Question GTX 1660 Ti worthy upgrade from RX 470 for playing Anthem ?

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
379
12
81
I started playing Anthem, via Origin.

The Computer, I personally built 4 years ago, running Anthem at the moment is:

MB - ASRock Z97 Pro4
RAM - 16GB
CPU - i5 4690k (not oc'd)
Cpu Cooler - Arctic Alpine 11 Plus
GPU - RX 470 4GB (MSI Gaming-X)
PSU - XFX- XTR 550Watt 80-plus Gold
Display - Vizio 39" E390i Smart TV (1920 X 1080 Max Resolution)

Will the new Nvidia GTX-1660 Ti be a worthy upgrade over my present RX-470 ?
A few months ago I had been considering an upgrade to a 1070, but it cost more then I wanted to spend.

Will my i5-4690k successfully run the GTX-1660 Ti ?

I'd rather not spend the money to build a completely new PC at this time, additionally I'd rather not spend much over $300 for this Anthem Upgrade.

The Games I play are:
Anthem
Star Wars Galaxies-Legends
Star Wars Old Republic
World of Warcraft
EVE
Elite Dangerous

Those are the main games I play, plus others but none as Graphic Intensive as Anthem.
 

King Mustard

Member
Jan 5, 2002
157
0
76
If it helps, this is where the relative performance lies (with current pricing):

RTX 2080 Ti (£1,070, 2 free games)
RTX 2080 (£635, 2 free games)
RTX 2070 (£460, 1 free game)
GTX 1080 Ti
RTX 2060 (£320, 1 free game)
Radeon VII (£700, 3 free games)
GTX 1080
GTX 1070 Ti (£395)
Radeon RX Vega 64 (£370, 3 free games)
Radeon RX Vega 56 (£250, 3 free games)
GTX 1660 Ti (£260)
GTX 1070 (£270)
RX 590 (£235, 3 free games)
GTX 1060 (£195)
RX 580 (£150, 2 free games)
RX 480
RX 470
RX 570 (£140, 2 free games)
GTX 1050 Ti (£145)
GTX 1050 (£110)
RX 560 (£120)

The GTX 1660 Ti is roughly 40% faster than your RX 470.
 
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NTMBK

Lifer
Nov 14, 2011
10,208
4,940
136
It's an upgrade, but not that big of an upgrade. You might want to just wait for a while longer, for either price drops or next gen parts.

First thing I would do is play around with settings. Drop the graphics to Low on a lower resolution, and see if you can hit a good framerate. If you can't, then you're CPU bottlenecked and the GPU upgrade won't help you.
 

nurturedhate

Golden Member
Aug 27, 2011
1,738
652
136
Having Anthem and a 1070 I'd strongly suggest a 2060 or waiting it out (probably this option). The 1660 ti is a decent upgrade but looking at the wife's system (4670k and 390), friend 1's system (4790k and 1070) and friend 2's system (closest to yours, 4670k not oc and an old 290) who are all at 1080p I couldn't justify the cost for the performance difference.
 

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
3,979
839
136
FYI performance hits are still prevalent in Anthem with 2060 and 2070 cards, depending on what resolution you're using...
 

4K_shmoorK

Senior member
Jul 1, 2015
464
43
91
I'm sure other manufacturers are dealing on refurbished 1080s. ZOTAC had refurbished 1080 AMPs and 1080 Minis on sale for $330. They have this CHONK (1080 AMP EXTREME) on sale for $369. This cooler is awesome, near silent and cool for any game.

https://store.zotac.com/zotac-geforcer-gtx-1080-amp-extreme-refurbished-zt-p10800b-10p-r
91eMOl%2B572L._SL1500_.jpg

index.php
 

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,226
9,990
126
Hmm, tasty, mfg refurb GTX 1080 cards for $330? That sounds almost like a better deal than the GTX 1660ti. Not sure about for mining though, the GTX 1660ti has some performance/watt efficiency increases over Pascal, I hear.
 

tamz_msc

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2017
3,710
3,554
136
You're more likely to be CPU-bottlenecked given the kind of games you play, and especially on Anthem. It just seems to love HT for some reason.
 
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mopardude87

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2018
3,348
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With that cpu i wouldn't go past a 1070.I had a similar cpu and saw bottlenecking with a buddies 1070 and i even saw some with my 1070ti even as far up as 1440p.I of course was playing GTA V and BF1/BF4 and saw this.

https://store.zotac.com/zotac-geforcer-gtx-1070-amp-edition-refurbished-zt-p10700c-10p-r This looks alright for $242 even though i have heard some people finding 1070 cards for like $200. Maybe someone can chime in if they know of a 1070 cheaper?Also you should overclock that cpu. :)
 
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Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
25,481
14,434
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With that cpu i wouldn't go past a 1070.I had a similar cpu and saw bottlenecking with a buddies 1070 and i even saw some with my 1070ti even as far up as 1440p.I of course was playing GTA V and BF4 and saw this.

https://store.zotac.com/zotac-geforcer-gtx-1070-amp-edition-refurbished-zt-p10700c-10p-r This looks alright for $242 even though i have heard some people finding 1070 cards for like $200. Maybe someone can chime in if they know of a 1070 cheaper?Also you should overclock that cpu. :)
Right now on ebay there are quite a few for $225(buy it now), and several of those have "or best offer". The last 2 1070 cards I got on ebay and offered $200 each, and he took it.
 

EXCellR8

Diamond Member
Sep 1, 2010
3,979
839
136
I was able to pick up a used 1080 hybrid for 375 a few weeks back, but I really didn't want to spend over 350. Figured since the card was EVGA with low hours it was worth it though; runs Metro Exodus great @1440
 

mopardude87

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2018
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1,575
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Right now on ebay there are quite a few for $225(buy it now), and several of those have "or best offer". The last 2 1070 cards I got on ebay and offered $200 each, and he took it.

You scored a pretty good deal,at $200 a pop i know i would prefer that and slap on a $52 Artic Accelero 3 cooler and just have a card that runs cooler then any of the 1660ti cards ever could while also cheaper and on top of that the extra 2gb is prob going to be warranted very soon.I find it interesting that people keep overlooking the fact that the 1660ti is missing 2gb vram vs the 1070.

Who knows perhaps by the time games regularly use 8gb the 1070 will be severely outdated as well as the 1660ti? Will be interesting to see the shelf life of the 1660/rtx 2000 series of cards vs the previous ones.
 

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
379
12
81
You're more likely to be CPU-bottlenecked given the kind of games you play, and especially on Anthem. It just seems to love HT for some reason.

I believe you may be correct.

First Image is with my RX 470 installed:
Anthem, Idle in Tarsis, RX 470.PNG

GTX 1660 Ti installed (Screen Shot Below)
Anthem, Idle in Tarsis, 1660 Ti.PNG

With the GTX 1660 Ti installed it would certainly appear my i5-4690k is now a Bottle Neck, Correct ?

I'd rather not replace my MB & RAM at this time, so can I simply replace my i5 with an i7 to eliminate the Bottle Neck ?
What Minimum Speed i7 (4th Gen.) would I need for this GTX 1660 Ti ?


Btw: I bought and am now using a Gigabyte Windforce GTX 1660 Ti OC, got it at my local Micro Center for $290 (added a 2 year Micro Center in house warranty for $30).
One thing about this 1660 is it's extremely Quiet, much quieter then my previous Rx 470

Gigabyte 1660 Ti -Link
 

SPBHM

Diamond Member
Sep 12, 2012
5,056
409
126
I agree OC that i5 and give it a go, it will limit performance in some games, but depending on the settings and game the VGA is going to be the limiting factor.

oh and I do think the 1660 ti is a good buy and that is probably a good upgrade,

but anthem is a problematic game it seems, even on high end cards if you push the settings a bit it will struggle to stay at 60fps all the time, xbox one x has drops to bellow 25FPS.
 

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
379
12
81
4790k is your only real upgrade and those are $200 or so on ebay. I'd try overclocking your i5 first.

Agreed, I'll OC my i5.

I have never done OC before however, but i did initially buy this i5 w/ "k" just in case i ever did want to OC.

My Arctic 11 Plus Cooler is not going to be good enough for OC, I do have an Arctic Freezer i11 I had originally bought for this i5 but installed the 11 Plus instead (was an easier install being OC wasn't in the plans). I'll install the i11 before OC'ing.

Now to find someplace online that can walk an OC-Newbie thru the process
 

Markfw

Moderator Emeritus, Elite Member
May 16, 2002
25,481
14,434
136
Agreed, I'll OC my i5.

I have never done OC before however, but i did initially buy this i5 w/ "k" just in case i ever did want to OC.

My Arctic 11 Plus Cooler is not going to be good enough for OC, I do have an Arctic Freezer i11 I had originally bought for this i5 but installed the 11 Plus instead (was an easier install being OC wasn't in the plans). I'll install the i11 before OC'ing.

Now to find someplace online that can walk an OC-Newbie thru the process
Thats what this forum is for....Just reply, and people will respond.
 

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
379
12
81
You're more likely to be CPU-bottlenecked given the kind of games you play, and especially on Anthem. It just seems to love HT for some reason.

"It just seems to Love HT for some reason"

Therefore I decided not to OC my i5, I went and purchased a used i7-4770k, same 3.5ghz as my i5 as well a "k" model, on Ebay for $170 w/free ship, no taxes. Seller had pretty decent reviews and a good amount of reviews.
i7-4770k Ebay Listing

The 4790k's were too expensive, plus they tend to run rather Hot, so I decided on the 4770k. I'm guessing that 4770k should be darn close to eliminating the Bottleneck with Anthem, I'll OC that 4770k if it doesn't cure the Bottleneck.

I also started a Thread in "Computer Building" to see what People's Opinions are of a Present Technology MB/CPU Combo to run a GTX 1660 Ti without breaking the bank. I'm definitely still considering new MB/CPU/RAM, if I do I'll just sell my present i5/MB/RAM and my newly purchased 4770k on the local Craigslist.

A Thanks to you All for your Replies, as usual you have been very helpful.
When I need Computer Questions answered I always come here, Questions about Cars, Bobs the Oil Guy, so your all in pretty good company :cool:
 

tamz_msc

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2017
3,710
3,554
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"It just seems to Love HT for some reason"

Therefore I decided not to OC my i5, I went and purchased a used i7-4770k, same 3.5ghz as my i5 as well a "k" model, on Ebay for $170 w/free ship, no taxes. Seller had pretty decent reviews and a good amount of reviews.
i7-4770k Ebay Listing

The 4790k's were too expensive, plus they tend to run rather Hot, so I decided on the 4770k. I'm guessing that 4770k should be darn close to eliminating the Bottleneck with Anthem, I'll OC that 4770k if it doesn't cure the Bottleneck.

I also started a Thread in "Computer Building" to see what People's Opinions are of a Present Technology MB/CPU Combo to run a GTX 1660 Ti without breaking the bank. I'm definitely still considering new MB/CPU/RAM, if I do I'll just sell my present i5/MB/RAM and my newly purchased 4770k on the local Craigslist.

A Thanks to you All for your Replies, as usual you have been very helpful.
When I need Computer Questions answered I always come here, Questions about Cars, Bobs the Oil Guy, so your all in pretty good company :cool:
That's a decent deal for an i7 4770K considering how slowly the prices of Intel CPUs decrease. You should try to overclock, start with something low around 4.2 GHz and take it from there.
 

mopardude87

Diamond Member
Oct 22, 2018
3,348
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I bet that cpu upgrade would be great and with a oc will just be a good match,i was watching some videos on youtube and Anthem sure bogs down the i5 4 thread chips. The early i5 2000 chips had a entire 5 and a half years of staying power.I count BF1 as the first game that seriously without a doubt really made a world of difference on a i7.

Kind of wish i could have dropped in a 4770/4790 into my previous set up but between 2 ram slots on the motherboard and the included 8gb of ram,i would have had to swap in a 2x8 gb kit with a cpu just to make BF1 enjoyable.At that point i felt it was time to just swap everything out with those costs.

You should keep us posted on how it runs with the new cpu. :) Some before and after benchmark numbers would be awesome if you could provide them.Enjoy the upgrade!
 

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
379
12
81
Some before and after benchmark numbers would be awesome if you could provide them.Enjoy the upgrade!

I'd be happy to do some Benchmark's for you. I do not know how to do Benchmark's nor what Software to use for it. If you'd be willing to explain the process I'm all in for it.
You want Benchmark's with my i5-4690k w/ 1660 Ti ?, then as well do the same Benchmark's with the i7-4770k w/ 1660 Ti ?
 

crockman

Senior member
May 15, 2005
379
12
81
You should keep us posted on how it runs with the new cpu. :) Some before and after benchmark numbers would be awesome if you could provide them.Enjoy the upgrade!

Sitting Idle in Fort Tarsis Before Upgrade ( i5 with 1660Ti)
Anthem, Idle in Tarsis, i5 4690k_1660 Ti.PNG

Sitting Idle in Fort Tarsis After Upgrade ( i7 with 1660 Ti)
Anthem, Idle in Tarsis, i7-4770k_1660 Ti.png

Really Amazing how much difference the Hyper-Threading makes in Anthem, specially considering both my i5 & i7 run at the same 3.5 Ghz

Playing Freeplay in open game Before Upgrade ( i5 with 1660 Ti)
(MSI Afterburner/Riva Tuner FPS Bench)

1552349154982.png

Freeplay in open game After Upgrade ( i7 with 1660 Ti)
(MSI Afterburner/Riva Tuner FPS Bench)

1552349325058.png

Nothing Scientific with the above Riva Tuner FPS Bench's. Personally I definitely noticed the smoother game play with the i7.
 
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