Key Points
- The NVIDIA GTX 1650 is no longer a powerful budget GPU for modern games.
- The best alternatives to the GTX 1650 include the NVIDIA RTX 2060, RTX 3060, RTX 4060, RTX 3050, and AMD Radeon 6600 XT.
- The RTX 3050 is a good alternative for 1080p gaming without the need for external power connections.
What are the best alternatives to the NVIDIA GTX 1650? The NVIDIA GTX 1650 served admirably as a budget GPU, but its time has passed. If you’re looking to play modern games on a budget, it simply doesn’t have the power. Thankfully, the GPU scalpers and high prices have mostly subsided, so you’ve got plenty of options for budget graphics cards.
Today’s guide will be covering five of the best alternatives to the NVIDIA GTX 1650, all fitting within a budget of under $400 per GPU. Inflation has hit GPU pricing like a truck, but you can still game on the cheap. Here’s our top five picks when it comes to NVIDIA GTX 1650 alternatives:
- Alternative #1: ASUS GeForce RTX 2060
- Alternative #2: MSI GeForce RTX 3060
- Alternative #3: ZOTAC GeForce RTX 4060
- Alternative #4: MSI GeForce RTX 3050
- Alternative #5: ASRock RX 6600 XT
Alternative #1: ASUS GeForce RTX 2060
The RTX 2060 serves as the next logical step up from the GTX 1650. You can find these GPUs new or lightly preowned for a fairly affordable rate. There is simply more of everything on offer for the RTX 2060, which makes it one of the best alternatives to the GTX 1650.
You have dedicated ray tracing cores, more VRAM, and a wider memory bus. The RTX 2060 isn’t a top-of-the-line card by any means but still holds quite strongly to the rigors and requirements of modern games. If you’re looking at playing modern games, it is a great choice.
Unlike the GTX 1650, it will need an external power supply connection. If you’re running a GTX 1650 in a prebuilt office computer, it might be worth looking at other alternatives. A large part of the appeal of the lowest-end NVIDIA GPUs is their ability to slot into an existing computer with minimal power needs.
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Alternative #2: MSI GeForce RTX 3060
- 12GB GDDR6 VRAM
- Clock speed: 1837 MHz
- 192-bit memory interface
- Max. resolution: 7680 x 4320
The NVIDIA RTX 3060 is more contemporary than the RTX 2060, let alone the GTX 1650. What makes it one of the best alternatives to the GTX 1650 is it hits the sweet spot between affordability and performance. As with the RTX 2060, you’re getting more of everything.
It does have steeper power requirements, which will be a recurring theme throughout this guide. However, that additional power goes a long way into future-proofing your rig for the coming years.
If you are on a basic prebuilt PC, it might be worth looking into doing a low-cost custom build for better performance. The RTX 3060 is more than capable of handling 1080p games, and can even push the envelope well into 1440p.
If you’re after a GPU with a lot of muscle at an affordable price, this is a hard one to beat. As with the RTX 2060, it has a wider memory bus so performance should be leaps and bounds ahead of the GTX 1650.
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Alternative #3: ZOTAC GeForce RTX 4060
The latest in the mid-range GPUs from NVIDIA has proven to be a bit of a disappointment with power users. Make no mistake, however, if you’re upgrading from a GTX 1650, this is a massive leap up in terms of power.
The RTX 4060 is significantly faster than the RTX 2060 and absolutely destroys the GTX 1650 when it comes to performance. The latest architecture from NVIDIA shines on 1080p and 1440p gaming, and you’ll likely be satisfied.
If you’re upgrading from a more recent GPU, the RTX 4060 doesn’t have quite as much appeal. It is still using the same 192-bit memory bus you’ll find in the RTX 2060 and RTX 3060. Pricing is on the higher end, but you get quite a bit of GPU for the money.
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Alternative #4: MSI GeForce RTX 3050
- Supports HDMI 2.1
- 8GB of VRAM
- No power supply connections
- Great for prebuilts
This final entry from NVIDIA effectively acts as a complete swap for the GTX 1650. What makes it a great alternative to the GTX 1650 is it is a discrete graphics card. This means it doesn’t need external connections for power, you can just slot it right into your PC and get going.
The RTX 3050 is quite a substantial upgrade over the GTX 1650, but compares somewhat poorly to the RTX 3060. If you’re just after 1080p excellence, the RTX 3050 can certainly handle it. It does feature a slower memory bus, though.
If you’re willing to fiddle with your game settings, it will easily play them at great framerates. More intensive games might suffer a bit in terms of quality.
The RTX 3050 can also drive displays at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K resolution. As it is a newer GPU, it along with the rest of the NVIDIA GPUs mentioned in this guide, can take advantage of NVIDIA’s DLSS. This gets you higher framerates without having to sacrifice quality settings.
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Alternative #5: ASRock RX 6600 XT
The sole AMD entry on this list, the Radeon 6600 XT, is roughly equivalent to the RTX 3050. It doesn’t have access to technologies like DLSS but does support raytracing. It isn’t the best GPU on the market by a long shot but should serve as an adequate replacement for the GTX 1650.
The 6600 XT isn’t the best alternative to the GTX 1650, but it is perfectly capable provided you temper your expectations accordingly. It has plenty of VRAM, offering up to 8GB in total. It does have a slower memory bus, though.
This effectively means the 6600 XT isn’t going to excel at gaming in the 1440p or higher range. It does perform admirably at 1080p, which can suit most modern games just fine.
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Closing Thoughts
The GTX 1650 is still a usable GPU, provided you don’t mind playing older games. If you’re looking to play the latest releases and don’t want to worry about quality settings, these five alternatives are great choices.
The winner overall would have to be the RTX 3060. It can be purchased new for quite a steal and has more than enough power to tackle modern games. The RTX 3060 may not be capable of maxing games out at 4K resolution, but it should more than suffice for 1080p and 1440p.
As with any upgrade, you do need to check your specs to make sure a new GPU will go right on your PC. It wouldn’t be great to spend on a GPU and end up with something you can’t use in your build. That said, it could serve as ample motivation to start a new build.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Rugged Studio/Shutterstock.com.
