It looks like the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 is here to stay after the RTX 50-series launch, at least on laptops. According to a new rumor, the laptop version of the entry-level Nvidia GPU is going to remain in production, even after its newer RTX 5050 counterpart launches, with a plan to price the newer GPU even higher.
If this rumor is true, then it means Nvidia is gearing up to offer two entry-level laptop GPUs for the bottom end of the market. Even an entry-grade RTX 4050 laptop GPU will still offer decent performance, although the best gaming laptops will skew towards newer or more powerful alternatives such as the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070.
This rumor comes from Weibo, the Chinese social network. In a post by “thinking about the future”, a Weibo user who was once credited by Videocardz as a Lenovo project manager, and translated from the original Chinese, the claim is made that the RTX 4050 laptop GPU is the “only 40 series laptop GPU that Nvidia will continue to supply after the 50 series graphics card is launched.”
The user goes on to state that the “coexistence” of the two entry-level Nvidia laptop GPUs will mean the price of the laptop RTX 5050 won’t match what the laptop RTX 4050 was on launch, but will instead be higher. They then note that there is “no internal price information,” which is presumably a disclaimer that this is all just a rumor and doesn’t rely on any privileged information to which they’re privy.
With the usual grain of salt applied, this rumor would suggest that Nvidia is looking to offer more choice at the bottom end of the market, while increasing revenue from its new batch for faster, better graphics processors. Higher prices for laptops with RTX 50-series GPUs wouldn’t be great for consumers, but keeping the laptop RTX 4050 GPU around as a cheaper alternative for budget laptops would certainly soften the blow.
Either way, we won’t know for sure about Nvidia’s plans until it releases its next-gen lineup. We’re currently expecting to see this new GPU series launch at the CES 2025 trade show in January, although it’s unclear whether or not Nvidia will launch its laptop GPUs alongside its brand new desktop GPUs such as the RTX 5090. Either way, based on past launches, we’d expect to see entry-level laptop GPUs such as the RTX 5050 reach consumers much later into next year.
For now, take a look through our RTX 5000 series guide to see the latest rumors about this new lineup from Nvidia, including some disappointing news about the RTX 5090 pricing that might just shock you.
