GTX 660 ti, 660, or GTX 570?

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Pollux7777

Junior Member
Sep 16, 2012
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Hi everyone, new to the forum, but I've been lurking for a while. Long enough to know that you guys really know your stuff and this is the place to turn for help.

So here's the situation. I built my computer about 3 years ago, and by "built" I mean "held the flashlight" while my friend built :)

Anyway, I feel that my graphics card (GTX 285) is starting to show its age a little. It's been a great card, and still performs surpringly well considering its age, but it's a dx10 card and I want to join the dx11 generation. Before I go any further, my specs (sorry if I can't be more specific):

Intel i7 920@2.67ghz
6GB RAM
600GB hard drive
Nvidia Evga GTX 285
Windows vista home premium SP 2
700W Power supply

Basically the only game I really play is World of Warcraft. For the most part my current setup handles the game quite well. However, I like to run the graphics at ultra settings @ 1900 x 1200 res, and during big raids or in major cities the frame rate can bog down a lot. Further, the latest patch introduced some dx11 stuff.

So I come to you looking for advice on a new graphics card. My budget ideally would be no more than $250. I saw some GTX 570's for between $230-$250 on newegg, and I was leaning towards that, but then the GTX 660 was just released for about the same price. I could maybe, MAYBE convince my wife to go all the way up to $300 dollars (GTX 660 ti?), but that's a stretch.

Which would you recommend? Or do you have another suggestion entirely?

I'm not really planning to overclock, and I would like to stay with an nvidia product since I've read in several places that blizzard games perform better on nvidia cards.

Would any of the boards I suggested above be significant, noticeable upgrades? I only ask because I've seen several user reviews in newegg and similar sites where people who were in the same boat as me (GTX 285) expressed disappointment in the lack of improvement.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
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BallaTheFeared

Diamond Member
Nov 15, 2010
8,115
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71
Wait it out, this generation is a massive disappointment for many with decent cards already.

AMD should have another set out within the next few months, probably end of year beginning of next.

Also the game you're describing and the situations you're having problems with are CPU limited, chances are your problem is your cpu, not your gpu, in fact I'd bet money on it.
 
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Pollux7777

Junior Member
Sep 16, 2012
6
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Wow, really?

You don't think a newer card would bring my frame rates up?

That's..... Disappointing. :(
 
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BallaTheFeared

Diamond Member
Nov 15, 2010
8,115
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71
I think a newer platform with o/c is what you actually need. Raids with lots of people, towns with lots of people, stock 2.66GHz i7, imo you are cpu limited during those times and those times are when you've noticed a problem. What you really need is a highly clocked SB or IB i5.

Also the WoW DX11 isn't worth upgrading over at all. I'm not even sure it adds anything it just uses DX11 to optomize it giving better fps on DX11 cards running DX11 than they got running DX9.

A newer card would probably increase your fps, when you don't need it. It won't solve your raid and town problem though.


Edit: Have you considered overclocking your cpu? They clock well, and you can see for yourself if it has an impact or not.
 
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Zap

Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
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BallaTheFeared said:
I think a newer platform with o/c is what you actually need. Raids with lots of people, towns with lots of people, stock 2.66GHz i7, imo you are cpu limited during those times and those times are when you've noticed a problem. What you really need is a highly clocked SB or IB i5.
Click to expand...

This gets my vote too.

What's your upgrade budget?
 
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Pollux7777

Junior Member
Sep 16, 2012
6
0
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Well this thread sure isn't turning out the way I had hoped, haha.

These new AMD cards on the horizon... Would there be one in my price rang right at launch? Or would I need to wait an additional few months? I realize it's purely speculation at this point... But an educated guess?
 
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3DVagabond

Lifer
Aug 10, 2009
11,951
204
106
You don't appear to be into O/C'ing and you seem to prefer nVidia. I'd suggest a gtx-660 and step outside your comfort zone and O/C that 920. If you are running the stock Intel cooler, get your buddy to come over and put an aftermarket cooler on it.

If you want to keep everything stock you're going to need to update the whole platform. Games have gotten much more CPU demanding in the last couple of years.
 
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Greenlepricon

Senior member
Aug 1, 2012
468
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I would vote for upgrading now to be honest. That card is a couple of years old and WoW isn't going to need another generation of cards to run perfectly. Stay away from the 570 since the 660 is out. I like AMD but you're not going to oc so the 660 will be fine. The 660ti will be nice but I don't know how necessary it is. I also agree with overclocking the 920 like 3DVagabond suggested (This is assuming that you get the new card and it doesn't make as big of an improvement as you want). It's easy and even if you don't want to try, it's better than spending a few hundred dollars on a new system. With those two fixes your game should run beautifully.
 
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Greenlepricon

Senior member
Aug 1, 2012
468
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I think that they'll be really close, but I don't know which one wins in the end. Both should keep your frames in WoW more than high enough. Also, I don't like the last generation of nvidia cards compared to this one simply because of how much more power they use and how much heat they generate in comparison. Maybe that's just a personal preference but I think you will be happy with the newer card.
 
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Pollux7777

Junior Member
Sep 16, 2012
6
0
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I see. Well you guys have given me a lot to think about. Thanks.

I had heard that comment before (about WoW being CPU bound) but I was hoping it wasnt true.

Well shoot, I don't know what to do now. I don't really have the money to upgrade my Mobo and processor.

Looks like I'm up a creek, as they say...
 
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Greenlepricon

Senior member
Aug 1, 2012
468
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Not to sound picky but you're calling for 100+ fps here. OP only needs 60. That thread isn't too important. I think an overclock will fix your problem if you can't upgrade entirely
 
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BallaTheFeared

Diamond Member
Nov 15, 2010
8,115
0
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Greenlepricon said:
Not to sound picky but you're calling for 100+ fps here. OP only needs 60. That thread isn't too important. I think an overclock will fix your problem if you can't upgrade entirely
Click to expand...

Actually I was well below 60 at stock with the i5, 58 with it at 5.3GHz. Now imagine that same siutation with a i7-920 @ 2.6Ghz, clock for clock SB is what 17% faster. He's not even at the stock 3.5GHz speed so 40 fps - (-17% IPC + -26% Clock Speed) would be his fps in that situation.
 
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Greenlepricon

Senior member
Aug 1, 2012
468
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BallaTheFeared said:
Actually I was well below 60 at stock with the i5, 58 with it at 5.3GHz. Now imagine that same siutation with a i7-920 @ 2.6Ghz, clock for clock SB is what 17% faster. He's not even at the stock 3.5GHz speed so 40 fps - (-17% IPC + -26% Clock Speed) would be his fps in that situation.
Click to expand...

Alright fair enough. That's interesting you had such a low frame rate with such a high clock, even with the older cpu. Well I don't play WoW so I trust you in this situation.

As for results, I can't speak directly but you should be able to smooth out most of those rough spots. Overclocking is scary at first but just don't overvolt if you're really afraid of damaging your system and you'll be perfectly fine, especially if you get a nice aftermarket heatsink like the hyper 212.
 
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aaksheytalwar

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2012
3,389
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Between those cards I would choose the 7950 or 7870 :p

If it has got to be nvidia, even then no point even considering the 570, and consider 660 only if 660 ti is too expensive for you.
 
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