If you’re in the market for a budget gaming laptop, chances are you have come across a laptop featuring the new NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU. This is the latest budget GPU offering for gaming laptops from NVIDIA and we have tested quite a few laptops featuring this card this year. In this RTX 4050 gaming comparison, we’re going to be comparing all of the RTX 4050 laptops we’ve tested so far with each other, so that you can find out which one is the best performer and which one offers the best value for your money. To give you a better idea of how these laptops perform, we’ve also compared them to a gaming laptop featuring an RTX 3060 and a laptop featuring an RTX 3050.
We’ve done a detailed comparison for the previous generation of budget gaming laptop GPUs as well, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650, the RTX 2050, the RTX 3050 and the RX6500M. Similarly, if you want a better idea of how the RTX 4050 performs in comparison to the RTX 4060, RTX 3060 and RTX 3070, we’ve got a detailed breakdown of that as well.
We’re going to be taking a look at a total of 8 laptops in this article, which we will be dividing into two categories. We’re making the split based on GPU TGP, or Total Graphics Power. The lower TGP RTX 4050s will be compared to the RTX 3050, while the higher TGP RTX 4050s will be compared to the RTX 3060. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at our contenders for the first batch.
MSI Thin GF63 12VE
Both our contenders in this category come from MSI, with the first being the MSI Thin GF63. The Thin lineup is MSI’s budget gaming lineup and as such comes with weaker TGP GPUs. However, costing a little over a lac, this MSI Thin GF63 still comes with a pretty decent processor in the 12th gen Intel Core i7-12650H, albeit with only 8GB of DDR4 RAM.
MSI Thin GF63 12VE Specs
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU
TGP: 45W
CPU: Intel Core i7-12650H
RAM: 8GB DDR4
Price: Rs 1,09,862
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VE
The MSI Cyborg lineup is new from MSI having started only this year, and sits somewhere in between the MSI Thin and Katana lineup. You have variants with both high and low TGP and more powerful GPU offerings as well. However, the variant we’ve tested features a TGP of 45W, like the Thin GF63. You have the same processor as well, in the 12th gen Intel Core i7-12650H, however, unlike the Thin you have 16GB of DDR5 RAM in the Cyborg. Considering the price it’s pretty clear on paper which is the better choice.
MSI Cyborg 15 A12VE Specs
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU
TGP: 45W
CPU: Intel Core i7-12650H
RAM: 16GB DDR5
Price: Rs 99,990
Dell G15 5520 (RTX 3050)
Finally, we’re going to be comparing the two low TGP RTX 4050 gaming laptops with an RTX 3050 Laptop, the Dell G15 5520. Unlike the other two laptops we’ve got a 12th gen Intel Core i5-12500H here, which in terms of performance isn’t really that far behind the 12650H. Other than that, you also have 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a much higher TGP of 95W on the RTX 3050 on-board.
Dell G15 5520 Specs
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU
TGP: 95W
CPU: Intel Core i5-12500H
RAM: 16GB DDR5
Price: Rs 72,990
Our first batch of comparisons entails these three laptops, with both the RTX 4050s featuring TGPs of 45W, and the RTX 3050 laptop featuring a much higher TGP of 95W. We’ve said that TGP can make a major difference when it comes to performance, but we’d argue that it stays within a generation; a generational leap can potentially result in significant performance improvements, though it may not always be true. Enough speculation, we’ve got the benchmark results right here so we can see for ourselves.
We use the 3DMark benchmark to measure synthetic performance; Time Spy for DirectX12 performance and Fire Strike for DirectX11 performance.
As you can see in the graph, both the RTX 4050 laptops perform better than the RTX 3050 in every benchmark. Unsurprisingly, the MSI Cyborg manages to outperform the MSI Thin GF63 thanks to its RAM having both higher capacity and faster speeds. 16GB of RAM can really make a difference when compared to 8GB of RAM, especially when it comes to gaming. The fact that it’s DDR5 over DDR4 also helps.
However, synthetic GPU performance may not necessarily translate to real-world performance. This is where our real-world gaming benchmarks come in.
You’ll notice that both the RTX 4050 GPU laptops are ahead in most games, but the RTX 3050 really isn’t all that far behind. The RTX 3050 even outperforms the 45W RTX 4050s in some titles.
You’ll notice that the games where the RTX 3050 outperforms the RTX 4050 are older, which aren’t as optimised for newer GPUs. DirectX11 tends to give better performance on RTX 30 series cards, while the same is true for DirectX12 games and RTX 40 series cards. However, newer and more graphic intensive titles will run better on the RTX 4050 in this case, even though they have a lower TGP. While this low TGP comparison might still leave some doubts about whether or not you should go for an RTX 4050 laptop, our next batch will definitely quash all of them.
We’ve got a total of 5 laptops for this comparison, with 4 of them featuring an RTX 4050 with the lowest TGP being 120 W. The 5th laptop features an RTX 3060, to show you how much of a performance difference there is just within RTX 4050s how much difference TGP actually makes.
With that, let’s get to our next contenders.
HP Victus Gaming Laptop 16-r0076TX
First up, we have the new HP Victus 16 gaming laptop, which features an RTX 4050 with a TGP of 120W. This laptop features the lowest TGP of the 4050s we’re looking at for this batch, but it’s not by much. The rest have a TGP of 140W. The Victus lineup is HP’s budget gaming laptop lineup. It features the latest 13th gen processors and 16GB of DDR5, which puts it a cut above the RTX 4050 laptops we’ve looked at in the previous batch. The Victus also features an excellent display with great sRGB coverage and brightness.
HP Victus Gaming Laptop 16-r0076TX Specs
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU
TGP: 120W
CPU: Intel Core i5-13500HX
RAM: 16GB DDR5
Price: Rs 1,29,990
HP OMEN Gaming Laptop 16-wd0xxx
Next, we have another laptop from HP, this time from the Omen lineup, which is HP’s premium gaming laptop lineup. Funnily enough, this is actually cheaper than the Victus 16 and actually features a slightly weaker configuration than the HP Victus above. You still get a 13th gen i5 processor paired with 16GB of DDR5 RAM with this one which is pretty good.
HP OMEN Gaming Laptop 16-wd0xxx Specs
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU
TGP: 140W
CPU: Intel Core i5-13420H
RAM: 16GB DDR5
Price: Rs 1,02,990
ASUS TUF Gaming A15 FA507NU_FA577NU
Our third contender is the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (2023). This is the only laptop in this article to feature an AMD processor. Other than that, you still have a powerful 140W TGP RTX 4050 and 16GB of DDR5 RAM. The AMD processor puts this laptop in a unique spot, allowing us to see how the new Ryzen 7000 series compares to Intels newer 13th gen processors when it comes to gaming.
ASUS TUF Gaming A15 FA507NU_FA577NU Specs
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU
TGP: 140W
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS
RAM: 16GB DDR5
Price: Rs 1,05,990
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71
Our final RTX 4050 laptop candidate is the Acer Predator Helios Neo 16. In addition to having a 140W TGP RTX 4050, this laptop also features the most powerful processor in this list, the 13th gen Intel Core i7-13700HX. In addition to 16GB of DDR5 RAM, the Helios Neo 16 also comes with a bright and colour-accurate display that rivals the HP Victus.
Acer Predator Helios Neo 16 PHN16-71 Specs
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop GPU
TGP: 140W
CPU: Intel Core i7-13700HX
RAM: 16GB DDR5
Price: Rs 1,29,990
Gigabyte G5 KE (RTX 3060)
Our RTX 3060 candidate for this comparison is the Gigabyte G5 KE which is one of the best performing RTX 3060 laptops we’ve tested from last year. However, you’ve got a 12th gen processor and 16GB of DDR4 RAM, both of which are one generation behind the rest of the laptops in this batch. That said, this laptop can still outperform some of the lower TGP RTX 4050 laptops at a similar price point.
Gigabyte G5 KE (RTX 3060) Specs
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
TGP: 115W
CPU: Intel Core i5-12500H
RAM: 16GB DDR4
Price: Rs 99,990
With all 5 candidates on the table, let’s immediately get to the benchmarks.
We’ll start things off with the synthetic GPU benchmarks.
You’ll immediately notice that all of these laptops are very close in terms of numbers. It’s actually difficult to point out which laptop is truly the winner here; it’s that close. What’s very evident is that they all easily outperform the RTX 3060 laptop, with the First Strike Ultra DX11 benchmark being the only one that’s comparable to the rest.
Of course, real-world gaming performance is what actually matters. We use a total of 8 games to test real-world gaming performance in laptops, including a mix of old, new and popular titles. This also includes both GPU and CPU intensive titles so we can get a good idea of how a gaming laptop configuration works as a whole. With that, we come to the numbers.
Once again, we’re in a similar position as with the synthetic benchmarks. It almost looks like foreshadowing at this point with how close all of these laptops are. It’s difficult to pick out a winner. Maybe medium settings will give us a clearer idea?
Nope. Still very difficult to pick a real winner here. They’re all pretty fantastic and the numbers are very close. Of course, the one thing that’s clear as day is that they all easily outperform the RTX 3060 gaming laptop. If you scroll up the previous batch, you’ll notice that this RTX 3060 laptop outperforms both the low TGP RTX 4050 laptops, so it’s actually better value for money. Then again, some of the laptops in this batch are also cheaper than the lower TGP RTX 4050 laptops from the previous batch.
With the scores being as close as they are, you could safely go for any of the RTX 4050 gaming laptops from the second batch. The clear winner in this particular situation is the HP OMEN Gaming Laptop 16 since it’s the cheapest of the lot but you honestly couldn’t go wrong with any of these options. The other options have other benefits going for them. Go for the ASUS TUF A15 if you want an AMD processor, the Victus 16 or Predator Neo 16 if you want a great display. The Predator also features the best cooling and build quality of the lot. 9 out of 10 times we would advise against going for a lower TGP variant laptop unless you’re severely budget-restrained, and even in those cases, we’ve seen that RTX 3060 laptops at a similar budget can outperform lower TGP RTX 4050 gaming laptops.
*Laptop prices may vary from time of writing this article
