GeForce GTX 660 Ti Review: Nvidia's Trickle-Down Keplernomics

OpenCL: GPGPU Benchmarks (Basemark CL)

Fluid Operations

Interestingly, higher clock rates trump more shaders in this test as the GeForce GTX 660 Ti overclocked most aggressively outpaces the GeForce GTX 680 at its stock frequency. Even still, AMD's Radeon HD 7000-series boards beat Nvidia's GeForce GTX 600s at stock speeds, except for the GTX 680. At least we finally see Kepler outpacing Fermi.

Wave Simulation

Again, running at a higher frequency has more of an impact on performance than more shaders. However, Kepler doesn't seem to be offering any real benefit over Fermi, as GeForce GTX 680 ties with GTX 580.

The Radeon HD 7870 makes a surprisingly strong showing and even outpaces the Radeon HD 7950 with its new firmware.

Julia Rendering

This time, Nvidia's newer cards outmaneuver last-generation's hardware. But it doesn't end up mattering much, since AMD's GCN-equipped line-up dominates the field. Anything below a Radeon HD 7870 is left in the dust.

The two overclocked GeForce GTX 660 Ti configurations finish in front of the GeForce GTX 670 at its stock frequencies, which isn't much of a surprise.

Mandelbulb Rendering

While Julia rendering embarrassed Nvidia, the Mandelbulb test (a three-dimensional version of the Mandelbrot set) is far more promising. Once more, clock rate is the biggest determinant of performance; the GeForce GTX 660 Ti employs the same frequency as the GTX 670 and ties it.

  • game junky
    Hmm. I have been wanting to replace my 560 - this throws a wrench in the gears. I was sold on a ASUS 670 but I think I'll wait to compare specs with their 660ti - I just started ripping my BD collection so the additional RAM bandwidth might be worth the extra $100 but it is still an interesting option.
    Reply
  • crisan_tiberiu
    so, this is basically a card that costs 40$ less then a GTX 580, consumes 100W less power then a gtx 580 and its 8% better...hmm, intresting.
    Reply
  • crisan_tiberiu
    *edit, costs 100$ less then GTX 580.
    Reply
  • rmpumper
    That's strange - on techpowerup review the 660Ti is above 7950's average performance.
    Reply
  • outlw6669
    game junkyI was sold on a ASUS 670 but I think I'll wait to compare specs with their 660ti.Asus' DCU2 Top ends up about 5% faster than stock, 8% slower than stock GTX 670 and still uses that excellent cooler.
    http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_660_Ti_Direct_Cu_II/1.html

    Still, the GTX 660Ti looks to be a decent card.
    Not really fond of how nVidia keeps nerfing their memory bandwidth though.
    Once prices drop a little, I could see it being an excellent mainstream card.
    Reply
  • verbalizer
    nice card, not OVERLY impressed...
    BUT THE PRICE...!
    c'mon SON let's be real here......
    ridiculous @ $300 beans..
    Reply
  • hellfire24
    waiting for a price cut down.who's with me?
    Reply
  • felipetga
    I have been holding to upgrade my GTX 460 256bits. I wonder if this card will be bottlenecked by my C2Q 9550 @ 3.6ghz....
    Reply
  • verbalizer
    GPGPU = Kepler = FAIL....
    that's depressing but I understand nVidia has designated GTX 6 series as a gaming cards but c'mon SON.!!!
    ridiculous once again..
    Reply
  • EzioAs
    Clearly we need more price cuts on the 660ti. I expect AMD to lower the prices even more, heck online retailers sell Radeon cards lower than the MSRP, making 7950 and 7870 even more budget friendly. It's still sad really to see mid-range cards battling at $300+. It used to be $250 and lower
    Reply