GTX 660 or GTX 660 Ti. Factory overclocked or not?

[newbourne]

Hi guys!

I'm looking for advice on which GPU to buy instead of a 560 Ti.

After almost two years of working great, my GTX 560 Ti started making a strange noise. It couldn't be repaired, so I got my money back.

For the money I got back, I can buy in the price range of an Asus DirectCU II GTX 660 "Top". An Asus DirectCU II GTX 660 Ti "Top" will cost about $100 extra.

I have an i5 2500k, 8gb of ram and so on. I have a 1920x1200 monitor. I play games like Black Ops 2 and Skyrim, and I will probably keep playing such graphics-heavy games.

So, what do you guys think?

Which GPU should I go for?

And does it make sense to buy a factory overclocked card? When I look at e.g. Asus DirectCU II GTX 660 "Top", then the cooling looks similar to the regular Asus DirectCU II GTX 660. Couldn't I just overclock the regular card myself - to match the specs of the "Top"-edition - and save some bucks?

 

[swifty_morgan]

so far, the only game I can think of that the 660 or the -ti- have problems with is Metro 2033 because of the limited memory bandwidth. ( 192bit bus )

if you have that extra $100 for the ti where does the 670 fit in the budget?

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_geforce_gtx_660_ti_directcu_top_review,1.html

 

[mcnumpty23]

and no point in buying the top version against the regular version unless theres a tiny price difference

just overclock the regular one

edit--what about the amd 7950?

same price as 660ti

more memory and more memory bandwidth

overclocks severely

and should be better as your at 1920 x 1200

 

[swifty_morgan]

7950 is in that chart too.

 

[mcnumpty23]

7950 is in that chart too.

didnt realise

was such a long review i skipped to the end

 

[iceclock]

7950 would be best bet. or a 7870xt edition. or a 660ti 3gig version, but out of all those id recommand the 7950 the best as its a beast.