The Test

While the GeForce GTX 1650 is rolling out as a fully custom launch, the nature of the entry-level segment means that boards will be very similar across the board. For one, going beyond 75W TDP would require an external PCIe power connector. So the 75W ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1650 with boost clocks dialed 30MHz down to reference is a good approximation for a generic reference GTX 1650, allowing us to keep testing and analysis as apples-to-apples as possible. While not perfect, this should be reasonably accurate for a virtual reference card as we look at reference-to-reference comparisons.

Overall, as this primarily covers cards in the low- to mid-range, all game benchmarking is done at 1080p, looking at performance on our standard 1080p Ultra settings, as well as high and medium options that are better suited for these sorts of sub-$150 cards.

Test Setup
CPU Intel Core i7-7820X @ 4.3GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte X299 AORUS Gaming 7 (F9g)
PSU Corsair AX860i
Storage OCZ Toshiba RD400 (1TB)
Memory G.Skill TridentZ
DDR4-3200 4 x 8GB (16-18-18-38)
Case NZXT Phantom 630 Windowed Edition
Monitor LG 27UD68P-B
Video Cards ZOTAC GAMING GeForce GTX 1650 OC
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 (4GB)

AMD Radeon RX 570 8GB
AMD Radeon RX 570 4GB
AMD Radeon RX 460 4GB (14 CU)
AMD Radeon RX 370 (2 GB)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB Founders Edition (1260 cores)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB (1152 cores)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (4GB)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 2GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 (2GB)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 750 Ti
Video Drivers NVIDIA Release 430.39
AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.4.3
OS Windows 10 x64 Pro (1803)
Spectre and Meltdown Patched

Driver-wise, in addition to not being made available before launch, the 430.39 release was not the smoothest either, with a 430.59 hotfix coming out just this week to resolve bugs and performance issues. In our testing, we did observe some flickering in Ashes.

Meet the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1650 OC Battlefield 1
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  • philehidiot - Friday, May 3, 2019 - link

    Over here, it's quite routine for people to consider the efficiency cost of using AC in a car and whether it's more sensible to open the window... If you had a choice over a GTX1080 and Vega64 which perform nearly the same, assume they cost nearly the same, then you'd take into account one requires a small nuclear reactor to run whilst the other is probably more energy sipping than your current card. Also, some of us are on this thing called a budget. $50 saving is a weeks food shopping.
  • JoeyJoJo123 - Friday, May 3, 2019 - link

    Except your comment is exactly in line with what I said:
    "Lower power for the same performance at a similar enough price can be a tie-breaker between two competing options, but that's not the case here for the 1650"

    I'm not saying power use of the GPU is irrelevant, I'm saying performance/price is ultimately more important. The RX 570 GPU is not only significantly cheaper, but it outperforms the GTX 1650 is most scenarios. Yes, the RX 570 does so by consuming more power, but it'd take 2 or so years of power bills (at least according to avg American power bill per month) to split an even cost with the GTX 1650, and even at that mark where the cost of ownership is equivalent, the RX 570 still has provided 2 years of consistently better performance, and will continue to offer better performance.

    Absolutely, a GTX1080 is a smarter buy compared the to the Vega64 given the power consumption, but that's because power consumption was the tie breaker. The comparison wouldn't be as ideal for the GTX1080 if it costed 30% more than the Vega64, offered similar performance, but came with the long term promise of ~eventually~ paying for the upfront difference in cost with a reduction in power cost.

    Again, the sheer majority of users on the market are looking for best performance/price, and the GTX1650 outpriced itself out of the market it should be competing with.
  • Oxford Guy - Saturday, May 4, 2019 - link

    "it'd take 2 or so years of power bills (at least according to avg American power bill per month) to split an even cost with the GTX 1650, and even at that mark where the cost of ownership is equivalent, the RX 570 still has provided 2 years of consistently better performance, and will continue to offer better performance."

    This.

    Plus, if people are so worried about power consumption maybe they should get some solar panels.
  • Yojimbo - Sunday, May 5, 2019 - link

    Why in the world would you get solar panels? That would only increase the cost even more!
  • Karmena - Tuesday, May 7, 2019 - link

    So, you multiplied it once, why not multiply that value again. and make it 100$?
  • Gigaplex - Sunday, May 5, 2019 - link

    Kids living with their parents generally don't care about the power bill.
  • gglaw - Sunday, May 5, 2019 - link

    wrong on so many levels. If you find the highest cost electricity city in the US, plug in the most die hard gamer who plays only new games on max settings that runs GPU at 100% load at all times, and assume he plays more hours than most people work you might get close to those numbers. The sad kid who fits the above scenario games hard enough he would never choose to get such a bad card that is significantly slower than last gen's budget performers (RX 570 and GTX 1060 3GB). Kids in this scenario would not be calculating the nickels and dimes he's saving here and there - they'd would be getting the best card in their NOW budget without subtracting the quarter or so they might get back a week. You're trying to create a scenario that just doesn't exist. Super energy conscious people logging every penny of juice they spend don't game dozens of hours a week and would be nit-picky enough they would probably find settings to save that extra 2 cents a week so wouldn't even be running their GPU at 100% load.
  • PeachNCream - Friday, May 3, 2019 - link

    Total cost of ownership is a significant factor in any buying decision. Not only should one consider the electrical costs of a GPU, but indirect additional expenses such as air conditioning needs or reductions in heating costs offset by heat output along with the cost to upgrade at a later date based on the potential for dissatisfaction with future performance. Failing to consider those and other factors ignores important recurring expenses.
  • Geranium - Saturday, May 4, 2019 - link

    Then people need to buy Ryzen R7 2700X than i9 9900K. As 9900K use more power, runs hot so need more powerful cooler and powerful cooler use more current compared to a 2700X.
  • nevcairiel - Saturday, May 4, 2019 - link

    Not everyone puts as much value on cost as others. When discussing a budget product, it absolutely makes sense to consider, since you possibly wouldn't buy such a GPU if money was no object.

    But if someone buys a high-end CPU, the interests shift drastically, and as such, your logic makes no sense anymore. Plenty people buy the fastest not because its cheap, but because its the absolutely fastest.

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