GTX 550 ti Upgrade to GTX 660

[Ov3rTheTop]

Hey there!
So! I am planning on upgrading my graphics card from a gtx 550 ti to a higher end card to get more modern games running smoothly. So my thoughts were on a GTX 660 because it was not going to be of a ridiculous cost to be and it being part of the Kepler series I feel that it will be a nice increase from the 550ti.
However I still want to get the opinions of others and thus I have turned to the community.
So what do you think, is the GTX 660 worth the upgrade or should I be upgrading to something higher?
THOUGHTS PLEASE!! ^D^

[Bond007]

A 660 would be a great upgrade. Assuming the rest of your system is up to the task (ie not CPU limited) then you would be looking at roughly double the fps at the same power consumption.

AnandTech - Bench - GPU12

If you want to go amd hd 7870 is a touch faster and around the same price, but uses a bit more power. Your call.

Really it all comes down to budget and what you expect of your system. What are the rest of your components?

[Ov3rTheTop]

I'm using an FX-6100 cpu at stock speeds, and a Corsair CX-600 PSU.

As far as I know these shouldn't bottleneck the GPUl, but thats why I've come looking for advice.

And as far as budget goes, I really like the Asus Direct CU II version of the 660 as its around that $250 mark.

still think it would be a good upgrade?

Also, I'm not running at 1080p, only at 1600x900, would that make a difference?

[Bond007]

Originally Posted by Ov3rTheTop

Also, I'm not running at 1080p, only at 1600x900, would that make a difference?

At that resolution I definitely wouldn't go for anything higher than a 660. It might be a bit of overkill for your res, but you wouldn't require anything faster even if you grab a 1920x1080 monitor (and the drop in performance from a 660 to a 650Ti is quite substantial). Realistically you should have decent FPS with a 550Ti at that resolution (may just have to turn AA off or some of the most demanding settings down one notch). In all honesty I would probably stick with the 550Ti for another year unless I was grabbing a better monitor. That said if you are unhappy with the 550Ti, a 660 would be a nice upgrade. Again, your call.

My gtx 460 (a touch faster than your 550Ti) is serving me well at 1680x1050, but I do have a couple settings down a touch in games like BF3.

[Ov3rTheTop]

thanks, its just reassuring that I'm not getting something that isn't going to be worth it.

I do get very good frame rates at that resolution however graphics settings are lower.

I guess I want to be able to play 64 player games on bf3 and not worry about frame lag. Thats my main goal with this upgrade.

So if you think its going to be a good upgrade and a worth while one, I think I'll go ahead with it.

thanks heaps for your help, HIGHLY appreciated!!!!! ^D^

[ZZLEE]

I have run 2 550 TI in SLI ASUS

Its fun when the drivers play nice.


Rite now running 560 TI and 550 TI Phisex
as long as things don't go abouve 75 C in the case it does fine.

[rfielder]

I recently upgraded from an HD5770 to a GTX 660. After a lot of research, that seemed like the best bang for the $$$..

Since then, I have seen the GTX 660 Ti on sale for the same as I paid for the GTX 660. The GTX 660 Ti was my first choice, but the price difference was far, far greater than the performance improvement, so it did not make sense to me.

If you can get the Ti model for close to the same price, I would suggest considering it. Bang for the buck right now is important, but so is future proofing your system. If close to the same price, the Ti model should be good for a little bit longer.....