GTX 660 vs 7870HD best bank for buck?

[mossi]

I see the prices dropping for the GTX 660 and the 7870HD models so I was wondering what would be the best bang for buck and the best performance increase to replace my ageing 5850HD.

The rest of my rig can be seen in my signature.

I'm looking primarily at those models
http://www.ebuyer.com/413364-sapphire-hd-7870-ghz-oc-edition-dual-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-graphics-11199-19-20g
http://www.ebuyer.com/396967-gigabyte-gv-n660oc-2gd-660-gv-n660oc-2gd

I found the Gigabyte GTX 660 cheaper too for around £155

Many thanks to all

 

[C12Friedman]

Tom's lists both as being equal in their gaming heirachy chart here http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107-7.html so I think your best bet for a decision between the two is to attempt to figure which can best be optimized for your uses (or budget)

 

[mossi]

go for the cheapest one then?

 

[C12Friedman]

If looking at more than £20 difference, yeah but if the difference is minimal, I'd say to spend a little time figuring out which is reported as better for your main graphics uses. After all, best price/performance is the goal here

 

[mossi]

I also want something as quiet as possible. The one I have at the moment the Sapphire 5850 Xtreme is very very quiet, as in inaudible during idle which is something that I like and I can barely hear it during gaming. It only spins up audibly if I run Furmark let's say. I found that Gigabyte 660 model for about £150 in some sites and they accept paypal so the idea is to sell my existing card(it can go for £100) and get the 660 GTX.

Are you aware of any models that are very quiet? i've read a review on that Gigabyte model that it says it's quiet too almost inaudible

 

[david cassar]

the asus direct cu ii are also very quiet.

 

[mossi]

I'm between those 2 now:

http://www.ebuyer.com/432444-powercolor-hd-7870-myst-pcs-edition-2gb-gddr5-dvi-hdmi-dual-mini-ax78702gbd5-2dhppv3e
PowerColor HD 7870 Myst PCS+ Edition 2GB GDDR5 DVI HDMI Dual Mini
£170

vs

http://www.ebuyer.com/413364-sapphire-hd-7870-ghz-oc-edition-dual-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-graphics-11199-19-20g
Sapphire HD 7870 GHZ OC Edition 2GB GDDR5 Dual DVI HDMI DisplayPort PCI-E
£175

Any owners that can testify which one is quieter and which one more powerful?

 

[david cassar]

I am not an owner but the hd 7870 myst is more powerful since it uses the tahiti core(used in the 7950). And also since it is a bit cheaper it is no brainer to go for the powercolor in terms of performance.

 

[iam2thecrowe]

get the myst edition, as said above it has the 7950 gpu.

I own the gigabyte gtx660 and can tell you its dead quiet if your still interested in spending less money on the 660. It also performs the same as a stock 7870, but not the myst edition that is a fair amount faster.

 

[mossi]

get the myst edition, as said above it has the 7950 gpu.

I own the gigabyte gtx660 and can tell you its dead quiet if your still interested in spending less money on the 660. It also performs the same as a stock 7870, but not the myst edition that is a fair amount faster.

you mean this one?
http://www.ballicom.co.uk/gvn660oc2gd-gigabyte-gvn660oc2gd--graphics-card--gf-gtx-660--2-gb-gddr5--pci-express-30-x16--2-x-dvi-hdmi-displayport.p853066.html?ref=5&of_tid=EUZDIJJSGRQWGY3UHU2CMJJSGQSTENDGNFSD2MRGEUZDIJJSGRYGSZB5GUZDGNZV

yeah im tempted about spending £17 less and ensure i get a dead quiet card

i'll only be gaming at 1680x1050 for the foreseeable future anyway but if there is a way to quiet down the 7870 myst version (was told to replace the TIM on it) then I would definitely give it a try if its worth the extra £17 in performance

 

[david cassar]

get the myst edition, as said above it has the 7950 gpu.

I own the gigabyte gtx660 and can tell you its dead quiet if your still interested in spending less money on the 660. It also performs the same as a stock 7870, but not the myst edition that is a fair amount faster.

you mean this one?
http://www.ballicom.co.uk/gvn660oc2gd-gigabyte-gvn660oc2gd--graphics-card--gf-gtx-660--2-gb-gddr5--pci-express-30-x16--2-x-dvi-hdmi-displayport.p853066.html?ref=5&of_tid=EUZDIJJSGRQWGY3UHU2CMJJSGQSTENDGNFSD2MRGEUZDIJJSGRYGSZB5GUZDGNZV

yeah im tempted about spending £17 less and ensure i get a dead quiet card

i'll only be gaming at 1680x1050 for the foreseeable future anyway but if there is a way to quiet down the 7870 myst version (was told to replace the TIM on it) then I would definitely give it a try if its worth the extra £17 in performance

I also own a gigabyte gtx 660 and it is very quiet.
If i were you though i would spend the extra 17 pounds and get the hd 7870 xt because of the higher performance and better overclockability. You can make it quieter by decreasing the fan speed.

 

[mossi]

You can make it quieter by decreasing the fan speed.

is that easy to do through CCC or another program?

 

[david cassar]

You can make it quieter by decreasing the fan speed.

is that easy to do through CCC or another program?

you can decrease the fan speed in overclocking software

 

[mossi]

thats very interesting, does that mean i can have a profile for idle and profile for gaming? it'll be annoying to switch between the 2 of them but i guess its a solution to consider