NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5050 Comparison

FAQ

Q: How does the RTX 5050 compare to the RTX 2070 in overall benchmark score?

A: The RTX 5050 has an average benchmark score of 21035, which is about 12% higher than the RTX 2070's 18789. The 5050 also sits at the 66th percentile among all GPUs, while the 2070 sits at the 63rd percentile.

Q: Which card wins in modern DirectX 12 workloads?

A: The RTX 5050 wins decisively. In 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, it scores 2502 versus 1569 for the RTX 2070, a 59.5% advantage. In PassMark DirectX 12, the 5050 leads 66 to 60, a 10% improvement.

Q: Does the older RTX 2070 win in any benchmark category?

A: Yes, in two legacy tests. The RTX 2070 leads in PassMark DirectX 10 (111 vs 103, a 7.2% edge) and PassMark DirectX 9 (211 vs 186, an 11.8% edge). These are the only two of ten head-to-head tests where the 2070 comes out ahead.

Q: How do compute and API-agnostic workloads compare?

A: The RTX 5050 shows strong compute gains. In PassMark GPU Compute, it scores 9184 versus 6411, a 43.3% lead. In Geekbench OpenCL, the 5050 scores 90334 versus 79966, a 13% lead. In Geekbench Vulkan, it leads 89381 to 82521, an 8.3% advantage.

Q: What about memory bandwidth and capacity?

A: Both cards have 8 GB of GDDR6 memory. The RTX 2070 has a wider 256-bit bus and 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the RTX 5050 uses a 128-bit bus with 320.0 GB/s bandwidth. Despite lower bandwidth, the 5050 wins the vast majority of benchmarks.

Q: What are the power requirements for each card?

A: The RTX 5050 has a TDP of 130 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W. The RTX 2070 has a TDP of 175 W and a suggested PSU of 450 W. Both use a single 8-pin power connector.

Architecture Differences

The RTX 5050 is built on the Blackwell 2.0 architecture using the GB207 chip, fabricated on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The RTX 2070 uses the Turing architecture with the TU106 chip on a 12 nm process, also from TSMC. This process shrink is substantial: the 5050 packs 16,900 million transistors on a 149 mm² die, while the 2070 has 10,800 million transistors on a much larger 445 mm² die. Transistor density tells the story: 113.4M per mm² for the 5050 versus 24.3M per mm² for the 2070.

The 5050 has more shading units (2560 versus 2304) but fewer TMUs (80 versus 144) and fewer ROPs (32 versus 64). Ray tracing cores are 20 on the 5050 versus 36 on the 2070, and tensor cores are 80 versus 288. Despite the lower core counts in some areas, the 5050 achieves higher FP32 throughput at 13.17 TFLOPS versus 7.465 TFLOPS for the 2070. The 2070 does have higher FP16 throughput at 14.93 TFLOPS (2:1 ratio) versus 13.17 TFLOPS (1:1 ratio) on the 5050.

Clock speeds differ significantly. The 5050 runs at a base of 2317 MHz and boost of 2572 MHz, while the 2070 runs at 1410 MHz base and 1620 MHz boost. The 5050 also uses a newer PCIe 5.0 x8 interface versus PCIe 3.0 x16 on the 2070. Display outputs differ: the 5050 offers 1x HDMI 2.1b and 3x DisplayPort 2.1b, while the 2070 provides 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C. Both support DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The RTX 5050 wins 8 of 10 head-to-head tests, and the margins tell a clear story about where each card excels. The largest gap is in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12, where the 5050 scores 2502 versus 1569, a 59.5% lead. This is a modern, demanding workload, and the 5050's architecture advantage is enormous here. The 2070 simply cannot keep pace in current-generation rendering.

Compute workloads also favor the 5050 heavily. PassMark GPU Compute shows 9184 versus 6411, a 43.3% lead. This suggests the 5050's higher FP32 throughput and newer architecture translate directly into compute-heavy tasks. The 5050 also wins PassMark G2D by a wide margin, 1113 versus 819, a 35.9% improvement. This 2D performance gap is notable for desktop and productivity use.

API-specific tests show a mixed but mostly favorable picture for the 5050. In PassMark DirectX 11, the 5050 leads 150 to 129, a 16.3% advantage. In DirectX 12, it leads 66 to 60, a 10% edge. Geekbench OpenCL shows a 13% lead (90334 versus 79966), and Geekbench Vulkan shows an 8.3% lead (89381 versus 82521). PassMark G3D is closer, with the 5050 at 17326 versus 16094, a 7.7% win.

The RTX 2070's two victories come in legacy DirectX tests. In PassMark DirectX 10, it scores 111 versus 103, a 7.2% edge. In DirectX 9, it scores 211 versus 186, an 11.8% advantage. These wins suggest the 2070's older architecture retains some efficiency in older API paths, but they are niche workloads in 2025.

Specification Differences

| Specification | RTX 5050 | RTX 2070 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Blackwell 2.0 | Turing |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 16,900 million | 10,800 million |

| Die Size | 149 mm² | 445 mm² |

| Base Clock | 2317 MHz | 1410 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 2572 MHz | 1620 MHz |

| Memory Bus Width | 128 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 320.0 GB/s | 448.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 2560 | 2304 |

| TMUs | 80 | 144 |

| ROPs | 32 | 64 |

| RT Cores | 20 | 36 |

| Tensor Cores | 80 | 288 |

| Pixel Rate | 82.30 GPixel/s | 103.7 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 205.8 GTexel/s | 233.3 GTexel/s |

| FP32 | 13.17 TFLOPS | 7.465 TFLOPS |

| FP16 | 13.17 TFLOPS (1:1) | 14.93 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 130 W | 175 W |

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 450 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C |

| Dimensions | Not recorded | 229 mm x 113 mm x 35 mm |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

| Launch MSRP | 249 USD | 499 USD |

The Verdict

The data points to a clear generational shift. The RTX 5050 outperforms the RTX 2070 in average benchmark score (21035 versus 18789), wins 8 of 10 head-to-head tests, and does so while drawing 45 W less power (130 W versus 175 W) and requiring a smaller PSU (300 W versus 450 W). The 5050 is also still in active production, while the 2070 is end-of-life.

For anyone building a new system or upgrading from an older card, the RTX 5050 is the better choice across almost every measurable workload. Its 59.5% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 is especially important for modern gaming. The 2070's wins in DirectX 9 and DirectX 10 are irrelevant for most current users, and they do not compensate for the 43.3% deficit in GPU compute or the 35.9% gap in 2D performance.

The RTX 2070 does have advantages in raw specifications: wider memory bus, higher bandwidth, more ROPs, more TMUs, more RT and tensor cores. Yet these advantages do not translate into benchmark wins. The 5050's much higher clocks and newer architecture overcome those deficits. The 2070 is also physically larger and hotter, with a 175 W TDP versus 130 W.

Where Each One Wins

RTX 5050 wins in:

• Modern DX12 gaming (59.5% lead in 3DMark Steel Nomad)
• Compute workloads (43.3% lead in PassMark GPU Compute)
• 2D desktop performance (35.9% lead in PassMark G2D)
• DirectX 11 (16.3% lead) and DirectX 12 (10% lead)
• OpenCL (13% lead) and Vulkan (8.3% lead)
• Overall 3D performance (7.7% lead in PassMark G3D)
• Power efficiency (130 W versus 175 W TDP)

RTX 2070 wins in:

• DirectX 9 (11.8% lead)
• DirectX 10 (7.2% lead)
• Memory bandwidth (448.0 GB/s versus 320.0 GB/s)
• Texture and pixel throughput (233.3 GTexel/s and 103.7 GPixel/s versus 205.8 and 82.30)
• FP16 compute (14.93 TFLOPS versus 13.17 TFLOPS)

The RTX 2070 is only a sensible pick for someone running legacy software that specifically relies on older DirectX paths, or who needs the higher memory bandwidth for a niche workload. For everything else, the RTX 5050 is the faster, cooler, and more efficient card. The benchmark record is unambiguous: the newer generation wins.