The Bottom Line
Introduction, Pricing & Detailed Look
If you're in the market for a new mid-range GeForce graphics card and don't have or want to spend the money on a higher-end GeForce RTX 20 series graphics card -- then the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER should be on your radar.
NVIDIA updated its GeForce GTX 1660 and GTX 1650 SUPER series based on the Turing TU116 GPU, dropping RTX and DLSS technologies from the card. It has faster GDDR6 on-board, with the 4GB of GDDR6 on the MSI GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X rocking out at 12Gbps -- up from the 8Gbps bandwidth on the original GeForce GTX 1650.
MSI has a bunch of different variants of custom GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER graphics cards, where today we're starting off with the flagship GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X.
The flagship GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X has the fastest out of the box GPU clocks with up to 1755MHz boost clock, all cooled by the TWIN FROZR 7 cooler. There's 4GB of GDDR6 at 12Gbps on a 128-bit memory bus, while the regular GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING (no X) model has boost clocks of 1725MHz -- meaning there's a 30MHz benefit in buying the GAMING X model.
Interestingly, the two GAMING X models in MSI's 6-strong GeForce GTX 1650 family of graphics cards require just a single 6-pin PCIe power connector -- while all 4 of the other models do not. Yeah, they are powered solely by the PCIe 3.0 x16 slot and require no PCIe power connectors at all.
MSI has the following GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER graphics cards:
- GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X: 1755MHz / TWIN FROZR 7 / 6-pin PCIe
- GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING: 1725MHz / TWIN FROZR 7 / 6-pin PCIe
- GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER VENTUS XS OC: 1740MHz / Dual Fan / No PCIe
- GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER VENTUS XS: 1725MHz / Dual Fan / No PCIe
- GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER AERO ITX OC: 1740MHz / Single Fan / No PCIe
- GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER AERO ITX: 1725MHz / Single Fan / No PCIe
Detailed Look
Test System Specs & Synthetic Benchmarks
GPU Test Rig Specs
Welcome to the latest revision of our GPU test bed, with our system being upgraded from the Intel Core i7-7700K to the Core i7-8700K. The CPU is cooled by the Corsair H115i PRO cooler, with the 8700K overclocked to 5GHz. We've stayed with GIGABYTE for our motherboard with their awesome Z370 AORUS Gaming 7.
We approached our friends at HyperX for a kit of their kick ass HyperX Predator DDR4-2933MHz RAM (HX429C15PB3AK4/32), with 2 x 8GB sticks for a total of 16GB DDR4-2933. The RAM stands out through every minute of our testing as it has beautiful RGB lights giving the system a slick look while benchmarking our lives away, while the Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 motherboard joins in with its own array of RGB lighting.
Anthony's Test System Specifications
- Motherboard: GIGABYTE Z370 AORUS Gaming 7 (buy from Amazon)
- CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K @ 5GHz (buy from Amazon)
- Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H115i PRO (buy from Amazon)
- Memory: 16GB (2x8GB) HyperX Predator DDR4-2933 (buy from Amazon)
- SSD: 1TB Toshiba OCZ RD400 NVMe M.2 (buy from Amazon)
- SSD: 512GB Toshiba OCZ RD400 NVMe M.2 (buy from Amazon)
- Power Supply: InWin 1065W
- Case: InWin X-Frame
- OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (buy from Amazon)
Additional Images
3DMark Fire Strike - 1080p
3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.
3DMark Fire Strike - 1440p
3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.
3DMark Fire Strike - 4K
3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.
3DMark TimeSpy
3DMark TimeSpy Extreme
Heaven - 1080p
Heaven is an intensive GPU benchmark that really pushes your silicon to its limits. It's another favorite of ours as it has some great scaling for multi-GPU testing, and it's great for getting your GPU to 100% for power and noise testing.
Heaven - 1440p
Heaven - 4K
Benchmarks - 1080p
1080p Benchmarks
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.
Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games' latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.
Far Cry New Dawn was developed by Ubisoft, and is powered the Dunia Engine, an engine that has been modified over the years for Far Cry and last used in Far Cry 5. Dunia Engine itself was a modified version of CRYENGINE, scaling incredibly well on all sorts of hardware.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.
1080p Benchmark Performance Thoughts
Right out of the gate MSI is taking some swings with its GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X, where in Shadow of War at 1080p we see the card hitting 71FPS. At this level, it beats the previous-gen GTX 1070 but loses to the older GTX 980 Ti which is still a 1080p champion with 74FPS average.
However, it gets smacked back down by Metro Exodus and hovers at 34FPS -- still playable, but not ideal. The GeForce GTX 1070 soars with 49FPS thanks to its 8GB framebuffer and beefier GPU, with the same for the GTX 980 Ti and its 40FPS versus just 34FPS on the GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X.
Far Cry New Dawn is no issue at 1080p on the MSI GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X as it pushes 77FPS, while Shadow of the Tomb Raider is close with 72FPS. Perfect performance for AAA gaming at 1080p.
Benchmarks - 1440p
1440p Benchmarks
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.
Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games' latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.
Far Cry New Dawn was developed by Ubisoft, and is powered the Dunia Engine, an engine that has been modified over the years for Far Cry and last used in Far Cry 5. Dunia Engine itself was a modified version of CRYENGINE, scaling incredibly well on all sorts of hardware.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.
1440p Benchmark Performance Thoughts
We can see that strong GDDR6 memory at 12Gbps helping out here big time in Shadow of War at 1440p, where the MSI GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X performs damn well with 50FPS average. This is identical to the GTX 1070, and still 3FPS slower than the older GTX 980 Ti.
The same punishing treatment is given to the card at 1440p in Metro Exodus, with 26FPS average -- identical to the GTX 1060, and 2FPS away from the Polaris-based RX 580.
Far Cry New Dawn is more than playable at 52FPS average, and with some tweaking you will hit 60FPS easily. Shadow of the Tomb Raider isn't too far behind at 2560 x 1440 with 46FPS average, and again with some tweaks you should be able to reach 60FPS average without a problem.
Benchmarks - 4K
4K Benchmarks
Middle-earth: Shadow of War is a sequel to the popular Shadow of Mordor, which was powered by the Lithtech engine. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.
You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of War at Amazon.
Metro Exodus is one of the hardest tests that our graphics cards have to go through, with 4A Games' latest creation being one of the best looking games on the market. It is a serious test that pushes GPUs to their limits, and also features RTX technologies like DLSS.
Far Cry New Dawn was developed by Ubisoft, and is powered the Dunia Engine, an engine that has been modified over the years for Far Cry and last used in Far Cry 5. Dunia Engine itself was a modified version of CRYENGINE, scaling incredibly well on all sorts of hardware.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is one of the latest games to join our graphics card benchmark lineup, with the game built using the Foundation engine as a base, the same engine in Rise of the Tomb Raider. Eidos Montreal R&D department made lots of changes to the engine during the development of Shadow of the Tomb Raider to make it one of the best-looking games out right now.
4K Benchmark Performance Thoughts
Note: Please don't buy the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER for 4K gaming, but I thought I would run the results and check them out for myself.
Shadow of War at 3840 x 2160 on a sub $200 graphics card with nearly 30FPS average? Hot damn. That's the magic of GDDR6 on a lower-end card, but wow-oh-wow does the GTX 980 Ti show its strength in its old age at 33FPS average at 4K.
Metro Exodus drops to just 12FPS, Far Cry New Dawn to 23FPS, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider to 21FPS. This isn't playable to me, period and I do not recommend it.
Temp & Power
Temperatures
MSI surprises with its budget GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X and its thermal performance, with my card running at just 61C under 100% loads for 30 minutes. The TWIN FROZR cooler does its job extremely well here, and the fans barely spun up during my benchmarking and gaming sessions, either.
Power Consumption
Not only did MSI impress with the thermals on its GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X, but also with power consumption. We're down to the entire Intel Core i7-8700K test bed I use consuming 160W of power, meaning the graphics card itself is using less than 100W of power when in use.
What's Hot, What's Not & Final Thoughts
What's Hot
- Budget friendly price: For the $200 mark you're getting a pretty damn kick ass performance.
- Fierce performance-per-dollar: At this price, you can get yourself some easy 1080p 60FPS gaming with some great-looking games, as well as 120FPS+ with some settings tuned in esports titles like Apex Legends, Overwatch, Fortnite, Rocket League and League of Legends.
- Runs SUPER cool: Seriously, just 61C under load and the fans barely even turn on most of the time. Brilliant.
- GDDR6 memory: Most of this success is due to the faster GDDR6 memory, so thanks GDDR6.
- Power efficient: Some of the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER graphics cards that MSI sell don't even need a PCIe power connector, this one does but it's a factory overclocked model and uses just a single 6-pin PCIe power adapter.
What's Not
- No RTX/DLSS tech: But so what? It's a cheaper card that even if RTX and DLSS technologies were available, the card wouldn't be fast enough to provide good playable frame rates with RTX features turned on. Alternatively, 4GB of VRAM isn't enough to start cranking up DLSS either.
- 4GB VRAM: This is a bit hard -- as the card can perform above its weight in certain applications, but when its VRAM begins running out so too does the performance. Even up against older graphics cards like the Radeon RX 500 series, but they all have 8GB (there are some models with 4GB but I've only tested the 8GB models).
Final Thoughts
If you are in the market for a new budget beast that will be bound by its 4GB, but also unleashed by the GDDR6 memory and Turing GPU? The MSI GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X is just for you.
You've got some great performance at 1080p which will put a smile on your dial, as well as the small 10% or so overclocking headroom and insane thermal performance that barely has the fans spooling up under gaming sessions. MSI comes through yet again with another champion TWIN FROZR cooled GAMING X variant in its GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X.
The card does need to be a little cheaper, as the second hand market when it comes to older GTX 980/980 Ti and GTX 10 series. You can scoop one of those up on the cheap and have nearly everything the GTX 1650 SUPER offers. Except, there's some incredible efficiency here with the MSI variant in the GAMING X, but maybe 6GB of VRAM would've been a little better... eh, NVIDIA?
Performance |
95% |
Quality |
90% |
Features |
90% |
Value |
90% |
Overall |
91% |
It might be limited by its 4GB of VRAM, but the upgrade to GDDR6 on the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER is a big one. MSI's custom GTX 1650 SUPER GAMING X barely spins its fans - it runs that cool. Quality stuff from top to bottom.
What's in Anthony's PC?
- CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K
- MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE Z690 AERO-G
- RAM: Corsair 32GB DDR4-3200
- GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 24GB
- SSD: Sabrent 4TB Rocket 4 Plus
- OS: Windows 11 Pro
- CASE: Lian Li O11 Dynamic XL
- PSU: ASUS ROG Strix 850W
- KEYBOARD: Logitech G915 Wireless
- MOUSE: Logitech G502X Wireless
- MONITOR: LG C3 48-inch OLED TV 4K 120Hz
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