Should I return the GTX 660 for a 670?

[Guest]

I just completed my first build last week and im regretting buying the Asus GTX 660 already and thinking I should have just bought a 670. Thing is, the 670's werent on sale when I bought it and now they are. The 660 was 219...id have to pay a 15% restock because I cut the upc off already...is it worth it to take it back and grab the Gigabyte GTX 670 OC at 389.99? (Keep in mind the prices are slightly inflated as im in Canada).

Does the performance boost justify the cost? This is a gaming rig and id like it to last awhile...

 

[soccerguy271]

Well, just based on performance I would go with it. But calculated out it comes to,
219*.85 = 186.15
so
389.99- 186.15 = 203.84
So you are paying an extra 200$ for around a %30 percent performance boost (based on this comparison). Other than that, look up the benchmarks for the games you play and decide if that 200 difference is worth it to you. Just a little note is that regardless of what you buy now, it will not be on top for very long. Nothing is "Futureproof". But that also doesn't mean that your card will be a hunk of plastic in three months, it will still run games, just not max them out.
Without further ado, here are the benchmarks:
Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTX 660 140 Watts
Geforce GTX 670 170 Watts
Difference: 30 Watts (21%)
Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the Geforce GTX 670 should perform quite a bit faster than the GeForce GTX 660 in general. (explain)

Geforce GTX 670 192000 MB/sec
GeForce GTX 660 144192 MB/sec
Difference: 47808 (33%)
Texel Rate

The Geforce GTX 670 will be much (approximately 31%) faster with regards to texture filtering than the GeForce GTX 660. (explain)
Geforce GTX 670 102480 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTX 660 78400 Mtexels/sec
Difference: 24080 (31%)
Pixel Rate

If using a high resolution is important to you, then the Geforce GTX 670 is a better choice, by a large margin. (explain)
Geforce GTX 670 29280 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTX 660 23520 Mpixels/sec
Difference: 5760 (24%)
Please note that the above 'benchmarks' are all just theoretical

 

[soccerguy271]

Well, just based on performance I would go with it. But calculated out it comes to,
219*.85 = 186.15
so
389.99- 186.15 = 203.84
So you are paying an extra 200$ for around a %30 percent performance boost (based on this comparison). Other than that, look up the benchmarks for the games you play and decide if that 200 difference is worth it to you. Just a little note is that regardless of what you buy now, it will not be on top for very long. Nothing is "Futureproof". But that also doesn't mean that your card will be a hunk of plastic in three months, it will still run games, just not max them out.
Without further ado, here are the benchmarks:
Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTX 660 140 Watts
Geforce GTX 670 170 Watts
Difference: 30 Watts (21%)
Memory Bandwidth

Theoretically speaking, the Geforce GTX 670 should perform quite a bit faster than the GeForce GTX 660 in general. (explain)

Geforce GTX 670 192000 MB/sec
GeForce GTX 660 144192 MB/sec
Difference: 47808 (33%)
Texel Rate

The Geforce GTX 670 will be much (approximately 31%) faster with regards to texture filtering than the GeForce GTX 660. (explain)
Geforce GTX 670 102480 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTX 660 78400 Mtexels/sec
Difference: 24080 (31%)
Pixel Rate

If using a high resolution is important to you, then the Geforce GTX 670 is a better choice, by a large margin. (explain)
Geforce GTX 670 29280 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTX 660 23520 Mpixels/sec
Difference: 5760 (24%)
Please note that the above 'benchmarks' are all just theoretical

 

[anti-painkilla]

Why do you regret buying the 660?

Are you having problems with FPS in some games or just want it to last longer in the future?

 

[xl2aNd0m]

Better to have that 660 hold you over until the 700 series is out that $200 would be half the estimated cost of the 770.

 

[ikaz]

If you got a MB that can SLI it actually performs pretty good so once the new cards come out I could see that card droping to $150 (even if only on sale) with the next 6-9months.

 

[soccerguy271]

Yep. That works too. I guess that a shorter answer could have sufficed. Hope I helped.

 

[Guest]

I regret the 660 because I cant quite max some settings on some games...which is disappointing for a new build but not really a huge deal in the grand scheme of things I suppose. That really makes me doubt its longevity as well though. I was also thinking id buy the 660 and pair it up down the road for sli...but ive since been reading some drawbacks of sli that I dont like the sound of. I dont know much about that though as ive never tried it...

 

[Guest]

Best answer selected by savage8190.

 

[swifty_morgan]

what's the rest of the system? what specifically are you having problems with and what monitor/resolution? tough call without information.

 

[Guest]

I decided just to go for it and swap for the 670. I thought twice about it but got an unexpectedly large tax return so figured what the heck.