MSI GeForce GTX 1050 2GT LP graphics card

Low-profile GTX 1050 for compact builds

The MSI GeForce GTX 1050 2GT LP is a plug-in graphics card built on the NVIDIA GTX 1050 GPU. It targets users who need discrete video output in small-form-factor systems where a full-height board will not fit. The card draws power from the slot alone, so no auxiliary connector is required. Its 2 GB GDDR5 frame buffer connects across a 128-bit interface.

Suits slim HTPCs and office upgrades; not for

This card suits owners of slim desktops, home-theatre PCs or older workstations that have a free PCI Express slot and need HDMI, DisplayPort or dual-link DVI outputs. It supports DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.5 for current desktop compositing and light compute tasks. Buyers looking for playable frame rates in recent AAA titles or for 4 GB of video memory should consider a higher-tier model.

2 GB GDDR5 decides fit for today's workloads

The single specification that determines suitability is the 2 GB GDDR5 memory capacity paired with a 128-bit bus. That frame-buffer size handles 1080p desktop work, video decode and undemanding esports titles at reduced settings. It becomes a bottleneck when texture budgets exceed 2 GB, so match the card to workloads that stay within that limit.