Gigabyte GTX 660 OC or PNY GTX 660 TI?

[flexy]

(I am upgrading from a very old, VERY loud, annoying and hot GTX 275)

I am on a budget and usually would get the Gigabyte 660 OC since I heard so many good things about it, especially the cooling/noise.

There is a PNY GTX 660 TI which is only €20 or so more and of course the TI would be "better", since it's a TI.

My concern is

* NOISE

There is likely no chance in hell that ANY of those is as loud and hot as my old GTX 275, but I am wondering whether someone would say they would rather get the Gigabyte NON TI - or is this a no-brainer and I should get the PNY TI instead? I have no experience with PNY whatsoever, the other brands TI are out of the question because of the price.

I read a few reviews about the PNY and people say they're overall satisfied, except that SOME complained about some annoying fan noise at high load, although some said they couldn't hear anything while gaming, just while folding. Mind you, I dont mind normal "fan noise" if its reasonable, I just dont want to get the PNY and then find out it has some annoying high-pitch or particular annoying fan noise while gaming.

ALTERNATIVELY...I could of course get the Gigabyte, save €20 or so bucks and be happy with it until GTX 7xx budget cards come out?

 

[nextJin]

They both have the same noise level and the Ti card has significantly more value for that price.

 

[Termie]

They both have the same noise level and the Ti card has significantly more value for that price.

That's actually entirely wrong.

The Gigabyte 660, if based on the windforce design, will be very quiet. The PNY 660ti, which I believe is only available in a reference model, will be quite loud, and in particular is likely the loudest graphics card at idle in this generation due to a poor cooler design that actually vibrates due to the fan.

 

[nextJin]

That's actually entirely wrong.

The Gigabyte 660, if based on the windforce design, will be very quiet. The PNY 660ti, which I believe is only available in a reference model, will be quite loud, and in particular is likely the loudest graphics card at idle in this generation due to a poor cooler design that actually vibrates due to the fan.

My apologies, I was ASSuming he meant two reference cooling cards. I'd still get the Ti for that price difference though.

 

[notty22]

If the price is that close, I would also give the ti a shot. We have owners of the reference gtx 670, same cooler, have good experiences with the design.

A review of the design on a reference gtx 670 at launch. http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_670/4.html

Blowers always are slightly louder than down pointing-single or dual fans.

 

[scragnoff]

Hi flexy!
Let's give the 660 OC and the 660 Ti a comparison. I'll go with Gigabyte, because I like their cards. But it's just a preference of mine, as a starting point for this comparison.
First off, I'll take their prices from Amazon.
660 - €199,50
660 Ti - €269,36
The 660 Ti is 35% more expensive than the 660.

Next, we'll do a performance check on the two cards. Our very own Anandtech has a great review.
From the review, the 660 offers around 88% of the performance of the 660 Ti.

Thirdly, as the sound level of the video card is important to you, we have two articles showing graphs for their sound levels when idle and under load. One for the 660 and another for the 660 Ti.

As can be seen, both the 660's and the 660 Ti's noise levels under load are excellent, 38 db and 39 db, respectively.

So there we have it. Sound levels are not really a basis for comparison, since both both are quiet. The one left to consider is price and performance. If you think 12% performance increase is justified for the 35% increase in price, then go for the 660 Ti. If not, the 660 is a great choice.

Here's another performance comparison, but this time on Asus cards, though. The article concludes that the difference lies in the AA, with the 660 Ti performing up to 20% faster if AA is disabled.

 

[Eureka]

Hi flexy!
Let's give the 660 OC and the 660 Ti a comparison. I'll go with Gigabyte, because I like their cards. But it's just a preference of mine, as a starting point for this comparison.
First off, I'll take their prices from Amazon.
660 - €199,50
660 Ti - €269,36
The 660 Ti is 35% more expensive than the 660.

Next, we'll do a performance check on the two cards. Our very own Anandtech has a great review.
From the review, the 660 offers around 88% of the performance of the 660 Ti.

Thirdly, as the sound level of the video card is important to you, we have two articles showing graphs for their sound levels when idle and under load. One for the 660 and another for the 660 Ti.

As can be seen, both the 660's and the 660 Ti's noise levels under load are excellent, 38 db and 39 db, respectively.

So there we have it. Sound levels are not really a basis for comparison, since both both are quiet. The one left to consider is price and performance. If you think 12% performance increase is justified for the 35% increase in price, then go for the 660 Ti. If not, the 660 is a great choice.

Here's another performance comparison, but this time on Asus cards, though. The article concludes that the difference lies in the AA, with the 660 Ti performing up to 20% faster if AA is disabled.

He already stated the price difference is only 20 EUR. Worth the jump to a 660 Ti at that price.

However, if you can get the 660 for much less than the 660 Ti, OP, I would recommend the 660. The performance isn't huge and when comparing cheapst 660 with cheapest 660 Ti, generally the cheapest 660 is a better deal.

 

[Arachnotronic]

Go with the Ti.

 

[Termie]

Guys, there's a reason the PNY GTX660Ti is selling for a bargain price. The cooler is loud.

Here are comments on the 660Ti: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133466

And here are comments on the PNY 670, which uses the same fan: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

I had a reference GTX670 for a while. The performance was fine, but the cooler was not in the least bit quiet. If the OP cares about noise, which he says is basically his number one priority, the PNY GTX660 Ti is the wrong card for him.

 

[Eureka]

I had a reference GTX670 for a while. The performance was fine, but the cooler was not in the least bit quiet. If the OP cares about noise, which he says is basically his number one priority, the PNY GTX660 Ti is the wrong card for him.

Well, I'm going to disagree and say my GTX670 is bearable, especially with a custom fan profile for an average user. Unless you have an open case next to you or you are extremely sensitive, I think it's quite bearable.

Now, if noise is everything, I would actually recommend Zotac models. The Zotac GTX 660 is the quitest card I have ever heard in person, and the Zotac GTX 660 Ti uses the same cooler. It also doesn't use the extended 'fake' coolers and so you get to save space, too.

 

[flexy]

If the price is that close, I would also give the ti a shot. We have owners of the reference gtx 670, same cooler, have good experiences with the design.

A review of the design on a reference gtx 670 at launch. http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_670/4.html

Blowers always are slightly louder than down pointing-single or dual fans.

I have to say I really hate the "blower" design, my old GTX 275 is just insane. It gets as hot as 100C under load (yes, I DID try to reseat the HSF, new thermalpaste and everything)..but it is still getting up to 100C.

To make things worse, that old GTX 275 draws so much power that while gaming, my entire system, including the PSU fans spin up as well (the Thermaltake PSU is notorious for that). When I game I feel like I am in a 747 at lift-off.

I figure, even if i get the PNY TI, it draws less power and stays cooler, so even without the superior cooler of the Gigabyte it should still be a huge difference over what I have now. Not as quiet and cool as the TI, but still better. The other criterium, I heard the TI overclock better. So I am also tending towards the TI now. I am not that crazy anymore to update every 6 months or every year...the TI might also serve me a little longer since in SOME circumstances it has an edge.

 

[raghu78]

OP are you open to AMD cards ? or is it only Nvidia cards ? the HD 7870 Tahiti LE is a good option. at stock speeds matches or exceeds GTX 660 Ti. when overclocked to 1.2 ghz matches HD 7970(925 Mhz)

http://www.ebuyer.com/432444-powerc...gddr5-dvi-hdmi-dual-mini-ax78702gbd5-2dhppv3e

http://www.pixmania.co.uk/uk/uk/13213161/art/sapphire-technology/radeon-hd-7870-xt-with-bo.html

the sapphire card has a much better cooler than the powercolor card. but costs more. both cards come with bioshock infinite and tomb raider game coupons free.

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...iti-le-graphics-card-review-introduction.html

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/01/01/powercolor_radeon_hd_7870_myst_edition_review/

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7870_jokerCard_Tahiti_LE/

 

[notty22]

I have a blower on a HD 4770, and people complained about that. We have happy owners of this model and all blowers make a slight whir at idle. The blower in the reference ti and 670 will never wind up and approach the gtx 275.

I just cleaned out my rig in sig, from dust and dust(use your imagination). The temps went from 64c in the top card new to recently 85c(in winter), back to low 60'sc o/c. Same with the H50 fan/radiator.

 

[KevinH]

Well, I'm going to disagree and say my GTX670 is bearable, especially with a custom fan profile for an average user. Unless you have an open case next to you or you are extremely sensitive, I think it's quite bearable.

Now, if noise is everything, I would actually recommend Zotac models. The Zotac GTX 660 is the quitest card I have ever heard in person, and the Zotac GTX 660 Ti uses the same cooler. It also doesn't use the extended 'fake' coolers and so you get to save space, too.

I have the exact PNY 660ti and it is certainly loud at load.

The main thing to consider is whether or not a quiet system is a priority for YOU.

If it isn't, that's great. If it is, then I'd state that it's unacceptable as far as noise is concerned. It's loud. Period. I mean dude said noise is his #1 priority.

Honestly, this isn't directed at your in particular but when it comes to something as nebulous as noise, it's really and I mean REALLY frustrating when people who aren't trying to build a silent PC give opinions to those that are. I've gone through several power supplies (HX650 was just as loud as my Earthwatts) and cpu fans (Hyper 212 being described as "silent"...what a joke) due to this.. Zalman in particular is egregious at misrepresenting their products as quiet.