Review: EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 SC Gaming

Conclusion

Nvidia has fleshed out its latest-generation Pascal architecture to include graphics cards priced to appeal to any type of gamer. The 10-series range extends all the way to the £600+ GeForce GTX 1080 and, courtesy of the new GP107 die, starts from as little as £115 for the GeForce GTX 1050.

As the most basic GPU in the line-up, GTX 1050 comes to the party with 640 shaders and 2GB of memory, matching the core composition of the GTX 750 Ti launched way back in February 2014. A new architecture and significantly higher clock speeds make this year's entry-level GPU a faster proposition, yet headline frequencies can only do so much to compensate for a small frame buffer and the GPU's underlying lack of potential.

In-game performance on modern DX12 titles falls short of the desired 60 frames per second using high-quality settings at an ubiquitous 1080p resolution, and heightened pricing on partner cards puts the GTX 1050 in the firing line of a Radeon RX 460 armed with twice the memory.

Bottom line: in the market for an entry-level GPU? The GTX 1050 could be interesting if a single-slot or half-height form factor were to materialise, but for most gamers 4GB cards such as the Radeon RX 460 or GTX 1050 Ti are a safer bet.

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The EVGA GeForce GTX 1050 SC Gaming graphics card will be available to purchase from Scan Computers.

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