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Zotac GeForce GTX 1650 OC

 & Chris Stobing Senior Analyst, Security

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

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Meet the Zotac GeForce GTX 1650

Based on Nvidia's "Turing" architecture and using a new GPU (the TU117), the Zotac GeForce GTX 1650 OC is Nvidia's new budget card.

A Look at the Card Face

The card itself is on the smaller side of the GPU spectrum, at just under 6 inches long and a little over an inch deep, but it will still take up two slots across in your PC chassis.

Three Key Ports

On the backplane you'll find one HDMI 2.0b port, one DisplayPort 1.4 output, and a dual-link DVI output.

A View of the Heat Sink

The card has a very standard aluminum heatsink that supports a grooved-blade plastic fan. Using Zotac's user-friendly overclocking and card-management software, Firestorm, I was able to get 150MHz more out of the boost clock while keeping things at a stable temperature. But it didn't translate to real-world gains.

The Fan Design

Here you can better see the grooves in the fan.

A Look at the Spine

Because of the low power requirements for the GTX 1650 (it's rated for only 75 watts), you won't need any power-supply cabling plugged in to help keep this card running at full capacity. It draws all the juice it needs from its PCI Express x16 slot.

The Card From the Back

The card lacks a heat-dispersing sheer backplate.

In Sum, Solid Enough...if Small's What You Need

If you've got a super-tight PC or a power supply that can't support any new connections, the 75-watt Zotac GeForce GTX 1650 OC would work as a replacement to the GeForce GTX 1050 or an earlier compact card

About Our Expert

Chris Stobing

Chris Stobing

Senior Analyst, Security

My Experience

I'm a senior analyst charged with testing and reviewing VPNs and other security apps for PCMag. I grew up in the heart of Silicon Valley and have been involved with technology since the 1990s. Previously at PCMag, I was a hardware analyst benchmarking and reviewing consumer gadgets and PC hardware such as desktop processors, GPUs, monitors, and internal storage. I've also worked as a freelancer for Gadget Review, VPN.com, and Digital Trends, wading through seas of hardware and software at every turn. In my free time, you’ll find me shredding the slopes on my snowboard in the Rocky Mountains where I live, or using my culinary-degree skills to whip up a dish in the kitchen for friends.

My Areas of Expertise

  • Privacy software, including VPNs and proxy services
  • PC building, and all the ins and outs of desktop PCs
  • Processors and motherboards
  • Graphics cards
  • PC cases
  • Networking equipment
  • Internal storage

The Technology I Use

As a former PC component reviewer and longtime gamer, almost every PC I use is one that I've custom-built. I use a system that runs an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor, along with an AMD Radeon RX 6800 graphics card in a black case. For mobile devices, I'm a longtime user of Apple smartphones and am deeply integrated into Cupertino's app ecosystem, and currently I have an iPhone 10X.

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