Gigabyte Nvidia 1650 Super
The next great battle in the budget GPU wars is here.
The world of budget gaming GPUs mightn’t be headlinegrabbing like it is at the high end, but that doesn’t mean that this isn’t a battleground. On the contrary. These are the cards that AMD and Nvidia sell in huge numbers to PC gamers around the world. If you’re a gamer who laughs at the idea of spending $1,500 on a GPU or someone who loves a bit of Fortnite or PUBG, then these are the cards for you. Nvidia’s GTX 1650 has been refreshed with a Super version, and it’s now joined by AMD’s RX 5500 XT. Which is the best card in this cut throat price segment right now? Let’s see. Fight!
THE RX 5500 XT: AMD’S LONG AWAITED BUDGET NAVI CARD
Let’s start with the Radeon RX 5500 XT. It’s the truly new one of the pair, and it’s got a great list of technological features, including a 7nm manufacturing process, GDDR6 memory and PCI Express 4.0 support. It’s based on AMD’s Navi generation GPU, which is the first iteration of its RDNA architecture. It offers better power efficiency compared to the outgoing Polaris based cards as well as a smaller die size, hopefully leading to lower manufacturing costs for AMD and hence better pricing for consumers. At $399 for the top end MSI though, its pricing is a good step above the 4GB variants as well as several budget minded 8GB designs.
On the topic of memory, it’s got 8GB of GDDR6 onboard, but only a 128-bit bus, which means adequate, but not mind blowing memory bandwidth. This compares to the outgoing Polaris RX 480/580/590 which had a 256-bit bus albeit with slower GDDR5.
MSI’s RX 5500 XT 8GB is equipped with the Twin Frozr 7 cooler. It’s a little bit thicker than a true dual slot design, something to keep in mind. This cooler has earned a reputation for excellent thermal performance without compromising on noise levels. It’s a dual-fan design with a fan stop function, meaning under idle or low load conditions, the fans don’t spin at all. There’s a solid backplate and also a splash of RGB lighting on the side of the card. Overall the build quality is excellent and it looks great too.
MSI’s card uses a custom PCB, with a six-phase PWM. It comes with a 140W TDP. That’s a bit high compared to the GTX 1650 Super. It also comes with a quality video output set, with 3x DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0b ports. Its boost clock, which we saw maintained pretty much throughout testing, is 1845MHz, which is actually the same as the reference clocked RX 5500 XT. Perhaps a bit more would have been nice? The card is fed by a single 8-pin power connector.
THE 1650 SUPER REALLY IS SUPERCHARGED
The competition for the RX 5500XT is the GTX 1650 Super. In this case we have Gigabyte’s Windforce OC
“Both cards perform well at the 1080p resolution. 1440p is a bit beyond them, at least with demanding games at the higher settings. ”
model on hand. The GTX 1650 Super isn’t a simple refresh though. It makes use of the TU116 silicon, the same GPU found in the GTX 1660. The 1650 Super packs in 1280 cores vs the 1650’s 896. Combine that with 50% more memory bandwidth thanks to the use of GDDR6, and it’s clear the 1650 Super is much faster than the 1650. Perhaps the only real drawback is the increase in TDP from 75W to 100W. That’s not unexpected though with the better GPU, and still less than the 140W TDP of the 5500XT.
Gigabyte’s 1650 Super Windforce OC flavor isn’t mega premium design, but that’s not a bad thing in this price range. There’s simply no need to over engineer a card with a 100W TDP. In our testing the Windforce cooler did an admirable job, and at its highest temperatures it was barely audible. It also held clocks in the 1780MHz to 1830MHz range, well above its rated 1755MHz boost clock.
The card comes with a tasteful backplate and 3x display outputs consisting of single DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0b ports along a DVI-D port, something to take note of if you’re using an older monitor.
Now we come to the all-important question, which one is better? Both cards perform well at the 1080p resolution. 1440p is a bit beyond them, at least with demanding games at the higher settings. The 5500 XT 8GB just has its nose in front in performance, though the 1650 Super is close behind. Note that the RX 590 is still a decent performer, and the 1660 Super that we rate highly, is a step ahead.
At this end of the market, pricing cannot be ignored and sadly the MSI 5500 XT is simply priced too high. It’s got a terrific cooler and build quality as well as having more VRAM and outputs but at this price you can get a GTX 1660 Super which is a much better performing card. Freesync support adds weight to the 5500 XT and it’s important to note that there are cheaper 8GB and particularly 4GB varieties of 5500XT. The MSI is what we have though, and it’s simply too expensive at $399 vs the almost-as-fast Gigabyte 1650 Super at $319. If the 5500XT has a shelf life of anywhere near Polaris cards, then that pricing will not stay high. If 5500XT 8GB cards come down into the $300-$350 range, then they become a whole lot more compelling.
The Gigabyte 1650 Super Windforce is close to the 5500XT on performance while using less power and being cheaper. It would be nice to have 6GB or more on board, but you’re not likely to run into too many VRAM limitations before the GPU itself runs out of puff – particularly if you’re smart about what settings to dial back a notch to maintain 60fps+. The Gigabyte Windforce also gets ticks for its upgrade friendly DVI-D port, which along with its six-pin power connector and low power consumption keeps it widely compatible upgrade for older systems.
The 5500XT should settle in price once stocks build up and older Polaris based cards go off market. At that time we might go for the 5500 XT, but for now, The Nvidia options are better. If you’ve got $300 to $400 to spend, the 1650 Super is better at the lower end of that price range, while the 1660 Super remains the $400 pick.