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Cutting corners: You'd expect Nvidia to be done releasing new GPUs based on its previous generation Ampere architecture. However, the company has one more Ampere-based surprise in store – but this GPU isn't using Ampere silicon at all. Instead, Nvidia seems to be prepping a mysterious new RTX 3050 A mobile GPU powered by the newer Ada Lovelace architecture.
Reports of a mystery RTX 3050 A laptop GPU started popping up last week. Tom's Hardware reached out to Nvidia, confirming its existence and key specifications. The most surprising aspect is that it leverages the newer Ada Lovelace architecture, unlike the rest of the Ampere-powered RTX 30 series lineup.
The RTX 3050 A looks to be a bit of a mixed bag specs-wise compared to its Ampere-based RTX 3050 cousins. It'll feature 4GB of VRAM over a 64-bit memory bus and a fairly tame 35-50W TGP range. For comparison, the RTX 3050 currently in circulation can go up to 80W and features a 128-bit memory bus.
However, this GPU uses the AD106 die, which is found in the RTX 4070 mobile. It's actually a step up from the entry-level AD107 die featured on the RTX 4050 and RTX 4060 and features more transistors and CUDA cores. At 188mm^2, it's also a hair smaller than the GA107 Ampere die in the standard RTX 3050, but Ada tends to clock much higher for improved performance-per-watt.
Nvidia also confirmed the RTX 3050 A will pack 1,792 CUDA cores. That's down a decent chunk from the 2,048 cores in the RTX 3050 laptop GPUs, but again, those higher Ada clocks could help close the gap.
One notable limitation is that despite Ada's support for OFA (Optical Flow Accelerator), the RTX 3050 A apparently won't support DLSS 3 frame generation due to hardware restrictions.
Why is Nvidia quietly slipping an Ada GPU into a previously Ampere-based product stack? Your guess is as good as ours, but the safest assumption is that it's a way to clear out leftover Ada dies that didn't quite make the cut for the more powerful RTX 40 series GPUs.
There's another wrinkle to this story that's worth mentioning. An older Nvidia roadmap leak suggested the company planned to keep cranking out laptop versions of the standard RTX 3050 – both 4GB and 6GB flavors – all the way through 2025. With the RTX 3050 A now emerging with 4GB of VRAM, it's possible this Ada upgrade could be positioned as an eventual replacement for the 4GB RTX 3050 models. But that's currently just speculation.
As of now, details are still pretty slim on performance and availability. Laptop makers haven't announced any RTX 3050 A configs yet either, despite Nvidia adding driver support a couple of weeks ago. We'll have to wait for some real-world testing to see how this Ada/Ampere 'hybrid' fares.