AMD Radeon RX 9050 Benchmarks Show a Tough Start Against NVIDIA RTX 5050
AMD’s latest entry-level RDNA 4 graphics card is already facing a difficult comparison in early benchmark results. The Radeon RX 9050, positioned as the most affordable and least powerful model in the RX 9000 series, appears to fall well behind NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5050 in both gaming and synthetic performance tests.
The Radeon RX 9050 is available in 4 GB and 8 GB versions, but the early comparison focused on the 8 GB model. That makes the matchup more balanced, since the GeForce RTX 5050 also comes with 8 GB of video memory. Even with the same VRAM capacity, however, the RX 9050 struggled to keep pace.
In several tested games, the Radeon RX 9050 delivered roughly 20% to 30% lower performance than the RTX 5050. That is a notable gap, especially because the RTX 5050 itself has not been widely praised for offering exceptional value.
In Final Fantasy XIV: Golden Legacy, the RX 9050 was around 23% to 27% slower than the RTX 5050. In Apex Legends, the performance gap widened further, with AMD’s card trailing by nearly 26% to 30%. Rainbow Six Siege X also favored NVIDIA’s GPU, with the RX 9050 running about 20% slower.
Interestingly, the largest performance differences appeared when games were tested using medium graphics presets. At ultra settings, the Radeon RX 9050 managed to narrow the gap slightly, though it still remained behind the RTX 5050 overall.
Some additional titles were tested as well, including Cyberpunk 2077 and Doom: The Dark Ages. However, those results are harder to compare directly because they involve different upscaling and frame generation technologies, such as AMD FSR and NVIDIA DLSS. Since those features can heavily influence frame rates, the raw performance comparison becomes less straightforward.
Synthetic benchmarks also painted a challenging picture for AMD’s new budget RDNA 4 GPU. Tests such as 3DMark Speed Way, Port Royal, Steel Nomad, and Fire Strike showed a clear advantage for the GeForce RTX 5050. The one area where the RX 9050 looked more competitive was 3DMark Time Spy, where the difference between the two cards was much smaller.
The biggest issue for the Radeon RX 9050 may not simply be that it is slower. Pricing makes the situation more complicated. The RX 9050 carries a listed price of around $279, while the RTX 5050 can currently be found near $300. Neither card looks like a standout bargain, but with the RTX 5050 offering around 20% to 30% stronger performance in many tests, NVIDIA’s entry-level GPU currently appears to be the better option.
For budget PC gamers, the Radeon RX 9050 may be a difficult recommendation unless retail pricing drops significantly. AMD’s RDNA 4 lineup has stronger options higher up the stack, but based on these early results, the RX 9050 looks like the weakest member of the RX 9000 family so far.
If AMD wants this card to become more attractive, aggressive pricing will likely be essential. At its current position, the Radeon RX 9050 enters the market facing stiff competition from a GPU that many already considered underwhelming, yet still manages to outperform it by a comfortable margin.
