G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce GTX 1050 3GB

2018

Why buy it

✅Costs $171 less on MSRP ($129 MSRP vs $300 MSRP).
✅Delivers 131% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 39.7 vs 17.2 G3D/$ ($129 MSRP vs $300 MSRP).
✅Less risky long-term buy than Radeon R9 M295X: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon R9 M295X is already obsolete for modern gaming.
✅Draws 75W instead of 250W, a 175W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 3 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2018-era hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌14400% longer card at 145mm vs 1mm.

Radeon R9 M295X

2014

Why buy it

✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 3 GB).
✅Measures 1mm instead of 145mm, a 144mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
132.6% HIGHER MSRP
$300 MSRPvs$129 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 17.2 vs 39.7 G3D/$ ($300 MSRP vs $129 MSRP).
❌233.3% higher power demand at 250W vs 75W.

GeForce GTX 1050 3GB

2018

Radeon R9 M295X

2014

Why buy it

✅Costs $171 less on MSRP ($129 MSRP vs $300 MSRP).
✅Delivers 131% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 39.7 vs 17.2 G3D/$ ($129 MSRP vs $300 MSRP).
✅Less risky long-term buy than Radeon R9 M295X: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon R9 M295X is already obsolete for modern gaming.
✅Draws 75W instead of 250W, a 175W reduction.

Why buy it

✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (4 GB vs 3 GB).
✅Measures 1mm instead of 145mm, a 144mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 3 GB vs 4 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2018-era hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌14400% longer card at 145mm vs 1mm.

Trade-offs

❌Very weak future-proofing: 2014-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌
132.6% HIGHER MSRP
$300 MSRPvs$129 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 17.2 vs 39.7 G3D/$ ($300 MSRP vs $129 MSRP).
❌233.3% higher power demand at 250W vs 75W.

Quick Answers

So, is Radeon R9 M295X better than GeForce GTX 1050 3GB?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 5,116 vs 5,150 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer Radeon R9 M295X is the overall package: you are getting FSR upscaling.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GTX 1050 3GB is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2018 generation instead of 2014, the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling, and a 14nm process instead of 28nm. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

Radeon R9 M295X is the smarter buy by a wide margin. Radeon R9 M295X is about 132.6% more expensive on MSRP at $300 MSRP versus $129 MSRP, and you are getting 0.7% higher G3D Mark. GeForce GTX 1050 3GB really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

When does GeForce GTX 1050 3GB make more sense than Radeon R9 M295X?

Yes. GeForce GTX 1050 3GB is still an excellent gaming GPU in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. It makes more sense if your priority is newer architecture, lower power draw (75W vs 250W), future-proofing, and staying closer to $129 MSRP more than squeezing out the extra headroom of Radeon R9 M295X. The trade-off is that Radeon R9 M295X currently gives you 0.7% higher G3D Mark. GeForce GTX 1050 3GB still holds the G3D-per-dollar lead, so the performance win comes with a real value premium.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce GTX 1050 3GB Benchmark Check

Radeon R9 M295X Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1050 3GB	Radeon R9 M295X
1080p
low	43 FPS	104 FPS
medium	28 FPS	89 FPS
high	21 FPS	72 FPS
ultra	14 FPS	43 FPS
1440p
low	30 FPS	90 FPS
medium	19 FPS	79 FPS
high	11 FPS	57 FPS
ultra	8 FPS	33 FPS
4K
low	15 FPS	29 FPS
medium	10 FPS	27 FPS
high	6 FPS	18 FPS
ultra	4 FPS	16 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1050 3GB Open Radeon R9 M295X

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1050 3GB	Radeon R9 M295X
1080p
low	78 FPS	96 FPS
medium	48 FPS	74 FPS
high	36 FPS	61 FPS
ultra	22 FPS	44 FPS
1440p
low	33 FPS	58 FPS
medium	23 FPS	41 FPS
high	15 FPS	31 FPS
ultra	11 FPS	23 FPS
4K
low	10 FPS	23 FPS
medium	7 FPS	16 FPS
high	6 FPS	13 FPS
ultra	4 FPS	9 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1050 3GB Open Radeon R9 M295X

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 1050 3GB	Radeon R9 M295X
1080p
low	230 FPS	232 FPS
medium	184 FPS	185 FPS
high	153 FPS	154 FPS
ultra	115 FPS	116 FPS
1440p
low	173 FPS	174 FPS
medium	138 FPS	139 FPS
high	115 FPS	116 FPS
ultra	86 FPS	87 FPS
4K
low	115 FPS	116 FPS
medium	92 FPS	93 FPS
high	77 FPS	77 FPS
ultra	50 FPS	58 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1050 3GB Open Radeon R9 M295X

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 1050 3GB	Radeon R9 M295X
1080p
low	230 FPS	139 FPS
medium	175 FPS	113 FPS
high	153 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	115 FPS	81 FPS
1440p
low	173 FPS	104 FPS
medium	136 FPS	85 FPS
high	115 FPS	74 FPS
ultra	86 FPS	57 FPS
4K
low	95 FPS	61 FPS
medium	71 FPS	47 FPS
high	62 FPS	37 FPS
ultra	47 FPS	26 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1050 3GB Open Radeon R9 M295X

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 1050 3GB and Radeon R9 M295X

GeForce GTX 1050 3GB

The GeForce GTX 1050 3GB is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in May 21 2018. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1392 MHz to 1518 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 75W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,116 points.

Radeon R9 M295X

The Radeon R9 M295X is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 23 2014. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 723 MHz. It has 2048 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 250W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 5,150 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 1050 3GB scores 5,116 and the Radeon R9 M295X reaches 5,150 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.7% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 1050 3GB is built on Pascal while the Radeon R9 M295X uses GCN 3.0, both on 14 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 768 (GeForce GTX 1050 3GB) vs 2,048 (Radeon R9 M295X). Raw compute: 2.332 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1050 3GB) vs 2.961 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 M295X).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1050 3GB	Radeon R9 M295X
G3D Mark Score	5,116	5,150
Architecture	Pascal	GCN 3.0
Process Node	14 nm	28 nm
Shading Units	768	2048+167%
Compute (TFLOPS)	2.332 TFLOPS	2.961 TFLOPS+27%
ROPs	24	32+33%
TMUs	48	128+167%
L1 Cache	288 KB	512 KB+78%
L2 Cache	768 KB+50%	512 KB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 1050 3GB gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon R9 M295X relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1050 3GB	Radeon R9 M295X
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce GTX 1050 3GB comes with 3 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 M295X has 4 GB. The Radeon R9 M295X offers 33.3% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 84 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1050 3GB) vs 176 GB/s (Radeon R9 M295X) — a 109.5% advantage for the Radeon R9 M295X. Bus width: 96-bit vs 256-bit. L2 Cache: 768 KB (GeForce GTX 1050 3GB) vs 512 KB (Radeon R9 M295X) — the GeForce GTX 1050 3GB has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1050 3GB	Radeon R9 M295X
VRAM Capacity	3 GB	4 GB+33%
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	84 GB/s	176 GB/s+110%
Bus Width	96-bit	256-bit+167%
L2 Cache	768 KB+50%	512 KB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (12_1) (GeForce GTX 1050 3GB) vs 12 (Radeon R9 M295X). Maximum simultaneous displays: 3 vs 0.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1050 3GB	Radeon R9 M295X
DirectX	12 (12_1)	12
Max Displays	3	0

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 6.0 (GeForce GTX 1050 3GB) vs VCE 3.0 (Radeon R9 M295X). Decoder: NVDEC 3.0 vs UVD 4.2.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1050 3GB	Radeon R9 M295X
Encoder	NVENC 6.0	VCE 3.0
Decoder	NVDEC 3.0	UVD 4.2
Codecs	H.264,H.265,VP9	—

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1050 3GB draws 75W versus the Radeon R9 M295X's 250W — a 107.7% difference. The GeForce GTX 1050 3GB is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 300W (GeForce GTX 1050 3GB) vs 350W (Radeon R9 M295X). Power connectors: None vs Mobile. Card length: 145mm vs 1mm, occupying 2 vs 0 slots.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1050 3GB	Radeon R9 M295X
TDP	75W-70%	250W
Recommended PSU	300W-14%	350W
Power Connector	None	Mobile
Length	145mm	1mm
Height	111mm	—
Slots	2	0-100%
Temp (Load)	65	—
Perf/Watt	68.2+231%	20.6

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce GTX 1050 3GB launched at $129 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 M295X launched at $300. The GeForce GTX 1050 3GB costs 57% less ($171 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 39.7 (GeForce GTX 1050 3GB) vs 17.2 (Radeon R9 M295X) — the GeForce GTX 1050 3GB offers 130.8% better value. The GeForce GTX 1050 3GB is the newer GPU (2018 vs 2014).