Powercolor X1650 Pro Review
Benchmarking (3dMark) and Overclocking
Published: 24th August 2006 | Source: Powercolor | Price: |
Author: Matthew Kemp (kempez)
Hardware Acquired: Powercolor
Benchmarking
I used the popular gaming benchmarks made by Futuremark to bench the card. I used 3dMark 03, 05 and 06. All benches were performed at stock speeds for this section. I ran all benchmarks from the stock settings just like the free versions to give you a good comparison of scores. I am grouping all three benchmarks together on one graph as this card is not really a "benchers card", although it still gives us some reasonable results. The individual benchmarks do however have their own use.
* 3DMark03 This is a benchmark that relies heavily on DirectX 8 features. This will give an indication of how the cards will run on games that rely on DX 8.
* 3DMark05 This benchmark requires some more features of DirectX 9 and gets slightly more taxing on the cards.
* 3DMark06 3dMark06 is the latest in the benchmarking tests from Futuremark. It has a lot of DirectX 9.0c features such as HDR and use of Shader model 3.0. This benchmark is very taxing for the card and also includes quite a harsh CPU benchmark.
The card obtained very reasonable results in all three tests. We can take this as a measure of gaming performance in it's own right, but I prefer to say this is an indicator of the results you would obtain from games.
The X1650 impressed me in Benchmarking, certainly holding it's own.
Overclocking
I was unable to overclock the card due to a driver limitation. I tried ATI tools and Rivatuner but neither of these worked.
I have spoken to Powercolor and they have said that the problem with Overdrive should be fixed in the next driver release. ATI Tool is currently being worked on to support the X1650 as well.
The X1650 impressed me in Benchmarking, certainly holding it's own.
Overclocking
I was unable to overclock the card due to a driver limitation. I tried ATI tools and Rivatuner but neither of these worked.
I have spoken to Powercolor and they have said that the problem with Overdrive should be fixed in the next driver release. ATI Tool is currently being worked on to support the X1650 as well.
Most Recent Comments
As usual a good review kemp, it seems they will be in the competition range of the Nvidia 7600.
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Originally Posted by name='Hyper'
As usual a good review kemp, it seems they will be in the competition range of the Nvidia 7600.
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Some very impressive in-game results there. Deffo a choice card for the budget caming build.
very good review kemp! looks darn good for a mid range card.
ATi still lacks in the midrange department. Both my old GTO and our new XFX 7600GT XXX beat that thing in 05 by at least 400 points. Regardless, a great review Kempez .
.Nicely done review Kemp
Nice review Kempz. One quick question tho. The card as it stands is it aimed at the mainstream or people who would overclock their system and get such a card?
The reason I ask is that the testings done on a clocked system, is that indicative of the people who would get this? Just wondering as you did all the testing on a clocked system?
Could we see some benchies on a stock and non stock system (like the custom pc magazine) for those of us in phear of clocking?
The reason I ask is that the testings done on a clocked system, is that indicative of the people who would get this? Just wondering as you did all the testing on a clocked system?
Could we see some benchies on a stock and non stock system (like the custom pc magazine) for those of us in phear of clocking?
I actually forgot I had my CPU clocked up during the tests. Regardless the C2D would play the games fast anyway. Unfortunately my test rig has been sold so I could not use that for the tests.
I am going to use the same PC for all my tests from now on so this was a base for future comparison
I am going to use the same PC for all my tests from now on so this was a base for future comparison
Great review Kemp, and it's certainly a nice little card for the budget conscious
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Originally Posted by name='Kempez'
I actually forgot I had my CPU clocked up during the tests. Regardless the C2D would play the games fast anyway. Unfortunately my test rig has been sold so I could not use that for the tests.
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That setup would be VGA-limited in all games anyway, even a stock Allendale can push a lower-midrange card to its limits.
The X1650pro will be a great alternative to Nvidia's solutions at its level. It has an amazing price/performance ratio: 66€ is even less than what the 7300GTs clocked at 500/1400 are selling for!
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Originally Posted by Vaerilis
Nice review!
That setup would be VGA-limited in all games anyway, even a stock Allendale can push a lower-midrange card to its limits. The X1650pro will be a great alternative to Nvidia's solutions at its level. It has an amazing price/performance ratio: 66€ is even less than what the 7300GTs clocked at 500/1400 are selling for! |
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How does it do when we subject it to the Overclock3D bench suite?
Find out here