Testbed:

Motherboard:
EVGA 680i SLI (Supplied by EVGA)

Processor:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6800 Extreme edition (Supplied by Intel)

Memory:
OCZ FlexXLC PC2 9200 5-5-5-18  (Supplied by OCZ)
        during testing CL5-5-5-15-CR2T 1066MHz at 2.2V

PSU:
OCZ Silencer 750 Quad Black ( Supplied by OCZ)

Hard disk:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 80GB SATA (Supplied by Seagate)

CPU-Cooler:
Freezer 7 Pro (Supplied by Artic Cooling)

Case Fans:
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 12 PWM
Artic Cooling - Artic Fan 8 PWM

Futuremarks



In 3DMark06, MSI R3650 scored 4874 points, which is a good result for a €50 card. Geforce 8600 GTS didn’t fare so well here, and one would think that its price of €70 is a bit too steep for the performance it gives. However, we’ll see how things go in gaming tests.


Gaming



The tiny HD R3650 did well in Company of Heroes and we could play it at 1600x1200. However, Antialiasing took its toll and the card stumbled at 1280x1024, but it still gave a decent framerate. A closer look at the table will reveal that it’s not just HD 3650 that suffers from this problem; all Radeon cards are generally not Antialiasing-friendly.



Crysis is “playable” at medium settings, and it’s a great result for MSI R3650 T2D512 card. 



World in Conflict is a demanding game, and we see that at 1024x768 and maximum detail setting, MSI HD 3650 scores playable 32 fps.



In F.E.A.R., 8600 GTS proves that it’s a better choice for gaming, but we’re quite satisfied with our “casual-gaming” card HD 3650. Bear in mind that weaker configurations (compare it to ours) will yield lower results, but all in all, 1024x768 should result in playable frame-rates with HD 365.


Conclusion

Don’t expect wonders from HD 3650. MSI kept R3650 at reference speed, and we doubt that overclocking would result in any serious performance improvements in gaming. The card packs 512MB of GDDR3 memory and it will be enough to provide a couple hours of fun gaming.

It’s a nice solid card if gaming is not your hobby. It has some nice multimedia capabilities and it’s HDMI/HDTV ready. It’s not too big; it doesn’t consume too much power and should set you back a bit over €50. 8600GT, on the other hand, is almost always faster, whereas 9600GT and 3850 are almost two times faster.

It’s money well spent for the performance you get, and you get a nice card. However, for a bit more cash you can buy yourself an 8600GT that’s, as you can see, faster. If you’re serious about gaming, we’d recommend you to save up some more and buy yourself a 3850 or 9600GT in order to get more of those precious fps.

On the other hand, if you’re a casual gamer, MSI R3650 T2D512 Radeon 3650 is a great start.