MSI & ZOTAC with New Double-Slot Low-Profile GeForce GTX 1650 GPUs
by Anton Shilov on June 25, 2019 2:30 PM EST
Low-profile graphics cards are primarily used by owners of small form-factor desktops who want to have a more or less decent graphics that can run casual video games. GPU manufacturers tend to release new low-profile products with every generation of GPUs, and in the recent weeks we encountered two cards based on NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 1650: one from MSI and one from ZOTAC.
Specification wise, MSI’s GeForce GTX 1650 4GT LP and ZOTAC’s Gaming GeForce GTX 1650 Low Profile are very similar. Both cards are based on NVIDIA’s TU117 GPU featuring 896 CUDA cores clocked at up to 1665 MHz that is accompanied by 4 GB of GDDR5 memory. Both cards consume up to 75 W of power and therefore do not need any auxiliary PCIe power connectors, which makes them compatible with entry-level desktops from large OEMs that usually do not have any spare power cables inside.
The key difference between low-profile GeForce GTX 1650 graphics cards from MSI and ZOTAC is configuration of their display outputs. The MSI unit has a DVI-D and an HDMI 2.0b, whereas the Zotac comes with a DVI-D, a DisplayPort 1.4, and an HDMI 2.0b connector. Since the TU117 graphics processor supports hardware-accelerated decoding and encoding of HEVC (H.265) and VP9 video at 4Kp60 as well as HDR10, both cards can be used for HTPCs.
MSI’s GeForce GTX 1650 4GT LP and ZOTAC’s Gaming GeForce GTX 1650 Low Profile AIBs are already listed by their manufacturers on their websites, and so we expect the products to show up in retail shortly. In fact, since ZOTAC's unit was demonstrated at Computex, this board may be a little bit closer to release than MSI's device.
Neither MSI nor ZOTAC disclose MSRPs of their low-profile graphics cards, but it is logical to expect these entry-level units to be available at prices very close to MSRP recommended by NVIDIA, which is $149.
Related Reading
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- GALAX Launches Low Profile GeForce GTX 1050 OC and 1050 Ti OC
- MSI Adds Low-Profile GeForce GTX 1050 Ti to Lineup
- GIGABYTE Quietly Launches Low Profile GeForce GTX 1050, 1050 Ti Graphics Cards
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nathanddrews - Tuesday, June 25, 2019 - link
Fantastic - I love these little GPUs. Toss 'em into a second-hand SFF business PC and you get yourself a super cheap gaming machine.azfacea - Tuesday, June 25, 2019 - link
i used to think that too, but those become garbage pretty quickly and are impossible to upgrade going fwd. mini itx + small desktop cube cost only slightly more than those 2nd hand shitbox, and last much longer with upgrades and are way better value props after 3 yearspeterfares - Tuesday, June 25, 2019 - link
I don't see how a newly built mini ITX system can cost "slightly more" than a used SFF business PC. You can literally get them for less than $100 and the only thing you need to add is a GPU and maybe a SSD although newer ones should start having those too.A mini ITX case and power supply alone is probably $100.
AdditionalPylons - Tuesday, June 25, 2019 - link
I think it's impossible to make a general statement because prices of used equipment vary so much more than prices of new. For example, it is not uncommon for companies to give away old machines for free to employees or their friends. I picked up a free SFF HP machine with an i5, 16GB RAM and a Quadro card. With an SSD and one of these LP GTX1650 it would make a great machine for many e-sports titles.I agree that upgrades are more flexible with COTS parts. (Non-standard PSU connectors and motherboard form-factors of business PCs come to mind.) On the other hand, with Intel there is no longer any CPU upgrade path due to sockets and chipsets changing, so you're confined to the generation that the board supports.
Unfortunately for us hardware geeks – and the environment, and miners of conflict minerals, and jobs in the repair business – not many people care about upgrading their PCs anyway.
azfacea - Tuesday, June 25, 2019 - link
100$? what are you talking about. yea go buy a sandy bridge shitbox which wont post with 1050 TI let alone this. and then find out the PSU randomly shuts off every once in a while if it feels like it and then spend another 100 to buy replacement PSU. good luck with your life.StevoLincolnite - Tuesday, June 25, 2019 - link
I have a Core 2 SFF machine that originally came with a Pentium E2180 that I got many many many years ago.Dropped in a Core 2 Quad Q9705 @ 3.17Ghz and just upgraded GPU's every few years. (I.E. Radeon 6570 DDR3 > R7 240 GDDR5 > Geforce 1030 GDDR5) and it's been running games like Overwatch at 720P+60fps just fine.
Can't complain for a crappy old free box, it's been rock solid too.
Samus - Wednesday, June 26, 2019 - link
Damn, 720P NO WAIkaidenshi - Tuesday, June 25, 2019 - link
I don't know why you're being so hostile. I picked up a HP EliteDesk 800 G2 (i5-6500, 16GB DDR4) for about $70 that had a dead hard drive, I threw in a SSD I had lying around and a GTX 1050 Ti and I was playing every title in my Steam and GOG collections at 1080p60 at medium to ultra settings depending on the game. Hardly a "shitbox", and it was indeed good luck to find a deal like that, but they are out there.Your attitude towards people able to find deals like that is baffling; did you perhaps have a bad experience trying to do the same? It happens dude, but it's no reason to be a dick.
nathanddrews - Wednesday, June 26, 2019 - link
Yeah, sounds like one or two bad experiences really soured his attitude, which is too bad. My experiences have all been good - not a single failed machine with the ~12 I have owned over the years. I'm running several SFF machines right now, two as 4K HDR HTPCs, one as an arcade/emulation machine, one as an application server, and one as a pfsense box. I just gave one to my nephew to play Fortnite (i5-3xxx+750Ti) and he's having a blast. I still have two more I need to restore and throw GPUs into. The most I have paid is $100, but I recently scored two identical Dell SFF machines with i5-6500 CPUs, 8GB RAM, and 250GB SSDs for $50 total - the dude was just done with them. Win 10 Pro and everything! I doubt I'll ever score a similar deal, but the key is to keep looking and hold out.michael2k - Friday, June 28, 2019 - link
So for $125 you can get a Dell Optiplex 790 from Amazon that gets you a quad Core i5 that can drive a 1050 (I have one doing so at home), and it's been stable for the almost 3 years I've had it.Not sure it can drive a 2070, but it doesn't hurt to buy a $90 PS to try. Worst case is I buy another system, like the newer Optiplex 7020 for $300, which is still cheaper than buying a motherboard, chassis, ram, CPU, SSD, and PS along with the 2070.
https://smile.amazon.com/Dell-OptiPlex-790-MiniTow...