Both the GeForce GTX 650 and GeForce GTX 660 are aimed at gamers with 1920x1080-capable displays. Because they serve up different performance levels, though, you'll need to tweak your favorite title's detail settings based on each card's capabilities. Because of this, we're putting the GeForce GTX 650 and its competition through less-demanding presets than the GeForce GTX 660 and its segment.
In addition to single-card testing, we're also testing the GeForce GTX 660 in SLI to see how it stacks up against AMD's Radeon HD 7850 in CrossFire. We're also overclocking the GTX 660 to see how well it does at its limit.
Finally, the Radeon HD 7850 that we had so many problems with in our Pitcairn launch story finally died on our test bench. We want to thank Jared and Mike at Itech Systems in Winnipeg, Manitoba for loaning us a replacement so that we could collect the data we needed for today's comparison.
| Test System | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-3960X (Sandy Bridge-E), 3.3 GHz, Six Cores, LGA 2011, 15 MB Shared L3 Cache, Hyper-Threading enabled, Overclocked to 4.2 GHz | |||||||
| Motherboard | ASRock X79 Extreme9 (LGA 2011) Chipset: Intel X79 Express | |||||||
| Networking | On-Board Gigabit LAN controller | |||||||
| Memory | Corsair Vengeance LP PC3-16000, 4 x 4 GB, 1600 MT/s, CL 8-8-8-24-2T | |||||||
| Graphics | MSI GeForce GTX 660 Ti 1019/1097 MHz Base/Boost GPU, 2 GB GDDR5 at 1502 MHz Reference GeForce GTX 660 980/1033 MHz Base/Boost GPU, 2 GB GDDR5 at 1502 MHz Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 1033/1098 MHz Base/Boost GPU, 2 GB GDDR5 at 1502 MHz Zotac GeForce GTX 660 993/1059 MHz Base/Boost GPU, 2 GB GDDR5 at 1502 MHz MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti 880 MHz GPU, 1 GB GDDR5 at 1050 MHz Zotac GeForce GTX 550 Ti 900 MHz GPU, 1 GB GDDR5 at 1025 MHz Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 1111 MHz GPU, 2 GB GDDR5 at 1250 MHz MSI N450GTS Cyclone (GeForce GTS 450) 850 MHz GPU, 1 GB GDDR5 at 980 MHz Afox GeForce GT 640 902 MHz GPU, 1 GB DDR3 at 891 MHz Reference Radeon HD 7870 1000 MHz GPU, 2 GB GDDR5 at 1200 MHz Reference Radeon HD 7850 860 MHz GPU, 2 GB GDDR5 at 1200 MHz Reference Radeon HD 6870 900 MHz GPU, 1 GB GDDR5 at 1050 MHz Reference Radeon HD 7770 1000 MHz GPU, 1 GB GDDR5 at 1125 MHz Reference Radeon HD 7750 800 MHz GPU, 1 GB GDDR5 at 1125 MHz Reference Radeon HD 6670 800 MHz GPU, 1 GB GDDR5 at 1000 MHz All overclocked cards reduced to reference specification for testing | |||||||
| Hard Drive | Samsung 470-Series 256 GB (SSD) | |||||||
| Power | ePower EP-1200E10-T2 1200 W ATX12V, EPS12V | |||||||
| Software and Drivers | ||||||||
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows 7 x64, Service Pack 1 | |||||||
| DirectX | DirectX 11 | |||||||
| Graphics Drivers | Nvidia: 306.23 beta (except GeForce GTX 650, which required 305.57 drivers) AMD: Catalyst 12.8 | |||||||
| Benchmarks | ||||||||
| Battlefield 3 | Campaign Mode, "Operation Swordfish" 60-second Fraps | |||||||
| Crysis 2 | DirectX 11, 60 second Fraps | |||||||
| Batman: Arkham City | Version 1.0.0.0, Built-in DirectX 11 Benchmark | |||||||
| Metro 2033 | Full Game, Built-In Benchmark, "Frontline" Scene | |||||||
| DiRT Showdown | Version 1.0.0.0, DirectX 11 Benchmark | |||||||
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Update 1.4.27, THG Benchmarks save, 25-second Fraps | |||||||
| Max Payne 3 | Version 1.0.0.4.7, Chapter 3, save 16, 65-second Fraps | |||||||
| World Of Warcraft: Mists Of Pandaria Beta | Elwynn Forest area, 30-second Fraps | |||||||
Was waiting for GTX 650 to see if it can beat the old GTX 550 Ti but it seems other than power draw it's no match. Might as well keep my GPU until next NVidia lineup. GTX 660 on other hand is only €50 cheaper than GTX 660 Ti meaning its a no budget saver to buy non Ti version. Fail...
AMD wins again!
Buy a 7770 or 7870 instead.
Wait for sales on whichever one is needed and then grab one -
AMD 7770 can be had for just over $100.
AMD 7870 can be had for about $220.
Goddamn Mike NY Gmail or whatever the hell your name is supposed to be, here, proper commenting etiquette:
1. Read the article.
2. Understand what the article is talking about.
3. If you find an urge to comment about "______ sucks" or "_______ wins again", especially when the article says the opposite of what you want to post, chances are your comment will look dumb as hell when it's posted and earn you 20 downvotes. Therefore, don't post that goddamn poor excuse of a "comment".
How "nice" of u tomshardware. By only compared 7750/7770 vs 650 in high detail but not comparing 7750/7770 on the Ultra detail, then when u pull out a 460 SE/9800GT for benchmark, u are taking away 650(why?).
Is it because 650 performance is too poor to show off on benchmark? It doesnt take a genius to figure out the huge diff between 6870 vs 650. 7770= 6850 speed. So I guess even the 7750/460SE are putting shame on 650 on those high quality detail? too shy to show off 460SE/9800GT up against 650?
I dare u put on a detailed benchmark with 650 up against 7770/7750/GTS450/550ti/460/9800GT/9800GTX on all condition. Not a selective benchmark.
Why are there giant gaps in both lineups? AMD has the 7770 at $130 and 7850 at $230 -- nvidia has the 650 and 660 at similar price points -- ideally for my budget would be something in the $150-170 price range, but I either have to compromise or shell out more. It seems like an obvious market gap.
God damn Mike NY
Thanks for the attempted compliment, but call me Mike. I'm glad you've been paying attention.
It was more of a joke than anything else to simply write "AMD wins again!" and it was actually pretty funny! I try to balance things out so that no one company is viewed too favorably.
For example, I recently bought an Nvidia GTX 460 1 GB 256 bit card for $70, new, with a 3 month warranty for a friend to upgrade his gaming computer. Unusual? Yes. Great deal? You better believe it! Of course, if an equivalent AMD card was available at a cheaper price, that's the one I would've bought.
Now, relax and try to control yourself. Refrain from the use of profanity in future posts. Thanks.
Nice article to be honest. I'm really glad you tested the Radeon cards with the new driver compared to other review sites.
I've got nothing else to say on the GTX650 but to just point out that it's a weak card.
On the other hand, the GTX660 is probably the only Kepler (besides the 670) that impresses me. I don't know about everyone else though. To point out one thing, most Radeon 7870s can be found at $240 or lower without MIR. The GTX660 is priced well for a release MSRP and makes the 660ti offers less value, kind of like the 670 vs 680. For 8xMSAA, the performance does cripple but I think at this price point, most people are going to stay with 4xAA or possibly lower.
Nice article to be honest. I'm really glad you tested the Radeon cards with the new driver compared to other review sites.I've got nothing else to say on the GTX650 but to just point out that it's a weak card.On the other hand, the GTX660 is probably the only Kepler (besides the 670) that impresses me. I don't know about everyone else though. To point out one thing, most Radeon 7870s can be found at $240 or lower without MIR. It's priced well for a release MSRP and makes the 660ti offers less value, kind of like the 670 vs 680. For 8xMSAA, the performance does cripple but I think at this price point, most people are going to stay with 4xAA or possibly lower.
Exactly - Savvy TH readers will wait for sales on whichever one is needed and then grab one!
AMD 7770 can be had for just over $100 on sale.
AMD 7870 can be had for about $220 on sale.
Gtx 660 is the only option in mid-range gpu
The 6870 might be more compelling at that price point. Newegg still sells them. It's too bad that AMD didn't release a 7830 or something similar from the Nvidia side. But chances are, you probably can get the 7850 or 660 below $200 by the end of the year. Fingers cross though.
Thanks for the attempted compliment, but call me Mike. I'm glad you've been paying attention.It was more of a joke than anything else to simply write "AMD wins again!" and it was actually pretty funny! I try to balance things out so that no one company is viewed too favorably.For example, I recently bought an Nvidia GTX 460 1 GB 256 bit card for $70, new, with a 3 month warranty for a friend to upgrade his gaming computer. Unusual? Yes. Great deal? You better believe it! Of course, if an equivalent AMD card was available at a cheaper price, that's the one I would've bought.Now, relax and try to control yourself. Refrain from the use of profanity in future posts. Thanks.
they cant even dare to put up a weaker 460SE up against 650 let alone a full 460. I guessing the 650 got trash hard when u put serious shader and resolution on it. It is a garbage card @ $110.
Gtx 660 is the only option in mid-range gpu
That is if you don't need the compute performance in which AMD clearly leads
I totally agree with TomFreak
another thing, i would prefer more comparison to old cards like the 460 1GB (256bit). i am sure alot of gamers still use that old card
Buy a 7850, overclock it. Win.
How "nice" of u tomshardware. By only compared 7750/7770 vs 650 in high detail but not comparing 7750/7770 on the Ultra detail, then when u pull out a 460 SE/9800GT for benchmark, u are taking away 650(why?). Is it because 650 performance is too poor to show off on benchmark? It doesnt take a genius to figure out the huge diff between 6870 vs 650. 7770= 6850 speed. So I guess even the 7750/460SE are putting shame on 650 on those high quality detail? too shy to show off 460SE/9800GT up against 650?I dare u put on a detailed benchmark with 650 up against 7770/7750/GTS450/550ti/460/9800GT/9800GTX on all condition. Not a selective benchmark.
Dude, we included the 650 for reference at high details in the rest of the benchmarks. The info is there, just trying to keep it focused.
It's all there. Just look for it.
I guessing the 650 got trash hard when u put serious shader and resolution on it.
It did, look at the numbers from the other high detail benches. The 460 kills it.
But the 460 192-bit is too expensive for a direct comparison, so I didn't include it in the standard low-detail benches. It has a higher price point than the 7770.
NVIDIA seriously needs to step up their mid range cards! The 650 is weaker than expected...
NVIDIA seriously needs to step up their mid range cards! The 650 is weaker than expected...
True. I thought it could at least give the 7770 some competition, but as it turns out it's slower than the 7750. But actually, that's to be expected since it's basically a GT640 with GDDR5. They should probably called it a GT645 or GTS640. It doesn't deserve the GTX name
Dude, we included the 650 for reference at high details in the rest of the benchmarks. The info is there, just trying to keep it focused.It's all there. Just look for it.It did, look at the numbers from the other high detail benches.
according to the bench, each game have 2 presets, the similar priced 7770/7750 is missing on the second higher bench on most games. Would be love the 6870 being replace with 7770/7750 on the second game bench.