The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Review: GK106 Fills Out The Kepler Family
by Ryan Smith on September 13, 2012 9:00 AM ESTBattlefield 3
Its popularity aside, Battlefield 3 may be the most interesting game in our benchmark suite for a single reason: it’s the first AAA DX10+ game. It’s been 5 years since the launch of the first DX10 GPUs, and 3 whole process node shrinks later we’re finally to the point where games are using DX10’s functionality as a baseline rather than an addition. Not surprisingly BF3 is one of the best looking games in our suite, but as with past Battlefield games that beauty comes with a high performance cost.
BF3 has always favored NVIDIA’s architectures, so it comes as no surprise here that this is another good showing for the GTX 660. Realistically speaking MSAA is out of the question here since the minimum framerates would drop into the 20s, but performance is still high enough for 1920 on Ultra quality with FXAA. Here the GTX 660 trails the GTX 660 Ti by 12% while stopping just short of completely clobbering the 7800 series. At 71fps it can beat the 7870 by 19% and even beats the 7950 by 14%. Much like Portal 2 this is a game where the 7950 should by all rights be winning, so it’s curious just what is going on under the hood that has NVIDIA’s architectures doing so well here.
Even among NVIDIA cards however this is another strong showing for the GTX 660. Here it improves on the performance of the GTX 460 by 76%, a difference so large that it sees the GTX 660 crack 60fps at 1920 when the GTX 460 can’t crack 60fps at 1680.
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Zds - Saturday, September 15, 2012 - link
"Reference clock" is very different from "reference PCB". The operative words are "clock" and "PCB", not "reference".Redshift_91 - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
a superclocked card is not reference clocked, thus the keyword is "reference". Unless you're going to argue that a superclocked card is reference clocked and thus the very idea of overclocking is thrown out the window.guidryp - Thursday, September 13, 2012 - link
"NVIDIA has spent a lot of time in the past couple of years worrying about the 8800GT/9800GT in particular"I am still using a 8800GT without much need to upgrade. I don't play any new games so I really can't justify an upgrade. Though of course you get that upgrade itch. So the first thing I wondered was, how much power/noise compared to my 8800GT (I have giant slow fan on mine).
Anonymous Blowhard - Thursday, September 13, 2012 - link
Now that the 600-series has gotten a firm foothold, older cards like the GTX460 have been available for around $100 if you're patient enough to wait for sales and rebates.Pick one based on the NV reference design if you're concerned about noise; I've had models from MSI and EVGA that both performed admirably in terms of noise and temperature. Blower-style fans can be extremely loud if you buy the wrong model (ZOTAC) so do your homework.
I came from an 8800GT myself and didn't feel the need to upgrade, but there's a definite benefit even in "low end" games based on Source/UE3. The ability to crank up the details/AA and still hold a solid 60fps is wonderful. Well worth the money.
DanNeely - Thursday, September 13, 2012 - link
buying a 2+ generation old high end card is almost never a good idea. What you save upfront over an equivalent lower mid range card is quickly lost due to the significantly higher power draw.rarson - Friday, September 14, 2012 - link
Huh? How expensive is electricity where you live? I can't imagine the power difference making up the cost difference in less than 2 years of constant use.I replaced my 3870 with a 6850 a few months ago, and it actually uses a bit less power at idle, which is where my GPU spends the bulk of its time, so I'm actually saving a tiny bit. Sure, the 460 uses more power under load, but the 880GT uses significantly more power than the 460 during idle (about 20W!).
CeriseCogburn - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
If you're worried about 20 watts at idle, you're definitely an amd fanboy.Probably something else too I won't mention since humiliating yourself is already a public past time.
gamara - Thursday, June 6, 2013 - link
20W x 2 days is 1 KW hr. 15 KW hr a month, 180 KW hrs a year. At $.10 a KW hr, that's $18. In California, some places it runs almost triple that, so if you use So Cal Ed, and are in Tier 3 or 4, you pay almost $50 a year extra for those 20 watts.guidryp - Friday, September 14, 2012 - link
I am patient enough to wait for the gtx 660 to get down to $150.If I do upgrade, one thing that is a must, is getting 3+ monitor capability.
I currently drive my TV and desktop monitor, and would like a second desktop monitor.
Here the power usage looks line line with the 8800GT and NVidia finally allows 3+ monitors.
raghu78 - Thursday, September 13, 2012 - link
GTX 660 is actually weak competition. Nvidia's pricing sucks . USD 200 would have really made it an amazing card. Performance wise its stuck between the HD 7850 and HD 7870 but pricing wise its nearer to HD 7870. the GTX 660 is up against a faster chip in the HD 7870. and needs a price correction . GTX 660 OC matches a HD 7870http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GT...
Also anandtech's gaming suite is quite out of date. They are testing Portal 2 which is useless and don't have a single game released in 2012 like Alan Wake, Max Payne 3, Dirt Showdown, Sniper Elite V2, Diablo III, Sleeping Dogs. most sites have started including newer games . hardocp has included sleeping dogs. techpowerup has included alan wake, sniper elite v2, max payne 3, diablo III. techreport has max payne 3 and dirt showdown. And to state that GTX 660 is faster than HD 7870 or the better card with such an obsolete suite is ridiculous