Leadtek has released a very unusual version of the GeForce RTX 3050. It is equipped with a tangential fan cooling system. Such solutions often attract not only owners of server systems or compact PCs, but also enthusiasts, since the cooler is subsequently dismantled and a liquid cooling system is installed in its place. However, the presence of such a cooler in the junior model of the Ampere series looks at least strange.
Image Source: Leadtek
The specifications of the Leadtek GeForce RTX 3050 Classic are the same as NVIDIA announced for the RTX 3050. It is built on the GA106-150 GPU with 2560 CUDA cores operating in the frequency range from 1.5 to 1.78 GHz, and received 8 GB of GDDR6 memory with 128 bit bus width support. The accelerator also received one 8-pin auxiliary power connector, which should be more than enough, since the maximum power consumption of the GeForce RTX 3050 is only 130 watts.
NVIDIA itself did not release the reference version of the GeForce RTX 3050. The accelerator is distributed exclusively by its partners. As a result, there are many different options on the market that simply borrow cooling systems from the same GeForce RTX 3060 or GeFoce GTX 1660 Super. Leadtek did the same with its Classic version, which copies the cooling system from the GeForce RTX 3060 Classic, GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Classic or GeForce RTX 3070 AI Blower. The thickness of each of them is 35 mm, and the height is 111 mm. Each occupies two expansion slots in the PC. The length of the new GeForce RTX 3050 Classic is 253 mm.
There are several reasons to opt for a video card equipped with such a cooling system. Perhaps the most obvious of these is space saving. Especially when it comes to a very compact desktop computer. The “turbine” in this case expels hot air from the video card immediately outside the case, and does not exaggerate it inside.
According to Tom’s Hardware, the latest tangential fans are not as noisy as they were when such cooling systems first appeared on the market and began to be used to cool video cards. In addition, such a CO should not have problems with cooling the relatively cold GeForce RTX 3050. Most manufacturers equip this model with a dual-fan cooling system. There are also single-fan solutions, from MSI and ASUS, for example. However, there are also those who, for greater marginality of the goods, obviously overdo it, as is the case with three-fan monsters Gigabyte Aorus Elite or ASUS ROG Strix.
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