NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti Round-Up Review
Our Summary and Conclusion
Performance Summary: The GeForce GTX 660 Ti performed well throughout our testing. Despite being overclocked, the performance of the four GeForce GTX 660 Ti cards we tested just missed the mark set by the reference GeForce GTX 670, but in every cases the performance deltas separating the 660 Ti cards from their higher-end counterpart were minimal. In comparison to the original Radeon HD 7950, the GeForce GTX 660 Ti is somewhat faster overall. A couple of tests leaned in AMD’s favor, but more often than not the GeForce GTX 660 Ti pulled ahead. Versus the refreshed Radeon HD 7950 with Boost, which increases the Radeon’s base GPU clock from 800MHz to 850MHz and adds a peak Boost clock up to 925MHz, the competition is a bit more intense. The higher-clocked Radeon HD 7950 competes much better with the GeForce GTX 660 Ti to the point where they’re evenly matched in terms of performance. The edge in power consumption and price, however, goes to NVIDIA.
GeForce GTX 660 Ti cards should be available immediately from system builders and your favorite retailers. Expected pricing for reference cards should be just under the $300 mark. The factory overclocked models we looked at here are all priced somewhat higher, but not by much. EVGA’s and MSI’s offerings come in at $309, with ZOTAC’s and Gigabyte’s cards at $329. Considering the GeForce GTX 660 Ti’s performance in light of the Radeon HD 7950, which is currently selling for around $329 (give or take a few bucks), pricing on these cards is very competitive, as they equal or better the Radeon’s performance at somewhat lower price points. It appears that even with the newer “Boost capable” 7950 cards due to hit store shelves soon, AMD will have to cut prices somewhat to better compete.
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Of the four GeForce GTX 660 Ti cards we looked at, it’s difficult to point to a clear winner. Each card performed well and remained quiet throughout testing. We really like MSI’s GeForce GTX 660 Ti Power Edition due to its competitive price and excellent cooler and we have to give ZOTAC props for including a game coupon with their card, clocking it the highest, and keeping its form factor as svelte as possible. Gigabyte’s card ran the coolest, however, and EVGA offers the best warranty coverage, so each card stands out in one way or another. Ultimately though, we think anyone looking for a graphics card in the $300 price range would be well served by the GeForce GTX 600 Ti. NVIDIA’s got another winner on their hands and continues to push the price/performance envelope with Kepler.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti
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