Conclusion

Conclusion

So there you have it. Let me first state that our way of testing graphics cards can be considerd rather exhausting for graphics cards in the entry level genre. As such, an up-to 1080P resolution is the maximum domain of the focus for these products, WQHD not at all. Even at 1080P 2GB cards will quickly run out of memory and, as you have been able to see, with DX12 titles especially the regular 1050 caved in. Lowering image quality settings (significantly to say medium quality) is the only way to get that framerate up. However, we test all graphics cards the same hence we present the results as-is and equally towards each other. Personally I do apprecate 99 USD entry level cards like this 1050 as they will allow you to play the less heavy games like perhaps Dota and games along these lines. For DX12 titles and proper image quality settings that you may expect from a 2016 PC, a regular 1050 is just not enough. Its biggest limitation would be the 2 GB graphics memory. The second it runs out of memory, the results will be all over the place, that also makes this a very hard to measure card. But again, for simple gaming, a work PC, playback, decoding or encoding video content... hey, for that level of usage, these cards do offer nice value.

The better bet however is the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, for entry level gaming this card makes more and the most sense as it has a little more bite specifications wise and obviously that 4 GB of graphics memory, and that 4GB memory partition is what saves this product. This 1050 Ti 4GB was also all over the place in the benchmarks, some games behave extremely well where others just caved in. Performance wise I had hoped the 1050 Ti would be much closer to the AMD Radeon RX 470, but it simply isn't. It is an affordable fun card, but is totally outperformed by that RX 470. Perhaps that is wishful thinking from my side as the 1050 series is to be positioned in the competitive Radeon RX 460 range. But then again a 1050 Ti will cost you 139 USD. For 169 USD you can pick up that RX 470 which is the better investment to make in the 1080P domain. Pricing in the EU however is very different, a 4GB RX 470 will cost you 215 EURO where the GTX 1050 Ti will sit in that 155~160 EURO bracket. So the dynamic is different and actually regionally bound.
 

Aesthetics

You will have noticed that we tested the Gaming X editions from MSI, the reason here is that Nvidia is not releasing reference models. Being a budget card you shave off quite some money, and that typically shows in design. MSI can still offer this fully customized product with TwinFrozr cooler at a very attractive price level. Face it, this card does look terrific. It come with that custom design PCB, and is properly cooled with the TwinFrozr VI cooler and even gets the LED system, it looks great. 

Cooling & Noise Levels

Given the fact that both the Gaming X models of the 1050 and 1050 Ti run at under 65 Degrees C, you are going to be hard pressed to hear these products. Up-to 60 Degrees C the cards remain passive, and in the last remaining 5 Degrees C the fans spin at low RPM. These two facts combined make these cards run totally silent at ~33 dBA, you simply cannot hear them. There was not any audible coil noise heard either.

Power Consumption

GP107-A1 Pascal series GPUs are rated as having a 75 Watt TDP under full stress, our measurements show it to be a tiny bit higher in that region. Low wattage cards are hard to measure due to the fact that a PSU gets more inefficient at low power usage. But we tag the 1050 at 70 Watts and 77 Watts for the 1050 Ti. Again, we do need to weigh in a little reserve here power supply efficiency wise so it might be a notch lower as well. It remains to be a very low value. 

Gaming Performance

I would class the 1050 2GB for gamers using up-to 1280x720P if you want to run decent enough image quality settings. Other than that the 1050 is perfect as an HTPC card and your everyday working slash internet PC product. The 1050 Ti with 4 GB of graphics memory however can game. In DX12 with proper PC gaming quality settings you will run out of power pretty fast though, even at 1080P. But lower image quality a notch and you should be fine. It is a perfect little card for 1080P and the latest Battlefield 1 for example. Overall, in DX11 games we see decent enough performance. So the GeForce GTX 1050 2GB is merely a reasonable enough product for Full HD gamers at 1920x1080 on a budget, but it does end there. With a 4GB model you'll have more breathing space and that helps quite a bit. Obviously not everybody requires or demands 100+ FPS and many people find that 30~40 average FPS is good enough, especially with a GSYNC monitor. 

Tweaking

Overclocking wise things are very simple. The cards can both run and reach a boost frequency of roughly 1900 MHz, the memory subsystem can do 8 Gbps. After these values you'll run into restrictions mostly set by Nvidia. Check out the overclock pages for more precise numbers. 

Last Words

MSI did a terrific job with the 1050 and 1050 Ti really. Totally stable and custom builds that run inaudibly with quality components, that's what this is all about. Now the 1050 2GB I am not a fan of, but that is a personal opinion as really I am rather spoiled with fast graphics cards. For 99 USD you can purchase it, but you will run into limitations quickly and often requiring you to lower image quality settings or your resolution, and I do think that 1080P gaming is the norm anno 2016. Other than that it is a perfect card for simpler games like Dota and the like, it's also a perfect card for a work PC or HT and/or Internet PC. The better card obviously is the 139 USD / 155 EURO GeForce GTX 1050 Ti. It has a little more power under the hood and the 4GB of graphics memory really helps it out dealing with more crispy textures and, well, PC gaming the way it is meant to be played really (no pun intended). 1080P is your domain, but with certain titles you will need to lower image quality. If you want to stick with Nvidia, then the 1060 3GB is your next best bet at 219 USD and EURO but I think that 3 GB is also too small a number anno 2016 (albeit at 1080P reasonable by any standard). And yes, as you can see there is a huge gap in-between the two. Precisely inside that gap is the competition to be found with the 169 USD AMD Radeon RX 470 and, honestly, the RX 470 makes the most sense price and value wise IF you live in the USA, because in the EU that card is 215 EURO. Both 1050 cards tweaked quite well, we however predict (once again) that any and all cards can achieve a stable ~1.9 GHz boost clock frequency. With the graphics memory you should be reaching 8 Gbps (effective data-rate) quite easily. Hey, for the bigger part Nvidia is in control of your tweak, not you. MSI offers lovely and well designed cards with a proper silent cooler. If you can spot them for the right price, these cards can be little gems for your entry level gaming purpose and both could offer good value in a cool looking yet silent package in that 99 to 139 USD domain. If you are on such a strict budget, please do opt for a 4GB version. The price certainly is right for what these cards bring to the table combined with casual gaming. For the more serious PC gaming we recommend a Radeon RX 470 4GB or GeForce GTX 1060 3GB (or something better).

 - H.

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