GTX 660 vs Radeon HD 7850

[AlexS_32817]

I am interested on upgrading my GPU.

My current rig is the following:

Mobo: ASUS P8Z77-V LE PLUS
CPU: Intel i7 3.4Ghz OC to 4.3Ghz
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60
GPU: XVGA GTX 550 Ti 2GB
Boot HDD: OCZ Vertex 3 120Gb
2nd HDD: Seagate 500GB SATA3 7200
3rd HDD: Seagate 1TB SATA3 7200
LG CD/DVD writer

I am interested on swapping my GPU for either the GTX 660 or the Radeon HD 7850. My price range is $200 +/- 15, if at all possible.
I have been researching the HIS Radeon HD 7850 2GB GDDR5 256-bit IceQ X Turbo for $209.99.
Also the MSI GeForce GTX 660 N660 2GD5/OC Video Card - 2GB GDDR5 for $209.99 (-$30 rebate)

I believe the MSI card is not the 660 Ti, as it doesn't say Ti. So I assume the 7850 IceQ Turbo X is the faster card.

 

[imomun]

EVGA GTX 660 SC my vote
Coming from the GTX 550 Ti its a Good upgrade.
Thanks

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

7850.... EVERY TIME...

All the best Brett

 

[Onus]

Tough call. If you have any interest in running multiple cards, get the GTX660; FCAT testing has revealed that Crossfire is [badly] broken and a fix isn't expected before July. Otoh, if you have any interest in Bitcoin mining (before the ASIC miners come online), the HD7850 is the only way to go. For games, however, the HD7850 competes with the GTX650Ti Boost (and loses more often than it wins), so it will pretty much always lose to the GTX660.

 

[17seconds]

This isn't even a competition, the 7850 compares with a GTX 650 Ti Boost. The GTX 660 is closer to the 7870 level of performance.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_650_Ti_Boost_Direct_Cu_II/26.html

 

[Onus]

^That, if your concern is games. If it is other things (e.g. bitmining), you'll need to check other benchmarks.

 

[AlexS_32817]

Tough call. If you have any interest in running multiple cards, get the GTX660; FCAT testing has revealed that Crossfire is [badly] broken and a fix isn't expected before July. Otoh, if you have any interest in Bitcoin mining (before the ASIC miners come online), the HD7850 is the only way to go. For games, however, the HD7850 competes with the GTX650Ti Boost (and loses more often than it wins), so it will pretty much always lose to the GTX660.

I am looking for a faster FPS on games. I just feel as if the GPU is the one holding back my system. I will use it to RIP DVD\BD also, which I know most of the programs will use the GPU instead of the CPU. I am ripping all my kids movies and our adult movies into our NAS for DLNA viewing throughout the house, and I am feeling that it is taking too long. I am seeing my CPU go to 100% in all 8-cores and my GPU go pretty much to 100% also. So I am hoping that a faster GPU will help with that also. We have gathered so many movies through the years, plus it seems like all the cousins are giving them their old movies when they were kids.

I am happy with how it looks in the games that I play, but I am pretty sure a better video card will move even better.

 

[AlexS_32817]

This isn't even a competition, the 7850 compares with a GTX 650 Ti Boost. The GTX 660 is closer to the 7870 level of performance.

I am comparing them more in the $dollar than their performance. As I can get them both locally at Tiger Direct for about the same price +/- $15. They are both in the $200 range. Found an MSI GeForce GTX 660 2GB GDDR5 for $180, same but EVGA for $205, same MSI twin fan for $210, and same EVGA twin fan for $220. And the Radeon 7850 in Saphire (which I have heard horror) for $185, VisionTek and XFX for $199, ASUS and MSI for $210, Gigabyte for $215. The found some on Newegg which is the IceQ X Turbo 2GB 256-bit version for $215.

 

[Onus]

Well then, it sounds as though your ripping software uses CUDA processing. If it is not also able to use OpenCL, then you'll want to stick with a nVidia card.
As you can see from the chart, any of the cards that have been mentioned would be a significant improvement over your GTX550Ti.

 

[thdarkshadow]

Get the 660. If you want more performance later you will be able to sli. With amd cards crossfire is horrible. I had a 660 back about a month and it was pretty sweet. The only reason I returned it was because with the 7950 I got free games making it the same price as the 660. My vote is the 660 by far. 7850 is nice from what I hear it is just not as good

 

[AlexS_32817]

Here is a twist, it seems I have a little bigger budget for this, so how would the GTX 660 Ti compare? Still stick to GTX type or look into a different Radeon; 7870? Is nVidia GTX a better GPU?

 

[Onus]

Well, if you go by matto's chart, you'll see that the GTX660Ti is stronger than the HD7870 for games.

 

[mohit9206]

but then 660ti is also more expensive. it seems amd has an upper hand in this generation of video cards. so going for amd card is the best choice to make. look at this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMkhafTMPcc

 

[17seconds]

Get the most card you can afford to help rule out buyer's regret down the road when newer games come out. As a special consideration decide if you have any desire to play any GPU accelerated PhysX games: Borderlands 2, Metro Last Light, the new Star Trek, Hawken, Planetside 2, the Batman: Arkham series, Lost Planet 3, Mafia 2, etc. If so, then get the GTX 660 Ti.

 

[Onus]

YouTube is blocked at work.
AFAIK, GTX650Ti < HD7790 < HD7850 <= GTX650Ti Boost < GTX660 < HD7870

 

[jessterman21]

AFAIK, GTX650Ti < HD7790 < HD7850 <= GTX650Ti Boost < GTX660 < HD7870

^This

 

[AlexS_32817]

Well, thanks for the input. I know I started with a budget of $200 ± $15, but I was able to run into a golden egg that got me another $100 so I decided to start looking up in the Ti or Boost or the higher end Radeon's. I already own an EVGA GTX 550 Ti 2GB, so I am familiar with their product and I can't say anything negative about it. Even though for the last 10 years I have always had Radeon type GPUs, and before that it Matrox, I decided to jump into the nVidia processors as it seemed like it made sense for what I do at home; internet, very little gaming, but some, and DVD/BD rip from personal discs so my kids stop scratching the originals and nVidia with the CUDA was able to serve that purpose better than Radeon was; as Radeon was strickly using my CPU.

So my choice has been:

EVGA Geforce GTX 660 Ti FTW Signature2 02G-P4-3664-KR Video Card - 2GB GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0(x16), 1x Dual-link DVI-I, 1x
Dual-link DVI-D, 1x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI, DirectX 11, SLI Ready, Dual-Slot

which I found it at TigerDirect for $299 - $10 rebate with free shipping, so it's a little under budget.

Unless someone can point me to a better choice for the same GTX 660 Ti 2GB by MSI, HSI, ASUS, Galaxy, Gigabyte, etc.. I'll be ordering this card next week.

The card has the following specs:
Performance
1344 CUDA Cores
1046 MHz Base Clock
1124 MHz Boost Clock
117.15GT/s Texture Fill Rate

Memory
2048 MB, 192 bit GDDR5
6008 MHz (effective)
144.19 GB/s Memory Bandwidth

 

[AlexS_32817]

Galaxy has this GTX 660 Ti for $315 ($290 after rebate), and I can get it locally. Between EVGA and Galaxy?

Galaxy GeForce GTX 660 Ti GC 66NNH7DV6WXZ Video Card - 3GB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0(x16), 2x Dual-link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort, DirectX 11, SLI Ready, Overclocked

 

[17seconds]

The Signature 2 is the best one from EVGA as it upgrades the cooler to something with dual fans.

Others to consider around the same price off Tiger Direct are listed below. They all feature upgraded components and improved cooling. I would love to have that MSI PE or Asus OC in my rig. The Galaxy card with 3GB for the same price is very tempting.

MSI Power Edition/OC
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4805058&CatId=7387

Asus DirectCU OC
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3907660&CatId=7387

Or you can bump up to the 3GB Galaxy OC for the same price
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3693123&CatId=7387

Even the lowest priced Zotac AMP! card is really nice
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4368605&CatId=7387

 

[17seconds]

Galaxy has this GTX 660 Ti for $315 ($290 after rebate), and I can get it locally. Between EVGA and Galaxy?

Galaxy GeForce GTX 660 Ti GC 66NNH7DV6WXZ Video Card - 3GB, GDDR5, PCI-Express 3.0(x16), 2x Dual-link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort, DirectX 11, SLI Ready, Overclocked

I would definitely get the Galaxy with the extra memory. Due to the more symmetrical architecture of the memory subsystem, the 3GB cards are able to operate at faster speeds without the limits imposed by the asymmetrical 2GB versions.

HardOCP really liked the Galaxy card.
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/08/16/galaxy_geforce_gtx_660_ti_gc_3gb_video_card_review/#.UWhyCHChDFI

 

[Onus]

If you are not playing a lot of games, just using CUDA, a GTX660Ti is probably overkill. Coming from a GTX550Ti, even the GTX650Ti Boost Edition is a substantial upgrade, offering double the performance of what you have. I do agree with Matto though about getting what you can afford. If it's more than you need right now, then you just bought yourself some future-resistance, whereas if it barely meets your needs, you'll be upgrading again (and spending more money) maybe in a matter of only months.