Performant value recommendation

C

cyberslag5k

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 29, 2004
Messages
277
It's rig building time! I'm due for an upgrade (it's been like 4 years), and I'm trying to decide on a video card. I'm definitely going Nvidia (I made the AMD/ATI mistake last time around), and I'd like some suggestions. I'm looking for good value and good performance. I don't have a budget, per se, but obviously less is more.

I'm looking at a GK104, perhaps this one. I greatly respect ASUS, $290 is an acceptable price, and the reviews look solid (both from feedback and on the various review sites).

Would you guys mind weighing in on this?
 
The 660Ti is incredibly overpriced, even at $290, therefore, by definition, no 660Ti can provide a good value in my mind. The 7950 can be had for about that price, and the 7870LE based cards frogstomp the 660Ti for $60 less. Now, if you can get a GTX670 for just over $300, you might have a compeling cost/benefit argument.
 
jbltecnicspro said:
What games and settings are you hoping to play?
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I generally turn things up to 11 and then back down until I get to 40-50 FPS. Who knows what I'll play (finishing up XCOM now), I play all sorts of things when I have time (which is never).

The 660Ti is incredibly overpriced, even at $290, therefore, by definition, no 660Ti can provide a good value in my mind. The 7950 can be had for about that price, and the 7870LE based cards frogstomp the 660Ti for $60 less. Now, if you can get a GTX670 for just over $300, you might have a compeling cost/benefit argument.
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Mid-high $300's is about as good as I can do on a 670. If you know of a better deal I'm all for it.
 
cyberslag5k said:
I generally turn things up to 11 and then back down until I get to 40-50 FPS. Who knows what I'll play (finishing up XCOM now), I play all sorts of things when I have time (which is never).



Mid-high $300's is about as good as I can do on a 670. If you know of a better deal I'm all for it.
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What resolution?

During black friday/christmas I remember seeing 670s in the low 300's. I think Amazon's warehouse deals might have some lightly used ones available in that price range as well. Once you get the 670 into the mid/upper 300's, you're then competing against the 7970 cards, which will drop the 670's pants rather quickly making it a poor value at that price...
 
The 660 is a better value than the 660 Ti IMO. You can find them just under $200.
 
GTX660 is the best performance for value card in the NV line-up right now, especially for 1080p. As long as you don't care for ultra-high settings, it will play everything smoothly at 1080p. The next worthwhile step is the GTX670.

Every once in a while you'll find a GTX670 for around $300, I got mine during the holiday season for $305 after rebate with two games. Sold the games for $40 after ebay fees. I think the lowest price ever was a GTX670 for $260 on newegg with two games due to a loophole with a coupon, which lasted for a few days before they took it off. You have to keep an eye out on deals (there's quite a few deal tracking sites, and we have a hot deals forum).

Do not get a 660TI, for the price you might as well bump it up to a GTX670, since you are barely getting any upgrade from a 660.
 
cyberslag5k said:
It's rig building time! I'm due for an upgrade (it's been like 4 years), and I'm trying to decide on a video card. I'm definitely going Nvidia (I made the AMD/ATI mistake last time around), and I'd like some suggestions. I'm looking for good value and good performance. I don't have a budget, per se, but obviously less is more.

I'm looking at a GK104, perhaps this one. I greatly respect ASUS, $290 is an acceptable price, and the reviews look solid (both from feedback and on the various review sites).

Would you guys mind weighing in on this?
Click to expand...

If you're not bent upon having an Nvidia card for that price ($290 for the ridiculously overpriced 660ti) you can have a Sapphire 7950 Boost edition which when oced can go toe to toe with a 7970 GHz edition (albeit on stock-ish settings), so its incredible value for $280 (current price).
A 670 in the mid-low 300 range could be good value but bear in mind that a 7970 can be had for as low as $360 (Powercolor after MIR on N'egg).
 
I bought this card. It's a good one. Zotac has been around for a while, they're a good brand.

My rebate has been approved and will be sent out soon.
 
David_Schroth said:
The 660Ti is incredibly overpriced, even at $290, therefore, by definition, no 660Ti can provide a good value in my mind. The 7950 can be had for about that price, and the 7870LE based cards frogstomp the 660Ti for $60 less. Now, if you can get a GTX670 for just over $300, you might have a compeling cost/benefit argument.
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How does the 7870LE "frogstomp" the 660ti?

Looking at benchmarks using the latest betas the best the 7950 can manage is to tie the 660ti in one game, with the 660ti faster in the other two (and STILL delivering better frame latency even AFTER the AMD driver improvements specifically addressing this).

http://techreport.com/review/24218/a-driver-update-to-reduce-radeon-frame-times/2

Which videocard is "frogstomping" which again?
 
Isn't the 660 based on GK106? Last time I checked the 660Ti was the best value play, has that changed?
 
The 7950 is a CHAMPION overclocker.

I did not read the article in details but it appears that these were done at stock (880/1250) clocks.
Most 7950s can go to 1100 on core (1500-1600 on Memory, but that is inconsequential) with performance boosts (in terms of FPS) anywhere from 20-30%

Are we arguing that a 7950 is not better value (in terms of game performance and higher frames) than a 660ti?
 
GotNoRice said:
How does the 7870LE "frogstomp" the 660ti?

Looking at benchmarks using the latest betas the best the 7950 can manage is to tie the 660ti in one game, with the 660ti faster in the other two (and STILL delivering better frame latency even AFTER the AMD driver improvements specifically addressing this).

http://techreport.com/review/24218/a-driver-update-to-reduce-radeon-frame-times/2

Which videocard is "frogstomping" which again?
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I didn't spin through all the pages in that link, however, as you may know from our methodology, frames per second is not king. The difference between 71 and 74 frames per second is generally immaterial to the playability of a game at a particular setting. I also see that each of the three games in that article are not current members of our evaluation suite.

I'm basing my opinion on the review of a 7870LE that I did a few weeks back where I specifically compared it to a 660Ti. Across the board, the 7870LE provided the same or better game play experience compared to the 660Ti, and usually did so a few FPS faster. To me, matching or slightly outrunning a card that is $60 more expensive (after rebates are considered for both), is frog stomping, Battletoads style.

With regards to frame latencies in single GPU set ups, I have not found that to be significant on our suite of games as far as playablility goes. When you get into multi-GPU setups, that is where the frame latency starts to make a bigger difference, as has been documented in Brent's reviews of SLI vs Crossfire set ups.
 
QDemon19 said:
The 7950 is a CHAMPION overclocker.

I did not read the article in details but it appears that these were done at stock (880/1250) clocks.
Most 7950s can go to 1100 on core (1500-1600 on Memory, but that is inconsequential) with performance boosts (in terms of FPS) anywhere from 20-30%

Are we arguing that a 7950 is not better value (in terms of game performance and higher frames) than a 660ti?
Click to expand...

Overclocking, firstly, is never guaranteed. I had a 7970 that wouldn't overclock another 100 MHz. Secondly, 13.1/13.2 drivers for AMD may actually push down framerates, as they're now tweaking more for frame stability. As Mr. Schroth would say, FPS isn't king.

Now, personally I believe for value, even the 7870LE is too much for what you need to do. Both the 7870 and the 660 were buyable for under $180 during the holiday season, and will run most games flawlessly at 1080p.

The 660Ti is quite a dog and unless it can be had for 7870LE prices, isn't worth considering. The 670 can be bought for $300 and is quite a performer. These intermediate cards are just a ripoff. Compare a $300 670 to a $280 7950, and we're back on even terms again (NV is always a bit more expensive than AMD).

Since OP wants NV, the GTX 660 holds a nice value. Under $200 for 2/3 the performance of a 7950/670, which is enough for most users today.
 
Eureka! said:
Overclocking, firstly, is never guaranteed. I had a 7970 that wouldn't overclock another 100 MHz. Secondly, 13.1/13.2 drivers for AMD may actually push down framerates, as they're now tweaking more for frame stability. As Mr. Schroth would say, FPS isn't king.

Now, personally I believe for value, even the 7870LE is too much for what you need to do. Both the 7870 and the 660 were buyable for under $180 during the holiday season, and will run most games flawlessly at 1080p.

The 660Ti is quite a dog and unless it can be had for 7870LE prices, isn't worth considering. The 670 can be bought for $300 and is quite a performer. These intermediate cards are just a ripoff. Compare a $300 670 to a $280 7950, and we're back on even terms again (NV is always a bit more expensive than AMD).

Since OP wants NV, the GTX 660 holds a nice value. Under $200 for 2/3 the performance of a 7950/670, which is enough for most users today.
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Yes I agree.I actually saw this thread right when the OP posted, but since he said NVidia decided against posting and suggesting that a 660ti for $300 is a rip-off (especially when a 670 can be had for some more, not even talking about AMD's offerings).

If OP is willing to head into mid 300 and wants only Nvidia then a 670 is a very good choice.
 
Ok so, if the OP can find a GTX 670 for close to $300, and the 660Ti hasn't had a similar drop in price the 670 is def the way to go.
 
jbltecnicspro said:
What games and settings are you hoping to play?
Click to expand...

^^ This

I always need to know what resolution you will be gaming at and what games you plan to play then it's much easier to tell what hardware to build around those goals

E.G. This time around I built a Nv surround rig using 3 24 inch monitors running portrait surround at 3240x1920 @ 120hz. Based on the games I play I was able to choose the hardware for my rig based on my goals and I know just where to put my settings in games to achieve 120fps in most games.

So in short, what resolution will you be gaming at and what is a short list of at least 3 games that will be taking your time for the next 6 months to a year?
 
OP your experience with HD 5850 CF might have been bad but for single GPU AMD provides stable and excellent performance. right now HD 7950 is the best price perf card. with the game bundle they are an amazing deal

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?p=GA-795WF3G
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?p=AT-7950BST

at stock speeds these cards match GTX 670. at the same clocks HD 7950 is 3 - 6% slower than HD 7970. overclock the HD 7950 to 1.1 Ghz and you can match HD 7970 Ghz performance.

if you want Nvidia go for GTX 670.

http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?name=MSI-670_PE
 
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