Nvidia's old 16-series GPU outperforms the RTX 3050 in a budget gaming laptop face off

Shot of GTX 1660 Ti
(Image credit: istockvadim/Getty Images)

Gamers on a budget looking for a laptop with decent gaming performance have got plenty of options especially if you're looking for something around $1000 or less. The release of the mobile RTX 3050 GPU has excited us at the idea of more affordable gaming laptops coming our way.  Though, a recent report from notebookcheck shows that the RTX 3050 might not be all that it's cracked up to be.   

Your next upgrade

(Image credit: Future)

Best CPU for gaming: the top chips from Intel and AMD
Best graphics card: your perfect pixel-pusher awaits
Best SSD for gaming: get into the game ahead of the rest

According to their testing, the Dell Inspiron 16 Plus with an RTX 3050 was outperformed by the Razer Blade 15 laptop spring a GTX 1660 Ti by nearly 11% in games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla and F1 2020 at 720p and 1080p at light and medium graphics settings.

Interestingly the GTX 1660 Ti laptop kept pace with a Dell G5 15 5590 with an RTX 2060 GPU in a lot of these face-offs. Suffice to say; this comes as a bit of a shock. The 3050 didn't fare any better 1440p gaming judging from this report.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
GTX 1650 Ti Vs. GTX 1660 Ti Vs. RTX 3050
Header Cell - Column 0 GTX 1650 TiGTX 1660 TiRTX 3050
Memory typeGDDR5GDDR6GDDR6
Core clock speed1290 MHz1500 MHz1222 MHz
Boost clock speed1392 MHz1770 MHz1485 MHz
Transistors3,300 million6,600 million13,250 million
Manufacturing process tech16 nm12 nm8 nm
Maximum RAM amount4 GB6 GB4 GB
Memory bus width128 Bit192 Bit128 Bit
Memory bandwidth112 GB/s288 GB/s224 GB/s
TDP75 w120 w75 w

The reason for the lower performance is no secret. The RTX 3050 has a reduced number of texture mapping units (TMUs) and a smaller memory bus compared to the GTX 1660 Ti and RTX 2060. The GTX 1660 Ti is a cheaper card but you're getting far more than your money's worth than you would an RTX 3050 in this situation.

The other two cards have the 1660 Ti beat since they offer DLSS support, which uses AI-powered supersampling to boost performance in-game and increase visual fidelity, which isn't reflected in these testing benchmarks

To be fair, the Inspiron 16 Plus that's referenced is a 65w model of RTX 3050, which is pretty underpowered. I would also consider that config of the Inspiron 16 Plus more of laptop for work that can play some games.

That said, the bigger story is the Nvidia's old budget GPU GTX 1660 Ti is still a pretty solid performing budget GPU and, in this case, seems to give better results than Nivida's most current budget GPU. 

Either way, we look forward to seeing more high-powered RTX 3050s in more gaming laptops and seeing how they stack up against some of the best gaming laptops

Jorge Jimenez
Hardware writer, Human Pop-Tart

Jorge is a hardware writer from the enchanted lands of New Jersey. When he's not filling the office with the smell of Pop-Tarts, he's reviewing all sorts of gaming hardware, from laptops with the latest mobile GPUs to gaming chairs with built-in back massagers. He's been covering games and tech for over ten years and has written for Dualshockers, WCCFtech, Tom's Guide, and a bunch of other places on the world wide web. 

Read more
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 on a teal deals background.
Even with the next-gen Nvidia mobile GPUs on the way, I'm still remarkably tempted by the RTX 4070-touting Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 for $1,100
A Lenovo LOQ 15.6 inch gaming laptop on a teal deals background
Ahead of RTX 50-series gaming laptops you can snag an RTX 4070 Lenovo machine for just $900
Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 chip inside it.
The first RTX 50-series laptops are listed at retailers and dare I say it, is that reasonable pricing I see?
Gigabyte G6X gaming laptop
More affordable sub-$1,000 RTX 50-series laptops likely coming in May as RTX 5060 and RTX 5050 models spotted online
Asus Zephyrus G16 gaming laptop, and Nvidia Ada GPU
Best graphics card for laptops in 2025: the mobile GPUs I'd want in my next gaming laptop
The Lenovo Legion LOQ gaming laptop on a blue background
Okay, so it's not technically in the Amazon Big Spring Sale, but this is the cheapest RTX 4070 gaming laptop you'll find today
Latest in Graphics Cards
Nvidia App
Hmmm, upgrades: Nvidia App gets an optional AI assistant and custom DLSS resolution scaling
A close-up photo of an Nvidia RTX 4070, with its heatsink removed, showing the AD104 GPU die and the surrounding Micron GDDR6X VRAM chips
With Nvidia Ace taking up 1 GB of VRAM in Inzoi, Team Green will need to up its memory game if AI NPCs take off in PC gaming
A collage of Radeon RX 9000 series graphics cards, as shown in AMD's promotional video for the launch of RDNA 4 at CES 2025
AMD's CEO claims 9070 XT sales are 10x higher than all previous Radeon generations but that's just for the first week of availability
Colorful iGame RTX 5070 Ti Vulcan OC graphics card from various angles
The RTX 5060 and RTX 5060 Ti are rumoured to be mere weeks away, with board partners reportedly required to ensure at least one MSRP model at launch
Nvidia headquarters
Nvidia CEO sets sights on making 'several hundred billion' dollars worth of electronics in the USA over the next four years, increasing the chance of your next GPU being made in America
The Asus ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Dhahab Edition, a gold-plated graphics card on a sand dune background
A Jensen Huang-signed version of this golden Asus RTX 5090 will be auctioned off to support relief efforts for the California wildfires
Latest in News
Assassin's Creed Shadows promo image
Ubisoft scores a legendary ratio against Elon Musk on his own platform—which hopefully marks a final end to all the Assassin's Creed Shadows' culture war nonsense
Tzarina Katarin Bokha, the Ice Queen of Kislev
Total War: Warhammer 3 rolls out a cool Kislev overhaul, changes befitting Tzeench’s magic, new projectile units and creakier skeletal horses
An image of a golden first place award from Geoguessr
'We're actually getting GeoGuessr on Steam before GTA 6': the Google Street View puzzler arrives on Valve's platform this April
Napster client circa 1999
Former music-pirating platform Napster to be reborn rather ironically as a metaverse for musicians to connect with their fans after $207 million deal
The snazzy red and black HyperX Cloud Alpha wireless headphones float in a teal void. The microphone is attached to the headset.
The best wireless gaming headset is now even better in the Amazon Big Spring Sale, boasting a more than $50 discount
A chip being held up in an Intel fab
Intel is reportedly 'working to finalize commitments from Nvidia' as a foundry partner, suggesting gaming potential for the 18A node