NVIDIA has finally completed their Kepler line up which means there is a GPU based on their latest architecture at every price point. The GTX 650 Ti was the final piece that finishes off the series at an entry level friendly price point of $149 US and is designed to work well at 1080p HD resolutions with moderate setting. Because of its small size and lower power consumption, it also seems to be a good fit for an HTPC when paired with a good Mini-ITX chassis. Join us as we’ve zoomed in the camera so you can have a closer look at the NVIDIA GTX 650 Ti.
Video Overview
The GTX 650 Ti has a lot to promise gamers at the meager starting price of $149 US. And with the inclusion of Assassins Creed 3 at launch, $149 suddenly became a much smaller pill. Let’s dive into more of the specifications.
Features and Specifications
What’s so different about the GTX 650 Ti? For one, the fact that this is the smallest gaming video card we’ve ever seen. Otherwise, the technical magic happens underneath the hood which can’t been seen. Below you can see how the GTX 650 Ti compares to its closest siblings.
The major technical differences are the video memory, memory interface, lack of GPU Boost, SLI and of course, fewer CUDA cores. Again, this is an entry level GPU but it still sports a 925 MHz base clock to help make sure it can maximize its resources. Considering the power consumption, it’s possible to build a little 220 Watt home theater PC that can do a lot more than just play videos. NVIDIA promises 1080p gaming with this GPU and we’re going to find out how close they got to that goal.
Zooming in on the NVIDIA GTX 650 Ti
If you look carefully at the photo, you can just see the GTX 650 Ti amongst the giants. I didn’t think anything could be made smaller than the GTX 660/660 Ti, this is the shortest PCB ever. The word is that the GPU consumes so little voltage that the card doesn’t really need a fan per say. So it’s no surprise that there are passively cooled GTX 650/650 Ti in the works.
The PCI bracket lacks the mini Display port which is fine really. There’s a HDMI and two Dual-Link DVI ports. Properly configured, the card still supports four displays. That makes this card a useful office tool since integrated graphics isn’t always the optimal option for multiple monitors.
Some NVIDIA GTX 650 Ti Partners
Here’s a sneak peek at some of the various GTX 650 Ti available from the partners. Note that everyone of them sport after market GPU coolers. Some of them are attractive and others are possibly an acquired taste. Also, most of these will clock in higher than the reference NVIDIA cards and some even have full sized PCBs to accommodate up to 2GBs of VRAM and voltage control for increased stability when overclocked.
Pricing for these cards start around $149.99 on up to $179.99 depending on the overclock frequencies out of the box and memory onboard.
Test System Setup and Configuration
When I installed the GTX 650 Ti, my daughter asked if it’s possible that it comes in pink because it was so cute. It’s rare to see something marketed towards gamers that did not come with an enormous cooler. Although I would have liked to have used a mini- ITX board for testing, we’ll still need to see how it compares to its full sized competitors and for that, we’ll need a full sized system.
- Processor: Intel Core i7-3770K Ivy Bridge
- Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP5 TH (F11 BIOS)
- Memory: Patriot Memory Viper III 2133 DDR3 @ 1600 CL8
- Video card 1: NVIDIA GTX 650 Ti 1GB (306.38 Drivers)
- Power Supply: Antec High Current Pro 1000 Watt Platinum
- Cooling: NZXT HAVIK 140
- OS: Win 7 Pro 64-bit
Screen resolutions are set at 1920 x 1080p on an ASUS VG27H 3D monitor. Benchmark resolutions are in the graph details. Power consumption was monitored to confirm the card consumes a measly 100 watts. Fan noise was recorded using an Extech sound meter which detects noise down to 30dB at 4 feet from source.
Benchmarks were all chosen to reflect an upgrade scenario where new users looking for upgrades will want to play both new and old games. Thus we chose both new and old titles to test.
Overclocking Performance
I used EVGA Precision X to try and get some extra frequency from the reference card. The reference card overclocks but requires manual fan control to make that happen otherwise it over heats quickly. Ultimately, at 1138mV the GTX 650 Ti overclocked to 1201MHz core and memory offset to 358MHz. Remember, stock is 925MHz core so that’s a 276MHz core overclock! This resulted in about a 14 frame gain in most the games tested which is reasonable trade for the extra heat.
Naturally, a better cooling solution is needed to support overclocking. Keep in mind this is a reference cooler and partner cards will almost certainly offer higher frequencies and more memory as well. We definitely trust those cards for extended overclocking more than we test this stubby little PCB.
Synthetic Benchmarks – 3DMark11 and Unigine Heaven 3.0
The GTX 650 Ti is still a strong little GPU despite it’s size. I wasn’t expecting the card to score so well over its older Fermi cousins. But it’s obvious this little Kepler has a heart of sheer will power.
Again, the mini-Kepler surprises us, scoring better than even the GTX 560 Ti. This benchmark typically slaps cheaper GPUs around given all the extra settings. I can’t help but chuckle a bit looking at this little card on the open bench test system. I guess size really doesn’t matter in this case.
Now, let’s see what kind of frame rates the card gets in some hardcore game titles.
Metro 2033
Metro 2033 requires a boat load of card resources and the higher memory bandwidth helps increase frame rates because of moving all that texture data. However, remember that this is at 1080p. If you turn down the settings a bit you can get another 10 frames out of the mini-Kepler which gets you just under 30 FPS. If you overclock it, you’ll get there with room to spare.
Batman Arkham City
Batman AC is still quite playable with the new mini-Kepler. It’s not the smoothest at all times but definitely tolerable even with the PhysX settings enabled. It sure is a great looking game under Kepler with all the details turned on.
Stalker Call of Pripyat
Yes, these scores are correct. I ran the benchmark a few more times just to make sure it was running correctly. Again, more memory resources help make the difference but having a high clocked GPU makes up some ground.
Battlefield 3
The GTX 650 Ti might not produce the highest average here in Ultra settings, but it still does well given its resources. If you turn the settings to High or even Medium, you’ll see average frame rates in the 40s with smoother game play as promised by NVIDIA. Turning depth of field down or off adds even more frames for even more improved game play. If you overclock it, you should add a few more.
Aliens vs Predator
And, finally, AVP uses a slightly older game engine but still highly detailed textures. If you’re playing these types of games, this card is the minimum you’ll want to run for best results. Many of today’s RPG games will score similarly.
Thermal, Power, and Noise
I used both ASUS GPU Tweak and EVGA Precision X to monitor temps. Unigine Heaven 3.0 was used repeatedly to heat the GPU up to see what kind of temps we can expect from serious game titles. Keep in mind this card has a reference GPU cooler which partners have to match or exceed. As you saw in the partners section, they’ve all decided to exceed. Some by quite a bit.
Naturally, the low powered GTX 650 Ti idles at a very cool at 27C. However, when the benchmark runs over and over heating up things, the GPU hit 75C at all times even when running a lower end benchmark. The reference fan just seems to max out though it can be heard at around 34dB. Again, expect partner cards to cool much better.
Final Thoughts
The NVIDIA Kepler GPU continues to surprise in a big way even as the PCB foot print shrinks. While the GTX 650 Ti might look tiny, it has a big heart. The GTX 650 Ti design makes efficient use of its limited resources producing playable frame rates at 1080p as promised. Naturally, if graphical details aren’t a priority or if you have a lower resolution display, the frames rates will be higher.
The great thing is that many partner cards feature is 2GB GDDR5 which means better frame rates even with high game settings and larger textures. However, if eye candy is very important, we would definitely recommend the the next step up to a GTX 660 or 660 Ti if you can afford it. But you wouldn’t be looking at this review if that was an option right?
NVIDIA’s own GTX 650 Ti launches for $149.99 US while the partner cards offer aftermarket and overclocked options in addition to the increased memory. Pricing is as follows: ASUS GTX650Ti-1GD5 $154.99, GIGABYTE GV-N65TOC-1GI $159.99, Galaxy 65IGH8DL7AXX $159.99, EVGA SSC 01G-P4-3652-KR $159.99, MSI N650Ti PE 1GD5/OC $159.99, and ZOTAC ZT-61102-10M $169.99 to give you idea. Plus, at launch, North American board partners are bundling Assassins Creed 3 with the card which makes video cards based on this GPU an even greater value.
Now that we’ve seen the last Kepler GPU for 2012, we’re wondering how NVIDIA can top Kepler? If their innovation streak continues, we can’t wait to see what’s next. And right now, their innovation can give you 1080p resolutions with reasonable frame rates at moderate detail settings at an affordable price.
Pros
- Great 1080p budget gaming solution
- Small foot print and 100 watt TDP
- Still supports up to 4 displays (on select partner cards)
- Double digit (14 fps) increases when overclocked
Cons
- Reference cooling solution could be better
Overall Rating: 9.0 / 10.0
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