuring a 175W RTX 5090, for instance, recorded an impressive 135 minutes in the PCMark 10 battery life test.
To provide context, a last-generation Lenovo Legion 9 with an RTX 4090 (which operates at a similar GPU power limit to the RTX 5090 in Razer’s new laptop) lasts for only 41 minutes on the same test. It is important to note, however, that the new Razer Blade 16 features a Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU, while the Legion 9 uses an older Core i9 13980HX, a processor known for higher power consumption. This CPU difference also contributes to the battery life disparity.
Regarding the RTX 5060 laptop GPU, specific information about its power limit is currently unavailable. It is suspected, however, that it will be comparable to the RTX 4060, which can reach up to 115W, with additional wattage available through dynamic boosting. The decision for consumers on whether to invest more in an RTX 5060-equipped laptop over an RTX 5050 model will largely depend on the final shader unit counts of each GPU.
It has been rumoured that the desktop variants of these chips, the RTX 5050 and RTX 5060, will feature 2,560 and 3,840 CUDA cores, respectively. It remains uncertain if these specifications will directly translate to the laptop versions. If these core counts are accurate for the mobile GPUs, the RTX 5050 might not offer a significant performance leap over the RTX 4050 for 1080p gaming, as this resolution doesn’t typically stress graphics memory bandwidth enough for GDDR7 to make a substantial difference. However, an RTX 5060 boasting 3,840 shaders could prove to be a true powerhouse for mobile gaming. Tech enthusiasts, including us at Digital Tech Explorer, are eagerly awaiting more concrete details as Nvidia continues its deliberate pace with official announcements for the RTX 50-series.
Stay tuned to Digital Tech Explorer for the latest updates on GPUs, gaming laptops, and other cutting-edge hardware. We’ll bring you the specifications and performance analysis as soon as they are available.