NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile

How It Compares

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile occupies a specific performance tier within the GeForce 10-series mobile lineup, built on the GP107 chip with 640 shading units. Its percentile rank of 50 places it exactly at the median of all GPUs in the database, meaning benchmark results indicate it outperforms half of the tracked graphics processors while trailing the other half. This is a mid-pack positioning that reflects its role as a mainstream mobile solution rather than a high-end part.

The data shows no nearest rivals are listed for this GPU, which is notable. Without direct comparative benchmarks, the GTX 1050 Mobile's standing must be interpreted through its architectural characteristics and its percentile placement. The 50th percentile suggests it sits in a crowded field where many competing mobile GPUs from the same era cluster closely together. Its Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 14 nm process at Samsung, delivers a base clock of 1354 MHz and a boost clock of 1493 MHz, which are modest figures that align with its mid-range positioning.

Given the absence of rival data, the analysis relies on internal specifications. The GTX 1050 Mobile's 1.911 TFLOPS of FP32 compute places it comfortably in the mainstream segment, capable of handling esports titles and older AAA games at reasonable settings. Its 75 W TDP is notably low for a discrete mobile GPU, which is a significant advantage in thin-and-light laptops where thermal headroom is limited. This power efficiency is a direct consequence of the 14 nm process and the modest transistor count of 3,300 million on a 132 mm² die.

Who Should Consider It

Benchmark results indicate the GTX 1050 Mobile is best suited for 1080p gaming at medium to high settings in less demanding titles. The 2 GB GDDR5 memory configuration, while limited by modern standards, was adequate for the games available at its release in early 2017. Users playing competitive shooters like Counter-Strike or Overwatch will find the 640 shading units sufficient for high frame rates at 1080p with reduced settings. For single-player titles from the 2015-2017 era, medium settings at 1080p are the realistic ceiling.

The 23.89 GPixel/s pixel rate and 59.72 GTexel/s texture rate suggest the GPU can handle 1080p resolution effectively, but 1440p gaming is not recommended. The 112.1 GB/s memory bandwidth on a 128-bit bus becomes a bottleneck at higher resolutions, particularly in texture-heavy scenes. Users who prioritize portability and battery life over maximum graphical fidelity will find this GPU appealing, as its 75 W TDP allows for thinner chassis designs without requiring extensive cooling solutions.

The 50th percentile ranking implies a balanced performance profile — not exceptional, not deficient. Gamers who primarily play older or less demanding titles, or who accept console-equivalent visual quality, will find the GTX 1050 Mobile adequate. However, users expecting to run modern AAA titles at high settings will be disappointed, as the 2 GB VRAM will quickly fill with high-resolution textures, causing stuttering and texture pop-in. The GPU is also suitable for non-gaming tasks like video playback and light content creation, where its 1.911 TFLOPS of compute power is more than sufficient.

Power and Cooling

The GTX 1050 Mobile carries a TDP of 75 W, which is remarkably modest for a discrete GPU. This figure directly influences laptop design, enabling manufacturers to use smaller cooling solutions and lower-capacity power adapters compared to higher-end mobile GPUs. The power connectors field lists "None," indicating that this mobile GPU draws all its power through the motherboard slot or soldered connection, which is typical for mobile parts that are not user-upgradeable.

The suggested PSU field is null, meaning no specific power supply recommendation is provided. For a mobile GPU, this is expected, as the laptop's power adapter and internal power delivery system handle all component power requirements. The 75 W TDP aligns with NVIDIA's design goals for the GeForce 10 Mobile series, which emphasized efficiency alongside performance. The 14 nm Samsung process contributes to this efficiency, with a transistor density of 25.0M per mm² representing a significant improvement over previous generations.

Thermal management is simplified by the low power draw. A capable air cooler with a single heat pipe and small fan is sufficient to keep the GPU within operating temperatures under load. The absence of power connectors means there is no additional cable management requirement for system integrators. The PCIe 3.0 x16 bus interface provides ample bandwidth for data transfer, and the 3,300 million transistors on a 132 mm² die produce manageable heat density that standard laptop cooling can dissipate effectively.

FAQ

Q: What is the release date of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile?

A: The release date is January 2, 2017, and the production status is listed as end-of-life.

Q: How much memory does the GTX 1050 Mobile have, and what type is it?

A: It has 2 GB of GDDR5 memory with a 128-bit bus width, providing 112.1 GB/s of memory bandwidth.

Q: What API levels does the GTX 1050 Mobile support?

A: It supports DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, making it compatible with modern graphics APIs of its era.

Q: What is the pixel and texture fill rate of this GPU?

A: The pixel rate is 23.89 GPixel/s and the texture rate is 59.72 GTexel/s, derived from 16 ROPs and 40 TMUs respectively.

Q: Does the GTX 1050 Mobile support ray tracing?

A: No, the RT cores field is null, which is consistent with Pascal architecture that predates NVIDIA's ray tracing hardware introduced in the GeForce 20 series.

Q: What is the FP16 compute capability of this GPU?

A: The FP16 performance is 29.86 GFLOPS, which is a 1:64 ratio compared to FP32, indicating limited half-precision throughput.

Benchmark Performance

The GTX 1050 Mobile's benchmark performance must be analyzed through its architectural specifications, as no direct benchmark scores are provided in the data. The FP32 compute of 1.911 TFLOPS is the primary indicator of raw processing power. With 640 shading units running at a boost clock of 1493 MHz, this figure represents the theoretical peak performance. In real-world terms, this translates to playable frame rates in 1080p gaming for titles released around 2017, but the 50th percentile ranking places it below many desktop GPUs of the same era.

The texture rate of 59.72 GTexel/s, calculated from 40 TMUs at the boost clock, indicates the GPU can process texture data at a moderate pace. This is sufficient for 1080p gaming at medium settings, where texture sampling demands are relatively modest. The pixel rate of 23.89 GPixel/s, derived from 16 ROPs, limits fill-rate-intensive scenarios such as high-resolution anti-aliasing or multi-monitor setups. At 1440p resolution, the pixel throughput becomes a constraint, causing frame rate drops in pixel-heavy scenes.

The memory subsystem is a critical bottleneck. The 112.1 GB/s bandwidth, while adequate for 2017 titles, is insufficient for modern games with high-resolution texture packs. The 128-bit bus width limits the amount of data that can be transferred between the GPU and VRAM per clock cycle. The 2 GB capacity further restricts performance in titles that require more than 2 GB of VRAM, leading to texture swapping and stuttering. The effective memory clock of 7 Gbps is standard for GDDR5 of this generation, but the narrow bus negates some of the bandwidth advantages.

Memory Subsystem

The GTX 1050 Mobile is equipped with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory operating at an effective speed of 7 Gbps. The 128-bit memory bus provides a theoretical peak bandwidth of 112.1 GB/s. This configuration was mainstream for mobile GPUs in 2017, balancing cost, power consumption, and performance. However, the 2 GB capacity is the most limiting factor, as even at release, some games recommended more than 2 GB of VRAM for high-detail textures at 1080p.

The 112.1 GB/s bandwidth is sufficient for the GPU's compute capabilities, but it becomes a constraint in texture-heavy scenarios. Games with large open worlds or detailed environments will experience performance dips when the VRAM fills up, forcing the GPU to stream textures from system memory over the PCIe 3.0 x16 bus. This incurs significant latency and reduces frame rates. At 1080p with medium textures, the bandwidth is adequate, but high-resolution texture packs will saturate the available bandwidth.

The memory configuration also affects power consumption. GDDR5 at 7 Gbps draws more power than lower-clocked memory, but the 75 W TDP of the GTX 1050 Mobile includes memory power. The 128-bit bus width is narrower than higher-end GPUs, which reduces the number of memory chips required and thus lowers overall power draw. This design choice prioritizes efficiency over raw bandwidth, aligning with the mobile form factor's thermal constraints.

Ray Tracing and Feature Set

The GTX 1050 Mobile does not include RT cores or tensor cores, as these fields are null in the data. This is consistent with the Pascal architecture, which predates NVIDIA's introduction of dedicated ray tracing hardware in the GeForce 20 series. Consequently, the GPU has no hardware-accelerated ray tracing capabilities. Games that require DXR (DirectX Raytracing) will either fail to run or rely on compute-based fallbacks, which are significantly slower and impractical for real-time rendering on this hardware.

The API support includes DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. The DirectX 12 feature level 12_1 enables modern rendering techniques such as conservative rasterization and rasterizer-ordered views, which are used in some games for improved visual quality. Vulkan 1.4 support allows for low-level GPU access, which can improve performance in Vulkan-based titles. OpenGL 4.6 provides compatibility with older applications and some Linux games.

The absence of tensor cores means no hardware acceleration for AI-based features like DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling). This is a significant limitation for modern gaming, as DLSS provides substantial performance gains in supported titles. The GTX 1050 Mobile must render at native resolution, which places additional strain on its limited compute and memory resources. The FP16 performance of 29.86 GFLOPS, at a 1:64 ratio to FP32, indicates that half-precision compute is not a focus of this architecture, further limiting AI-related workloads. The GPU's feature set is firmly rooted in its 2017 release period, offering no forward-looking capabilities beyond standard rasterization.