Gigabyte G1 Gaming GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Graphics Card Review

Final Thoughts

Price

The Gigabyte Nvidia GTX 1050 G1 2GB is available for just £120, which is fantastic value for money given the overall quality of the card. It has a great cooler, runs almost silently, and has a backplate. It’s about £10 more than the equivalent RX 460, but overall it’s a better performing card too, making it the more appealing option.

Overview

This card may not have scored big numbers in our benchmarks, but we weren’t expecting it to. It’s pretty much bottom of the ladder for the 10xx series of cards, but with a huge cooler added to it, it’s one of the best budget cards of the series. What I found remarkable is that it ran almost passively for most of our testing, and even some of the more demanding benchmarks didn’t kick the fans up at all. This is good news for those who want a compact gaming PC for their living room, as it would be nice and quiet.

When it comes to gaming, the G1 Gaming may not have looked to score quite highly, but a bit of personal testing paints the card in a different light. Using ultra settings was just decimating that 2GB VRAM limit. However, running just about any game at 1080p with medium to high settings netted that golden 60FPS. For less demanding games like League of Legends, the card was awesome to use, and for those looking to build an affordable eSports machine, the card is certainly a worthy contender in this market.

Those wanting to game at frame rates over 60fps, or resolutions above 1080p shouldn’t be concerned with this card. It’s obviously priced to reflect its performance and suited to less demanding scenarios. If you needed more horsepower, then the GTX 1050 Ti 4GB version is about £20 more, and better suited to those who like to max out their graphics. Of course, if you’re looking to get gaming and not max out your credit card, then the non-Ti version we reviewed today is certainly the way to go.

This may be one the last of the 2GB cards on the market, the need for 4GB and above is growing and it clearly held the card back in some tests. However, more VRAM = more money, so it’s understandable that this card exists to suit a certain part of the market.

“Great build quality, virtually silent performance, a trusted brand name and a competitive price make the 1050 G1 Gaming an appealing option for the budget conscious eSports loving gamer. One of the best budget cards on the market today.”

Pros

• Excellent cooler
• Low power usage
• Virtually silent
• Great for eSports
• Ideal for 1080p gaming
• Budget friendly
• Stylish design
• Backplate

Cons

• 2GB VRAM is a little restrictive
• Ti version is only £20 more