The X1650XT was also a much weaker card than the 7600GT, which is why it was cheaper. However, the performance difference between the two really didn't show in the price difference.
I bought a Sapphire X1650XT, which on newegg currently goes for $150, it overclocked like complete ass. There was litterally no memory headroom for overclocking, what it came clocked at was as high as it would go without artifacting like crazy. The core overclocked a tiny 25MHz, but granted the card was slightly pre-overclocked, so in the end the speeds were 625/1400. What did it get in 3DMark06? 3700
I sold that card and picked up a XFX 7600GT. It was also overclocked from the factory, it came at 590/1600, however I was able to get it up to 690/1780 completely artifact free after 2 hours of ATITool scanning. What did it get in 3Dmark06? 4100 And the kicker, the 7600GT was only $115 after rebate $145 before. Not only does the 7600GT outperform the x1650XT, it out overclocked it too, AND was cheaper.
I am sorry, but anyone that thinks anything from the x1600 series is better for the money than a 7600GT has got to be a fanboy.
Also, since when do the Mid-Range cards have to outperform the last generation to be good? I could see if we were talking about the high end cards not outperforming the last generation, but not mid-range cards, the mid-range cards rarely outperform the kings from the previous generation.