NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti Round-Up: EVGA, ZOTAC, GB

Performance Summary: Looking back through our numbers, it’s obvious which market segment NVIDIA has targeted with the GeForce GTX 650 Ti. The GeForce GTX 650 Ti is meant for more mainstream market segments currently occupied by cards like the Radeon HD 7770 and in that regard the card performs very well. The GeForce GTX 650 Ti, whether factory overclocked or not, is clearly faster than the Radeon HD 7770 overall. The GTX 650 Ti obviously lags a bit behind its higher-end counterparts in the GeForce GTX 660 series, however, and trails cards like the 1GB Radeon HD 7850 more often than not.


NVIDIA GeForce 650 Ti Reference Card

GeForce GTX 650 Ti cards should be available immediately, in both reference and custom forms, from your favorite on-line retailers and system builders. Prices for the cards start at about $149.99 for 1GB cards with specifications similar to NVIDIA’s reference card and go up to about $180 for 2GB, factory-overclocked models. The ZOTAC, Gigabyte, and EVGA cards we showed you here are all priced at $179.99.

At those prices, 1GB reference models look attractive versus similarly priced Radeon HD 7770 cards, but a spate of mail-in rebates on many 7770 cards make them somewhat more affordable at the moment. 2GB GeForce GTX 650 Ti cards, however, face some much stiffer competition at their projected price points. For similar or only slightly more money, there’s a lot more performance to be had by springing for a 1GB Radeon HD 7850 or even a GeForce GTX 660.

Overall though, the GeForce GTX 650 Ti is an interesting product. It may not be the highest performing solution throughout its entire price range, but the card’s small form factor, friendly power consumption characteristics, and cool and quiet operation are all pluses in our book.

 
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660

  • Good performer
  • Competitively priced
  • Relatively power friendly
  • Much more performance available for slightly more money

Marco Chiappetta

Marco Chiappetta

Marco's interest in computing and technology dates all the way back to his early childhood. Even before being exposed to the Commodore P.E.T. and later the Commodore 64 in the early ‘80s, he was interested in electricity and electronics, and he still has the modded AFX cars and shop-worn soldering irons to prove it. Once he got his hands on his own Commodore 64, however, computing became Marco's passion. Throughout his academic and professional lives, Marco has worked with virtually every major platform from the TRS-80 and Amiga, to today's high end, multi-core servers. Over the years, he has worked in many fields related to technology and computing, including system design, assembly and sales, professional quality assurance testing, and technical writing. In addition to being the Managing Editor here at HotHardware for close to 15 years, Marco is also a freelance writer whose work has been published in a number of PC and technology related print publications and he is a regular fixture on HotHardware’s own Two and a Half Geeks webcast. - Contact: marco(at)hothardware(dot)com

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