RTX 3050VSRTX 5060
AI Benchmark Battle 2026
RTX 3050
Ampere8GB
$200-250
Consumer
Entry
RTX 5060
Blackwell16GB
$349-400
Consumer
Entry
Different Models Due to VRAM
RTX 3050 (8GB VRAM) runs an FP8 quantized model optimized for limited memory, while RTX 5060 runs the full-precision model. Direct token/s comparison is not applicable as these are different model variants.
LLM Inference
| Model | RTX 3050 | RTX 5060 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
Typhoon2.5-Qwen3-4BHigher is better | Cannot Run | Cannot Run | N/A |
GPT-OSS-20BHigher is better | Cannot Run | Cannot Run | N/A |
Qwen3-4B-Instruct-FP8Higher is better | 141tok/s | 190tok/s | RTX 5060 |
Vision-Language
| Model | RTX 3050 | RTX 5060 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
Qwen3-VL-4BHigher is better | Cannot Run | Cannot Run | N/A |
Qwen3-VL-8BHigher is better | Cannot Run | Cannot Run | N/A |
Typhoon-OCR-3BHigher is better | Cannot Run | Cannot Run | N/A |
Image Generation
| Model | RTX 3050 | RTX 5060 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
Qwen-ImageLower is better | 442.00sec | 194.00sec | RTX 5060 |
Qwen-Image-EditLower is better | 432.00sec | 201.00sec | RTX 5060 |
Video Generation
| Model | RTX 3050 | RTX 5060 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
Wan2.2-5BLower is better | Cannot Run | Cannot Run | N/A |
Wan2.2-14BLower is better | Cannot Run | Cannot Run | N/A |
Speech-to-Text
| Model | RTX 3050 | RTX 5060 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
Typhoon-ASRHigher is better | 0.373xx realtime | 0.353xx realtime | RTX 3050 |
Winner Analysis
Deep dive into why each GPU performs differently based on technical specifications
Technical Analysis Summary
RTX 5060 wins 3 out of 4 benchmarks, excelling in LLM Inference and Image Generation. Its Blackwell architecture advantages provides a decisive advantage for AI inference workloads.
Key Differentiators
- RTX 3050 uses Ampere architecture while RTX 5060 uses Blackwell
- RTX 5060 features next-gen GDDR7 memory
- RTX 5060 has 16GB VRAM for larger models
LLM Inference
RTX 5060 wins in LLM inference because RTX 5060's superior memory bandwidth (448GB/s vs 224GB/s) enables faster token generation, and larger VRAM (16GB) allows running bigger models without quantization.
Vision-Language
Both GPUs handle vision-language models effectively, with performance differences within acceptable margins.
Image Generation
RTX 5060 leads in image generation because faster memory enables quicker diffusion iterations, and ample VRAM supports high-resolution image generation.
Video Generation
Video generation capabilities are well-matched, with both GPUs delivering similar frame generation speeds.
Speech-to-Text
RTX 3050 achieves higher real-time processing ratios for speech recognition.
Technical Specifications
RTX 3050
RTX 5060
Overall Winner
RTX 5060
3 wins out of 4 benchmarks
1
RTX 3050
3
RTX 5060
RTX 3050 Advantages
- Dominates in Speech-to-Text
RTX 5060 Advantages
- More VRAM (16GB vs 8GB)
- Dominates in Image Generation
Frequently Asked Questions
RTX 5060 outperforms RTX 3050 in 3 out of 4 AI benchmarks. The RTX 5060's Blackwell architecture introduces 5th generation Tensor Cores with enhanced AI processing capabilities and DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation. With 448 GB/s memory bandwidth and 16GB GDDR7 memory, it delivers superior throughput for AI inference workloads.
RTX 3050 has 8GB of GDDR6 memory with 224 GB/s bandwidth. RTX 5060 has 16GB of GDDR7 memory with 448 GB/s bandwidth. Higher memory bandwidth generally results in faster token generation for large language models.
RTX 5060 is faster for LLM inference. LLM performance is heavily dependent on memory bandwidth - RTX 5060's 448 GB/s GDDR7 enables faster token generation compared to RTX 3050's 224 GB/s.
RTX 3050 has a TDP of 130W while RTX 5060 has a TDP of 150W. RTX 3050 is more power efficient, making it suitable for deployments with power constraints. For cloud deployments, consider Float16.cloud where you can access these GPUs without managing power infrastructure.
RTX 3050 is priced around $200-250 (consumer market), while RTX 5060 costs approximately $349-400 (consumer market).