ZOTAC GeForce GTX 650 Ti AMP! Edition 2 GB

[W1zzard]

The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 650 Ti AMP! Edition comes with a large overclock on both GPU and memory. Having 2 GB GDDR5, it also features twice the memory capacity than most other GTX 650 Ti cards. Will these improvements provide enough performance and is pricing low enough to make the card competitive?

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[raghu78]

this card at 185 dollars is a pricing joke. GTX 650 Ti has no business selling in the same price range as HD 7850. Atmost this card is worth 170 bucks.

 

[Casecutter]

Egg just put up the XFX Core Edition FX-785A-ZNFC Radeon HD 7850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 after code and $20 rebate = $142, And least that card has a decent heat-pipe cooler.

Legitreviews.com got theirs to a 1150Mhz OC (22%), while then they have it at reference clock vs 3 GTS650Ti's 1Gb... there a reference, EVGA Superclocked and MSI Power Edition.

 

[damric]

It's a good time to buy cards under $200. Performance/Value in this price range is higher than I've ever seen before.

 

[3870x2]

It's a good time to buy cards under $200. Performance/Value in this price range is higher than I've ever seen before.

ha, seems midrange cards are able to max everything out.

Soon the 8650 will start being able to max everything out.

 

[xBruce88x]

at least until the next gen of consoles...

This is a bit off topic, but i just noticed your location... how's the town there recovering so far?

I agree with all the negatives in the review on this one, not so much the price but I agree with it since the extra memory that would justify the price seems useless.

The lack of SLI turns me away from the 650TI in general. I guess I'll just have to save a little longer and get a 660TI, or an 8xxx series AMD card if they're out by then.

 

[damric]

ha, seems midrange cards are able to max everything out.

Soon the 8650 will start being able to max everything out.

Yeah, but not only the new mid-range cards. I've seen a lot of GTX 480, GTX 570, HD 5870, and HD 6950 well under $200 lately.

It's really hard to justify buying a new flagship model when it will be less than half value in a year and only as fast as a mid-range.

 

[Casecutter]

It's really hard to justify buying a new flagship model when it will be less than half value in a year and only as fast as a mid-range

Well, it's always a pay to play enjoyment, though investing in good stuff now could have you really well set for a good 2 years.

And on that there are good buys in the latest stuff when you factor it by the per week cost/rent. To me a reference MSI GTX670 Smurf board that could be found for $322 –AR$20 and a code here at one point, that has merit. Consider if that price drop below $300 before the end of the year you are getting to enjoy a ton off card for $2.75 a week? And I really would be surprised if such card will be much below $280 by end of year, even if that’s the case that's $5.25 per week rental. I personally would look for the cheapest long board of a GTX670 and not do anything (not OC) even if you pay $15-20 extra. If I came across a EVGA FTW or a Gigabyte Windforce for under $350 –AR in the next week or so, it would be a good buy. Definitely don’t see something like that dipping below $310, so that’s a $5 a week cost. I usually say if you’re at or below $5 a week you shouldn’t be too upside down as pricing tappers down.

The other great deals are 7950 if you like OC and possess some average enthusiast skills. A nice what I say is a better cooler than a reference card like XFX Double D FX-795A-TDJC has been down the $270 –AR$30. At this point I’d be surprised if any of this type of card get below $250 by end of year. Get it, and may be flash it with PowerTune "Boost" or give a mild OC 950Mhz with a little higher fan speed (and slight more noise) and your right on a reference GTX670 for $52 less. Pick a nicer cooler 7950 like the Sapphire 100352-2L for $290 –AR$20, finding 1025 MHz core and 1850 MHz Memory isn’t far from reason, and with that you see BF3 performance that’s above a any regular GTX670 and right on GTX680 territory. If that Sapphire reduces to $260 in the next 8 weeks your rental is just $3.75 on a card that cost you $290. That’s less than the cost of burger lunch, that great value, when the lunch is gone in 10-15 min this will be with you to 2014, and at which point will have more residual value than more commonplace GTX660Ti or 7870's models.

 

[xorbe]

24% more cash ($45) would net a stock 660 which averaged 38% more performance AND gives you the opportunity of SLI in the future. If you're hurting that badly for cash, then you're buying the $149 stock model and overclocking it yourself. Not sure where this fits in ... I guess on the shelf at Best Buy.

 

[Casecutter]

Frys right now has the Asus HD7870-DC2-2GD5 7870 (the original non V2 that W1zzard reviewed) for $220 -$20 rebate [Exp 10/31] = $200 with free in-store pickup or $9 shipping to home.

W1zz got it to 1260 MHz core (15% overclock) and 1620 MHz Memory (30% overclock) and at that would stay closer to a $280 GTX660Ti working a $10 rebate, than this $185 Zotac. Right today nobody should drop $280 for a GTX660Ti with 192-Bit, those are a seriously terrible buy right now!

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/HD_7870_Direct_Cu_II/

 

[Jeffredo]

A bit pricey, but I can see a use for it. I like tiny low power PCs still capable of gaming at decent settings. With this in a small case it can outdo my old OC'd GTX 460 1GB (which I recently retired) and stay quiet and cool in the process.

 

[1d10t]

so with "AMP!" moniker they perform better than HD6850

 

[Casecutter]

so with "AMP!" moniker they perform better than HD6850

Yeah I get your sarcasm... At $185 Über clocked Amp today is more often than not bettering the 6850, while not always as good a 6870. So consider that 6850's routinely went for $120, while 6870 were $170 seems oddly-priced… Especially considering the die-size; AMD Bart was 255mm and a 256-Bit, GK106 is 214mm (16% smaller), or another way just 2mm2 (1%) larger than AMD’s Pitcairn GPU, why so pricey?

 

[Jeffredo]

At stock (according to the W1z's chart) a GTX 650 Ti is 7% faster than an HD 6850. An Amp edition is 17% faster. Appears to be faster regardless, so no sarcasm needed. As far as price goes the HD 7850 was grossly overpriced at launch. So much so that some reviews said it made no sense vs. the GTX 560 Ti that was $50-75 cheaper. Nothing's set in stone - that price will drop and probably pretty quickly.

 

[xBruce88x]

I take back my comment about sli... I forgot about this...

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=158907

 

[Casecutter]

650 Ti is 7% faster than an HD 6850

By the summary that is true and it is better, but looking at actual title's both they can move from not playable, to playable FpS at more often 1680x, to either are over 80FpS… so does it matter.

While once the synthetic B-M are pulled from the summary the discrepancy isn’t as noteworthy. Back to the point, the 6850 ($120) plus 17% is $140, but that AMP is 50% more money if you were to pay $180, and that's for a card that's good for nothing more than 1680x?

 

[Jeffredo]

From "expert" reviews it appears to be in the same league (more or less) as the HD 6850, HD 6870, GTX 560 and GTX 460... and none of those have the "can't-game-at-1080p" caveat. Of course its not a GTX 660 Ti or GTX 670. And yes, its just released pricing is too high. Once that comes down it'll fill a niche that those other cards occupied (lower-mid range).

 

[t77snapshot]

When the prices drop a bit, this would make a great lite-gaming rig for an HTPC setup. I dig these 650 series cards, but yah I agree with the pricing issues.

 

[Casecutter]

From "expert" reviews it appears to be in the same league (more or less)

I'd say look at TechReport review and how frame latency come into play for 1080p. There they have this AMP shown with the XFX 7850 1Gb that was $145 as I posted above. Which one provides a better experience in BF3?

Was AMD pricing out-of-wack 8 months back... somewhat, but AMD knew they had the better product(s) than any Fermi base card. They knew Nvidia wouldn’t play in a price war so why give away the farm, when they honestly couldn’t keep the channels full. At this point Nvidia has known where the competition is and how they need to align. They're the ones that should be able to arrive competitive, and honestly with these "elfin-petites" with nothing more than extruded aluminum and 128-bit $170-180 is arrogant place to start. Performance notwithstanding, just from a manufacturing a similar size die on 28Nm, with the same type cooler and DDR5 128-bit, look at 7750’s those have seen pricing as low as $80. There's why I don’t like these... $140 for reference would've been a good start, while for the extra performance this AMP offers, $150 is compensatory because value on construction isn’t there. These should've right from the "get-go" been priced to beat up on 7770's and they're not. I kind of think the problem is with getting enough GK106's, that's one thing that could rationalize the pricing.

 

[1d10t]

I'd say look at TechReport review and how frame latency

now who's being sarcasm

i just want to point out,this is a good card...well mediocre...nuh sufficient enough to fill low-to-med mainstream,but the price is ridiculous.not all people willing to pay that much for just lite gaming or HTPC setups.

 

[Jeffredo]

I'd say look at TechReport review and how frame latency come into play for 1080p. There they have this AMP shown with the XFX 7850 1Gb that was $145 as I posted above. Which one provides a better experience in BF3?

Which one provides the better experience in Skyrim? In their small sample of games it was pretty much back and forth and none of them are a card I would buy, but to say its not suitable for 1080p gaming is ridiculous. If it isn't, neither are those other three in their test. Seriously, I'm not in the market for this card and if I needed a new GPU and couldn't afford the GTX 670 I have I'd for for a GTX 660 Ti. And as I've said in every post, the price of the Zotac is too high. Everyone is in agreement on that.

 

[Casecutter]

but to say its not suitable for 1080p gaming is ridiculous

I didn't say that... I said, "good for nothing more than 1680x" and "how frame latency come into play for 1080p".

Although, it was the W1zzard that said, "Overall, we see decent performance for 1680x1050 gaming; full HD 1080p gaming is asking a bit too much from the card, although it should be able to handle HD 1080p gaming at lower details settings"... in his conclusion!
You should take it up with him.

Which one provides the better experience in Skyrim?

Well as TechReport said "a situation where 1GB frame buffers hinder performance at 1080p." But I'd say it's not that cut and dry, because the 7850 1Gb is 25% ahead Fps, while what 13% behind in 99th percental. The GTX650Ti is showing 20.9 frame times in milliseconds, while the 7850 1Gb is 24.6. You be hard pressed in Skyrim to notice the three blips by the their graph, in the seat of the pants while frames are rolling by at 25% faster.

While then BF3 the 7850 1Gb is barely 6% (53 vs. 50FpS) ahead, the GTX650Ti is 38% behind in 99th percentile, that's got to show. And that from a title Nvidia normally hammers AMD, it plays more toward the XFX 7770 Super Overclock 1120MHz. If that wasn't a 2GB AMP I'm sure it would have been much more of a fight.

 

[Jeffredo]

I didn't say that... I said, "good for nothing more than 1680x" and "how frame latency come into play for 1080p".

Semantics

Well as TechReport said "a situation where 1GB frame buffers hinder performance at 1080p." But I'd say it's not that cut and dry, because the 7850 1Gb is 25% ahead Fps, while what 13% behind in 99th percental. The GTX650Ti is showing 20.9 frame times in milliseconds, while the 7850 1Gb is 24.6. You be hard pressed in Skyrim to notice the three blips by the their graph, in the seat of the pants while frames are rolling by at 25% faster.

Actually, Skyrim is my most played game (and has been since November). I bought a Sapphire HD 7850 OC 2GB last summer and immediately noticed much less smooth game play than with my old GTX 460 1GB. It had fairly pronounced stuttering when I'd enter a new zone (such as with fast traveling or going through a gate) or when panning the camera. The game is for the most part unmodded (just the HD textures pack that Bethesda provides). In other words, what TechReport discovered is noticeable and that's with the 2GB model (and the same settings as my old card). Popped back in the GTX 460 1GB and the problems disappeared. Greater FPS doesn't always mean smoother game play. I returned the HD 7850 for a GTX 670 and its completely fine.

 

[Casecutter]

Semantics

Nice try [spinning it] It’s called reality and accuracy. You ate crow!

Actually, Skyrim is my most played game (and has been since November). I bought a Sapphire HD 7850 OC 2GB last summer and immediately noticed much less smooth game play than with my old GTX 460 1GB. It had fairly pronounced stuttering when I'd enter a new zone (such as with fast traveling or going through a gate) or when panning the camera. The game is for the most part unmodded (just the HD textures pack that Bethesda provides). In other words, what TechReport discovered is noticeable and that's with the 2GB model (and the same settings as my old card). Popped back in the GTX 460 1GB and the problems disappeared. Greater FPS doesn't always mean smoother game play. I returned the HD 7850 for a GTX 670 and its completely fine.

Last summer... Wow where to you live! I'll guess Humboldt county (because it seems the product is messing with you) those released March 5, 2012?

Well, it's true no one ever knows how any specific title will play for them. Review B-M can mask issues as most often they’re using high-end CPU's and enthusiast builds, so not they aren't always a clear reflection of your individual build. TechReport indicated, "Two of the Radeons, the 7770 Black Edition and 7850 1GB, suffered from hitching and general sluggishness during the first couple of test runs, but they performed smoothly during the other three runs." But nothing about the 2Gb, while I took as a random anomaly because they said it cleared up in successive runs. While since you outlaid twice the money for a GTX670 I’d hope it helped!

However you can't proclaim that an GTX650Ti wouldn't, but martially run the game better/similar to the 7850 1Gb from such data, while 2Gb is showing as surpassing it. All anyone can do is rely on the data/optimism and hope it translates as presented. Better than taking someones word at face value!

 

[Jeffredo]

Nice try [spinning it] It’s called reality and accuracy. You ate crow!


Last summer... Wow where to you live! I'll guess Humboldt county (because it seems the product is messing with you) those released March 5, 2012?

Well, it's true no one ever knows how any specific title will play for them. Review B-M can mask issues as most often they’re using high-end CPU's and enthusiast builds, so not they aren't always a clear reflection of your individual build. TechReport indicated, "Two of the Radeons, the 7770 Black Edition and 7850 1GB, suffered from hitching and general sluggishness during the first couple of test runs, but they performed smoothly during the other three runs." But nothing about the 2Gb, while I took as a random anomaly because they said it cleared up in successive runs. While since you outlaid twice the money for a GTX670 I’d hope it helped!

However you can't proclaim that an GTX650Ti wouldn't, but martially run the game better/similar to the 7850 1Gb from such data, while 2Gb is showing as surpassing it. All anyone can do is rely on the data/optimism and hope it translates as presented. Better than taking someones word at face value!

"Last summer" - as in summer of 2012 is over. It case you're thinking I'm just blowing smoke about the purchase - http://i45.tinypic.com/2enm62b.png. Turns out I ordered in in late May. On my particular system the Radeon didn't work as well with Skyrim or Two Worlds II. On other games it was very good (and a big improvement over the old GTX 460). I did thoroughly clean out all the old Nvidia drivers with DriverCleaner and Driver Sweeper (always worry when switching between Nvidia and AMD). The GTX 670 is wonderful on all my games.

I was disappointed with the HD 7850. I'd heard so many good things about the value of them (OC ability and performance vs. the low cost). I could have waited for a GTX 660 Ti, but the money was burning a hole in my pocket.