GTX 1650 in 2023, Still Worth Buying?

In the beginning of 2023, the GTX 1650 overtook the GTX 1060 in Steam's Hardware Survey, which was surprising considering the former is weaker than the latter. However, since the 1650 is still available to buy new, and can be found in pre-built PCs and laptops, its popularity makes sense. Though the 1650 was criticized at launch by reviewers, models such as the Palette version, lacking a power connector and able to fit inside almost any PC, made it an ideal quick and easy upgrade. Additionally, there are plenty of GDDR5 and slightly faster GDDR6 1650s available on the used market, but due to the plummeting price of other low-power options, the 1650 may not be the most cost-effective choice.

Testing in Apex Legends at 1080p High textures with TSAA and everything else at lowest, the frame rate was solid, despite the card only having four gigs of VRAM, which can be a limitation in newer games. Battlefield 1 still looks incredible at medium settings, and performance is consistent across different maps and game modes. In Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2, the basic graphics preset was used, with textures set to normal, and Fidelity FX scaling enabled to run the game at 80% resolution, which looked sharper and crisped up everything.

Elden Ring, with the medium preset and high anti-aliasing, ran with between 50 and 60 FPS, with the busier in-game areas dropping to the lower end of the spectrum. Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered has FSR 2.1 support, which greatly benefits cards like the 1650. FSR 2.1, even with performance mode, is almost indistinguishable from native 1080p, so there's not much visual sacrifice to hit at least 60 FPS. Cyberpunk 2077 got an FSR 2.1 update recently and, just like Spider-Man, looks excellent even at lower than native 1080p. Going forward into Need for Speed Unbound, FSR saves the 1650 from a sub-60 FPS average. Though personal preference is important, it's always worth aiming for 60 FPS, and if necessary, turning down games to 720p low with FSR scaling to achieve it.

Overall, while the 1650 is not the most powerful card on the market, its availability and popularity, as well as its ability to run many popular games at a solid frame rate, make it a great entry-level card. Its performance can be improved by the use of FSR, and the inclusion of upscaling options in more games in the future will extend the life of these older entry-level GPUs that may otherwise start to struggle. It's clear that the 1650 is still a popular choice, likely thanks to its prevalence in OEM systems and entry-level laptops.