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Kepler Family Complete : Introducing the GeForce GTX 650 Ti

By Andrew Burnes on Tue, Oct 09 2012 Hardware

2012 has been a great year for PC gamers, with the release of fantastic games like Max Payne 3, Diablo 3, Torchlight 2, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Dishonored, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, Guild Wars 2, and a whole lot more. 2012 also saw the release of brand new video card architecture, called Kepler, which brought the GeForce GTX 690, 680, 670, 660 Ti, 660, and 650 to life.

These new NVIDIA video cards boasted blazing-fast performance, exceptional power efficiency, and a range of software features that help gamers get the absolute best from their systems and the games they play. Today, we’re launching the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti. Starting at $149, the GeForce GTX 650 Ti is bundled with a free copy of the eagerly-anticipated Assassin’s Creed III at select e-tailers and retailers.

Between the fantastic mainstream releases mentioned earlier, a burgeoning free-to-play market, and an incredible indie scene that produces the likes of FTL, the PC gaming market is bigger than ever before. Four years ago, gamers looked to cards like the GeForce 9600 GT to get into PC gaming without forking over considerable sums of cash. Today, the GeForce GTX 650 and 650 Ti fill that role.

 

Specifications GeForce GTX 690 GeForce GTX 680 GeForce GTX 670 GeForce GTX 660 Ti GeForce GTX 660 GeForce GTX 650 Ti GeForce GTX 650
Chip 2 x GK104 GK104 GK104 GK104 GK106 GK106 GK107
CUDA Cores 3072 1536 1344 1344 960 768 384
Base Clock 915 MHz 1006 MHz 915 MHz 915 MHz 980 MHz 928 MHz 1058 MHz
Boost Clock 1019 MHz 1058 MHz 980 MHz 980 MHz 1033 MHz N/A N/A
Memory Configuration 4 GB 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB 2 GB 1 GB 1 GB
Memory Speed 6.0 Gbps 6.0 Gbps 6.0 Gbps 6.0 Gbps 6.0 Gbps 5.4 Gbps 5.0 Gbps
Memory Bandwidth 384 GB/s 192 GB/s 192 GB/s 144 GB/s 144 GB/s 86.4 GB/s 80 GB/s
Power Connectors 2 x 8-pin 2 x 6-pin 2 x 6-pin 2 x 6-pin 6-pin 6-pin 6-pin
Outputs 2 DL-DVI-I
DL-DVI-D
Mini-DP 		DL-DVI-I
DL-DVI-D
HDMI
Mini-DP 		DL-DVI-I
DL-DVI-D
HDMI
Mini-DP 		DL-DVI-I
DL-DVI-D
HDMI
Mini-DP 		DL-DVI-I
DL-DVI-D
HDMI
Mini-DP 		DL-DVI-I
DL-DVI-D
HDMI		 DL-DVI-I
DL-DVI-D
HDMI
TDP 300 W 195 W 170 W 150 W 150 W 110 W 64 W
SLI Options Quad 3-way 3-way 3-way 2-way N/A N/A
Price $999 $499 $399 $299 $229 $149 $109

People often ask, “what is the difference between the “Ti” version of a GPU and its regular version?” The answer is that the "Ti" version is built for higher performance. In the case of the GeForce GTX 650 Ti, this difference in performance is considerable. This is because under the hood, the GeForce GTX 650 and 650 Ti are powered by different chips; the GeForce GTX 650 uses the GK107 chip, whereas the GeForce GTX 650 Ti uses the beefier GK106 chip. Compared to the GTX 650, the GTX 650 Ti has twice as many CUDA Cores, faster memory, and higher memory bandwidth, resulting in a 40% average increase in game performance between the two.


The GTX 650 Ti launches at the same $149 price as last year’s GTX 550 Ti, even though it is 51% faster in our 3DMark Vantage benchmark.
 


We tested the GeForce GTX 650 Ti’s performance in eleven titles, using medium quality settings, or better, and with 4x MSAA enabled when available. Results for Assassin’s Creed 3, Hawken, and MechWarrior Online were taken from pre-release builds that have yet to undergo final optimization. At release, expect the three titles to perform even better.
 

Compared to the 9600 GT, a comparable card released four years ago, and among the top ten most used on Steam, the GTX 650 Ti unsurprisingly outclasses it, running at over 30 frames per second in each title using DirectX 11 when available (the 9600 GT supports DirectX 9 and 10 only). At maximum settings, the GTX 650 Ti pushes past 90 frames per second in both Diablo III and Mass Effect 3, and in World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria the GTX 650 Ti hits 80 frames per second using High settings and 4xAA, nearly twice as fast as the GTX 650, which hit 42 frames per second in an identical test last month.

We’ve also included three tests from upcoming games to give you an idea how the GTX 650 Ti will perform in Assassin’s Creed III, Hawken, and MechWarrior Online, three hotly tipped titles. In the case of Assassin’s Creed III, which is bundled with the GTX 650 Ti at participating e-tailers and retailers, we recorded 36.9 frames per second using medium settings. Please bear in mind that the builds for these games are far from finalized, and as such performance will likely improve with new builds and driver optimizations.


Assassin’s Creed III stars a new Animus protagonist and takes place before, during, and after the American Revolution. The PC version features superior graphics, several PC-only effects, DirectX 11 graphics options, and TXAA anti-aliasing.

 

Hawken, a free-to-play, fast-paced mech action title in closed alpha testing, hit 52 frames per second using High settings and a special version of the client containing NVIDIA GPU-accelerated PhysX effects, seen below for the first time in our exclusive screenshot.


Hawken’s GPU-accelerated PhysX tech adds weapon effect particles and heaps of immersive, realistic debris, kicked up by explosions and other in-game actions. Furthermore, each piece of debris is self-shadowed, dynamically shadowed, and capable of casting its own shadows on the terrain and other objects.

 

MechWarrior Online, our third and final pre-release title, ran at a respectable 43 frames per second using High settings in a multiplayer match in the Closed Beta (access to the beta can be acquired by signing up on the official MechWarrior Online website, or by purchasing a Founder’s Package).


MechWarrior Online is a free-to-play, strategic, considered action title, with a strong emphasis on locational damage, heat management, and team tactics. A PC exclusive, the game uses CryEngine 3 and its range of DirectX 11 effects, and will feature TXAA anti-aliasing at a later date.

 


Like the GTX 650, the GTX 650 Ti is 5.7 inches long, compared to the 9.5 inches of the GTX 660, outputs to three or four monitors simultaneously (depending on version purchased), supports popular Kepler features such as Adaptive VSync and FXAA anti-aliasing, and requires only a 400 Watt power supply with a single PCIE 6-pin connector.

 

If you were to judge the GeForce GTX 650 Ti purely by its $149 price tag, you would probably think it's a low-to-mid-end graphics card, but looking at the performance data it’s clear the GTX 650 Ti out-performs for its class. It has room to up the settings in Batman: Arkham City and Far Cry 2, runs at a decent clip in upcoming titles, and exceeds 90 frames per second in Diablo III and Mass Effect 3.

If you'd like more speed, memory, the ability to output to four monitors simultaneously, and SLI future-proofing, look to the GeForce GTX 660, which starts at $229, but if you just want to play the latest PC exclusives and multi-platform releases at 1920x1080 with a higher level of fidelity than any console, for under $150, the GTX 650 Ti is the perfect choice. And for a limited time, the GTX 650 Ti is bundled with a free copy of Assassin’s Creed III at participating e-tailers and retailers.

For more info on the GeForce GTX 650 Ti, check out our Question and Answer video below, which covers the key points of today’s launch. If you have a question not answered, ask below and we’ll aim to answer directly or via a follow-up video.

The GeForce GTX 650 Ti is available now at all e-tailers and retailers.

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