The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Review, Feat. Gigabyte, Zotac, & EVGA
by Ryan Smith on October 9, 2012 9:00 AM ESTMeet The Zotac GeForce GTX 650 Ti AMP! Edition 2GB
Our next card is also our first 2GB GTX 650 Ti, Zotac’s GeForce GTX 650 Ti AMP Edition 2GB. Like the other retail cards in our article the Zotac is from their factory overclocked lineup, with Zotac being unique among the bunch for overclocking both the core and the memory. The GTX 650 Ti AMP 2GB ships at 1033MHz for the core clock and 6.2GHz for the memory clock, which is a 107MHz (12%) core overclock and 800MHz (15%) memory overclock respectively. This is a lower core overclock than EVGA’s SSC, but because the GTX 650 Ti is ROP and memory bandwidth limited out of the box, the memory overclock could prove to be very potent.
The Zotac GTX 650 Ti AMP is also unique for being the only card in our review that’s not clearly based upon an NVIDIA reference design. We don’t have a Zotac GTX 650 on hand, but a quick search indicates that this is the same PCB Zotac used on their GTX 650 cards, so while Zotac is using a unique PCB it’s still a PCB taken from a GTX 650 card. With that said, Zotac’s PCB is not significantly different from the reference PCB – at 5.75” long it’s even the same size – and based on our testing it doesn’t appear to be any better or worse at overclocking, particularly since Zotac is using the same 6GHz Hynix GDDR5 as everyone else.
Zotac’s cooler of choice is also lifted from their GTX 650, and like NVIDIA’s reference design is a variation on the open air cooler. Zotac is using an 85mm fan suspended over a mid-profile aluminum heatsink that covers just over half the card. Like the reference design Zotac’s shroud is minimal, so this is a rather typical open air design.
Meanwhile by changing the PCB Zotac was able to change the display ports on their card, opting to use a stacked DVI design to fit on 4 ports. The GTX 650 Ti AMP comes with 1 DL-DVI-I, 1 DL-DVI-D, and 2 full size HDMI ports, meaning it can drive 4 digital displays out of the box. The dual HDMI ports is a bit odd – we don’t see too many users hooking the card up to two TVs – and in this case the HDMI ports are serving more as a compact SL-DVI port. This change also means that part of the second slot is blocked by a DVI port, so the card has less than a slot’s worth of ventilation (not that it should need too much more).
Rounding out the package is the usual collection of a molex power adapter and quickstart guides. Zotac is attaching a $179 MSRP to the GeForce GTX 650 Ti AMP, a full $30 over the 1GB MSRP, but only $10 over what they’re changing for a stock-clocked 2GB card. Meanwhile for the warranty Zotac is offering a base 2 year warranty, which is extended to a rather generous full limited lifetime warranty upon registration of the card.
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saturn85 - Wednesday, October 10, 2012 - link
great folding@home benchmark.Tchamber - Thursday, October 11, 2012 - link
At 1920x1200 2gb doesn't make a difference... so when does the extra memory come into play? Is it a resolution thing or a matter of having the cores to drive it?Ryan Smith - Friday, October 12, 2012 - link
The extra memory is primarily for textures & buffers. Skyrim of course has its high res texture pack, and meanwhile you have deferred renderers like Battlefield 3 that create relatively large G-buffers, and larger buffers still if you want MSAA.ForeverAlone - Friday, October 12, 2012 - link
I don't really see why anyone would buy the 650.In the UK, the 6850/6870's are just a little bit more and massively outperform a 650.
CaedenV - Friday, October 12, 2012 - link
I was surprised that 1GB is really enough for most games. I figured that 2GB was overkill, but that something in the 1.2-1.5GB would show some added benefit to more games. Is there a utility that can show just how much Ram is being used by these titles so that we know how close we are to that 1GB ceiling on most games?I think with the new consoles coming out next year, having that extra Ram on the GPU will be important for people who do not upgrade often. The new consoles should push developers to add much higher resolution textures, as well as having more variety of textures for their environments, which will no doubt push cards past that 1GB mark.
maximumGPU - Saturday, October 13, 2012 - link
MSI Afterburner can show you gpu ram usage.Leyawiin - Friday, October 12, 2012 - link
Yes, I know the HD 7850 is a better value, so I'll get that out of the way. Still, the GTX 650 Ti with its tiny size, low power consumption and quiet operation would be great for a SFF project. Performs about on par with a GTX 560 and that's fine for 1080p gaming at good quality levels.bernlin2000 - Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - link
It's a bit silly, some of the analysis of these benchmarks. Frankly, any performance above 50 fps average is fantastic, and comparing cards above those numbers is pointless: they're all going to play those games well and nobody notices the difference between 60 and 120 fps. Saying that the GTX 650 Ti (which I just ordered) "doesn't fair particularly well" on Skyrim, when at 1650x1050 it's running at 88.8 fps is just madness. That's with the high resolution textures too? Talk about unnecessary criticism!ajay799 - Saturday, November 10, 2012 - link
i bought a MSI R7770-PMD1GD5 and its like almost silent in idle ... my 3.5 HDD is louder... and even under load its really quiet so i dont get these noise levels from the test besides one of my friends has a HD6850 and under load that sounds like a freaking jet absolutely terrible like my old GTX260 ... compared to the HD7770 thats like night and dayid say these measurements are way off...
Mooseparade - Saturday, June 1, 2013 - link
I bought a Galaxy GTX 650 Ti 1gb for a budget build ($129 - $20 rebate) and it won't even hit 1050mhz core clock. This thing is very dissapointing