Help me chose! GTX 660 vs GTX 580 vs GTX 750 Ti

[Hypnotic]

I am planning to buy a new graphics card and i cant decide which one should i buy so i am asking the comunity for an opinion. In the title, I listed three cards i have my eye on.
If you have other suggestions in that price range, feel free to let me know.
Just bear in mind that it MUST be a NVIDIA card and i'm running at 1680x1050 resolution (maybe 1920x1080 in future if i buy a new monitor) and im using it mainly for VIDEO GAMES.

Specs:
CPU: Intel i5-4440
PSU: LC Power 500W

 

[Eggz]

The 750 ti cards with a power plug perform better than normal 750 ti cards also. That puts them on par with the 660, and very close to the 660 ti. It's also newer, which is good, and about the same price. ASUS makes one with a power plug, and EVGA's "FTW" version also has a plug.

LInus Tech Tips did an episode on it. Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcrFzOpTHkw

 

[Hypnotic]

Where did you find that it puts it on par with 660? As i see, it only gets a small fps gain

 

[Hypnotic]

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GTX_750_Ti_OC/10.html

 

[Eggz]

I based it on a similar discussion that arose in another thread.

The 660 and 750 ti are pretty similar in computer performance. As for games, and as you point out above, we can see that BF4 performance at 1080 is within 5 fps. Here are the numbers I based my statements on for the computer performance being similar.

Direct comparison: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-750-Ti-vs-GeForce-G...

Here are the three numbers I relied on in saying that the 750 ti seems at least as good or better than the 660 considering overall performance and power.

(1) Linus's bench video for the 750 ti: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcrFzOpTHkw

(2) Bench comparing 660 ti vs 750 ti: http://benchmarkreviews.com/12744/nvidia-geforce-gtx-75...

(3) Bench comparing 660 ti vs 660: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-660-Ti-vs-GeForce-G...

Bench (2) above shows that the 660 ti and 750 ti are close, but the 660 ti is about 10% faster. The third bench shows that the 660 is about 15% slower than the 660 ti. So, putting benhces (2) and (3) together, you'd have to figure that the 750 ti is right on par with the 660 in game performance, and it might even be a little better. At least it's newer and more power efficient, and bench (1) above shows that the FTW version with a power plug is about 10% than a regular 750 ti. So getting a FTW 750 ti seems better than a 660 to me. Review the data, and I'll think you'll come to the same conclusion.

 

[tcb1005]

I based it on a similar discussion that arose in another thread.

The 660 and 750 ti are pretty similar in computer performance. As for games, and as you point out above, we can see that BF4 performance at 1080 is within 5 fps. Here are the numbers I based my statements on for the computer performance being similar.

Direct comparison: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-750-Ti-vs-GeForce-G...

Here are the three numbers I relied on in saying that the 750 ti seems at least as good or better than the 660 considering overall performance and power.

(1) Linus's bench video for the 750 ti: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcrFzOpTHkw

(2) Bench comparing 660 ti vs 750 ti: http://benchmarkreviews.com/12744/nvidia-geforce-gtx-75...

(3) Bench comparing 660 ti vs 660: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-660-Ti-vs-GeForce-G...

Bench (2) above shows that the 660 ti and 750 ti are close, but the 660 ti is about 10% faster. The third bench shows that the 660 is about 15% slower than the 660 ti. So, putting benhces (2) and (3) together, you'd have to figure that the 750 ti is right on par with the 660 in game performance, and it might even be a little better. At least it's newer and more power efficient, and bench (1) above shows that the FTW version with a power plug is about 10% than a regular 750 ti. So getting a FTW 750 ti seems better than a 660 to me. Review the data, and I'll think you'll come to the same conclusion.

The 750ti only has 640 shaders, compared to the 660's 960. Not to mention, the 660 has more than 65% higher memory bandwidth,Twice as many texture mapping units, and a 50% wider memory bus. There is no reason to get a 750ti over a 660 unless you want to really conserver power.

 

[Trezero]

i'd like to know your price range for a card.

 

[Spectre694]

The gtx 660 just seems too expensive near $200 for me. That's getting close to 760 territory.

I based it on a similar discussion that arose in another thread.

The 660 and 750 ti are pretty similar in computer performance. As for games, and as you point out above, we can see that BF4 performance at 1080 is within 5 fps. Here are the numbers I based my statements on for the computer performance being similar.

Direct comparison: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-750-Ti-vs-GeForce-G...

Here are the three numbers I relied on in saying that the 750 ti seems at least as good or better than the 660 considering overall performance and power.

(1) Linus's bench video for the 750 ti: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcrFzOpTHkw

(2) Bench comparing 660 ti vs 750 ti: http://benchmarkreviews.com/12744/nvidia-geforce-gtx-75...

(3) Bench comparing 660 ti vs 660: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-660-Ti-vs-GeForce-G...

Bench (2) above shows that the 660 ti and 750 ti are close, but the 660 ti is about 10% faster. The third bench shows that the 660 is about 15% slower than the 660 ti. So, putting benhces (2) and (3) together, you'd have to figure that the 750 ti is right on par with the 660 in game performance, and it might even be a little better. At least it's newer and more power efficient, and bench (1) above shows that the FTW version with a power plug is about 10% than a regular 750 ti. So getting a FTW 750 ti seems better than a 660 to me. Review the data, and I'll think you'll come to the same conclusion.

The 750ti only has 640 shaders, compared to the 660's 960. Not to mention, the 660 has more than 65% higher memory bandwidth,Twice as many texture mapping units, and a 50% wider memory bus. There is no reason to get a 750ti over a 660 unless you want to really conserver power.

You understand that just like in CPU's the architecture of the chip matters more than the amount of shaders etc?
For example (only one I could think of off the top of my head.)
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-280-vs-GeForce-GTS-450

The 280 has a significantly wider memory bus and many more shaders and should beat the 450 based on that but in real life you will notice that the two cards preform very similarly due to the better architecture of the 450.

 

[tcb1005]

The gtx 660 just seems too expensive near $200 for me. That's getting close to 760 territory.

I based it on a similar discussion that arose in another thread.

The 660 and 750 ti are pretty similar in computer performance. As for games, and as you point out above, we can see that BF4 performance at 1080 is within 5 fps. Here are the numbers I based my statements on for the computer performance being similar.

Direct comparison: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-750-Ti-vs-GeForce-G...

Here are the three numbers I relied on in saying that the 750 ti seems at least as good or better than the 660 considering overall performance and power.

(1) Linus's bench video for the 750 ti: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcrFzOpTHkw

(2) Bench comparing 660 ti vs 750 ti: http://benchmarkreviews.com/12744/nvidia-geforce-gtx-75...

(3) Bench comparing 660 ti vs 660: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-660-Ti-vs-GeForce-G...

Bench (2) above shows that the 660 ti and 750 ti are close, but the 660 ti is about 10% faster. The third bench shows that the 660 is about 15% slower than the 660 ti. So, putting benhces (2) and (3) together, you'd have to figure that the 750 ti is right on par with the 660 in game performance, and it might even be a little better. At least it's newer and more power efficient, and bench (1) above shows that the FTW version with a power plug is about 10% than a regular 750 ti. So getting a FTW 750 ti seems better than a 660 to me. Review the data, and I'll think you'll come to the same conclusion.

The 750ti only has 640 shaders, compared to the 660's 960. Not to mention, the 660 has more than 65% higher memory bandwidth,Twice as many texture mapping units, and a 50% wider memory bus. There is no reason to get a 750ti over a 660 unless you want to really conserver power.

You understand that just like in CPU's the architecture of the chip matters more than the amount of shaders etc?
For example (only one I could think of off the top of my head.)
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-280-vs-GeForce-GTS-450

The 280 has a significantly wider memory bus and many more shaders and should beat the 450 based on that but in real life you will notice that the two cards preform very similarly due to the better architecture of the 450.

NVIDIA themselves have said that while there will be a performance increase, Maxwell is designed primarily for reducing power usage.

 

[Spectre694]

The gtx 660 just seems too expensive near $200 for me. That's getting close to 760 territory.

I based it on a similar discussion that arose in another thread.

The 660 and 750 ti are pretty similar in computer performance. As for games, and as you point out above, we can see that BF4 performance at 1080 is within 5 fps. Here are the numbers I based my statements on for the computer performance being similar.

Direct comparison: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-750-Ti-vs-GeForce-G...

Here are the three numbers I relied on in saying that the 750 ti seems at least as good or better than the 660 considering overall performance and power.

(1) Linus's bench video for the 750 ti: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcrFzOpTHkw

(2) Bench comparing 660 ti vs 750 ti: http://benchmarkreviews.com/12744/nvidia-geforce-gtx-75...

(3) Bench comparing 660 ti vs 660: http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-660-Ti-vs-GeForce-G...

Bench (2) above shows that the 660 ti and 750 ti are close, but the 660 ti is about 10% faster. The third bench shows that the 660 is about 15% slower than the 660 ti. So, putting benhces (2) and (3) together, you'd have to figure that the 750 ti is right on par with the 660 in game performance, and it might even be a little better. At least it's newer and more power efficient, and bench (1) above shows that the FTW version with a power plug is about 10% than a regular 750 ti. So getting a FTW 750 ti seems better than a 660 to me. Review the data, and I'll think you'll come to the same conclusion.

The 750ti only has 640 shaders, compared to the 660's 960. Not to mention, the 660 has more than 65% higher memory bandwidth,Twice as many texture mapping units, and a 50% wider memory bus. There is no reason to get a 750ti over a 660 unless you want to really conserver power.

You understand that just like in CPU's the architecture of the chip matters more than the amount of shaders etc?
For example (only one I could think of off the top of my head.)
http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-280-vs-GeForce-GTS-450

The 280 has a significantly wider memory bus and many more shaders and should beat the 450 based on that but in real life you will notice that the two cards preform very similarly due to the better architecture of the 450.

NVIDIA themselves have said that while there will be a performance increase, Maxwell is designed primarily for reducing power usage.

True but there is an increase and with some partners the power has been upped to further increase the performance at the cost of some efficiency. If you go back to eggz's post and read it you will see his logic is pretty sound. The specific 750TI(EVGA FTW) with its added power should be slightly(approx 10%) faster than the 660 regardless of the primary focus of reducing power consumption.

 

[Eggz]

The 750ti only has 640 shaders, compared to the 660's 960. Not to mention, the 660 has more than 65% higher memory bandwidth,Twice as many texture mapping units, and a 50% wider memory bus. There is no reason to get a 750ti over a 660 unless you want to really conserver power.

That's all true. It's also why the becharks are impressive. The main difference is that the 750s have an entirely different processor. So less cores and shaders can achieve better results per core and shader than previous generations. That's the point of efficiency. It's also an example of why video card specs aren't supposed to be compared on paper between generations. The bench marks are what matters. When it comes down to performance, the 750 ti with a power plug falls between the 660 and 660 ti - regardless of what the spec papers say.

 

[RobCrezz]

The 660 is weak for the price. It is hindered by it's 192bit bus. And this is coming from a person who owns one!

and which card would you buy for that money?

Personally, I wish I would have purchased a Radeon 7870. But those have their price so inflated now, and since you want NVIDIA, I would suggest that you buy the 580.

But i dont really like buying that much old cards such as 580. How exactly do you feel that it's hindered by 192bit bus width?

The GPU can't access the memory as fast as it would as say if it had a 256 bit bus. Also, I wish it had more CUDA cores. That being said, I can max almost all new games at 1920x1080. I ran the Batman Archam origins benchmark and averaged 49fps, which is perfectly playable to me.

You should use Kepler golden bios for a boost and also overclock your vram. I have the 660 OEM which is a different chip (gk104) but has the same 192bit bus, I managed to overclock my vram from 5.8Ghz to 7.2Ghz, makes a huge difference in performance because of the 192bit bottlneck.

 

[Hypnotic]

But all of you wrote that 750 ti falls between 660 and 660 ti and i havent seen a single benchmark proving that. Every benchmark i've seen shows that 750ti with power plug has lower fps in games than 660.

 

[Hypnotic]

i'd like to know your price range for a card.

Well, i cant quite tell you the exact price range cuz of the currency/market differences but i can afford myself a card with price around the price of gtx 660

 

[PRASHANTH_TRO]

Hi, I have an i7 3770 3.4Ghz. If I upgrade RAM to 12 GB or 16 GB, what would be the FPS for GTX 750 ti and GTX 660 at Ultra, 1080P on GTA V? Will it achieve 60FPS on both the GPUs?