Mobile GeForce RTX 3050 GPU Gets Repurposed Into A Low Profile 65W Desktop Card
As is often the case, the laptop version of the GeForce RTX 3050 is an entirely other GPU. The desktop card is typically powered by a cut-down version of the GA106 GPU that's found in most RTX 3060 cards. However, the laptop GeForce RTX 3050 is based on the smaller GA107 processor, which makes it more efficient and thus cooler-running—qualities that are very useful for low-profile GPUs.
Well, someone in China decided that they were going to take matters into their own hands and created a low-profile GeForce RTX 3050 card by soldering down a laptop GPU to a desktop board. The card, pictured above, is spartan in appearance and svelte in size, as you'd expect from a slot-powered single-slot GPU.
The specifications for the GPU are listed in the image below. Notably, unlike most mobile GeForce RTX 3050 GPUs, this one comes with 8GB of GDDR6 memory; typically, the mobile card comes with 4GB, or rarely, 6GB. All of the other specifications, right down to the 2048 CUDA core count, match the mobile part exactly.
The advertisement on the left side of the image above notes that the card is suitable for e-Sports gaming, "OPS", pre-built PCs, and industrial applications. It also remarks that the first three buyers get CN¥399 off the purchase price, but also that there is ample stock for bulk purchases. This card will likely be significantly slower than a standard desktop GeForce RTX 3050, but despite that, it's priced at ¥1999 (about $275), which is around the same price as other RTX 3050 cards on the JD.com platform.
Even if you're desperate for a low-profile GeForce card, we wouldn't recommend buying one of these. Like other laptop-to-desktop conversions, this card probably won't run with the standard GeForce drivers. It also doesn't exactly have a great price-to-performance ratio. You can pick up an officially-supported NVIDIA RTX A2000 card, which is higher performance and has official driver support, for $249 on Amazon.
