another 660 or 280x?

Sniper82

Lifer
Feb 6, 2000
16,517
0
76
I got a good deal on a 660(non ti) summer of last year for $100 used and its been great but its time for a upgrade. I seen a used 660 for $90 shipped I was thinking of picking up but then I'm seeing used 280x's for around $140-$160 shipped(minning cards of course). I know its always best to go single card solution if building from scratch but in this case I'm not. Tried searching but it seems most are asking should they go sli from scratch(not owning one) or 280x.

If that was the case I'd go 280x but I already have a PSU,mobo,ect that can handle another 660.
 
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lyssword

Diamond Member
Dec 15, 2005
5,630
25
91
I would go with 280x, its nearly 2x faster anyways, plus I've heard when you "SLI" it becomes half the size of original (i.e only 1gb useable on 2gb card because it needs mirrior image of 2nd card, tho its rarely a prob with most games), where 280x is 3gb, some newer games need that for ultra textures.
 

Erenhardt

Diamond Member
Dec 1, 2012
3,251
105
101
I would go with 280x, its nearly 2x faster anyways, plus I've heard when you "SLI" it becomes half the size of original (i.e only 1gb useable on 2gb card because it needs mirrior image of 2nd card, tho its rarely a prob with most games), where 280x is 3gb, some newer games need that for ultra textures.

It doesn't become 1GB in SLI. What it does it's that the memory on each card have the same data. So if you have two 2GB cards in SLI, available memory for games will be 2GB - it doesn't stack. On the other hand, each GPU core is working on its own frame, so the core computing ability adds up.

Doing SLI/Xfire with low vram cards will result in the high core potential held back by low amount of vram.
Stacking 2 gtx660 will result in a core performance around r9 280x, but with 2GB of vram which is fine for most game in 1080p.

I would wait and see if r9 285 brings something to the table as it seems to be in the performance range.

I got a good deal on a 660(non ti) summer of last year for $100 used and its been great but its time for a upgrade. I seen a used 660 for $90 shipped I was thinking of picking up but then I'm seeing used 280x's for around $140-$160 shipped(minning cards of course). I know its always best to go single card solution if building from scratch but in this case I'm not. Tried searching but it seems most are asking should they go sli from scratch(not owning one) or 280x.

If that was the case I'd go 280x but I already have a PSU,mobo,ect that can handle another 660.

So you need to pay $90 to have 2x used gtx660 in SLI?
Or you can sell your 660 for $90 and add $50-$70 to get used r9 280X?
 
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iiiankiii

Senior member
Apr 4, 2008
759
47
91
If you don't have to, don't use multiple cards. The support for it sucks compared to single card configurations. In this case, it would be better to sell your 660 and get a card that is equivalent to 2x 660. Having said that, the performance of 2x 660 will be faster than the 280x by a good 15-30%. You might want to consider a 290 instead. A 780 is also good; but it's a bit pricey. Plus, 2GB of ram will eventually hold you back if you decide to go 2x 660.
 

lopri

Elite Member
Jul 27, 2002
13,310
687
126
[Redacted]

You can do better than that.


No, you are not misquoting others.

-Rvenger
 
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Keysplayr

Elite Member
Jan 16, 2003
21,211
50
91
You can do better than that.

Both of these statements which were created by you and passed off as real quotes from me, WERE IMPLIED with my original REAL statements.
 
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Attic

Diamond Member
Jan 9, 2010
4,282
2
76
If gaming at 1080p or lower I'd recommend getting the 2nd 660 for <$100 shipped.

That should beat 280x in good amount of scenarios.

660 should retain value of around 100 for awhile.
 

Keysplayr

Elite Member
Jan 16, 2003
21,211
50
91
If gaming at 1080p or lower I'd recommend getting the 2nd 660 for <$100 shipped.

That should beat 280x in good amount of scenarios.

660 should retain value of around 100 for awhile.

Yes I agree here. I really liked my GTX660. I was very impressed with GK106.
 

lopri

Elite Member
Jul 27, 2002
13,310
687
126
[Redacted]

You can do better than that.


No, you are not misquoting others.

-Rvenger

Really.. I pointed out the emptiness of the original statements made by Keysplayer. I did not think that was too much to digest. (For pete's sake the original quotes are like three posts above)

Apparently I was mistaken. Geez.




Moderator Callouts are against the forum rules.

-Rvenger
 
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NTMBK

Lifer
Nov 14, 2011
10,411
5,677
136
Don't bother messing around with two card solutions. Just buy a 280X, or 285X if it is faster/same speed and cheaper.
 

Deders

Platinum Member
Oct 14, 2012
2,401
1
91
The 280x comes with 3GB Vram, which will probably be more useful in some games than excess GPU grunt if you have a 60Hz monitor. On the other hand the extra GPU grunt would be very handy for 120Hz+.