Graphics card · what to pair with it

What to pair with the RTX 3050

8GB · NVIDIA · 130W · $220. On its own this card draws about 32 fps at 1440p in big games. Whether you see them is decided by the processor beside it.

Read at 1440p, AAA gaming, against 65 processors in the catalogue.

The cheapest processor that does not hold it back

Ryzen 3 3200G

$47

Together they draw about 32 fps at 1440p — which is what the RTX 3050 manages on its own, so nothing dearer than this buys a frame at this resolution.

The full verdict on this pair

Processors in step with it

30 of 65 are a fair match, and these are the fastest of them. The three columns are the same pairing read at each resolution: a processor that holds this one back at 1080p is often invisible at 4k, which is the whole reason the answer depends on the screen.

processorprice1080p1440p4k
Ryzen 3 3200G$47453217
Ryzen 5 4500$70453217
Ryzen 5 5500$80453217
Ryzen 5 3600$90453217
Core i3-12100F$99453217
Ryzen 5 5600G$115453217
Core i3-13100F$120453217
Ryzen 5 5600$120453217
Core i3-14100F$130453217
Ryzen 5 8500G$135453217

Frames are an estimate and move with the game and the settings. Prices are the catalogue’s, each with the date it was read on its own part.

Do not put it with these

23 of 65 are flagged at 1440p. In each of these one side cannot keep up with the other, so part of what you paid for sits idle.

A whole machine around it

Board, memory, drive, supply, cooling and case, picked to a budget and checked for fit.

Every processor we have

The same page for each of them, and what each one is worth pairing with.

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