Swinging in for review is COLORFUL’s own take at the recently released GeForce RTX 3050 family. This of course is the iGame GeForce RTX 3050 Ultra W DUO OC 8G-V graphics card. I swear these model names are getting longer every passing day.
For those who are not closely following the industry, the GeForce RTX 3050 is the latest budget offering from NVIDIA with the GA106 GPU inside at $249 USD – which is $10 more over the GTX 1660 Super. This 8nm silicon comes with 8GB of VRAM, 2560 shading units, 80 Tensor and 20 RT cores – all under a 130W package using a PCIe 4.0 x8 bus interface.
Now our unit is definitely non reference with dual 90mm fans and a beefy cooling solution. This in turn allowed COLORFUL to crank the boost clock up to 1822MHz with its One-Key OC feature.
Disclosure: COLORFUL sent this unit as a return sample for the purpose of this review. The company did not ask me to say anything particular about it. All thoughts and opinion are of course my own.
- Product Page: COLORFUL-iGame GeForce RTX 3050 Ultra W DUO OC 8G-V
- Price: $249 (MSRP), ₱24,000 PHP (Lazada)
- Release Date: Q1 2022
Technical Specifications
| GPU | |
|---|---|
| Model | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 |
| Cores | 2560 (Shading), 80 (Tensor), 20 (RT) |
| Core Clock | 1777MHz, 1822MHz (OC) |
| Architecture | Ampere |
| Manufacturing Process | 8nm |
| TDP | 130W |
| Memory | |
| Memory Clock | 1750MHz |
| Memory Bus Width | 128-bit |
| Memory Capacity | 8GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 |
| Connectivity | |
| Display | 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, HDMI 2.1 |
| Power | 8-pin |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 253mm |
| Width | 129mm |
| Height | 45.6mm |
| Weight | — |
Packaging and Accessories
The COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 3050 Ultra W DUO OC 8G-V comes inside a high density foam padded packaging.
Regardless, here’s what should expect inside the box:
- COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 3050 Ultra W DUO OC 8G-V
- Quick setup guide
- Warranty guide
Design, Layout and Build Quality
With dual 90mm fans and a custom cooling solution underneath, the COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 3050 Ultra W DUO OC 8G-V is definitely one of the beefier sub $300 USD (in a perfect world) graphics card models out there. Certainly looks ethereal too with its matte white shroud accented by color changing glossy decals.
The back of the card’s PCB is protected by a metal plate. I like how cheeky the design here is while still maintaining simplicity. Now as for power, this is a 130W TDP graphics card so a single 8-pin power connecter should be ample enough.
Connectivity is excellent – at least for my needs. We have a single row full of ports here in a triple DisplayPort and a single HDMI configuration. Extra perforations could also be seen here though this design is a bit restricted. Finally, there’s the One-Key OC button allowing the GPU clock to operate at 1822MHz. Only press this when the PC is turned off.
The model we have for review is undoubtedly a fine looking graphics card. I like that COLORFUL is stepping into a direction that kinda blurs the line between gaming and contemporary designs.
Test Setup and Methodology
Our test setup relies on the measurements taken from CapFrameX and OCCT. It is important to note that we are testing the review sample after burn-in, with at least 24-hours of uptime. This is done so to negate the FOTB (fresh out the box) state of the DUT (device under test), yielding better benchmarking consistency.
| Test System Specifications | |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 3600 |
| Motherboard | BIOSTAR B550M-SILVER |
| Cooler | Noctua NH-U12S Redux |
| Memory | ADATA Premier 2666MHz 16GB |
| GPU | COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 3050 Ultra W DUO OC 8G-V |
| Storage | Plextor M9PE NVME 512GB |
| Case | Mechanical Library JXK-K3 |
| PSU | Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 650W |
| Display | LG UF680T |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit |
Selected game titles are tested at the standard resolutions using the High Preset. The following custom settings are then applied to ensure ensure a more level playing field between GPU manufacturers:
- Render Scale: 100%
- V-Sync: Off
- Anti-Aliasing: FXAA>TAA>Off
- Nvidia Exclusive Features: Off
- AMD Exclusive Features: Off
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege is a multi-player first-person shooter developed by Ubisoft Montreal. It runs on the AnvilNext 2.0 engine, utilizing the DirectX 11 and the Vulkan API.
Rainbow Six is an optimized title, able to scale up well with graphics cards at various price points – a requirement for eSport titles. The RTX 3050 fared well here versus the GTX 1660 Super.
Metro Exodus
Metro Exodus is a single-player first-person shooter developed by 4A Games. It runs on the 4A Engine engine, utilizing the DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 API.
Metro Exodus performance is identical between the cards tested. I even ran its benchmark multiple times just to make sure we got accurate results.
Assetto Corsa
Assetto Corsa is a multi-player simulation racing game developed by Kunos Simulazioni. It runs on an in-house game engine, utilizing the DirectX 11 API.
Now for Assetto Corsa, the GTX 1660 Super actually took the lead over the RTX 3050. It’s not much, but it is still a lead nonetheless.
F1 2020
F1 2020 is a multi-player racing game developed by Codemasters. It runs on the Ego Engine 3.0, utilizing the DirectX 11 and DirectX 12 API.
F1 2020 performance showed that the RTX 3050 is at the lead – least on this yet another well optimized title.
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker is an MMORPG developed by Square Enix. It runs on the Crystal Tools engine, utilizing the DirectX 11 API.
At Endwalker, the RTX 3050 is just a few FPS below the GTX 1660 Super.
Horizon Zero Dawn
Horizon Zero Dawn is an single-player adventure developed by Guerrilla Games. It runs on the Decima engine, utilizing the DirectX 12 API.
Horizon Zero Dawn showed good results – but then again the RTX 3050’s performance here isn’t far away from the GTX 1660 Super.
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is a strategy game developed by Firaxis Games. It runs on an in-house game engine, utilizing the DX11 and DX12 API.
Civilization VI remains as an intensive yet also unoptimized title. Both graphics card could play this game at 1440P with over 60 FPS though.
Total War: Three Kingdoms
Total War: Three Kingdoms is a strategy game developed by Creative Assembly. It runs one the WarScape engine, utilizing the DirectX 11 API.
Yet another intensive title, Total War: Three Kingdoms ate both graphics card with its Battle benchmark scenario.
Thermals
Temperature is measured in degree Celcius (ºC) at system idle and load. This is done via AIDA64 Extreme and its built-in System Stability Test. Readings are then taken from the GPU Temperature sensor.
Temperature output is pretty decent. This means we’ve got a lot of headroom for further overclocking. Should also help with manual fan profiles too. We barely hit 40% fan speed at load.
Power
Power is measured in Watts (W) at system idle and load. This is done via This is done via AIDA64 Extreme and its built-in System Stability Test. Readings are then taken from the GPU Power sensor.
Now efficiency is excellent. Just about the same with the GXT 1660 Super which is 5W more efficient based on its TDP.
Noise
Sound Pressure Level is measured in Decibels (dBA) at system idle and load. This is done via This is done via AIDA64 Extreme and its built-in System Stability Test. Readings are then taken using a sound level meter.
Really good noise output we got here just don’t max out the fan speed – goes up to 61.5dBA when it is at full speed.
Software, Lighting and Special Features
The COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 3050 Ultra W DUO OC 8G-V comes bundled – or rather, compatible with the downloadable iGame Center. This is a cheeky looking AIO software for COLORFUL’s various graphics cards and motherboards.
The software comes with many features. That includes a built-in system monitoring tool. Of course, you could also tinker with the card’s power target here, voltage, clock speeds and even fan speed – without hitting the One-Key OC button.
Lighting is also configurable here. Nothing super fancy to see here.
The GPU’s own monitoring software is extensive and doesn’t look confusing compared to the other brand’s implementation.
Lighting effects are simple. You only get one small LED lit area so there’s that as a physical limitation. I don’t care about lighting to be honest but this is a fine feature for minimalists like me.
Now GPU specific features differentiates this card from the rest. Bearing the RTX sub branding, the iGame GeForce RTX 3050 is able to utilize everything the RTX family has to offer. That includes ray tracing support and AI enhanced features such as DLSS, DLDSR and the Nvidia Broadcast app among many others.
Final Thoughts
To be completely honest, if you have the GeForce GTX 1660 Super, there is no reason for you to upgrade to the RTX 3050. Graphics performance wise they are just neck to neck – with of course a small edge given to the RTX 3050. But, if the notion of using the built-in RTX and AI features via the Tensor and RT cores are what you’re after then it is truly a worthy consideration – especially if you’re coming from a lower end graphics card.
Power wise, this is one efficient card – not that much different compared to the GTX 1660 Super which is 5W more efficient according to the paper. Temperature output is also excellent which is mostly attributed to its beefy cooler and dual 90mm fans. It is also dead silent if you could keep it under 50°C. This wont even reach 40% fan speed at full GPU load so plenty of room to spare if you’re going to install this on cramped enclosures or if you fancy dabbing into manual overclocking.
Now this is a likable card – more so at its MSRP of $249 USD. I know it’s wishful thinking that we could get the RTX 3050 at that price but if you could find one just within that range, it’s an auto grab.
Those things considered, I would totally recommend the COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 3050 Ultra W DUO OC 8G-V. It has the ethereal looks and performance to back it up along with COLORFUL’s very own refreshing mix of features.
COLORFUL iGame RTX 3050 Ultra W DUO OC 8G-V
Summary
The COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 3050 Ultra W DUO OC 8G-V might be a contender for the longest model name in the world but make no mistake. This is a capable graphics card – RTX and AI features considered.
