Are there any alternatives?

Not right now. Nvidia skipped this price tier with the previous generation, and AMD’s RX 6500 XT falls woefully short of the RTX 3050. The only alternatives are Nvidia’s more premium GPUs. Hopefully, by the end of 2022, you’ll be able to find something like an RTX 2070 or RTX 2060 Super for around the same price.

　　

How long will it last?

The RTX 3050 isn’t built for the future. It barely meets the mark for 1080p AAA gaming right now, and within a few years, you’ll struggle to hit sustainable frame rates at the highest graphics settings. If you are OK with bumping down your settings, or you primarily play less demanding games, it should last four to five years.

　　DLSS helps a lot, too. Assuming the list of DLSS games continues to grow, you’ll be able to squeeze performance out of the RTX 3050 for many years to come.

　　

Should you buy it?

If you can find the RTX 3050 at list price, you should buy it. After launch, it comes down to what price you can find the RTX 3050 at. It’s a solid graphics card, but you’ll be better off with the RTX 3060 or RTX 3060 Ti if you can find one for a reasonable price.