660 vs. 660ti

[Rioisbeast]

Hey guys Im doing my first build and have picked out everything but the graphics card. I feel that the best two for me would be either the 660 or the 660ti. I play Star Craft 2, Skyrim, BF3, Far Cry 3, Borderlands 2, Mass Effect 3, League of Legends, Fallout NV, and any games similar to the ones listed above. With those types of games in mind would I be able to get by with the 660 or should I go up to the 660ti.

My build:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Best Buy)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($51.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Tempest 410 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Professional 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 Full (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $771.91
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-26 17:06 EST-0500)

 

[bigshootr8]

Function
The bitrate of a graphics card refers to the amount of data the card is able to move between the GPU and the RAM with each clock cycle. This is one component of the card's overall memory throughput, or bandwidth. More bandwidth allows the card to draw to the screen more quickly and with better resolution, resulting in smoother and higher-quality images.



Read more: 128 Bit Vs. 256 Bit Graphics Card | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6767000_128-256-bit-graphics-card.html#ixzz2J8y87hAX

http://www.ehow.com/about_6767000_128-256-bit-graphics-card.html

 

[bigshootr8]

So deter I would say both.

 

[determinologyz]

Function
The bitrate of a graphics card refers to the amount of data the card is able to move between the GPU and the RAM with each clock cycle. This is one component of the card's overall memory throughput, or bandwidth. More bandwidth allows the card to draw to the screen more quickly and with better resolution, resulting in smoother and higher-quality images.



Read more: 128 Bit Vs. 256 Bit Graphics Card | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6767000_128-256-bit-graphics-card.html#ixzz2J8y87hAX

http://www.ehow.com/about_6767000_128-256-bit-graphics-card.html

Got ya..Great link to btw

 

[Rioisbeast]

So how big of an impact does the smaller memory number make?

 

[bigshootr8]

Very little I would suspect at a normal resolution but the more resolution you add the the equation I would imagine that the extra memory bandwidth would come in handy.

 

[revro]

the problem is when you have a very intensive scene like castle draco mod in skyrim. thats the only time on 1080 with ultra details and enb when i experienced severe fps drops. normally i was getting on my evga ftw 60-80average fps but when in that building overtextured area i got drops to 20-30fps and even 10-12 when i started to fly around via tfc command.

i guess if i were to buy a 2560x1440p lcd i would get from 47 to 30 average fps in most games on my 660 but would have to disable msaa to have good fps. in FC3 i am running just on fxaa with msaa on 0 and get 40-50fps and the image on my 1080 is perfectly sharp

best
revro

 

[determinologyz]

Far cry 3 is demanding that dern game but its quite fun to play..My 660ti feels weak playing it even tho its a strong card but most def i cant wait till i sink into the gtx 770

 

[bigshootr8]

The 770 should be better equipped to handle far cry 3 then the current gen cards when because its the next series after the games release. At least it feels like that is normally how it works.

 

[lostgamer_03]

If you watch this video, then it's a little unsure wether the 700 series come, or there will be a better GTX 680.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h80jaqakkKQ - GTX 680 ultra

Far Cry 3 runs perfectly fine at 1080p using a GTX 670 with ULTRA settings, 4x MSAA and HBAO. 40-50 FPS. I even made a video comparing lowest vs. highest settings and you can see in the video it's running butter smooth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnh_v55c3go - Comparison

 

[determinologyz]

If you watch this video, then it's a little unsure wether the 700 series come, or there will be a better GTX 680.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h80jaqakkKQ - GTX 680 ultra

Far Cry 3 runs perfectly fine at 1080p using a GTX 670 with ULTRA settings, 4x MSAA and HBAO. 40-50 FPS. I even made a video comparing lowest vs. highest settings and you can see in the video it's running butter smooth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnh_v55c3go - Comparison

This card is going to be nice but way to high to fit the bill

 

[bigshootr8]

Right but I would imagine that something like a 760ti would be in stronger then a 680.

 

[stantheman123]

What about the amd 7950? its a great card for the price. can be overclocked past a 680/7970. But im guessing you want nvidia which is fine. If you want nvidia clean the backyard get some Moar money and get the 670 🙂

 

[revro]

i was told by people on boards that 770 is supposed to have 384 bit bus and 3gb vram, so i would recommend to wait out 3-5 months and then you are set for years

best
revro

 

[lostgamer_03]

i was told by people on boards that 770 is supposed to have 384 bit bus and 3gb vram, so i would recommend to wait out 3-5 months and then you are set for years

best
revro

Future roofing doesn't exist, technology develops every day.

 

[bigshootr8]

I do agree that it becomes very hard to future proof something. However, with that being said typically the high end products from both AMD, and Nvidia tend to last a couple of generations with ease with the higher settings beyond that the technology has surpassed the card. Also, whats holding the pc market back right now is the console games because there hasn't been an new console in a while that has produced a decent pc port that's pushed the envelope.

 

[revro]

technology does, human limits dont. if he has an ips 2560x1440 once he get 60fps instant, it doesnt matter if next gen gives him 90 instead of 70. and till we get 1440p 120hz lcds he would be set as i said 😛

best
revro

 

[determinologyz]

i was told by people on boards that 770 is supposed to have 384 bit bus and 3gb vram, so i would recommend to wait out 3-5 months and then you are set for years

best
revro

This would be beast if thats true..I cant wait to get a 770 my self

 

[Rioisbeast]

Like I said earlier on I have to build this system now as I already purchased three parts and I cant risk waiting on them for 3 months for the 700 series to come out because they might be defective. So for this generation I get the general feeling that it would be worth it to get the 670 over the 660ti even though I will not be gaming on anything more than a 1080p monitor.

 

[determinologyz]

Like I said earlier on I have to build this system now as I already purchased three parts and I cant risk waiting on them for 3 months for the 700 series to come out because they might be defective. So for this generation I get the general feeling that it would be worth it to get the 670 over the 660ti even though I will not be gaming on anything more than a 1080p monitor.

You can still build a pc now and wait on the gpu or buy a cheap gpu to hold you over but still i think the 700 series is worth waiting untill you really itching to game just my two cents..a 670 will work but you going to think about it when the 700 series hits its called buyers remorse

 

[Rioisbeast]

So what do you recommend picking up for my pc until the new cards come out. And also any idea to when the cards are rumored to launch. I currently am running on a gt 9400 that I got like four years ago to play tf2.

 

[determinologyz]

I would say a gtx 660 for now i would say 660ti but im not to fond of its chopped memory bandwidth and rops and for price performance 660 would be a better option also i would say march april. I bought the 660ti back when they first came out and im looking to upgrade to a 770 for sure

 

[Rioisbeast]

Well is there any resale value for cards like that especially after the next series comes out?

 

[Mousemonkey]

Well is there any resale value for cards like that especially after the next series comes out?

If you keep it in good condition someone wanting to SLi will probably take it off your hands.

 

[determinologyz]

Well, You can always find someone to sell it to i mean if you not really itching to play games you could keep the gpu u have but i dont think you wanna go that route. If it was i depending on what your trying to do in the next few months i would build a pc and wait on the extra money to get a new series..Actually thats what i did when i built my pc i didnt have a gpu at the time and i went to the 660ti when they dropped

 

[linkgx1]

I would say a gtx 660 for now i would say 660ti but im not to fond of its chopped memory bandwidth and rops and for price performance 660 would be a better option also i would say march april. I bought the 660ti back when they first came out and im looking to upgrade to a 770 for sure

Is the 660 really worth getting if waiting for a new GPU, or get a AMD 7770?