tweaktown review GTX660Ti

[SolMiester]

Not seeing that at all, at $300 this card is a stinker with the 7950 going for $300.

The 7950 is a faster card all round. Never mind if this card's AA performance seen here remains consistent in other reviews it's going to get the thumbs down as a $300 card that tanks running anti-aliasing. I mean really now, anti-aliasing is at the point where it is a necessity. Even casual gamer/non-enthusiasts use the feature and want it. Games are jagged and covered in crawlies without it.

I thought it was a $200 or $250 card, $300.....

When is this card out, this Thursday or next Tuesday I would guess ?

Ahhh, no, I have never used AA, probably because I have never purchased such a powerful card to play games with...I cant say I notice the jaggies when Im playing the game?!

 

[SirPauly]

WoW! I wish I was you -- aliasing stabs my pupils.

 

[RussianSensation]

Ahhh, no, I have never used AA, probably because I have never purchased such a powerful card to play games with...I cant say I notice the jaggies when Im playing the game?!

You seriously can't notice bent/staircase lines in games without AA?

Anti-Aliasing Part 1
Anti-Aliasing Part 2

Without anti-aliasing sometimes it's a shimmering mess (Crysis 1 vegetation). In darker games such as Metro 2033, Doom 3, it's not as big of a deal but in wide open bright games, a game looks really bad without AA unless you sit pretty far from the monitor. With consoles, this isn't that bad since many play 7-10 feet away but on the PC where we are so close to the monitor and our pixel pitch is much higher, anti-aliasing is especially noticeable.

 

[ocre]

What a terrible list of games. I'm pretty sure people want to see Battlefield 3 results. I want to see overclocking results to see how this compares to the 7950. The 7950 is an absolute monster once overclocked and it'll probably be hard for the GTX 660 to compete with its 192bit memory bus.

I dont think there will be much of a contest. I fully expect the 7950 to be a better overclocker. Hands down. If thats your thing, the 7950 should be the choice for you. But then you have the pricing.

I dont know where people are getting that the 7950 is at 300$. Its not. more like 349. If the 660 cost the same as the 7950, the 7950 should be the choice for most of use here. That would be great but.....

the 7950 isnt 300 and we dont know what the 660ti will list for at a real etailer. It could be less than 299. at the 299 price, the 7950 cost at least 15% more than the 660, up to 20%. Then you see that there is no clear cut 7950 win at all. For the majority of people the 660 looks like a good deal. Maybe not for enthusiast who will overclock to the max, but for the majority.

but....we dont know the 660ti pricing at all. it could be less than 299. This would be really be disruptive.

Anyway though, the 7950 goes for a lot higher than 300$. more like $350

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...hd7950&x=0&y=0

sure there are a couple of lower rebates to clear stock. But in no way is it a 300$ GPU as of yet

 

[RussianSensation]

It's not about me since I already bought a card this round. I am also not debating that this card will make $ for NV in terms of financials. We are talking about how this card would stack up against an HD7950 for potential buyers. Look at it any way you want: stock vs. stock, overclocked vs. overclocked.

Put it up against an 880mhz MSI TF3 and it's clear NV is delivering way less here. Less VRAM, less AA performance, less overclocking performance/scaling, and most likely budget PCB/VRM design since it will use the same PCB of the 670. Aftermarket versions will probably cost very similar to an aftermarket 7950.

From a technical perspective, 7950 is a slightly neutered 7970 (flagship card) but it retains the full ROPs and memory bus width, while GTX660Ti is a 3-way neutered GK104. Again, NV is delivering less to the consumer even from a technical perspective, which means it'll be impossible to get flagship performance out of this card since it's physically too neutered against the flagship GK104 chip. And honestly, being able to crank AA is a big deal when considering buying ~$300 GPUs.

Your argument is circular in nature as I've seen many times here. You say GTX660Ti is good enough since it wins in some older games (imo shader heavy titles such as Metro 2033 and AvP should count more than FC2 and JC2 since where you really want the extra performance is when the GPU is struggling). If we ignore strong performance in demanding titles, ignore AA as suddenly a "bonus" feature, well in that case HD7850 is good enough since without AA, it can play modern games plenty fast for $220 at 1080P.

Also, let's not forget GTX660Ti is 6.5 months late after HD7950 launched and 5.5 months after HD7870 launched. Generally speaking it's not really "bringing it" if you launch a card that can't even beat a 6 months old competitor by a good 10-15% (or you undercut it a lot). At least Fermi GTX470/GTX480 brought a ton of overclocking headroom over the 5850/5870, more VRAM and added tessellation performance. Here the 660Ti brings none of those advantages over the 7950 and it doesn't look like it'll be much cheaper either.

 

[RussianSensation]

Oops dp.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I dont think there will be much of a contest. I fully expect the 7950 to be a better overclocker. Hands down. If thats your thing, the 7950 should be the choice for you. But then you have the pricing.

I dont know where people are getting that the 7950 is at 300$. Its not. more like 349. If the 660 cost the same as the 7950, the 7950 should be the choice for most of use here. That would be great but.....

the 7950 isnt 300 and we dont know what the 660ti will list for at a real etailer. It could be less than 299. at the 299 price, the 7950 cost at least 15% more than the 660, up to 20%. Then you see that there is no clear cut 7950 win at all. For the majority of people the 660 looks like a good deal. Maybe not for enthusiast who will overclock to the max, but for the majority.

but....we dont know the 660ti pricing at all. it could be less than 299. This would be really be disruptive.

Anyway though, the 7950 goes for a lot higher than 300$. more like $350

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...hd7950&x=0&y=0

sure there are a couple of lower rebates to clear stock. But in no way is it a 300$ GPU as of yet

You have to read the threads. Just a few days agoi the MSI Twin Frozr 7950 was $309

I don't get how anyone who isn't insane will say a GTX 660ti is a good buy at $299

 

[thilanliyan]

I dont think there will be much of a contest. I fully expect the 7950 to be a better overclocker. Hands down. If thats your thing, the 7950 should be the choice for you. But then you have the pricing.

I dont know where people are getting that the 7950 is at 300$. Its not. more like 349. If the 660 cost the same as the 7950, the 7950 should be the choice for most of use here. That would be great but.....

the 7950 isnt 300 and we dont know what the 660ti will list for at a real etailer. It could be less than 299. at the 299 price, the 7950 cost at least 15% more than the 660, up to 20%. Then you see that there is no clear cut 7950 win at all. For the majority of people the 660 looks like a good deal. Maybe not for enthusiast who will overclock to the max, but for the majority.

but....we dont know the 660ti pricing at all. it could be less than 299. This would be really be disruptive.

Anyway though, the 7950 goes for a lot higher than 300$. more like $350

Actually, I got my 7950 for $310 without the $20 rebate, and I've seen them for $300 with a $20 rebate on top of that. So the 7950 would be a much better buy if this card is at $300.

 

[thilanliyan]

$300 ?! Too much.

Once this is released and other sites are reviewing, if these AA performance #s hold up, this card will get less than stellar reviews over that poor AA performance.

That depends on what games and settings are recommended in the nvidia review kit lol..who knows, it might be crowned the best card since the 8800gt.

 

[SickBeast]

Actually, I got my 7950 for $310 without the $20 rebate, and I've seen them for $300 with a $20 rebate on top of that. So the 7950 would be a much better buy if this card is at $300.

I've seen the 7950 going for $290 and that's before the GTX 660 even comes out. The 7950 will stay below $300, I can pretty much guarantee it. Heck, even the 7970 has been as cheap as $339 and I think it even came with 6 games at that price.

 

[3DVagabond]

When we talk pricing we also compare lowest prices. If we want to use Avg. or whatever, then the 670 isn't $400 and the 680 isn't $500.

The jury is still out on this card. We need a better benchmark suite and a more in depth review before we draw any real conclusions. From this review though, it isn't overwhelming once you take all of the factors into account.

To eliminate inconsistencies and manufacturer bias in the benchmark suite and settings, let's compare it with the 670 in games. We already know how the 670/80 stack up against the 7950/70 in virtually every metric and circumstance.

I'll use 1920*1200 w/AA, since it's most likely a general setting for this level of card.

• 
  Mafia II 670 = 80fps 660ti = 73fps 670 is ~9.6% faster Dx9
  AvP 670 = 53fps 660ti = 42fps 670 is ~26% faster Dx11
  FC2 670 = 121fps 660ti = 96fps 670 is ~26% faster Dx10
  Metro 670 = 61fps 660ti = 50fps 670 is ~22% faster Dx11
  JC2 670 = 82fps 660ti = 70fps 670 is ~17% faster Dx10

Overall the 670 is ~20% faster w/AA @ 1920*1200. Unless the 660ti is a better O/C'er, and why would it be, that gap is likely going to stay consistent.

 

[Durvelle27]

take a look at this

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Evga-GTX_660_Ti-GeForce-Kepler-gpu,16453.html#xtor=RSS-998

 

[Siberian]

I would reccomend the 660 over the 7950 simply for the better game support. Although I do want to read an official review.

 

[chimaxi83]

I would reccomend the 660 over the 7950 simply for the better game support. Although I do want to read an official review.

Lol what are you talking about? I understand fanboyism, but let's not make things up bro.

 

[Phynaz]

I'm still looking forward to this card. The reported 150w power is just where I need to be.

 

[3DVagabond]

I'm still looking forward to this card. The reported 150w power is just where I need to be.

Yes, the 2x 6pin connectors is confusing though for only a 150w TDP.

 

[thilanliyan]

I would reccomend the 660 over the 7950 simply for the better game support. Although I do want to read an official review.

Umm...you say that as if the radeon card would refuse to work for certain games. Almost like how my Nvidia 8800gts refused to work with splinter cell double agent back when that game came out...literally...the game refused to start. So much for better game support huh?

Before anyone takes that personally, my very next card was a 8800gt so it didn't put me off nvidia. I'm just pointing out how ridiculous Siberian's statement is IMO.

 

[Destiny]

take a look at this

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Evga-GTX_660_Ti-GeForce-Kepler-gpu,16453.html#xtor=RSS-998

WOW! EVGA is really riding on that VHS Tape look!

 

[llee]

Yes, the 2x 6pin connectors is confusing though for only a 150w TDP.

TDP ≠ Power Consumption

If this card is built like a GTX670 in the same way the HD5830 was to the HD5870, we might be looking at ~160w numbers again.

 

[Phynaz]

TDP ≠ Power Consumption

In this case it's close enough to be the same.

 

[3DVagabond]

TDP ≠ Power Consumption

If this card is built like a GTX670 in the same way the HD5830 was to the HD5870, we might be looking at ~160w numbers again.

You're right. It should be less. Why claim 150w though?

You're point that since it's the same chip as the 670/80 it would have similar power requirements is a good one. :thumbsup:

 

[SirPauly]

Lol what are you talking about? I understand fanboyism, but let's not make things up bro.

Is it?

Look at the support between the GTX 2XX series compared to the HD 4XXX series -- GTX 2XX series are still receiving features.

 

[chimaxi83]

Is it?

Look at the support between the GTX 2XX series compared to the HD 4XXX series -- GTX 2XX series are still receiving features.

I'm sorry, are we talking about 7950's and 660's, 2012 cards, or old 2008 equipment? :\

 

[SirPauly]

Sure gamers with dated equipment don't count.

 

[chimaxi83]

Sure gamers with dated equipment don't count.

I know the NV team will say anything to have their equipment in the best light, but exactly where does

I would reccomend the 660 over the 7950 simply for the better game support. Although I do want to read an official review.

mention outdated equipment? He mentioned a 660 and a 7950. I put them in bold font for you, in case you missed them.