PRICE DROP: X1650 Pro 512MB $36 A.M.I.R., Free S+H...

[deadken]

I recently purchased a X1650 Pro for my 'family PC' and am VERY happy with how it performs for the price (swapped out a 9800SE w/Pro clocks (just 4 pipes)). The motherboard had a AGR slot and I wanted to get to PCIe on that PC when I found a decent priced card.

Anyway, the card works very well and isn't too loud. While filling out my rebate form and checking back at Buy.com, I found a 512MB version of the card for $40 AMIR. I paid $56 (before a $20 M.I.R.) for my 256mb card and had looked for the 512mb version before I pulled the trigger (since I saw the rebate was valid for both cards). Oh well, may my loss be your gain.

Here's the links:

X1650Pro 512MB

X1650Pro 256MB


I have downloaded and installed Ray Adams ATI Tray Tool. That program shows the clocks as: 500 Core and 1080 Memory. This was while I was on the desktop. I assume that when running a 3D application the speeds will increase, but I can't check that at the moment.

Please realize that there is a 'tab' in ATI Tray Tools that lets you show the memory speeds as DDR (or effective as ghost recon is fond of saying). After I checked that box, what used to read as 540 Mhz now reads as 1080 Mhz. Again, while in a 2D enviroment. THIS INFORMATION SEEMS TO BE WRONG WHEN CHECKED AGAINST GPU-Z AND 3DMark03. BOTH OF THOSE PROGRAMS REPORT THE MEMORY AS BEING 270Mhz DDR / 540Mhz effective.

Update: So far I see no increase in clock speeds when running 3DMark03 or 3DM05, while running ATI Tray Tools. At this point I still haven't emailed Diamond about the difference in clock speeds. See the second post on the second page for more information.

Update: I ran ATI Tools (not ATI Tray Tools) and got a max on the core of over 700Mhz. I have to see how the card holds up in COD4 with the OC on the core (I'll still probably 'only' run it at 635-650 to be conservative). Thanks to 'txlonghorn' for mentioning the price drop, $4 is another %10 off!

UPDATE: When I run 3DMark03 and GPU-Z the memory speeds show as 540Mhz/270MhzDDR which is well below the 1.5Ghz or the 800Mhz listed in the specs. Also, the core speed shows 500Mhz, which is well below the 600Mhz listed in the specs and on the box. I have contacted the Diamond Tech Support and verified that the core and memory should be faster. The tech was unable to tell me which speed it should be (800Mhz DDR or 1500Mhz DDR) when I posted the two different links for the different specs from the DiamondMM website. I have now noticed that the spec sheet that shows 1.5Ghz states DDR3 memory, while the page that shows 800Mhz shows DDR2 memory. The cards listed at Buy.com definately state DDR2 in the item 'title'. I am sorry for any confusion, and I can only suggest that any who bought these cards RMA them to Diamond. Currently I am looking to buy a GeCube X1050 from Newegg for $19.98 shipped AMIR to hold my son over while the RMA takes place.

EDIT: Sorry if this is a repost, I searched x1650, 1650pro, 1650 pro, etc... and didn't see it.
EDIT2: Added 'Free S+H' to title.
EDIT3: Added what ATI Tray Tools shows my clocks as being for Core and Memory.
EDIT4: Added Update.
EDIT5: Price Drop to $36.
EDIT6: Updated that Memory does seem to be 540Mhz DDR, not 1080. Time for RMA.
EDIT7: Last edit I hope. I FINALLY got my $20 rebate back today. I bought the card on Jan 3rd and sent in the rebate right away. Now, on June 20th (after filing a complaint weeks ago) I got my $20 check. This is certainly the last Diamond Multimedia product I will ever buy.

 

[tvdang7]

29.99 after google check out too not bad man.

 

[Replay]

Diamond Multimedia rebates any good?

Edit, poor rebate experience for bbcmjeep on FW.
Plus Buy.com won't bail you out on a bad rebate.
"There is a serious problem getting timely rebates from diamondmm.com. I have been waiting for 2 rebates for almost 6 months, despite repeated e-mail requests. They now state they are being mailed to me. Why do I still not believe this? I'll pass on this deal "
FW $30AR thread with some negative rebate comments.

Fairly cheap even if the rebate never shows up, especially with 5% coupon or $10 GCO. It has been cheaper (FW thread).

 

[Zap]

That's a hot price! Free shipping too. Good find.

 

[Doclife]

How much better is the X1650 Pro over the 6600GT ? If it is much better, I might consider replacing my 6600GT with it. Thanks in advance.

 

[v8envy]

X1650 pro is a bit zippier than the 6600GT most of the time. In some titles it'll show 6800GT level performance. In some older titles, not so much.

It'll be faster in shader heavy games, slower in older titles. The 512 megs of ram won't make a huge diference over 128 -- you won't have the GPU oomph or memory bandwidth to crank up the high res textures or detail with an entry level card anyway. Don't expect to get good performance in newer games. (read: released 2006-now).

40 bucks shipped is not a bad price for someone wanting a basic card though.

Oh yes, this is a great way to get an idea of relative card performance: http://www.gpureview.com/show_...hp?card1=447&card2=353

 

[drshivas]

Yeah, the x1650 Pro is a step above the 6600GT:

http://www.tomshardware.com/20...ng_graphics/page6.html

Good find OP.

 

[Nessism]

Looks like they have messed up and switched the 512 and 256 price. Hopefully, they will honor it for you guys that order.

Not sure if Tom's VGA charts are accurate but they put the X1650PRO on par with the 6800 GT in most games.

BTW, I ordered a Diamond 256MB X1650 pro from Buy.com recently (for $50) and it came with a 512 card in the box. Other people have likewise received 512 cards as reported on Fat Wallet. If the rebate comes, fingers crossed, it will be a great deal.

 

[Engineer]

5% off coupon for those that don't want to try another Google checkout!

By the way, many people at the other sites that ordered the 256M version for $29.99 AR ($19.99 AR and after Google checkout) received a 512M version in their box! (YMMV, assuming they drop the price again at some point)>

 

[Nessism]

Originally posted by: Engineer
5% off coupon for those that don't want to try another Google checkout!

By the way, many people at the other sites that ordered the 256M version for $29.99 AR ($19.99 AR and after Google checkout) received a 512M version in their box! (YMMV, assuming they drop the price again at some point)>

Wonder if they will knock down the rebate if the card is purchased with the coupon? Rebate states "not applicable with any other offer". I ordered with the code but now I'm wondering. Might not be worth the risk to save $2.50.

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: Nessism

Originally posted by: Engineer
5% off coupon for those that don't want to try another Google checkout!

By the way, many people at the other sites that ordered the 256M version for $29.99 AR ($19.99 AR and after Google checkout) received a 512M version in their box! (YMMV, assuming they drop the price again at some point)>

Wonder if they will knock down the rebate if the card is purchased with the coupon? Rebate states "not applicable with any other offer". I ordered with the code but now I'm wondering. Might not be worth the risk to save $2.50.

YMMV but I've had probably 50 rebates that stated the same type of information that I've stacked with coupons and/or other rebates. NEVER lost a rebate (yet).

 

[Harry10]

Two weeks ago I got the 256M version for $35 AR. Then I got the XPS 420 with the 2400 card. I swapped that out for the 1650x pro and boy was i disappointed. That MF is loud! And the drivers don't install right. So goodbye 1650x pro. It's not a hot deal if you can't tolerate it.

 

[Changoboy]

I had my kids X1600 512mb Sapphire go out and am looking for a mid line card so he will leave my q6600 rig alone. That rebate makes me nervous though...

 

[Spikesoldier]

small caveat: these models come with 400mhz ddr2 memory, not the 700mhz like the reference models.

 

[deadken]

Ugh... The mods deleted the wrong post... I had asked Spikesoldier where he got his info from since it seemed wrong to me. I included a link to the Diamond MultiMedia website that listed the Memory Speed as being 1.5 Ghz for this card (both 256MB + 512MB versions).

HERE IS A LINK TO THE SPEC SHEET FOR THE X1650PRO PCIE CARD.

Please see below for the results I got from running ATI Tray Tools.

EDIT: Mods removed wrong duplicate post.

 

[ghost recon88]

On their website, it says 800MHz (400x2) and companies tend to put the higher number rather than the lower number...

 

[deadken]

Originally posted by: ghost recon88
On their website, it says 800MHz (400x2) and companies tend to put the higher number rather than the lower number...

So, stock design (or reference) cards run at 700Mhz and this one says 800Mhz. Meanwhile no one has given a link to say that this 800 is (400x2) or (800x2). I provided a manufacturers link showing the memory speed as being 1500Mhz (I'd guess that would be 750x2). Do you have a link to what you are saying? As I said to Spikesoldier: "I'm not sure where you are getting your information from, but I'd really like to know". Why not post a link?

Does anyone know how to test the memory speed of the card that I have in my PC? That would probably eliminate some doubt. Let me go onto my Family PC (the one with the card in it) and see what speedfan says. IIRC, that program showed the memory and core clock speeds.

Anyone have other program suggestions to read clock speeds? I don't need or necessarily want to OverClock that card but reading the speeds would certainly help put this issue to rest.

 

[ghost recon88]

Newegg always shows the rated memory speeds (i.e. effective DDR speeds) and they're showing the X1650 Pro as having 800MHz effective memory. That means 400x2, not 800x2. And I got my link for this X1650 Pro from here, http://www.diamondmm.com/X1650PCIE512.php. Same site as you did. Therefore, its running @ 400x2, not 800x2.

 

[deadken]

Originally posted by: ghost recon88
Newegg always shows the rated memory speeds (i.e. effective DDR speeds) and they're showing the X1650 Pro as having 800MHz effective memory. That means 400x2, not 800x2. And I got my link for this X1650 Pro from here, http://www.diamondmm.com/X1650PCIE512.php. Same site as you did. Therefore, its running @ 400x2, not 800x2.

Interesting... I can only find a SB version of this card at Newegg. Perhaps you are looking at the wrong card. When I filled out the rebate form, I did see a different suffix on some of the part numbers, IIRC, it was SB. Maybe that is what you are looking at on Newegg. Either way, why not post a link? The Diamond website you linked to (the same one that links to the spec sheet a bit futher down the page) does not list the Memory as 400x2.


I have downloaded and installed Ray Adams ATI Tray Tool. That program shows the clocks as: 500 Core and 1080 Memory. This was while I was on the desktop. I assume that when running a 3D application the speeds will increase, but I can't check that at the moment.

Please realize that there is a 'tab' in ATI Tray Tools that lets you show the memory speeds as DDR (or effective as ghost recon is fond of saying). After I checked that box, what used to read as 540 Mhz now reads as 1080 Mhz. Again, while in a 2D enviroment.

I hope that settles it for the few naysayers here. I know what my card does and that is that. I assume that it can and will raise to 600Mhz Core (that seems to be what most 'Pro' cards run at) and higher then 1080Mhz Memory in a 3D application. Once I verify that, I will edit this post. I am getting tired of the nay-sayers here who stir-the-sh!t and make guesses sound like facts all while posting no links as to where they got their information. I guess I forgot about dealing with people on the internet. If you don't like or want the card, or even if you are worried about what the clocks might be, please don't buy it.

 

[ghost recon88]

Hmm, that is interesting. Not that I'm denying your claim, but to see for myself before I order this card, can you post a screenie of ATItool and those clocks you're referring to? And also, it does indeed say 800MHz on the Diamond website.

Specifications
GPU: Radeon X1650 PRO
Bus Type: PCI-Express x16
Memory: 512MB GDDR2-128bit
Core Clock: 600 MHz
Mem Speed: 800 MHz
RAMDACS: Dual 400 MHz
API Support: DirectX 9.0, Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0
Output: Dual DVI (Dual Link), HDTV, D-Sub Supportp

 

[Nessism]

I'm willing to check my card but tried to load ATItool and it does not work properly for me. 32 bit XP so it should work but???

 

[deadken]

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y204/deadkenr/?action=view¤t=X1650ProSpeeds.jpghttp://i6.photobucket.com/albu...enr/X1650ProSpeeds.jpg

Here is the screenshot showing the Core and Memory speeds. As well as the box marked 'Show as DDR'.

I have run 3DMark03 and 3DMark05 and the Core and Memory Speeds stayed the same. I remember on the X1900XTX I had, the speeds were slower until I was in a 3D application. Perhaps this is different, or I am doing something wrong, but these speeds aren't budging.
If you look at the 'other' line on the graph (representing the CPU load), you can see where I was running 3DMark03 and it went throught the first two tests before I hit escape. You can see the CPU load rise and fall as 3DM03 loads and then see it stay pegged while the first test is running. Then it bounces around a bit again and then pegs up at 100 again while the second test runs. As soon as the third test loaded, I hit 'Esc'. There is a Purple '0' on the right side and that is set for FPS. For some reason it doesn't seem to see 3D03 as a 3D application. I don't think that I have any 'real' games loaded on this PC. I will reboot and try again. Perhaps that is the reason the clocks are staying where they are during 2D applications.

EDIT: Hmmm.. A reboot fixed the FPS 'problem'. Now that line on the graph moves. But the clocks stay the same. Any ideas? I'll try to send an Email to Diamond and ask what is up. Certainly the specs on the Tech Sheet are different from what I am seeing.

 

[Replay]

I use ATI Tool to overclock some ATI cards, and the old 3Dmark2001 benchmark to test overclocked settings for stability. Test the cpu, then the memory, then bump both up to a bit less than each maximum speed, and do more stability tests. Usually run the memory closer to the limit than the cpu (which gets hot). Too high an OC can kill your card, or reduce the life of the card.

Don't know if you should expect that X1650 card to change cpu and memory clocks by itself on-the-fly.

 

[txlonghorn]

Originally posted by: Harry10
Two weeks ago I got the 256M version for $35 AR. Then I got the XPS 420 with the 2400 card. I swapped that out for the 1650x pro and boy was i disappointed. That MF is loud! And the drivers don't install right. So goodbye 1650x pro. It's not a hot deal if you can't tolerate it.

Question to this card owners: Is this card really that loud or just an isolated case here?

 

[fritzfield]

I'm currently using a 2003 vintage 450W Antec PSU with an Asrock 4COREDUAL-SATA2. mobo. I am using an ATI 9600 SE AGP card that I also got in 2003 fror $90 at a BB BF sale. For $40, it seems worth the upgrade to PCIe and a newer card. However, are there any added PSU requirements, as I don't feel like getting a new PSU for a cheap card? ( I'd rather wait until I get a better Mobo and hence a better card that will require a new PSU).

I just read the Diamond site's spec sheet. I guess I don't understand what a "specialized 12v graphics card power connector" is. Can someone explain it to this Luddite?