Nvidia launched the GTX 1650 and 1650 Super 3 years ago. Up until this time, these two cards have been much success for being one of the most affordable GPUs in recent years.
Now as you might already know the graphics card is not the only component that renders the visuals on your screen but it must be accompanied by a few other components where the CPU plays the most important role.
Only with a capable CPU, you will be able to achieve the maximum benefit of these cards, or else you will see bottlenecks and fps drops frequently. Therefore, in this post, we are going to see which CPU you should get for one of these GPUs to push them to their limits and have a decent gaming experience at 1080p.
Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650/Super Overview
Both the GTX 1650 and Super editions are based on the Turing architecture and feature 896 and 1280 Cuda Cores respectively. The GTX 1650 is available in two editions- GDDR5 and GDDR6 while the Super edition only features GDDR6 memory.
The cards have 4GB of VRAM on a 128-bit memory bus and are identical in most specs except for their Cuda Cores, Clock speeds, and Power consumption. While the GTX 1650 has a default TDP of 75W on reference design, the Super edition is more power-hungry with 100W of TDP.
Both these cards are aimed at providing a decent gaming experience on High settings and cost somewhere between $150-$220 depending on the AIB editions.
The Best Budget Graphics Cards in 2023
Gaming without spending hundreds of dollars has become a lot easier in 2023, thanks to the budget graphics cards we have this year from AMD, Nvidia, and Intel. A budget graphics card for some people falls in the range of $80-$120 while for some, it may be above $150. We currently have a lot of …
What CPU will be the best for GTX 1650/Super?
If you get a few things right, you will have the best CPU-GPU combo. To choose a CPU for a budget GPU like GTX 1650, you need to look at the core count, hyperthreading, single/multi-core performance, bottlenecking issues, and price.
For these GPUs, I suggest going with at least 4 core CPUs whether available with hyperthreading or not. If you want to maximize the gaming performance, the CPU should provide you with amazing single-core performance and should push the GPU usage to 100% while not going up to 100% itself.
Overclockability is also applaudable but I never recommend going with a very old CPU. For the GTX 1650/Super, we are looking at CPUs costing from $70 up to $200 max to have a balanced configuration and the best value for money.
Best CPU for GTX 1650 and 1650 Super
Intel Core i3 10100F
- 10th Generation Intel Core i3 Processor
- 4 Cores; 8 Threads
- 4.30 GHz Max Turbo Frequency, 3.60 GHz Processor...
- 6 MB Intel Smart Cache
The i3 10100F is a superb sub $100 CPU with 4 cores and 8 threads. Currently, we have a few decent CPUs that feature this many cores/threads and cost below $100. This makes the i3 10100F a great choice for budget CPUs especially when it is faster than every sub $100 processor right now.
The i3 10100F is a locked chip but you do get a base clock frequency of 3.6GHz that can go up to 4.3GHz. It is best with any locked H510 or B560 chipset motherboard and should get the job done properly for the least amount of money.
AMD Ryzen 5 3300X
- 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen processors are the world's most...
- Can deliver smooth 100+ FPS performance in the...
- 4 cores and 8 processing threads, bundled with the...
- 4.3 GHz Max Boost, unlocked for overclocking, 18...
Ryzen 3300X is somewhat equivalent to the i3 10100F but has overclocking enabled. The CPU features 4 cores/8 threads on a clock speed of 3.8/4.3GHz. Based on the Zen 2 architecture, it is very well capable of handling the intermediate levels of CPU-intensive tasks.
It will go very well with the GTX 1650 and Super editions and will be perfect with a B450 or B550 chipset motherboard to squeeze in some extra performance via overclocking.
Intel Core i3 12100F
- Intel Core i3-12100F Desktop Processor 4 (4P-0E)...
- Item Package Dimension: 10.469L x 10.30W x 6.72H...
- Item Package Weight - 1.49 Pounds
- Item Package Quantity - 1
If you want to have the absolute best possible value, then I suggest going with the Core i3 12100F. On paper, it too is a 4 core/8 thread CPU but in the real world, it is a beat in gaming performance dethroning even the previous gen Core i5 CPUs with more cores.
Core i3 12100F belongs to the Alder Lake family and uses Intel 7 process node. The base/boost clock is also decent with 3.3/4.3GHz while its TDP is automatically adjustable from 58W to 89W giving the CPU its required power for a consistent higher clock speed.
It is compatible with the LGA 1700 socket and will be best with motherboards with an H610 or a B660 chipset.
AMD Ryzen 5 5500
- Item Package Dimension: 5.43L x 5.27W x 2.86H...
- Item Package Weight - 0.97 Pounds
- Item Package Quantity - 1
- Product Type - COMPUTER PROCESSOR
Looking for more cores? Get the Ryzen 5 5500 which is $20-$30 more expensive than the i3 12100F currently. It was specially launched to compete with budget Alder Lake CPUs, particularly the i3 12100F. However, Ryzen 5500 brings 2 more cores and 4 more threads to quicken the processing.
This does have a positive effect in gaming too making it a top choice to use with the GTX 1650 GPUs. Clocked at 3.6/4.2GHz, the CPU can exceed the boost clock with the help of overclocking. This is another great advantage to getting free performance with a couple of clicks.
Intel Core i5 12400F
- Intel Core i5-12400F Desktop Processor 6 (6P+0E)...
- Item Package Dimension: 4.92L x 4.33W x 3.18H...
- Item Package Weight - 0.99 Pounds
- Item Package Quantity - 1
For around $175, I end up my suggestion with the Core i5 12400F. It belongs to the Alder Lake series and comes with 6 cores/12 threads. So, you can assume it to be a competitor of Ryzen 5000 series 6-core CPUs. It easily beats the Ryzen 5500 and comes very close to the 5600X in gaming.
This makes it a perfect choice for budget and particularly mid-end builds with more powerful GPUs than the GTX 1650 and Super edition. It will handle these GPUs like nothing leaving you a lot of room to run some smaller applications in the background.
Final Words
The above-compiled list gives you various options to choose from according to your budget. If you ask me what CPU I would personally get if I had the GTX 1650 Super, I would choose the Core i3 12100F. However, the taste depends on the user to user as one might have not more than $100 to spend on a CPU and the other may need more cores.
Let me know what CPU you are going with in the comments below.
