GTX 660 +$60 or 660ti

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tristbane

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Dec 18, 2012
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Would the performance of the GTX 660Ti justify, say, a $60 increase over a 660?
Would you buy it or just stick with the more affordable 660?
 
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Pleasure :) And it's honestly not worth it. Purely in frames/second, 7950 is a little faster than the GTX580, while a GTX660 is slightly below the GTX580. The more noticeable difference is in smooth, consistent delivery of framerates, which you can read about here:

http://techreport.com/review/23981/radeon-hd-7950-vs-geforce-gtx-660-ti-revisited/3

It's well worth reading the article to the end. It's a new way of testing performance, to more accurately represent the 'smoothness' delivered by a card. Frames/second is a crude, oversimplified measure of performance that doesn't tell the whole story, since it averages out dips and spikes in performance.

AMD fans were in uproar (over 200 comments on the article) about how testing on...

revro

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i got myself evga gtx 660 ftw signature 2 3gb for 235eur, and since its factory oc cca 7,5% its close to 660ti 10%diff.
so ask yourself if 1/3 of cards price is worth 10% of fps considering all you need is 60fps and 660 can deliver it if you keep msaa on 2 or 4 or lower few details. if you want to spend the money do it. i have money but didnt wanted to spend it so i went with 660 ftw

best
revro
 
Pleasure :) And it's honestly not worth it. Purely in frames/second, 7950 is a little faster than the GTX580, while a GTX660 is slightly below the GTX580. The more noticeable difference is in smooth, consistent delivery of framerates, which you can read about here:

http://techreport.com/review/23981/radeon-hd-7950-vs-geforce-gtx-660-ti-revisited/3

It's well worth reading the article to the end. It's a new way of testing performance, to more accurately represent the 'smoothness' delivered by a card. Frames/second is a crude, oversimplified measure of performance that doesn't tell the whole story, since it averages out dips and spikes in performance.

AMD fans were in uproar (over 200 comments on the article) about how testing on Windows 8 was to blame. So they re-ran the tests on Windows 7:

http://techreport.com/review/24022/does-the-radeon-hd-7950-stumble-in-windows-8/2 (first page is useful to understand the test methodology, benches start on page 2)

The conclusion:
"A moral victory in the borderline-meaningless FPS sweeps doesn't overcome the fact that the Radeon HD 7950 has a persistent problem with high-latency frames across a range of test scenarios based on the latest games... If you just want bragging rights, by all means, choose the Radeon HD 7950. If you're looking for the friction-free fluidity that only comes from consistently quick frame delivery, though, our recommendation remains the GeForce GTX 660 Ti."

To clarify though, I'd still advise sticking to the GTX660 - the above article just illustrates what I mean about consistently high performance :)
 
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tristbane

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Thanks so much, sam_p_lay!
I'm sold hahaha XD I'm still new to PC building and that second article, so far, is the clearest, most simple to read test I've seen yet :O
 
Pleasure :) It's good when people take the time to look properly. So many people take a quick glance and think 'argh too complicated!'.

Mouse24, think about it. If our eyes/brains had a 'refresh rate' of one second, we'd all be gaming happily at 1fps. The fact that we need a minimum of 30fps (and many people would argue as much as 60fps) for smooth output means our brains are operating at a minimum of 1/30th of a second, which is 33 milliseconds (a little faster than your 0.038 seconds example). A 16ms frame render time by comparison equates to 60fps. So you can tell the difference.

Tristbane, hope the build goes smoothly and that you have fun with it :) Any problems getting it up and running, don't hesitate to open a new thread or PM me.
 

tristbane

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Thanks! And yes, I've been eyeing a new PC build for a year or so now, and it's quite a bit of money I am planning to spend so I want it to be just right!
 


Same as me - everybody should put in the time and effort when you're putting in the money and wanting years of good service from it. Some people just throw a load of money at it with little to no thought and then regret their decisions. A friend of mine combined an AMD CPU with nVidia graphics simply because 'he likes to make them fight each other' (because Intel=nVidia or something :)). That was the reason!
 

tristbane

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That's such an interesting take!
Can you also explain to me what's the difference if a GPU has "2GB" vs "3GB"? Sorry still a neophyte :(
 


Assuming they are the same type of Vram its just more of it, its useful for higher resolutions, higher quality textures, or multimonitors. For a single monitor 2gb is fine. A fully modded skyrim can use up quite a lot of vram so you might see a performance increase in that but at the point 2gb isn't enough you should probably think about getting a better gpu tbh.
 


That's referring to the amount of graphics memory the card has. 1GB was standard for a long time, but 2GB has now become the standard for faster cards. The top Radeons are equipped with 3GB, while the top GeForces have 2GB (as standard), with some manufacturers offering 4GB variations. There are always editions of these cards made with excessive amounts of memory attached (I saw something like a GT430 (very low-end) the other day with 3GB!). On the AMD side, they'll sometimes release a 2GB model and then a 1GB variation of that model for people who feel 2GB is overkill (e.g. the 6950 or 7850).

Interms of how much you really need, it depends. If you want to enjoy games the way the developer intended them, all maxed out (but 'official') then 2GB should be ample for years. Some games have fan-made high-res texture packs. If you install these, there may be benefit to 3GB or more. You could get a 4GB version of the GTX670, but I personally wouldn't bother. It also restricts future SLI potential (since the second card will need to be a match).
 

tristbane

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Alright! Thanks to the both of you!
Here is the build I've come down to. Let me know if it all sounds alright!
I'm hoping to stay close to the $1000 mark

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Green 630W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.89 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $987.77
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-18 16:17 EST-0500)
 

tristbane

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Dec 18, 2012
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AH WAIT! My mistake

This is the build****:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($237.55 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Green 630W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.89 @ Outlet PC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $955.33
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-18 16:20 EST-0500)
 
Nice choices! Three things I'd change - firstly, SSD. Crucial M4 is a really excellent drive, but there are faster drives for the same price (where I am at least). I'm thinking specifically of the Samsung 830. Have a look and see what you'd be paying for one. Secondly, PSU. Rosewill don't actually manufacturer PSUs. Most PSU brands don't infact, so what's important is the actual manufacturer (OEM) they use. Of these, there are 10-12 main ones, and Seasonic are by far the most highly-regarded for quality. Rosewill primarily use Solytech, ATNG and Superflower. Finally, the DVD drive. It's probably fine, but Lite-On drives I've owned burned a lot of coasters. I'd stick with Samsung there.

EDIT: For Seasonic-built drives, XFX, Silverpower SP-Sxxx / SP-SxxxM / SP-SS lines, PC Power & Cooling Silencer range and Silencer Mk III range, or obviously actual Seasonic-branded units.
 

tristbane

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Dec 18, 2012
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Alright! That's what I need. Information from someone who's been through the parts and not just know of them :D

How does it look now?:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($129.98 @ Outlet PC)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.98 @ Outlet PC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 830 Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 660 2GB Video Card ($237.55 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($83.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224BB DVD/CD Writer ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $1004.42
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-18 16:32 EST-0500)
 
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