It's been asked so much but..Nvidia 660ti vs AMD 7950

[ubad00d]

Okay so here's the deal, I have done lots of research online and in many forums including Tom's hardware many people have asked Nvidia 660 TI vs AMD 7950. Unfortunately this question has consistently ended up with answers swaying really heavily one way or the other...

Just to give an example of the conflicting views.

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/376249-15-shappire-radeon-7950-nividia

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/368508-15-radeon-7950

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/372783-15-660ti-sapphire-7950oc

Now here's the deal, I have this monitor http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.samsung.com%2Fca%2Fconsumer%2Foffice%2Fmonitors%2Flcd%2FLS24MYKRBQ%2FXAA&ei=7TCYUMPiGtSXhQfahoGYBg&usg=AFQjCNH3qzbpYpANsLYCDE9_wqumKtZDYg&sig2=hs4uXlfgF4_B4l_lrBfu5A and I'd be hoping to play in 1920x1200. I can give you an idea of the games I have right now although I will purchasing more in the future which may be alot more demanding. Right now I have Borderlands 2, getting Black ops II, possibly Battlefield 3. Until now I've been pretty much set on getting http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/components/nvidiageforcegraphicscards/nvidiagtx660tikeplerseries/n660tipe2gd5oc.html#reviews although now I don't really know.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTujzlj11I8 In this video the 660 TI appears to beat the 7950 in most tests until it gets up to ultra high resolution and multiple monitors which I won't need.

My Processor is really average (Intel duo 2.80ghz, 4gb ram) although I'm told that that won't really matter in most cases, and I'm planning to upgrade at some point anyway.

I've also read loads or replies where people just seem to have opinions over these graphics cards but I don't really see how that can happen as these should provide figures and facts that can be accurately compared to provide a straight answer e.g Card A is better in these circumstances whereas Card B is better in these. But mostly I just see "Card A is better" with no explanation.

 

[RedJaron]

It's possible that your CPU would be the bottleneck, regardless what card you get ( and if not now, then soon. )

Between the cards themselves, I'd go 7950. The 660 Ti is only marginally ahead of the 7870 at base settings at that resolution. Using hi-res textures and high AA settings, the 660's limited memory bandwidth bogs it down and the 7870 steps ahead. So if the 7870 can beat a 660 Ti at higher settings, a 7950 will trounce it.

Granted, the 660's memory controller isn't a factor in every single game, nor at every graphic detail setting. It's not a bad card in any sense, it just has a few limits to be aware of.

 

[devilofdeaths]

the 7950 all the way with catalyst 12.11 being released the 7950 is way better than the 660Ti in many catagories and that video is stacked because that was before 12.11 and bf3 LOVES nvidia cards but now since 12.11 the 7950 is about equal with the 660Ti in its own game

 

[ubad00d]

Okay I'd just like to mention that I don't really know about overclocking and I've heard the HD 7950 is better overclocking. Also, if you both recommend the AMD then why does the 660 Ti get a better framerate in this video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTujzlj11I8

 

[wolfkraut]

Okay I'd just like to mention that I don't really know about overclocking and I've heard the HD 7950 is better overclocking. Also, if you both recommend the AMD then why does the 660 Ti get a better framerate in this video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTujzlj11I8

"that video is stacked because that was before 12.11 and bf3 LOVES nvidia cards but now since 12.11 the 7950 is about equal with the 660Ti in its own game", devilofdeaths already answered your question.

 

[ubad00d]

"that video is stacked because that was before 12.11 and bf3 LOVES nvidia cards but now since 12.11 the 7950 is about equal with the 660Ti in its own game", devilofdeaths already answered your question.

Lol sorry I had no idea what 12.11 meant, I'm guessing it's an update.

 

[RedJaron]

Lol sorry I had no idea what 12.11 meant, I'm guessing it's an update.

Yes, those are the 12.11 version drivers for Radeon cards. The latest versions have made a big improvement in Radeon performance. Again, as I said, at some detail setting levels, the 660 Ti will fly. But in some games, when you crank the detail and AA, the 660 Ti slows down since it can't access its RAM fast enough.

 

[ubad00d]

Yes, those are the 12.11 version drivers for Radeon cards. The latest versions have made a big improvement in Radeon performance. Again, as I said, at some detail setting levels, the 660 Ti will fly. But in some games, when you crank the detail and AA, the 660 Ti slows down since it can't access its RAM fast enough.

In that case I think I will go with the HD 7950, seems weird that it was released a long time before the 660 TI but still widely favoured. Which design would you recommend?

 

[RedJaron]

In that case I think I will go with the HD 7950, seems weird that it was released a long time before the 660 TI but still widely favoured. Which design would you recommend?

I like Sapphire's Vapor-X cooling as it runs very quiet. They make a 3GB 7950 model you might want to look at. But really, any MSI, Asus, Gigabyte, EVGA, or XFX card can be a valid choice.

 

[kracker]

go 7950, 12.11 drivers have quite improved them.