Genuine question, not trying to annoy or take the piss, but I thought they'd only need retesting whenever the testbench machine is upgraded? Or is that upgraded with every new gfx card release? I assume the gfx driver version's probably newer, but surely that'd be it?
I need to vent. Just looked up the GTX 660 Ti on Proshop, which is probably the most widely used (r)etailer in Denmark and the one most akin to Scan. They're currently listing 14 models with about half of them in stock. So far, so good. Now we get to the issue of price. The cheapest one you can get is a reference model from Inno3D and it'll set you back DKK 2449 (about 357 GBP). However, the most expensive one is another model from Inno3D which will set you back a whopping DKK 3295 (about 346 GBP)!!! That is _WELL_ into GTX 670 territory. The rest of the cards cost between DKK 2643 (next-cheapest) and DKK 2942 (next-most expensive). If you think you get ripped off in the UK, then think again. I mean, what the f!?k gives?!?!?! Who are they thinking will buy these cards? Only target group I can think of are technically illiterate rich trust fund kids. nVidia really has shot itself in the foot here. About 200 - 220 GBP for the reference model, and custom models price-adjusted according to that, would be fair, but this....?
Can you not buy from a UK dealer? Maybe ship to someone here for testing to make sure it isn't DOA and then out to you if you are worried about that sort of thing? Although, TBH, including insurance for a £250 card and shipping, I'm not sure it would work out much cheaper... but may do if an etailer can dispatch straight to you? Maybe try Scan sales team... is there any laws saying they can't send to you? Is Denmark restrictive on shipping also?
Thanks for your concern. I could pick up a GTX 660 Ti for about 245 GBP today if I wanted. I was just so shocked that this is apparently the odd one out here, pricewise. The more common price seems to lie around 290 GBP, which I find utterly insane. My main problem with the GTX 660 Ti, apart from not being overly wowed by the performance, is that I wouldn't be able to fit it in my rig anyway. I can barely fit the reference HD 5770 I'm using now (about 21 cm), although apparently some Zotac models clock in at around 19 cm. As it stands I'll probably be looking at a GTX 670 a couple of months down the line, when I've hopefully upgraded the majority of my rig, including the case.
im still not sure what to get. 660Ti can be had for £240 670 is £290 7870 is £220 7950 is £255 660 as far as i can tell looks the best buy for 1920x1080/1200. Is the 670 really worth the extra £50 or 17% increase in price ?
Having looked around a few benchmarks, and reviews, there do seem to be widely differing figures, and opinions, depending who's doing them and WHERE they are. Apart from a general consensus that 660's are rubbish at Metro, opinions seem to vary from "brilliant" to "rubbish". Were the UK price £220, rather than £240+ (worse, in Denmark, by the sounds of it), would we not be saying "nice". Not everyone needs, wants, or can afford a 670+. Simple supply and demand. If the 660's don't sell, at £240+, the price WILL come down (a bit). For anyone, on a "low 200's" budget, is not the best policy, if you can, wait a bit, for the "dust to settle"?
Put it like this: up until 24 hours ago would you have felt that a GTX 580 was enough for 1080 gaming? If yes (which is the correct answer) then the 660Ti will do you proud, as it's marginally faster. If no eyebrow then you are wrong, but should be looking 670 or above.
Yep, if you're happy at 1080p, a 660 will be enough. Of course, buy the cheapest one possible. If you're willing to cough up £260-£270 for a higher end 660 then you may as well plump for a 670.
From what I can see... isn't the 7870 a better buy than the 660ti? Same amount of RAM, about £20 cheaper, similar performance in most games; haven't looked at proper reviews yet, but isn't the 7870 a reasonable overclocker also? In fact, I might settle on a 7870 myself
The best line I've seen, in a review, comparing the 660's to a HD7950, was that the 660's were somewhere between 50% better, and 25% worse (depending which 660, and what you want to do with it). Highly conclusive! (and informative)
it's again falling into the same micro-price/performance-points as with the last gen, tempting you into spending just that little bit more for just little bit more performance. 1) 580 -> 680 2) 6970 -> 7970 3) 570 -> 670 4) 560 -> 660 5) 6950 -> 7950
There do seem to be some games at the moment, like BF3, that Nvidia just massacre AMD cards in. It throws everything off. Obviously there are opposite swings, but particularly BF3, it is pronounced. From what I've seen, in Skyrim I'd be ok with a 7870 and not be missing out too much by not having a 660ti. I also plan on re-playing Crysis probably at some point... where anandtech, once again show minimum improvement if any over a 7870 using a 660ti. This 660 ti is a mixed kettle of fish I tell ya! In fact, of the 3 sites I frequent, this is the only site that puts the 660 ti above the 7870 in Skyrim. Also, I may end up playing Max Payne 3, and according to Tomshardware, the radeons are better for that.
As I see it, part of the problem is that, with no nVidia "reference" 660Ti, most of what's being tested are various factory overclocked offerings, which are bound to vary, in performance. Once you, then, start comparing averages, things are going to be skewed. If you compare, say, a 660Ti Asus TOP, with a 670 Asus TOP, at least it makes a BIT more sense. Comparing it to a basic 670 is bound to look silly.
That line is from the review on AnandTech. The same review also voices one of my main concerns about the GTX 660 Ti, namely how nVidia tackled the issue of a 192 bit memory and 2 GB memory. That's two figures that don't really mesh and what nVidia has done was quite "inventive", but not necessarily in a good way. But hey, it was totally impossible to release the card with 1.5 GB memory, which would have been a better fit, since that would be less memory than "the competition" offers.
