NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER are separated by six years of architecture, yet the benchmark data reveals a split decision. The RTX 5050 wins the modern DirectX 12 and compute workloads decisively, while the RTX 2070 SUPER retains a narrow edge across legacy DirectX tests and raw rasterization. With an average benchmark score of 21035 against 20282, the RTX 5050 holds a 3.7% overall lead, but the RTX 2070 SUPER still claims 6 of the 10 head-to-head tests. The data suggests the newer card is not a universal upgrade, but a targeted one aimed at future-facing APIs and compute tasks.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The most significant victory for the RTX 5050 comes in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test, where it scores 2502 against the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 1651. That is a 51.5% advantage, the largest delta in the entire comparison. This is not a marginal win; it indicates the Blackwell 2.0 architecture handles modern DirectX 12 workloads with far greater efficiency than Turing. In GPU compute, the RTX 5050 again dominates, posting 9184 in Passmark GPU Compute versus 7557 for the RTX 2070 SUPER—a 21.5% lead. This suggests the newer card’s tensor cores and memory subsystem are better optimized for parallel processing tasks.

The RTX 5050 also wins in Geekbench OpenCL, scoring 90334 against 83358, an 8.4% margin. This aligns with the compute trend, showing the newer card’s advantage extends beyond gaming into general-purpose GPU workloads. In Passmark G2D, the RTX 5050 scores 1113 versus 878, a 26.8% lead, indicating superior 2D rendering and desktop composition performance.

However, the RTX 2070 SUPER fights back in several legacy tests. In Passmark DirectX 9, it scores 223 versus 186, a 16.6% lead. The Passmark DirectX 10 result shows a 22% advantage for the older card (132 vs 103), which is its largest win percentage-wise. The RTX 2070 SUPER also edges out the RTX 5050 in Passmark DirectX 11 (151 vs 150) and DirectX 12 (67 vs 66), though both are negligible 0.7% and 1.5% margins respectively.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 2070 SUPER scores 90637 versus 89381, a 1.4% win. This is notable because Vulkan is a modern API, but the older card’s higher memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s vs 320.0 GB/s) likely contributes to this result. The Passmark G3D test, which aggregates overall 3D performance, favors the RTX 2070 SUPER at 18169 versus 17326, a 4.6% lead. This shows that in pure rasterization without ray tracing or advanced compute, the older card’s higher pixel rate (113.3 GPixel/s vs 82.30 GPixel/s) and texture rate (283.2 GTexel/s vs 205.8 GTexel/s) still matter.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 5050 is the clear winner in modern DirectX 12 scenarios, as evidenced by its 51.5% lead in Steel Nomad. This makes it the stronger choice for current and upcoming AAA titles that utilize DirectX 12’s advanced features like mesh shaders and variable rate shading. The 21.5% lead in GPU compute further solidifies its position for content creation, machine learning inference, and other compute-heavy applications. Its 8.4% advantage in OpenCL reinforces this, making it suitable for cross-platform compute workloads.

The RTX 2070 SUPER, conversely, wins in legacy DirectX 9 and 10 titles, showing a 16.6% and 22% advantage respectively. This makes it the better option for older game libraries that rely on these APIs. Its 4.6% lead in Passmark G3D indicates it still holds its own in general 3D rendering tasks that do not heavily utilize ray tracing or tensor cores. The 1.4% Vulkan win suggests it may be slightly better for Vulkan-based games that are memory-bandwidth sensitive, given its 448.0 GB/s bandwidth versus the RTX 5050’s 320.0 GB/s.

In practical terms, the RTX 5050 is for users prioritizing future-proofing and compute performance, while the RTX 2070 SUPER is for those with older game libraries or workloads that favor raw fill rates and legacy API compatibility. The RTX 5050’s wins in G2D (26.8% lead) also make it a better choice for multi-monitor setups or desktop productivity where 2D rendering speed matters.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 has a higher average benchmark score of 21035, compared to the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 20282, a 3.7% overall advantage.

Q: How do the cards compare in the 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 test?

A: The RTX 5050 scores 2502, which is 51.5% higher than the RTX 2070 SUPER’s 1651, making it the biggest single-test win for the newer card.

Q: Does the RTX 2070 SUPER win any modern API tests?

A: Yes, the RTX 2070 SUPER wins Geekbench Vulkan with a score of 90637 versus 89381, a 1.4% margin, though this is a much smaller lead than the RTX 5050’s DX12 advantage.

Q: Which card is better for legacy DirectX 9 games?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER scores 223 in Passmark DirectX 9, compared to the RTX 5050’s 186, a 16.6% advantage for the older card.

Q: What is the performance difference in GPU compute?

A: The RTX 5050 leads in Passmark GPU Compute with 9184 versus 7557, a 21.5% advantage, indicating significantly better compute performance.

Q: How do the cards compare in overall 3D performance (Passmark G3D)?

A: The RTX 2070 SUPER scores 18169 in Passmark G3D, which is 4.6% higher than the RTX 5050’s 17326, showing the older card retains a rasterization advantage.

Specification Differences

The two cards differ significantly in their core specifications, despite both featuring 8 GB of GDDR6 memory and 2560 shading units. The RTX 5050 operates at a base clock of 2317 MHz and a boost clock of 2572 MHz, while the RTX 2070 SUPER runs at 1605 MHz base and 1770 MHz boost. This 50%+ clock advantage for the RTX 5050 is partially offset by the RTX 2070 SUPER’s wider memory bus: 256-bit versus 128-bit. Consequently, the RTX 2070 SUPER has a memory bandwidth of 448.0 GB/s, while the RTX 5050 has 320.0 GB/s.

The RTX 2070 SUPER has more texture mapping units (160 vs 80) and more render output units (64 vs 32), which explains its higher pixel rate (113.3 GPixel/s vs 82.30 GPixel/s) and texture rate (283.2 GTexel/s vs 205.8 GTexel/s). The RTX 2070 SUPER also has double the ray tracing cores (40 vs 20) and four times the tensor cores (320 vs 80). However, the RTX 5050 achieves a higher FP32 performance of 13.17 TFLOPS versus 9.062 TFLOPS for the RTX 2070 SUPER.

Power consumption differs substantially: the RTX 5050 has a TDP of 130 W and requires a 300 W power supply, while the RTX 2070 SUPER has a 215 W TDP and requires a 550 W PSU. The RTX 5050 uses a single 8-pin power connector, while the RTX 2070 SUPER needs both a 6-pin and an 8-pin. The RTX 5050 supports PCIe 5.0 x8, while the RTX 2070 SUPER uses PCIe 3.0 x16. Display outputs also differ: the RTX 5050 has 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b, while the RTX 2070 SUPER has 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using the GB207 chip, manufactured on TSMC’s 5 nm process. In contrast, the RTX 2070 SUPER uses the Turing architecture with the TU104 chip, fabricated on a 12 nm process. This process difference is stark: the RTX 5050 has a die size of 149 mm² with 16,900 million transistors, while the RTX 2070 SUPER has a 545 mm² die with 13,600 million transistors. The transistor density reflects this: the RTX 5050 packs 113.4 million transistors per mm², versus 25.0 million per mm² for the RTX 2070 SUPER.

The RTX 5050’s FP16 performance is listed as 13.17 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio), while the RTX 2070 SUPER has an FP16 rating of 18.12 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio). This indicates the older card can process half-precision at twice the rate of FP32, whereas the newer card runs them at parity. The RTX 5050 has 20 ray tracing cores and 80 tensor cores, while the RTX 2070 SUPER has 40 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores—the latter likely contributing to its higher FP16 throughput.

Both cards support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The RTX 5050 uses GDDR6 memory clocked at 2500 MHz (20 Gbps effective), while the RTX 2070 SUPER uses GDDR6 at 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective). The RTX 5050 is a dual-slot card, as is the RTX 2070 SUPER, but the latter has listed physical dimensions of 267 mm in length, 116 mm in height, and 35 mm in width, while the RTX 5050’s dimensions are not specified. The RTX 5050 is currently in active production, released on 2025-06-30, while the RTX 2070 SUPER is end-of-life, released on 2019-07-08.

The Verdict

Choose the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 if your priority is modern DirectX 12 gaming and compute workloads. The data shows a 51.5% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, a 21.5% lead in GPU compute, and an 8.4% lead in OpenCL. Its lower TDP of 130 W versus 215 W also makes it more power-efficient, requiring only a 300 W PSU compared to 550 W. The newer card’s 5 nm process and higher clocks (2572 MHz boost vs 1770 MHz) deliver this performance in a smaller die (149 mm² vs 545 mm²). Its PCIe 5.0 x8 interface and DisplayPort 2.1b outputs provide future connectivity.

Choose the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER if your workload is dominated by legacy APIs or raw rasterization. It wins 6 of the 10 head-to-head tests, including a 22% lead in DirectX 10, a 16.6% lead in DirectX 9, and a 4.6% lead in Passmark G3D. Its 448.0 GB/s memory bandwidth and 256-bit bus give it an advantage in Vulkan (1.4% win) and memory-intensive tasks. The RTX 2070 SUPER has double the TMUs (160 vs 80) and ROPs (64 vs 32), which historically benefits fill-rate-bound scenarios. Its 40 ray tracing cores and 320 tensor cores also suggest it may handle certain ray tracing and AI workloads better, though the newer architecture’s efficiency offsets this in the FP32 compute tests.

The overall average benchmark score favors the RTX 5050 (21035 vs 20282), and its percentile ranking is 66 versus 65 for the RTX 2070 SUPER. The RTX 5050’s nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (1.6% slower) and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile (1.6% faster), while the RTX 2070 SUPER sits near the Intel Arc B570 (1.3% faster) and RTX 3070 Mobile (1.2% faster). For a balanced assessment, the RTX 5050 is the better long-term investment for new games and compute, while the RTX 2070 SUPER remains serviceable for older titles and traditional 3D rendering.