GTX 660, SLI or sell off for bigger?

[Blue_Max]

I enjoy games and run Folding@Home when not gaming...

I have a 4670k and GTX 660... games are plenty fast enough, but I find myself in a situation where I could use a second machine for a short time and I could put a 660 into it, then SLI them in the big machine once the 10 weeks are over.

BUT apparently F@H hates SLI...

Any big reason not to get a cheap 660 and call it a day?

 

[steve wilson]

I looked into getting a second 6970 for my rig ... you need to make sure your PSU can handle it. It needs to have all the power connectors for 2 cards and at least 750w. Then you need to make sure you have good air flow in your case to keep them cool. Another problem could be if you decide to upgrade from 1080p (assuming that is your res now?) the 2GB of RAM won't be enough. Another factor is the drivers for the latest games sometimes take more time to make SLI work properly or optimally. Unless you already have the PSU requirements (I would of had to upgraded mine) and are OK with waiting for drivers for the latest games then I would get a better single card.

 

[guskline]

Blue Max: I have 2 GTX 660s in SLI in rig2 below in my sig. VERY fast game play. I don't fold so I can't speak on them in that regard. Bang for the buck 2 gtx 660s in SLI are hard to beat. As to a PSU the GTX660 sips power compared to a 6970 and Nvidia is constantly upgrading drivers for SLI profiles for the 600 and 700 series cards.

 

[Blue_Max]

Sure I'd take a loss selling the card, but I'd be spending the same $175 cash regardless...

...there's one upswing to getting a single, faster card - and that's that it'll use less power than two 660's in SLI (so sayeth the great Power Supply Calculator!) ...which means I won't need to buy a new PSU.

I think I'm sold on the single card route... IF I can sell my 660 without too painful of a loss.

 

[Hauk]

What would you buy?

 

[EliteRetard]

Get a 7950/7970 while still on clearance for $175, better than a low end SLI setup.

 

[Blue_Max]

Get a 7950/7970 while still on clearance for $175, better than a low end SLI setup.

That's what I had in mind - though I haven't seen any THAT cheap anywhere!

Between better OpenCL and Folding@home - that's reason enough. Then, there's the possibility that Mantle may be a very big deal, I'll be ready for that too!

 

[Blue_Max]

Dang... even with a dropped price I'm just not getting any nibbles!

I might have to go the SLI route just because I can't sell the 660 without losing too much $!

 

[Hauk]

Dang... even with a dropped price I'm just not getting any nibbles!

I might have to go the SLI route just because I can't sell the 660 without losing too much $!

ebay? Buy it now or auction style? I just checked completed listings, $150-$160 average selling price for used 2GB. People are not jumping on Buy it Now like years past, they "watch" an item, continue looking them come back I think. Always a lowballer emailing it seems. Auction style is a waiting game, with noobs bidding first. Good pics of everything included, price range I mentioned with free shipping. Too much competition to expect anything more.

 

[guskline]

Get a 7950/7970 while still on clearance for $175, better than a low end SLI setup.

Have you seen the performance of GTX660s in SLI ? Better than a "low end" SLI setup ? I'll let the 3D Mark (2013) Advanced Edition performance numbers for my"low end" SLI set up of GTX660s in rig 2 speak for itself.
Stock settings for my EVGA FTX660OC/MSI Frozen 660

Regular FireStrike
Overall - 8102
Graphic - 9812
Physics - 12089
Combined - 2892

Extreme Firestrike
O - 4221
G - 4532
P - 12070
C - 1696

OC settings that I run the cards at using EVGA Precision
+40 on the core and +200 on the memory
Regular Firestrike
O - 8479
G - 10308
P - 12070
C - 3054

Extreme Firestrike
O - 4445
G - 4793
P - 12058
C - 1785

I wonder what the scores for a single 7970 would be???? Even the Ghz edition????

Maybe this link will help! http://us.hardware.info/reviews/390...d-with-the-new-benchmarks-results-fire-strike

Using my licensed Extreme PSU calculator your rig with a 7950 would need 326W and for 2 660s 426 W

 

[HeavyClocker]

I would go with SLI.
Multi Card setups are working better now.Also You don't have to worry about selling your 660.

 

[Martrox]

Just sold 2 gtx660's....SLi (and crossfire) just doesn't work on so many titles.

 

[Blue_Max]

Sure glad you chimed in Martrox! I think I might just keep the 660 in this secondary box and grab a 7950 deal for my main rig. Same $200 price... then again... Black friday is coming!

It galls me a little though... I wish SLI worked as well as one would imagine it would... like the Voodoo2 days.

 

[wilds]

The 7950 isn't a huge boost in performance from you 660. I would SLI or sell and get a cheap/used 780 or R9 290

 

[EliteRetard]

Nobody has even mentioned the limited 1.5GB of VRAM on the 660...

 

[Blue_Max]

Wha?? It came with 2GB but it can't use it all???

 

[Seba]

Not quite.

 

[guskline]

Some GTX 660 sli reviews:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...660-sli-vs-gtx-680-subjective-comparison.html

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_geforce_gtx_660_twinfrozr_iii_review,24.html

http://www.ocaholic.ch/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=844

http://alienbabeltech.com/main/gtx-660-sli-vs-gtx-680-vs-hd-7970-ghz-value-performance-evaluation/

I'll let these reviewers speak for themselves.

 

[Hdgamer]

Why does someone always have to chime in with OMG it's so Vram limited. LOL, it's a low end gpu that wouldn't even be able to push the pixels through the gpu horsepower anyways to use the vram. I'm sure the engineers designed the card to have less vram because of this. LOL

I say single card for todays games. Just because the GPU's are becoming more and more powerful and only a few games need multicard configurations to run them at max settings anymore unless going very high resolutions....

 

[Seba]

GTX 660 is not low end.

 

[parvadomus]

Its low-mid end actually. I would get a 7970GE and OC it, good way to avoid SLI issues. Or wait for custom 290s, that things will be price/performance beasts.

 

[Seba]

More like middle range.

 

[Blue_Max]

More like middle range.

Exactly. Technically, I don't NEED another card because this 660 plays EVERYTHING at max 1080P. I was just in a situation where I could use a second computer for a while. If I purchased a second 660 I could throw it in machine #2 for my kids to use. After 8-9 weeks, I could then reclaim the machine and SLI them in the "big" machine.

An ideal situation IF, and only IF, SLI works as advertised and works perfectly!

If there's a ton of games it won't cooperate with (and it seems there is) I might be better off later on just giving this 660 to my kids (a helluva' present!) and get myself something bigger. If Black Friday yields a great deal on a monster card, that's what I'll do.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

If there's a ton of games it won't cooperate with (and it seems there is) I might be better off later on just giving this 660 to my kids (a helluva' present!) and get myself something bigger. If Black Friday yields a great deal on a monster card, that's what I'll do. Blue_Max is online now Report Post

IMO the most sensible thing to do...I am waiting for 290 after market myself, or if cheap enough 780. However, I can wait for a few months...no rush as the games I am currently playing are doing just fine on a 7870 Hawk.

The Wife

 

[EliteRetard]

Why does someone always have to chime in with OMG it's so Vram limited. LOL, it's a low end gpu that wouldn't even be able to push the pixels through the gpu horsepower anyways to use the vram. I'm sure the engineers designed the card to have less vram because of this. LOL

*snip*

In a single card configuration it might not have the horsepower to use all the VRAM, but in SLI you double that power without doubling the VRAM. In SLI 1.5GB could become a bottleneck, in fact some games utilize more than 2GB VRAM.