The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Review: GK106 Fills Out The Kepler Family
by Ryan Smith on September 13, 2012 9:00 AM ESTCompute Performance
As always our final set of real-world benchmarks is composed of a look at compute performance. As we have seen with GTX 680 and GTX 670, Kepler appears to be significantly less balanced between rendering and compute performance than GF110 or GF114 were, and as a result compute performance suffers. Further compounding this is the fact that GK106 only has 5 SMXes versus the 8 SMXes of GK104, which will likely further depress compute performance.
Our first compute benchmark comes from Civilization V, which uses DirectCompute to decompress textures on the fly. Civ V includes a sub-benchmark that exclusively tests the speed of their texture decompression algorithm by repeatedly decompressing the textures required for one of the game’s leader scenes. Note that this is a DX11 DirectCompute benchmark.
It’s interesting then that despite the obvious difference between the GTX 660 and GTX 660 Ti in theoretical compute performance, the GTX 660 actually beats the GTX 660 Ti here. Despite being a compute benchmark, Civlization V’s texture decompression benchmark is more sensitive to memory bandwidth and cache performance than it is shader performance, giving us the results we see above. Given the GTX 660 Ti’s poor showing in this benchmark this is a good thing for NVIDIA since this means they don’t fall any farther behind. Still, the GTX 660 is effectively tied with the 7850 and well behind the 7870.
Our next benchmark is SmallLuxGPU, the GPU ray tracing branch of the open source LuxRender renderer. We’re now using a development build from the version 2.0 branch, and we’ve moved on to a more complex scene that hopefully will provide a greater challenge to our GPUs.
SmallLuxGPU sees us shift towards an emphasis on pure compute performance, which of course is going to be GTX 660’s weak point here. Over 2 years after the launch of the GTX 460 and SLG performance has gone exactly nowhere, with the GTX 460 and GTX 660 turning in the same exact scores. Thank goodness the 8800GT is terrible at this benchmark, otherwise the GTX 660 would be in particularly bad shape.
It goes without saying that with the GTX 660’s poor compute performance here, the 7800 series is well in the lead. The 7870 more than trebles the GTX 660’s performance, an indisputable victory if there ever was one.
For our next benchmark we’re looking at AESEncryptDecrypt, an OpenCL AES encryption routine that AES encrypts/decrypts an 8K x 8K pixel square image file. The results of this benchmark are the average time to encrypt the image over a number of iterations of the AES cypher.
Our AES benchmark was one of the few compute benchmarks where the GTX 660 Ti had any kind of lead, but the significant loss of compute resources has erased that for the GTX 660. At 395ms it’s a hair slower than the 7850, never mind the 7870.
For our next benchmark we’re looking at AESEncryptDecrypt, an OpenCL AES encryption routine that AES encrypts/decrypts an 8K x 8K pixel square image file. The results of this benchmark are the average time to encrypt the image over a number of iterations of the AES cypher.
The fluid simulation is another benchmark that includes a stronger mix of memory bandwidth and cache rather than being purely dependent on compute resources. As a result the GTX 660 still trails the GTX 660 Ti, but by a great amount. Even so, the GTX 660 is no match for the 7800 series.
Finally, we’re adding one last benchmark to our compute run. NVIDIA and the Folding@Home group have sent over a benchmarkable version of the client with preliminary optimizations for Kepler. Folding@Home and similar initiatives are still one of the most popular consumer compute workloads, so it’s something NVIDIA wants their GPUs to do well at.
As we’ve seen previously with GK104, this is one of the few compute benchmarks that shows any kind of significant performance advantage for Little Kepler compared to Little Fermi. GTX 660 drops by 12% compared to GTX 660 Ti, but this is still good enough for a 60% performance advantage over GTX 460.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
147 Comments
View All Comments
chizow - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link
Where did I call you an idiot? You took issue with my response to rarson, who fits my profile as someone who continuously ignores or is unable to understand some very simple concepts backed by mounds of evidence and historical data.Then he has the gall to question my ability to understand certain concepts? Of course I have trouble understanding opinions founded on stupidity. Unless you have the same problems, why would you take offense?
CeriseCogburn - Thursday, November 29, 2012 - link
Here, I'll call him an idiot and a liar.He's an idiot and a liar.
He's been one forever.
It will never change.
As least David's butt is smakc full of his lipstick, and poor Goliath is rich as can be and the one still standing and alive.
I guess Galidou sucked too hard now David (amd) is almost dead.
Poor Galidou, supporting the underdog under it's jockstrap just hasn't worked out at all.
I have a feeling David's paramour might be a bit "upset" again, and again, and again, and again, and again.
Did the idiot get anything correct ?
Were his correction to his incorrect comments that he corrected not needed anyway since even after the corrections he issued to himself he was still wrong?
I'll answer that.
YES.
Galidou - Monday, September 17, 2012 - link
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_...20% more performance than last gen for the same price one year and a half later isn't a big deal either. Sure you win on thermal and consumption constraints.
You don't even know me personally and still you have to insult my intelligence, that's what fanboys do... and that's far worse than lacking of judgement in my opinion.
I admit that AT LAUNCH the 7970 was worse than the gtx 280 compared to last gen parts but you have to consider what's coming out too. And we all know they have this kind of information, and estimation of the performance of the part for the price.
So right, they should of priced 7970 400$ but that would of made another war with Nvidia(which already sued AMD for price fixing between them) so this price might just reflect the return to normal for both companies. No more 4870 BIG DEAL, back to normal, not because AMD want to price it BADLY because they have been sued to do so....
Galidou - Monday, September 17, 2012 - link
You get the first shot on new technology, you price it higher, you lower the price when the new stuff comes out. Same laws for both companies. 4870 was an unknown mistake, the chip wasn't out and the preliminary tests showed it performing way less than when it launched.It was a precipitated launch. Prices had been fixed WAY before the final product. With drivers enhancements and such the 4870 performed WAY above what AMD was hoping for, it was a surprise to them. They couldn't play too much with the price because it was already out in the medias for a while. Shit happens, they have been sued for being lucky with their final products for price fixin and next gen cards AHD to go up in prices breaking the amazing deal they sold for.
chizow - Tuesday, September 18, 2012 - link
"I admit that AT LAUNCH the 7970 was worse than the gtx 280 compared to last gen parts but you have to consider what's coming out too."Finally, now was that so hard?
Galidou - Monday, September 17, 2012 - link
Worst increase in performance, not, gtx 680 is 20-25% average faster than gtx 580. Biggest increase in price, sure but do you know anything about price fixing between AMD and Nvidia, yep, the prices are fixed by both companies.Even if they were sued just before the days of radeon 4870 and gtx 280(thus explaining in part why the price of the 4870 wasn't adjusted to Nvidia because they were forbid to and were being checked) they continue to do that.
Galidou - Monday, September 17, 2012 - link
While speaking about all that, pricing of the 4870 and 7970 do you really know everything around that, because it seems not when you are arguing, you just seem to put everything on the shoulder of a company not knowing any of the background.Do you know the price of the 4870 was already decided and it was in correlation with Nvidia's 9000 series performance. That the 4870 was supposed to compete against 400$ cards and not win and the 4850 supposed to compete against 300$ series card and not win. You heard right, the 9k series, not the GTX 2xx.
The results even just before the coming out of the cards were already ''known''. The real things were quite different with the final product and last drivers enhancements. The performance of the card was actually a surprise, AMD never thought it was supposed to compete against the gtx 280, because they already knew the performance of the latter and that it was ''unnaittanable'' considering the size of the thing. Life is full of surprise you know.
Do you know that after that, Nvidia sued AMD/ATI for price fixing asking for more communications between launch and less ''surprises''. Yes, they SUED them because they had a nice surprise... AMD couldn't play with prices too much because they were already published by the media and it was not supposed to compete against gtx2xx series. They had hoped that at 300$ it would ''compete'' against the gtx260 and not win against i thus justifying the price of the things at launch. And here you are saying it's a mistake launching insults at me, telling me I have a low intelligence and showing you're a know it all....
Do you know that this price fixing obligation is the result of the pricing of the 7970, I bet AMD would of loved to price the latter at 400$ and could do it but it would of resulted in another war and more suing from Nvidia that wanted to price it's gtx 680 500$ 3 month after so to not break their consumers joy, they communicate A LOT more than before so everyone is happy, except now it hurts AMD because you compare to last gen and it makes things seems less of a deal. But with things back to normal we will be able to compare last gen after the refreshed radeon 7xxx parts and new gen after that.
Nvidia the ''giant'' suing companies on the limit of ''extinction'', nice image indeed. Imagine the rich bankers starting to sue people in the streets, and they are the one you defend so vigorously. If they are that rich, do you rightly think the gtx 280 was well priced even considering it was double the last generation... It just means one thing, they could sell their card for less money but instead they sue the other company to take more money from our pockets, nice image.... very nice..... But that doesn't mean I won't buy an Nvidia card, I just won't defend them as vigorously as you do.... For every Goliath, we need a David, and I prefer David over Goliath.... even if I admire the strenght of the latter....
Galidou - Monday, September 17, 2012 - link
I was wrong, Nvidia didn't sue over AMD, both companies were sued for price fixing but things are back now, anyway all this stuff is taking way too much of my time, you have your way of seeing things as facts, I have my way of seeing things as my opinion, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt because you're so much more intelligent than me and I don't care about the ultimate truth as I don't beleive in such a thing.Being sued back in 2008 in the times they were working on gtx2xx and 4870 series might explain the lack of information on each others and the reason why they couldn'T play with the price once they knew the surprise. They were probably forbid to adjust price based on each other performance for the benefit of the consumer. But the surprise of that SO small chip performing sometimes better than a gpu 110% bigger was a real shock for the small company.
CeriseCogburn - Wednesday, September 19, 2012 - link
You truly are an estrogen doused total licker bleeding red that no tamp can ever stop.Thanks for the pathetic entertainment.
Now you may whine some more in your sensitive little girl voice.
Galidou - Thursday, September 20, 2012 - link
Wow, chizow's acolyte is back. I guess it's his troll name and when he can'T stand it anymore he logs with CeriseCogburn to insult people so he Chizow's name remain clean.Who's whining, when I read you, it seems that's all you can do whine whine whine.... read everything you ever wrote in the last 6 months and that's ALL you do insulting people and whining.... look in the mirror dude.