Is the GTX 1650 super worth it?

The GTX 1650 SUPER is a graphics card in a weird spot for NVIDIA, in the previous generation there was no 100W TDP desktop GPU to talk about. The GTX 1650 SUPER changed that, it is not quite a 1050Ti nor a 1060 successor. How does the GTX 1650 SUPER compare to other AMD and NVIDIA offerings? Does it run every game? We are going to respond with numbers, benchmarks and comparison tables.

Is the GTX 1650 SUPER worth it?

The GTX 1650 SUPER is worth it. Not only it easily runs all games in 1080p and 1440p high/ultra settings, but it also offers a great price to performance ratio while being future proof and having a low power consumption compared to its competitors.

GTX 1650 super

GTX 1650 SUPER Specifications

 
Released Date Nov 22th, 2019
TDP 75 W
Suggested PSU 350 W
Power connector 1 x 6 pin
Core Speed 1530 - 1725 (Boost) MHz
Memory Bus Width 128 Bit
Memory Type GDDR5
Regular memory size 4 GB
Max memory size 4 GB
Architecture Turing
Process size 12 nm
Transistors 6,600 million
Shading units 1280
Features Turing Mesh Shaders, Turing NVENC.
Ports 1 x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1 x Displayport 

The GTX 1650 SUPER was released in 2019 as a mid-range graphics card for desktop PCs that can run all games in 1080p and 1440p. It is based on the Turing architecture and 12 nm process. Compared to the other graphics card in its generation (RTX 2000 GPUs), the GTX 1650 lacks Raytracing and Tensor cores.

Its direct competitors in price are the older RX 590 and the newer RX 5500, which both perform close to the GTX 1650 SUPER. Consumption-wise is the only graphics card in the 100 W TDP bracket.

 

GTX 1650 gaming benchmarks

 
Game Average FPS at 1080p Ultra Presets
Anno 1800 Anno 1800 38
Anthem Anthem 44
Battlefield Battlefield 5 76
Borderlands 3 Borderlands 3 31
Call of Duty Modern Warfare Call of Duty Modern Warfare 62
Control Control 48
Far Cry New Dawn Far Cry New Dawn 64
Final Fantasy XV Final Fantasy XV 66
Ghost Recon Breakpoint Ghost Recon Breakpoint 46
Grand Theft Auto 5 Grand Theft Auto 5 62
Just Cause 4 Just Cause 4 55
Minecraft Minecraft 74
Metro Exodus Metro Exodus 35
Shadow of the tomb raider Shadow of the Tomb Raider 55
The Division 2 The Division 2 53
The Witcher 3 The Witcher 3 68
Total War Three Kingdoms Total War: Three Kingdoms 33

The graphics card performs well in modern titles, with the exceptions of final fantasy XV and Metro Exodus, which run close to 30 fps (still playable), keep in mind this benchmarks are in Ultra settings, adjusting the graphics to high is necessary if you want to achieve 50+ fps.

 

GTX 1650S eSports performance

 
Game Average eFPS at 1080p Ultra presets
Apex Legends Apex Legends 68
CS: GO Counter Strike: Global Offensive 201
Dota 2 Dota 2 114
Fortnite Fortnite 68
League of legends League of Legends 376
Overwatch Overwatch 107
PUBG PUBG 63

 

Frequently asked questions about the GTX 1650 SUPER

Is the GTX 1650 SUPER good for gaming?
Yes, it is excellent rendering games in Full HD resolutions and Ultra graphical settings.
 
Is the GTX 1650 SUPER better than the GTX 1060?
Yes. Besides the GTX 1060 being more than 3 years older than the GTX 1650 SUPER and thus less future proof, the later is also slightly faster, consumes less power and includes new technologies like Turing Mesh Shaders.
 
Is the GTX 1650 SUPER future proof?
As of 2020 based on the benchmarks you see in this article, the comparison, its VR capabilities and robust driver support. Yes, the GTX 1650 SUPER is future proof and should not go obsolete for some years.
 
What is the best GTX 1650 SUPER?
If we define best by 'faster', then the ASUS ROG STRIX OC with a 1815 MHz boost is the best one. Also the ASUS brand is established and trusted, thus we know the overclock is properly backed with good cooling.
 
Does GTX 1650 SUPER support 144 Hz?
Yes, although the graphics card doesn't render 144 FPS in all modern AAA titles, it does so in most eSports in medium to high settings. League of Legends, Dota 2, Overwatch all run in 144+ FPS in the correct settings.
 
Does GTX 1650 SUPER has Turing NVENC?
Yes, unlike the GTX 1650, the GTX 1650 SUPER includes Turing NVENC, which takes us to the next question.
 
Is the GTX 1650 SUPER good for streaming?
Thanks to its Turing NVENC the GTX 1650 super is good enough to stream eSport titles like League of Legends at decent (144+) frame rates and high presets. With proper airflow noise should be low. Nevertheless an external microphone is necessary if complete noise cancelling is required. Check our streaming mic guide: https://gofullbuild.com/post/streaming-mic-guide/
 
Can the GTX 1650 SUPER run VR?
Yes, the GTX 1650S satisfies VR recommended requirements.
 
 
Pros and cons of buying a GTX 1650 super in 2020

Pros:

  • Lower power consumption than its competitors. Only 100W.
  • Runs all modern games in 1080p and good frame rates.
  • Future proof for some time, it has good driver support, runs all current games smoothly and with some advantage.
  • One of the best budget options right now. Good price to performance ratio.

Cons:

  • Lacks the technologies other NVIDIA graphics cards have in its architecture. Like Raytracing.

 

Best CPUs to pair with a GTX 1650

Despite its awesome performance the GTX 1650 SUPER is considered a 'budget' GPU and as such it should be paired with a 'budget' CPU. If we follow the general ratio of GPU price to CPU price (GPU should cost 2 times the CPU in a budget build), then a good CPU to pair up with this graphics card should be below the $100 mark, as 

Ryzen 3 3100: With 4 cores/8 threads, an excellent performance and a very low price tag. This is the best option you could find as a budget oriented CPU. With a price of just around $99 there is no competition right now.

i3 10100: The Intel option offers a performance close to that of the Ryzen 3 3100, but with a price tag a bit higher (around $122), if the price goes lower this is going to be a very competitive option.

 

GTX 1650 SUPER compared to other graphics cards

The options near the price of a GTX 1650 SUPER tend to have a higher power consumption and the same performance.

 
Graphics card Price Performance compared to the GTX 1650 SUPER TDP [W]
GTX 1650 SUPER $160 +0% 100
GTX 1050  $129 -111% 75
GTX 1650 $150 -40% 75
GTX 1060 3GB $170 +21% 120
GTX 1660 $220 +3% 120
GTX 1660Ti $280 +21% 120
GTX 1660 SUPER $230 +19% 125
RX 570 $120 -27% 120
RX 580 $159 -6% 185
RX 590 $218
+3%
175
RX 5500 $160 -1% 130


In terms of price to performance the GTX 1650 SUPER is only comparable to the RX 5500, which costs the same and performs very similarly, but consumes more power and requires better cooling. The other two options that make sense are the RX 570 for $40 less and the GTX 1660 SUPER for $70 more. Any other of the graphic cards listed are not competitive at those price points.

 

Final thoughts

The GTX 1650 SUPER is a graphics card that just makes sense. Very good performance for the money and also lower TDP than the competition. If you are thinking about spending $160 on a graphics card this is well worth its money, otherwise, if you are thinking about spending less, then the RTX 570 for $120 is the only price-performance efficient option. On the other hand, if you're thinking about spending more you'd have to go way higher in order for it be worth it.