MSI GTX 660/760 for my C2D E8400

FubMar

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May 26, 2014
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Hi guys,
Now we all know that we are almost there with the watch dogs release and I am trying to figure out which card would be better.
Now before any of you start with the bottleneck issue now I have tested the game briefly with asus gtx 760 and i was able to set the settings on high/ultra, AA on SMAA + AO on High+Low and this on 1920x1080 and I was getting between 30-40 fps. I am currently on with 6GB of DDR2 800 CL4 and so far with my old Asus GTX 275 I was able to play all video games so far on High and some with few settings on Ultra with DirectX 10 effects.
So basically my question is am I going to able to get the same fps(30-40) with MSI GTX660 or 760 would be better?
 
Solution
I wouldn't bother spending extra on the 760 unless you plan on doing a larger overhaul of your system in the foreseeable future. You're pretty much looking at new CPU, new motherboard, and new RAM before you'll have a system that can take full advantage of the 760. You may need to do that overhaul soon though if you plan on playing the latest titles, as with the new generation of consoles out, the system requirements for games are going to be increasing significantly, and your old Core 2 Duo likely isn't going to cut it.

8bitpwnage

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The 760 will be a whole lot better than the 660 UNLESS you SLI the 660.
 
Unless you're planning on upgrading your CPU, it probably isn't going to make a big difference, your CPU will bottleneck both cards, especially in games that require more than 2 cores to run well. In the end, you'll get the same performance with either card until you move on from that Core 2 Duo.
 

FubMar

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May 26, 2014
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Thank you for your answer, but as I said when I tried the game with the asus gtx760 I didn't notice any shuttering or lagging so I am not quite sure how much is the bottle-necking and what impact has on the game.
 

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May 16, 2014
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You can't notice a bottleneck unless you have something to compare it to.
 

FubMar

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May 26, 2014
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So guys to sum up, the gtx 660 will do the job with watch dogs (maxing it out) but in addition the 760 will grant me some extra fps, but I am wondering will the bottleneck, being present in a certain level, prevent getting those extra frames from the 760 resulting in almost the same fps performance as the gtx 660?
 

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Yeah, it "should".
 
I wouldn't bother spending extra on the 760 unless you plan on doing a larger overhaul of your system in the foreseeable future. You're pretty much looking at new CPU, new motherboard, and new RAM before you'll have a system that can take full advantage of the 760. You may need to do that overhaul soon though if you plan on playing the latest titles, as with the new generation of consoles out, the system requirements for games are going to be increasing significantly, and your old Core 2 Duo likely isn't going to cut it.
 
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FubMar

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May 26, 2014
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Well the thing is that I actually was planning on upgrading the rig (and will just dont know when) but eventually other opportunities came up and I decided to keep my money and only upgrade the gpu for now, but the question is if the msi gtx660 will still hold value for sale after a year or so.
 
Odds are a year from now there will be new cards out and the GTX 660 won't sell for a whole lot, though the same can also probably be said for the 760, the only way that won't happen is if we have a repeat of 2013 with few new cards and just a bunch of rebrands again. If you think you're going to do a more extensive upgrade to your system within a year or so, then maybe splash out the extra cash for the 760, if not, save yourself the $100 and just get the 660 for now.
 


What CPU do you have? If you have an i5 or an FX 8xxx, then your CPU will not bottleneck those graphics cards. An i3 4130 will barely bottleneck a 290x card (6fps loss), so unless you have a really old cpu, you will be fine there. You do need to upgrade your memory though. 8 GB of DDR3 1600 will only run you $70: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231544

Your memory is likely your biggest bottleneck.
 

FubMar

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May 26, 2014
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My CPU is C2D E8400 3.6Ghz and my Ram is 6GB DDR2 CL4 800, now upgrading more than the gpu will result in buying mb, ram and new cpu and currently I am looking to focus the use of money on something else that I have going on, and at the same time be able to enjoy Watch Dogs on reasonable graphics set and fps. I think it mostly depends on how good the game optimization is and the HW combination of the rig, since so far I have been able to play every game with DirectX10 effects and settings on High/Ultra with sufficient fps and all this with my old GTX275. But now the new games require DirectX11.
 


Well, if you aren't going to be upgrading your cpu, memory and motherboard anytime soon, then I would just recommend a GTX 660.

In tests on watch dogs, intel dual core cpu's with a clock of 2.7Ghz limited fps to an average of 46. A gtx 750ti was limited to an average 37fps on ultra settings and 42 on high settings. An average of 37 fps is very playable. A 660 is better than a 750ti so I would expect an average fps of around 42 on ultra with it. That should make your cpu and GPU max out at around the same average fps, therefore not wasting any of your money on bottlenecking.

Here is one I recommend(it is $160 after rebate and comes with watchdogs for free): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127756&cm_re=660-_-14-127-756-_-Product
 

FubMar

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May 26, 2014
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Thank you all for your answers, there were helpful. For now I decided to go with the MSI GTX660 and squeeze it out as much as I can and long as possible (even after I upgrade my mb,ram and cpu).