Design: The Last Cards Based on Turing Technology (We Hope)
The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1630 was released in June 2022, making it the latest member of the GTX 16 series so far. It is likely to be the last, as it uses a cut-down version of the “Turing” technology found in the Nvidia GeForce RTX 20 cards, like all GTX 16 series cards. Tensor cores and ray-tracing units, which were used to support AI acceleration and ray tracing in games, have been omitted, leaving a feature set more in line with the GeForce GTX 10 series that preceded the RTX 20 series and was launched in 2014.
Although removing this hardware seems reasonable in some ways for a budget graphics card, it is increasingly difficult to support this decision. AMD has included support for both ray tracing and AI acceleration in the AMD Radeon RX 6400, which sits at the bottom of the RX 6000 series. Intel has also incorporated both features in the budget-oriented Intel Arc A380, leaving Nvidia as the only company that does not offer these features in a budget-targeted card.
The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1630 also suffers from a low number of cores, featuring only 512 CUDA cores, 32 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 16 render output units (ROPs). It also has a limited memory interface of 64 bits. In comparison, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Super has at least double these resources, making it naturally faster.
We would typically expect to see a lower price for the GTX 1630 to support these cutbacks, but that does not seem to be the case. MSI has set the MSRP for the GeForce GTX 1630 Aero ITX 4G OC at $162.99. This is not a good sign, as the GTX 1650 Super’s MSRP is $159 even with double the resources. The odd pricing is due to the fact that the GTX 1630 was launched during the recent major GPU supply crisis, and its price was set accordingly, but it doesn’t hold up well now with prices returning to normal levels.
The card I used for testing, as mentioned, is the MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 1630 Aero ITX 4G OC, which was installed on the standard test bed for graphics cards that I use for all GPU reviews. This model of the card uses a dual-slot thermal solution with a single fan. The back of the input/output board features an HDMI port, a DisplayPort, and traditional DVI ports. The card does not require additional power and therefore does not have a PCI Express power connector.
Test Setup
Our test system includes an Intel Core i9-12900K processor with an Asus ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard and 32GB of Corsair Vengeance memory running at 5,600MHz. The Corsair Hydro Series H100X was used to keep the processor cool during testing. The system also features a 1TB Corsair MP600 Pro NVMe 4.0 SSD and a 1,500W Corsair HX1500i power supply with 80 Plus Platinum certification. All tests were run on a Windows 11 Pro system with all recent Windows updates installed.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1630 Testing: Synthetic Speed
On paper, the GTX 1630 seems wholly inadequate, but in synthetic tests, it showed that it has some potential.
The performance results from the GTX 1630 were at the bottom of the charts, but it managed to exceed the AMD Radeon RX 6400 in 3DMark tests and the Unigine Superposition OpenGL test. The Intel Arc A380 maintained a healthy lead over both competitors, but this gave me some hope that the GTX 1630 wouldn’t be as slow as the specifications suggested.
Testing
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AAA Games: Not Realistic
This illusion shattered as soon as the GTX 1630 card was tested with real games. It could not outperform any card on the list in any benchmark at any resolution, with its closest competitors sometimes delivering nearly double its performance.
The best result for the GTX 1630 was a mere 8 frames per second in Total War: Three Kingdoms at 4K resolution compared to 9 frames per second for the Arc A380; a difference of 12.5%. This doesn’t mean that 4K resolution is a strength for the GTX 1630, as the Arc A380 was 75% and 82% faster than the GTX 1630 in 4K tests in Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Far Cry 5, respectively. (No one should run anything at 4K with such cards and expect playable frame rates.)
At less demanding resolutions, like 1080p, the GTX 1630 was able to get a bit closer to its competitors overall, but not by much. In Far Cry 5 at 1080p, the Arc A380 maintained a 51% lead over the GTX 1630, with the AMD Radeon RX 6400 and the older Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 being even faster. The story is nearly the same across all the modern games we tested.
Old Games: No Fun Here
Alright, modern games clearly aren’t the GTX 1630’s comfort zone, so what about some older games? It stands to reason that things would be better in this department, right? Well, no, not really.
In reality, the results we see in these older games are extremely varied, partly due to drivers. Compared to the RX 6400, the GTX 1630 performs in the same way as it did in the modern games we tested. The GTX 1630 closed the gap to the RX 6400 in Hitman Absolution more than in any other game, but not enough to tie, let alone surpass it.
The Intel Arc A380 was unable to run the Bioshock Infinite or Sleeping Dogs benchmarks and performed poorly in the Hitman Absolution test, but I hesitate to call that a win for the Nvidia GTX 1630; rather, I see it as a loss for Intel. Moreover, it’s a loss that could be corrected over time with driver updates. There’s no correcting the lack of display hardware in the GTX 1630, no matter how much time you give it.
Finally, compared to the GTX 1060, the GTX 1630 is simply embarrassed. The GTX 1060 was three times faster in Bioshock Infinite at 4K resolution than the GTX 1630. It reaches the point where the GTX 1060 can run the game at 4K at about the same speed that the GTX 1630 can at 1080p. The results weren’t drastically different for the other games, but with more than double the performance on the GTX 1060 side, there was nothing to be impressed by in the GTX 1630 here either.
Power and Heat
I test the power consumption of the entire graphics card test bed by changing only the graphics card between tests to get an approximate idea of how much power each card consumes.
The card has a cooling solution that works well enough to prevent the card from overheating, with peak temperatures during testing reaching 52 degrees Celsius.
Conclusion: No, Don’t Buy This Card
No matter how you look at it, the GeForce GTX 1630 is not a graphics card that anyone should buy. Its price of $162.99 does not hint at any wisdom. It’s within reach of other cards, such as the AMD Radeon RX 6400 or Intel Arc A380, which are priced at $159 and $139, respectively. Both of these cards offer much better performance, and even with Intel’s ongoing driver issues, we would undoubtedly recommend either of these cards over the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1630. From a performance perspective, a financial standpoint, and a performance-per-dollar viewpoint, the GTX 1630 is simply inferior to these alternatives.
Moreover,
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The GTX 1630 is significantly slower than the older Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, as well as other older graphics cards. These cards are sold for less than $100 on the secondary market and are considered much better alternatives. If you need something that consumes less power or occupies a small form factor, the GTX 1630 again falls short compared to other options like the Radeon RX 6400.
Simply put, we see few qualities in the GTX 1630 that make it recommendable even in specialized scenarios. If you see it offered for sale at an extremely low price (less than $60, perhaps), you might decide to buy it as a basic display card. However, a quick search on eBay shows that you can buy a GTX 1060 for $60, and we have no doubt that it would be the better option, so it should be less expensive than that. Since that is unlikely to happen, it is best to avoid the GTX 1630 altogether.
Specifications of the MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 1630 Aero ITX 4G OC
Board Power or TDP: 75
Card Length: 6.69
Card Width: Dual
DisplayPort Outputs: 1
DVI Outputs: 1
GPU Base Clock: 1740
GPU Boost Clock: 1815
Graphics Memory Size: 4
Graphics Memory Type: GDDR6
GPU: Nvidia Turing TU117
HDMI Outputs: 1
Number of Fans: 1
Power Connector(s): None
All Specifications
Design: The last cards based on Turing technology (hopefully)
Testing Setup
Testing the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1630: Synthetic Speed
AAA Game Testing: Not Realistic
Older Games: No Fun Here
Power and Heat
Conclusion: No, do not buy this card
Specifications of the MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 1630 Aero ITX 4G OC
Source: https://me.pcmag.com/en/graphics-cards/21274/msi-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1630-aero-itx-4g-oc
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