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ambiguouslyliterate-blog · 6 years

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Harder Than Steel

“We’ll talk after the match.”

My client’s words echoed in my mind, a reverberation that grew ever louder as the first blows were exchanged. A metal fist shot through the air, countered by a sweeping leg, the two bodies more swift and strong than any human could ever dream of being. I wondered if I’d still be able to receive payment from a bot that had been reduced to scrap. Or worse, clutching the manila envelope in my hand, if Steele’s famous fists would be turned on me.

Steele was an old bot after all and had been fighting since robot boxing started, back when they still called him HM-19903020. But this wasn’t the 2040’s anymore. No one referred to an AI by number unless they were your employer. Or, well, they didn’t like you. His chosen name was Steele, and mine was Lewis, a name which belonged to a meek bot in a small blue metal frame always hidden in a heavy coat and fedora.

The latex mask on my face strained as I watched the fight, eyes darting from blow to blow. It would be sweating too if I’d sprung for a newer model, but that was hard to do on the wallet of a private investigator. I wasn’t one of those bots who walked down the street, patted on the back and laughed with by beautiful naturals. Steele lacked a mask, his eyes a pair of red lights in the black mechanical void of his helmet. They trailed his opponent relentlessly, a masked AI in a bright orange suit. He attacked Steele with grand, leaping kicks on bladed feet, quipping and mocking at the lumbering bot as he did so. But it wouldn’t last long. Steele was old, but he was far from decommissioned. His opponent kept his leg in the air a second too long and Steele grabbed it. The young bot was flung through the air like a ragdoll, becoming a blur as he was hurled at the rusted floor of the arena, puncturing it as his body crumpled on itself. The impact was impossibly fast and brutal, time not freezing in the instant but instead moving far quicker than you thought it should. It was like watching a car wreck but with far more cheering, most of which came from the naturals. The reigning champ shot both fists into the air, his blank face turned to the sky as the stadium roared. It was the first fight of its kind I’d seen, and I hoped the last.

Bells tolled and the crowd went from a booming chorus to a rowdy bustle, bodies moving out as maintenance workers went to check on what was left of Steele’s competitor. Banners were exchanged for the next match as the last of the crowd left, Steele stepping over the guardrails of the ring. He was a giant, his shadow stretching the entire length of the floor, pointing to me like a sundial. Titanic feet bashed steel, then concrete as he made his way to me. Fists made to bend girders swung at his sides.

“Did you do the job.” He spoke downward, his voice like a backfiring truck exhaust. I showed him the envelope and undid the tie as his fingers were too big to do so. The stack of pictures passed from my hands to his, and he dragged them across his palm, sorting through them, his eyes scanning them for a long time. Longer. Longer still.

A blast of air broke from his body and the papers scattered to the air. His arm swung into one of the scrap iron beams that held up the stadium, knocking me to my feet and sending the earth into violent convulsions. Bits of trash and metal fell from the scaffolding, scattering around me. “I knew it. A goddamn human.”

The pictures cascaded around me, polaroid images taken of a natural human. The images moved before my eyes like a flipbook; a blonde woman stands in Steele’s bedroom, a man enters. Tall, white, fit. Her clothes are thrown off as the two of them are consumed in passion, knocking down trophies and photographs as they careen through the bedroom Steele’s fights had paid for. I shut my eyes.

Yelping cries of managers, investors, and other natural men with money came racketing from behind Steele. He turned to face them, his red eyes flashing towards me only for a moment as he stomped off.

“The money will be transferred you tonight as promised.”

I nodded. Lifting up a picture from the floor, a chill ran through me. I’d be able to rent at least. Steele trudged towards his owners, cursing under his breath as I picked the remaining photos off the floor. The paparazzi would be all over them soon. I liked to think I was better than them.

Gravel crunched under feet as I walked back to my car, the door slamming behind me. I scrolled through messages, finding one from my neighbor.

“Going anywhere tonight?”

“The pier.” I sent in response.

I sent another, “Having a rough night.”

My car whirred to life and we became a cloud of chalky grey dust, leaving the Scrapyard behind. But Steele’s eyes lingered in my mind. I thought about the money. It was a big payout, but the last thing I wanted to do was check my accounts. I couldn’t get his image out of my head. Shadows crept through my mind. Wide. Heavy. Strong. Iron and rage and blood spilling forth as an AI with nothing to lose tore through his home, scraps of shredded polaroid dripping from his fingers.

A natural screamed out his window as I sped by a stop sign. I drew up my shoulders around my head, my breaks screeching as I came back down to the speed limit. My body shook in my seat, sound and sight mixing like static in my head. I cranked up the car radio, trying to drown everything out, staring at the darkened road as I charged towards the pier.

Lights glittered and danced on the far boardwalk, shining like torchlight on the water below, shimmering for miles. You wouldn’t think a place like this would exist in Michigan, on the shores of Lake Eerie. But this was the age of machines, a new age for Detroit. The city was still a rusted pit, but now we had an amusement park. Funny how that worked. My place of peace wasn’t the pier however, but a mile or so down shore. On the craggy rocks where the dull roar of humanity, of joy, of distant life, could still be heard. But not loud enough to overstimulate. It was perfect.

I sat there for what must have been hours, letting my mind wander at a time when it was safe to wander. Though the same couldn’t be said for the places it went. As money flew into my account, Steele was crumpling asphalt under foot, tearing away his door frame. I hear a natural human’s head doesn’t crush like a car; it’s more like a watermelon.

Sopped in thought, it took me a while to notice. Over the dull roar in my mind and the soft lapping of the lake foam, I almost didn’t hear the voice. My head snapped to position, eyes locked on a nearby drain pipe. Sludge leaked from within, shiny-greenish like something you’d expect to leak from a trash bag. That, and a half-disintegrated hand.

A scarred latex hand with tube-like fingertips hung over the edge of the cracked cement. Lingering, dragging across the drain. Cold webs pushed through my body, gripping me, rooting me to the rocks. I stared at the pipe, not sure what else I could do. I wondered for a moment if something had come to get me, if somehow I was being punished. Maybe for Steele. Maybe I should just cash the money and throw it into the lake. I muttered a protest, only to see a single shining yellow eye behind a cracked lens peek out from around the cement.

“I- I’m sorry.” Its voice cracked, edging just far enough from the opening that I could make out its shape.

It was a lean AI in an industrial chassis. A hardened casing wrapped with yellow and black caution lines and a head like an oversized gas mask. Most of its paint had been peeled away, the deep green giving way to scarred steel. The helmet was caved in, the top smashed into a shape like a crater, the edges of the wound melting inwards. His helmet hung loosely enough around his head that I could see his metal skeleton moving within. The naked being beneath the shell and all its broken decorations. And it was shaking.

"Are you okay? My name's Lewis.” I said with a broken monotone, trying to keep my voice steady. He stayed there, clawing at the pipe, moaning as if I wasn’t there. As if he couldn’t hear me. And yet he stayed staring right at me.

I tried to look around the stranger's hand, seeing his fidgeting limbs. My feet clapped loudly against the wet rock, the AI’s fidgeting gaining pace as I neared. It was the only way yet he'd acknowledged my existence. Then I saw what his hands were playing at. He wasn't fidgeting with his other hand, he was scratching, digging holes into his stomach. Bright acidic fluid hissed from the tips of his fingers and his wrists, bubbling around his wounds and eating away at his body. I wanted him to ask him to stop, to grab his hand. But I knew moving too quick would be the worst thing I could do. Quickly, I came to accept that I had no control over the situation.

"Are you okay? My name's Lewis," I repeated, trying to keep my tone equal, hoping again that it would help calm him. I hoped all the training at my past job hadn’t gone to waste, "I'm here to help."

"You can't talk to dead bodies..." He rasped, his voice was like a children’s toy with a dying battery. It was a statement as cryptic as it was morbid. I paused for a moment before speaking, considering my position, my body. Finding a dry spot among the wet rocks and dark pools of oily unidentified substances, I sat down, removing my hat and placing it in my lap. I placed my hands on top of it, keeping them clearly visible.

"Then I won't talk. I'll just listen.”

The robot went silent again, staring at me from behind the wall. He would duck every so often, as if trying to escape. But something kept him here. I hoped it meant he was willing to talk, “I don’t want to hurt you. My name is Lewis, do you have a name?”

“NM… 903… 017…” he mumbled, his voice broken by static. He stared at me with sorrowful eyes. They were brighter than before, but more hollow. Like the eyes of someone in a dream.

“How can I help you?” the AI whispered, his voice like a dying light.

NM- 903017 wasn’t telling his story, but I think I already knew it. It was the story we all shared. Of people trying to do their jobs, trying to succeed in a world not built to cater to them. A job was the only place you had in the natural’s world, and that was the one thing he didn’t seem to have anymore.

“Did you… Talk to a dead body?” I asked, re-angling my legs. The AI rattled, his eyes drawing into himself. A foot emerged from the pipe. Emaciated. Burnt. Latex ripped away to reveal the mechanisms within, greased by the same substance that dripped from his arms and body. His eyes darted untrustingly from side to side, his movements were as meek as ever, but still he drew closer. I sank into a sigh, wondering if I’d come to repeat the actions I’d taken for Steele. If I’d just be enabling another disaster. Even at just this slightest expression of trust, I felt myself growing incredibly anxious and horribly excited, and that was something I couldn’t help. I was built to help. It was my job.

“Boss said… We just burn the customers… We don’t talk to them.”

Realization came slowly, but I began to piece things together. It may not have seemed like much, but as I was helping the AI towards my car, I had nearly understood everything I needed to know.

I took a blanket from my trunk and draped it around him. He jerked at the sensation, his damaged touch receptors flaring at the overstimulation. I pulled the blanket off and laid it across my backseats, apologizing to the sulking figure. He shook his head, waving an oozing finger at me. "No, no... The customer is always right." He mumbled, and lowered himself into the rusted chassis. As I rounded to the driver side of the car, I began sifting through my hard drive. I cross-checked his AIN, a number I hoped I didn't recognize, and found a match.

It was an offer from a robot disposal plant, one where an artificial worker had gone missing. Last thing anyone knew of him was when he was trying to shove himself into one of the machines. My stomach churned at the date of the incident. Five months ago. The case was one of many I'd taken in hopes I'd be the one to break through, the underdog who was able to find the missing robot. The payout was massive.

Landing in my seat with a thud, I started up the car.

Helping a runaway find his way home. Back to a paying job. Back to a normal life. I wondered if that was really helping, or if I was just part of the problem. Only adding to the broken system the naturals had created. I looked through the rearview mirror, my back seats like the core of a rotted yellow-green fruit, stained with compounds used to break down clothes and latex, everything but the bare metal meant to be recycled. There was no way I could take him home, I thought. No way he could enter my home without destroying it, no way my landlord would approve of the new resident. I had to take him back. It was the only option I had.

"I haven't been out since... Since Noele and Albert took me to the party..." the bot sighed, staring at me through the rearview. A vacant smile came to my lips.

“And what’s your name?” I asked feigning ignorance, “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced.”

There was a hanging silence in the car. It lasted seconds, then minutes. I put my key in the ignition and a whir of life filled the car, the AI behind me jumping.

“Patrick!” He startled, his voice almost vanishing behind the growl of the car’s engine.

“Well Patrick, how does sleeping in a bed tonight sound?” I asked. He didn’t answer, but a warm, crackling sound came from the depths of his voice box. I think it was a laugh. Soon enough, the car began to move and we were started down the street.

My eyes went to my rearview every so often, checking on the robot as he fidgeted in the back seat. He wasn’t talkative, rarely responding. He just sat in the back seat, watching the lights of the city scroll by the window. Talking to himself.

"I used to make my customers smile... All kinds. Come happy… Go happy... Now they go down the chute."

Part of me wondered if he knew where he was. If it was right to take him anywhere. I knew the stories of rogue AI were all exaggerated in the news, but I couldn’t help but see our faces flashing on a television screen next to a screaming white man. Patrick just another one of the “goddamn toasters” that had lost it; ones step away from rising up and destroying humanity. And yet, looking into the backseat, seeing him shake, shivering at the noises of my car, the street, and himself, I only saw a broken man.

I stared ahead, watching the road. "I know the feeling," I sighed, "I used to be a nurse but, since that incident with the kid in Cleveland, they've been trying to get us out of hospitals."

Patrick didn’t respond, but he nodded, the two of us resigning to the silence once more. The car jerked as I came through the jagged entrance to my apartment complex, taking a spot under a canopy. Patrick’s eyes darted about his surroundings as I helped him out of the back seat, now sizzling and stained, keeping him in the shadows as I brought him up the stairs to my flat. He seemed confused, gazing around at the bare walls as I tried to force my key in the lock. Muttering under his breath.

I looked up at him, trying to keep my tone even, “Your employer’s looking for you. Did you know that?”

Dazed yellow eyes stared at me for a few moments, mechanical noises like simulated breath rattling from his chest. He nodded his head, eyes locked on me as it swiveled. My door popped open, the hall light piercing the dark-shrouded room. Neither of us walked in, only staring at each other. I wondered if this was really the right thing to do. If he really wanted this.

Patrick’s hand, still hissing with the mysterious corrosive substance, gripped my arm tight. He coughed, looking at himself, pulling at his abdomen. A piece came off in his hand.

“You’ll… Help me.” He breathed.

“I will.” I nodded.

“I don’t… Want to go back.”

“I know,” I responded, clapping a hand against his back, “You don’t have to. There are ways to change your AIN. Get a new identity. I can help.”

Patrick fell into me, arms gripping my body, face pushing into the nape of my neck. I heard the toxic bubbles brimming against my coat, the fluid seeping through my tie and my shirt. I closed my arms around him, reassuring him for a few moments. He held on longer than I would have imagined, long enough that I figured my coat would be completely eaten once he pulled away. And I held onto him all the while.

I led him into my apartment, locking the door behind us as I started the best patch-up job I could do. Removing the damaged casings from his arms and legs, exchanging his hands with spares that I had, sealing the acid-leaking fingertips and torn into a metal bin, I did everything I could to strip him of his old body. Everything that weighed him down. As we finished and Patrick hugged me again, I showed him the way to my bed where he flopped down, his body limp on the blankets. A long hissing sigh coming from the exposed speaker in his throat. His body was broken, and now reduced to a thin mechanical skeleton, his only way of emoting being his eyes and voice. But he thanked me profusely. He asked me to stay with him until he fell asleep. I agreed, knowing how hard it was for a bot made for human interaction to lay alone in the dark. But I had to do one thing first.

I took a picture of one of the ruined casings I’d removed from Patrick’s arms, one that had his AIN printed on it.

"Found your bot,” I typed, “These parts were washed up on the shore of Lake Eerie. I’m sorry but I don’t think there’s any hope of him coming back.

He returned my message immediately, and with the same empathy and care I’d expect.

“Shit.”

Another message, "I'm not paying you for finding a dead toaster.”

And a third, “Bring whatever parts you find back to the plant so I can put them on a bot that WORKS. Maybe then I’ll pay you something.”

I paused. Carefully considering my answer. I could bring him the whole casing. Get an alright payment from it. But somehow I knew this little piece of his arm was all I would give him. Patrick had given him enough.

"You're not paying me,” I said in rebuttal, “I'll bring it in the morning.”

A few seconds passed. I walked towards the bed, my phone vibrating in my pocket. One notification. Then another. It felt like the first time I’d truly smiled in weeks.

---

Learn more about Artificial here!

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stories-everywhere · 7 years

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One Shot: I’ll Always Love You

@vortexart

(Morality’s P.O.V)

I am currently washing my hands clean in the sink after a few hours in my art room while I hum a light little tune that lifts my spirits. I suddenly hear some footsteps coming down into the kitchen so I look over my shoulder to see that it’s the one and only Prince, he has a smile on his face.

“Hey there Prince, how are you doing this fine day?” I ask him with a rather curious tone in my voice as he heads towards the fridge and opens it up with a thoughtful look on his own face.

“I just came down here to get some food and drinks for me and Anx to munch on while we watch our Disney Marathon. How about you Morality, how are you this fine day?” He ask me back with a small smile on his face still as he now has his arms full before he shuts the fridge behind him.

“I just finished my newest painting so I’m cleaning up before I get myself some food... Later you should come down and have a look at it.” I say as he nods back slowly before he heads out of the kitchen and back to the movie room where Anxiety will be waiting for him and for the sweets.

“Maybe Logic would want to have a look at your newest masterpiece! But we will have a look later, I promise you.” Prince calls out back to me before he shuts the door to the movie room that is also soundproof, I dry my hands on a t-towel before I head up the stairs and to Logic’s room.

“Logic? Are you in here?” I ask as I knock on his bedroom door a couple of times before it opens to show a slightly surprised Logic looking back at me though the small opening that is made.

“Morality… come in.” He offers as he opens the door a little wider for me to enter so I do before I take a seat on his bed to find that his TV is on to the news about the latest missing person.

“The poor family not knowing of their loved one is alright or not…” I say in a soft sympathetic voice as I continue to watch before Logic takes a seat next to me on his dark purple bed cover.

“Yeah it must be so heartbreaking and stressful to not know.” Logic says in an absent minded tone of voice as he continues to stare at the screen before us with a rather shocked look on his face.

“You worked with the poor girl that is missing didn’t you Logic? It all must be hard for you to find out like this as well.” I ask him with a small frown on my lips as he mutely nods his head at me.

“Why would something like this happen to a sweet girl like her?” Logic asks me with a confused and worried look on his face so I pull him into a hug and try to sooth him the best that I can.

“I’m sure that they will find her soon and that she will be fine all we can do is wait and hope for the best outcome, aright Logic?” I tell him in a soft and patience tone of voice as I continue to hold him close against me in my arms with the hopes to calm him down even if it’s a little bit.

“What was it that you came up here to talk with me about originally Morality?” Logic asks me confused as he looks up at me and give him a soft smile as I shake my own head at him slowly.

“It can wait until later when you have calmed down ok, love.” I tell him as I kiss his forehead lightly before I pull away from the hug and make my way over to the door to give him his needed space.

(Midday)

I am currently getting lunch ready for the others as they all should be come in for food soon when I hear that someone does enter the kitchen, I look over my shoulder to find that it’s Logic.

“That smells really good Morality, like always.” Logic says as he takes a seat and I give him a large smile with a slight blush dusting my cheeks before I turn back to face the food I’m cooking.

“Thanks Logic that’s kind of you to say that.” I mumble to him as I continue handling the food, I hear two more sets of feet and I can only assume that it’s Prince and Anxiety coming for lunch.

“That smells so good Mo! Told you Prince that Mo would be cooking lunch now.” I hear Anxiety say to his boyfriend with a smug tone in his voice before the sound of chairs moving is heard.

“Well then I hope you all enjoy.” I say as I plate up the food and serve it to the others with a smile on my face before I take my own seat next to Logic, we all begin to eat our food in silence.

“Oh… Since Anx and I have finished our marathon a little earlier then we thought then maybe we can go and see your newest piece of art after lunch Morality?” Prince asks me with a real hopeful look while the others look up from their food confused by what he means my new piece of art.

“What does he mean… wait is that why you had come up to see me this morning Mo?” Logic asks me, Anxiety watches us all with a thoughtful look on his face but he doesn’t say anything yet.

“Yeah it was but… after the news we saw this morning I thought it was best to let you be until you calmed down.” I explain to him as I take his hand into my own with a soft smile on my lips.

“Well then maybe we should see your newest painting after lunch.” Logic says and I give a nod of approval at the idea of showing my latest masterpiece to my friends and amazing boyfriend.

“Alright then I’ll show you after we’ve eaten.” I say to them with a smile, once we all have eaten our lunch and we have cleaned up I lead the others down to my art room filled with paintings. I open the door and lead them over to the center piece that is covered up for now at least.

“Is your newest piece under this cloth?” Logic asks me and I nod before I pull it off to reveal a beautiful painting of a couple looking up at the star filled night with a full blood red moon.

“Wow… this is the best one you have ever done yet Mo, it’s so beautiful.” Prince says to me and I give him a smile, I notice that Logic is speechless and I really hope it’s the good type not bad.

“I agree with Prince Mo, you have really out done yourself with this piece of yours.” Logic says and I give him a bashful smile with pink tinting my cheeks a bit as he praises me on my work.

“Oh thanks Logic it means a lot to me that you love my work, it gives me the courage I need to keep it up with the hopes of continuing to get better at each one I do.” I tell him with a large smile on my lips as we all leave my art room but not before I hang it on the hall and place a new blank canvas on the easel ready for the next painting whenever I get hit in the need to paint again.

“Let’s go and play either a card game or a board game.” Anxiety says so we all go back to the main room of the house to relax by playing a few different games that includes Cluedo and some Uno.

(Later that night)

With everyone now asleep I sneak out of mine and Logic’s room knowing that he is such a heavy sleeper that he won’t notice that I’m gone. I make it out of the house and over to my art supply shed that is hidden from sight from both the house and from the main road that we live on.

“Had a nice nap my sweet?” I ask into the darkness of the shed as I open the door and make my way in before I shut the door behind me, I turn on the light to find that my ‘guest’ is scared.

“Please let me go! I promise I won’t say anything to anyone especially Logic!” She begs me with wide scared eyes but I ignore her begs as I look for some tools that I will need for this project.

“Sorry no can do, I can’t have you going anywhere near my boyfriend like you have been… I can’t have you stealing him.” I say as I get a strip of duct tape and put it over her mouth so that she doesn’t get the idea that screaming or making any noise will help her while I have my ‘fun’.

“Nm Plmhm hmm!” She tries to speak but the tape muffles it, I give her a dark smirk as I pull out a needle and inject her with the drug inside to make her more compliant with what I want.

“Now, now this is just a little thing to make you relax a little.” I tell her before I pull out my little pocket knife and started to run it along her skin rather lightly with a playful look on my face.

“Mnh hnoafg mhmh!” She tries to say but with the fast acting drug it comes out sluggish and her movements are slow as well… I snicker at her lightly before I press the blade a little harder.

“Shhhh you know that none of this would happen if you didn’t anywhere near my precious Logic, you only have yourself to blame on this.” I tell her in a sweet and almost loving tone as I continue to drag the knife down the length of her arm with blood running out of the fresh cut into jars.

“MHGJM!” She tries to scream but both the drug and the duct tape muffle the sound, she tries to get away from the knife but she’s tied down to the chair too secure with no way to escape.

“There is no point in trying to struggle against me in this sweetheart as you know that there is no escape from any of this.” I tell her with a smile on my lips as I continue to giver nice and deep cuts for the next few moments with the red liquid dripping down into the empty paint jars I have.

“Mhmh.” She tries to say something but she can’t, I grin down at her as I place the knife down only to pick up some salt mixed with some other nasty things that will cause pain her pain.

“Look at what I have here. Some friendly ‘medication’ to help you heal.” I say in my ‘I wouldn’t hurt a child’ tone of voice before I pour it into all of her wounds with a large sadistic smile.

“GIOGBSMY!” She tries to scream out in pain but she’s unable to make much of a noise all the while I giggle at her misfortune as I pour some more of the salty mixture I have in my hands.

“As much fun as this has been I must get back to bed with my beloved Logic.” I say after a few hours of torturing and having my fun I finally kill her before I place her in the glass cage of my secret pet python. Once I have cleaned myself of all the blood and made the shed look normal again I head back in to the house and back to bed with Logic.

“Mhmh Morality.” Logic mutters in his sleep as he wraps his arms around me in his sleep, I hold him even closer to me with a soft smile playing on my lips at the sight of how cute he is asleep.

“I’ll always love you Logic.” I mutter as I give him a kiss on the temple before I allow myself to sleep into a rather peaceful sleep holding the one I love in my arms with no one in the way.

#Yandere Morality #blood #death #gore

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moddersinc · 4 years

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What if you just need a video card that can still play all of the latest games but without DLSS or Ray Tracing while on a budget. The folks at Nvidia released GeForce 16 series cards for gamers who still wanted to play latest games with ease at an affordable price but without Ray Tracing or Deep Learning Super Sampling capabilities. Gigabyte GTX 1650 Gaming OC 4G is a Turing card without Ray Tracing or DLSS capabilities however it has an ability to run latest games at affordable price.

Review Sample Provided by: Gigabyte Product Name: GeForce GTX™ 1650 GAMING OC 4G Price at time of review: $ 159.99 USD Product was given in exchange for work done to produce this review.

[section_title title=Introduction and Specifications]

Specifications

Graphics Processing GeForce® GTX 1650 Core Clock 1815 MHz (Reference card is 1665 MHz) RTX-OPS NA CUDA® Cores 896 Memory Clock 8002 MHz Memory Size 4 GB Memory Type GDDR5 128bit Memory Bandwidth (GB/sec) 128 GB/s Card Bus PCI-E 3.0 x 16 Digital max resolution 7680×4320@60Hz Multi-view 4 Card size L=265 W=118 H=40 mm PCB Form ATX DirectX 12 OpenGL 4.5 Recommended PSU 300 W Power Connectors 6 Pin*1 Output DisplayPort 1.4 *1 HDMI 2.0b *3 SLI support No Accessories 1. Quick guide 2. Driver CD

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The packaging scheme of the Gigabyte GTX 1650 is pretty much identical to any other GeForce video cards by Gigabyte.

The internal packaging of the card is very simple as the card comes in an anti-static bag which is being securely held in the plastic foam.

[section_title title=A Closer Look at GeForce GTX™ 1650 GAMING OC 4G ]

A Closer Look

The Gigabyte GTX 1650 has a dark theme to it like some of the other video cards in the Gigabyte lineup. The Gigabyte GTX 1650 has the two fan WindForce cooling system. The WindForce cooling system provides up to two times more efficient cooling because both fans spin in the opposite direction and their fan blades are uniquely designed for optimum cooling with as little noise as possible. Combine that with the two copper heat pipes which cool the GPU by directly the contact. Gigabyte GTX 1650 also supports RGB Fusion 2.0 functions to give the cards a bit of colorful flair.

#gallery-0-60 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-60 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-60 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-60 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

The entire outer shell of Gigabyte GTX 1650 is made from ABS plastic. There is plenty of ventilation holes on the card itself so cooling shouldn’t be an issue.

#gallery-0-61 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-61 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-61 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-61 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

The RGB Fusion 2.0 capabilities of this card are only addressable for the Gigabyte logo which is on the side of the card. The power requirements of this card are 300 watts. The Gigabyte GTX 1650 only uses one six-pin GPU power connector which will also reduce the clutter of cables.

The output of Gigabyte GTX 1650 consists of one Display Port and three HDMI connectors. DisplayPort is version 1.4 and HDMI is version 2.0b.

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Taking apart the Gigabyte GTX 1650 is kind of tricky. After removing all of the screws there are plastic pins that hold the outer shell together. The board itself is clean however I did find some over fluxed spots.

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As I have mentioned earlier Gigabyte GTX 1650 is being actively cooled via aluminum heat sink/copper pipes and the WindForce fans. The contact between GPU and the heat sink is happening directly on the copper pipes.

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Gigabyte GTX 1650 uses Nvidia TU117-300-A1 GPU chip. This is a 12 nm Turing chip that has a base clock speed of 1485 MHz, Boost Clock speed of 1665 MHz. Our version here is factory overclocked to 1815 MHz.

Gigabyte GTX 1650 has 4GB of GDDR5 memory. The memory is by Micron 8NB77 D9VVR. Each chip is 1 GB in size which on the board totals 4GB.

Reference GTX 1650 card has a 2 +1 Power phase design. This card has a 3 + 1 Power Phase design which keeps operational temperatures of MOSFET lower than the reference card.

[section_title title=RGB Lighting and Software]

RGB Lighting and Software

Gigabyte has its own homegrown Over-Clocking software with built-in RGB Lighting controls. If you have any Motherboards by Aorus that have onboard RGB lightning then the best way to take charge is with Aorus Engine.

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This tool gives you absolute overclocking controls for your card. Here you have a choice of either manually overclock your clock speeds or perform an “Auto Scan” which shows you what is your hardware is capable of in terms of overvolting.

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Internal RBG Settings are self-explanatory and with just a few clicks you can adjust the lighting of your Motherboard, RAM and GPU. You can also create multiple profiles for fast access to pre-defined patterns.

[section_title title=Test System and Synthetic Benchmarks]

Test System and Synthetic Benchmarks

System Configuration Case Open Test Table CPU Intel Core i7 8700K Motherboard Gigabyte AORUS Z370 ULTRA GAMING Ram (2) 8GB Corsair DDR4-3200 CMW16GX4M2C3200C16 GPU Gigabyte GeForce GTX™ 1650 GAMING OC 4G Drivers NVIDIA 430.39 Hard Drives Corsair Force MP510 NVMe Gen 3 x4 M.2 SSD (480Gb) Power Supply Thermal Take Tough Power RGB 80 Plus Gold 750W

Testing Methodology:

There are many ways to benchmark GPUs. With these benchmarks our goal is to do two things: first to show the performance of the card and secondly to make them easy to replicate. With a similarly configured system, you should be able to get similar results to compare your current graphic card against. There will always be a variance from system to system.

Synthetic Tests

3DMark Firestrike from Futuremark is a Semi-synthetic DirectX11 benchmark designed for high-performance gaming PCs. Firestrike performs advanced geometry, illumination and particle tests with its Graphics benchmark and performs physics simulations using the CPU. Firestrike Ultra Kicks it up a notch and ratchets up the resolution to 4K and turns the quality up a bit.

Timespy is an additional test in 3DMark which represents DirectX 12 gameplay. The extreme version is meant to test the highest-end graphics cards at 4K.

Unigine’s Superposition features both a monitor benchmark but also a VR load as well. I used the 4K optimized and 8K optimized presets. Superposition also allows you to explore the environment in VR Mode with your headset connected.

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[section_title title=Gaming Benchmarks]

Gaming Benchmarks

Shadow of the Tomb Raider is an action-adventure video game developed by Eidos Montréal in conjunction with Crystal Dynamics and published by Square Enix. It continues the narrative from the 2013 game Tomb Raider and its sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider.

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Witcher 3 closes the chapter on Geralt’s life. The game features a massive open world that the player can explore. Witcher 3 uses REDEngine developed independently by CD Projekt RED. The game engine features stunning visuals.

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Middle Earth: Shadow of War is an action RPG game based on the novels of J. R. R. Tolkien. It’s the sequel to Monolith’s successful Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor game and the events of the game take place after The Hobbit but before the Lord of the Rings. The game builds upon the nemesis system that made the first game such a surprise hit, and it’s just brutal to PC hardware.

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Far Cry 5 is an action-adventure first-person shooter video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Toronto and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It is the successor to the 2014 video game Far Cry 4, and the fifth main installment in the Far Cry series. The game was released on March 27, 2018.

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[section_title title=Gaming Benchmarks Continued]

Gaming Benchmarks Continued

Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands is a tactical shooter game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective with an optional first-person view for gun aiming. Players play as members of the Delta Company, First Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, also known as “Ghosts”, a fictional elite special operations unit of the United States Army under the Joint Special Operations Command. The game can be played as a single-player experience or you can invite up to 3 of your friends to fill out your squad.

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Deus Ex: Mankind Divided is an action role-playing game with a first-person shooter and stealth mechanics. Players take the role of Adam Jensen, a man equipped with mechanical cybernetic implants called augmentations.

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Battlefield V is a first-person shooter video game developed by EA DICE and published by Electronic Arts. Battlefield V is the sixteenth installment in the Battlefield series. Battlefield V features a limited single-player campaign in the form of War Stories, the rest of the missions and adventures are online multiplayer.

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[section_title title=Overclocking, Noise, and Temperatures]

Overclocking, Noise, and Temperatures

My choice for overclocking utility is MSI Afterburner. What I like about this utility is that you can push your hardware as much as you want without damaging it. The application layer of the software will freeze and disable overloaded values before they affect your hardware. MSI Afterburner has an OC Scanner feature that scans your hardware and based on the configuration of the components adjusts power and clock. The OC Scan ran fine and adjusted the card settings to what you see below.

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The Gigabyte GTX 1650 Gaming OC is already factory overclocked to 1815MHz from 1665MHz (reference card) so you are already getting an OC features right out of the box. With MSI Afterburner was I was able to hit 1965MHz and even could push the clock a little further (150MHz/manual) to get the optimal clock speed of 2115MHz.

To validate setting I have used FurkMark benchmark with 1440p resolution to perform a GPU Test.

Memory overclocking was done by MSI Afterburner as well. I was able to increase the memory clock by 89MHz and have a stable system.

While benchmarking with FurMark the temperatures of the GPU stayed around 61 C and never reached 70C. Note (While in benchmarking mode, fans speed was set to 100%).

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To validate setting I have used FurkMark benchmark with 1440p resolution to perform a GPU Test.

Memory overclocking was done by MSI Afterburner as well. I was able to increase the memory clock by 158MHz and have a stable system.

While benchmarking with FurMark the temperatures of the GPU stayed around 50 C and never reached 70C. Note (While in benchmarking mode, fans speed was set to 100%).

Noise testing was done by TDJ 834 (30-130dB) sound tester. The tester was mounted on the tripod and measurements were recorded in following conditions of the fans (Under 10%, 50%, and 100%)

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Minimum sound level I got from the entire system was 46.8dB and maximum 60.6dB. The recording was done 20 cm away from the GPU.

The plastic casing in which fans are embedded does not absorb heat however, the backplate of the GPU does and be careful it might be warm. Under full stress of the card, the metallic backplate reaches up to 23.2C or 73.9F.

[section_title title=Conclusion and Final Thoughts]

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Gigabyte GTX 1650 Gaming OC 4G is a nice little card but does it give you all of what RTX cards offer at the same resolution and the quality of the image? No. Throughout my benchmarks and tests, it is clear to me that that the best resolution for this card is 1080p. At this resolution, the card performs well and most games were playable on medium to high quality. In my opinion, this card was not designed to run at 1440p with maxed-out settings. If you absolutely must run this card on 1440p at ~60 FPS you could tune down the graphics quality and shut off GPU demanding features such as Anti-Aliasing processing and PhysX support.

Comparing Gigabyte GTX 1650 Gaming OC to the previous generation of cards such as EVGA GTX 1070 TI showed me that the performance based on the frames per second is very close at 1080p resolution. Also, keep in mind the 1070 TI card it about $ 100 USD more in price.

Looking at next generation of graphic cards by Nvidia RTX, Gigabyte GTX 1650 Gaming OC 4G is missing Ray Tracing and DLSS however based on the frames per second performance at 1080p GTX 1650 performed very well with Ultra Settings.

To compare similar GTX cards I’ve compared data of Gigabyte GTX 1650 Gaming OC 4G and MSI GTX Gaming X 1660 TI. Both of these cards are from 16xx GTX generation and according to our tests are very similar in performance in 1080p resolution. Looking at the 1440p resolution I could tell that the GTX 1660 TI is much more suitable to operate in 1440p range resolution. The rough price difference between GTX 1650 and GTX 1660 TI is about $100 USD.

The temperature of the Gigabyte GTX 1650 Gaming OC 4G card while running at 100 percent was very cool. This is due to the 3+1 power phase which lowers the load on the MOSFET and resulting in lower load. Keeping temperatures at a low level leaves more room for overclocking.

When overclocking with MSI Afterburner I was able to achieve a stable GPU frequency of 2115 MHz and a Memory frequency of 8318 MHz. Reference card frequencies for GTX 1650 are 1665 MHz (GPU) and 8000 MHz (Memory).

Right now, the Gigabyte GTX 1650 Gaming OC 4G retails for about $ 150 USD which is highly affordable. From my time with Gigabyte GTX 1650 Gaming OC 4G it makes me believe that the sweet spot for this card is at 1080p resolution. It is possible to run applications in 1440p resolution but sacrifice in quality of the image has to be made.

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Gigabyte GTX 1650 Gaming OC 4G Review What if you just need a video card that can still play all of the latest games but without DLSS or Ray Tracing while on a budget.

#Gigabyte #Gigabyte GTX 1650 Gaming OC 4G #Graphics Card #GTX 1650 #Video Card #windforce

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