The design of the card is actually pretty decent. I’d say it’s easily competitive with the lovely design of the MSI model we reviewed recently. It has quite a big cooler for such a modest chipset though. That does mean there’s room for huge fans, which should be very quiet as they can cool at lower RPM.
The card can cool its self passively up to 55c though, which is extremely impressive given this chipset doesn’t exactly run hot to begin with. Huge heat pipes and a big radiator go a long way. I really don’t think those fans will have much work to do today.
Premium Feature!
This is something we see on their higher end models. However, this little fan header allows you to hook a fan directly to the GPU. If the GPU gets hot, it’ll spin up the intake fan on your chassis for more air. This is much better than the GPU just spinning its fans harder.
Power
The GTX 1650 chipset can run on the 75 Watts of the PCIe slot. However, the faster models add a 6-pin for improved overclocking stability. As you can see, ASUS have done just that with this model.
A nice little RGB backlit ASUS eye here.
More Premium Things!
ASUS even include this gorgeous back plate. It’s so not needed on this card, but it does look cool. However, just how much of the cost is on materials here rather than performance?
A handy LED on/off button, should you desire a blacked out build.
Output
Finally at the rear, you’ll notice the bracket is finished in black rather than silver. There are 3 x DisplayPort and 1 x HDMI port; more than enough for anyone in this price range.
Overall, a fantastic looking card. Now, let’s see how it performs!
