How will the upcoming GTX 660ti compare to current graphics cards?

[aayjaay]

I'm going to be building a gaming PC in a couple of months and I was all set on the HD 7850 however, I started reading about the upcoming release of the GTX 660ti. My question is how will this new card compare to the current ones that are going to be in its price range? I've read a lot about the 660ti but I don't really know if I can believe all of the things people are saying about it. I've heard that it's supposed to be a competitor with the HD 7800 cards but then I've also read that it's going to be a card with 10% less performance than a 670 and is going to be faster than all of the 7800 series cards? And apparently it's only going to cost ~$300?

http://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-...h-august-based-gk104-architecture-priced-299/ (another user posted this link in a similar thread)

I might be wrong when saying all of this but it would be useful to get these things clear.

 

[nenforcer]

From what I've read about the GTX 660Ti aka GK104-300 they are chopping the memory interface down to 192-bit with only 1.5GB GDDR5 memory.

It's suppose to perform better than the Radeon HD 7800 series but this remains to be seen at higher resolutions where AMD usually starts to pull ahead because of their larger frame buffers.

Most people don't have 30" LCD monitors running at 2560 x 1600, however.

 

[Red Hawk]

If it's limited to 192-bit memory bus width and 1.5 GB GDDR5 RAM, I doubt that it will surpass the 7800 series, which operates with full 256 bit memory busses and 2 GB RAM. If anything it would be a good low-cost alternative to the 7800 series if they can get the price/performance/TDP ratios down right.

 

[toyota]

If it's limited to 192-bit memory bus width and 1.5 GB GDDR5 RAM, I doubt that it will surpass the 7800 series, which operates with full 256 bit memory busses and 2 GB RAM. If anything it would be a good low-cost alternative to the 7800 series if they can get the price/performance/TDP ratios down right.

the 660ti can be 25% slower than the 670 and still match or beat the 7870. the bus width wont make much difference as 6000mhz on a 192 bit bus is only slower by like 6% compared to the 4800mhz memory on the 7870. and except for a few modded games, 1.5 to 2.0 gb of vram will likely make no difference at playable settings for that level of card.

 

[aayjaay]

I've heard that at ultra settings BF3 begins to use around 1.5gb of vram? How would it compare to something like a 7850 or a 570? Also, I've heard that with the release of this card, prices of other cards around its level would be pushed down? Is this true? Will cards in the 7800 series for example become cheaper?

 

[ShintaiDK]

I've heard that at ultra settings BF3 begins to use around 1.5gb of vram? How would it compare to something like a 7850 or a 570? Also, I've heard that with the release of this card, prices of other cards around its level would be pushed down? Is this true? Will cards in the 7800 series for example become cheaper?

People play BF3 on Ultra with 1GB fine.

 

[The_Golden_Man]

My guess is that a GTX 660ti would be about 25% slower than a GTX 670, and have 1.5GB Vram, as mentioned earlier in this thread. 1.5GB Vram should suffice for most regular gamers at 1920x1080 or 1920x1200.

This would be a very power efficient card, and would be very nice for SLI, if the price is right.

 

[aayjaay]

If it was ~25% slower than the 670, what card would it be on par with from the 7800 series - 7850 or 7870?

 

[The_Golden_Man]

If it was ~25% slower than the 670, what card would it be on par with from the 7800 series - 7850 or 7870?

Maybe between the 7870 and the 7950?

 

[aayjaay]

Maybe between the 7870 and the 7950?

Really? For a $300 card? I'm thinking in UK prices though. In the UK, a 7870 is ~£220+ when it's only ~$300 in the US and a 7950 is close to £300 here whereas in the US it's ~$350 (I looked on newegg for the US prices)

 

[toyota]

If it was ~25% slower than the 670, what card would it be on par with from the 7800 series - 7850 or 7870?

again if its 25% slower than the 670 then it will match or beat a 7870. I dont even think it will be 25% slower than the 670 though so it should easily beat the 7870 overall.

 

[The_Golden_Man]

again if its 25% slower than the 670 then it will match or beat a 7870. I dont even think it will be 25% slower than the 670 though so it should easily beat the 7870 overall.

Yeah, as I've said, my guess is it will situate itself between a 7870 and the 7950 with regards to performance.

 

[poohbear]

it better not be 10% slower than a GTX 670!!!! i just bought mine last week!

People play BF3 on Ultra with 1GB fine.

DICE employees have said @ Ultra with AA on 1gb VRAM the game starts streaming the textures, meaning it has surpassed the cards VRAM limit and needs to use system RAM. that's when stuttering starts being very evident.