660 Ti brand query

[Xs]

So, I'm probably going to take advantage of Nvidia's F2P bundle currently going on

Wondering if anyone has any suggestions for the specific branding to go with, currently I'm more of a MSI/Asus man, but I'm looking to see how the other brands match up

Most likely looking at a 660 Ti, preferably one with decent OC options with a decently quiet fan, so if anyone has experience with any of the cards in that line up I'd love to hear it!

As for the PC formalities, its a 2500k ~4.6ghz build with all the bells and whistles to go with it, just had a 450 GTS as a temp till I could afford this

[n0cturnal]

MSI Power Edition has unlocked voltage from the factory which should translate into better overclocking, but you still have to play the silicon lottery :P

[Xs]

MSI Power Edition has unlocked voltage from the factory which should translate into better overclocking, but you still have to play the silicon lottery :P

Yeah atm I'm looking at that one as the most likely, just want to make sure I'm not missing something obvious and wasting £40

[smiff]

Having looked at several reviews of both MSI's and Gigabyte's 660 ti (Asus is a safe bet, however, they do tend to be a bit pricy and their customer support is nothing to speak of if my memory serves me right), the difference between the two is non-existant.

They OC about the same (comes down to the "silicone lottery"), they keep identical temps, identical acoustics and identical performance as well. The only governing factor that should come into play here is price and/or looks.

Edit: n0cturnal beat me to it, sorta.

[Xs]

Having looked at several reviews of both MSI's and Gigabyte's 660 ti (Asus is a safe bet, however, they do tend to be a bit pricy and their customer support is nothing to speak of if my memory serves me right), the difference between the two is non-existant.

They OC about the same (comes down to the "silicone lottery"), they keep identical temps, identical acoustics and identical performance as well. The only governing factor that should come into play here is price and/or looks.

Thanks, wasn't too sure on Gigabyte as a graphics card brand, I've heard mixed responses

[Deleted]

MSI Power Edition has unlocked voltage from the factory which should translate into better overclocking, but you still have to play the silicon lottery :P

Unlocked but still locked to 1.175v afaik

[Saithes]

I'd honestly pass on the MSI Power Editions... After this it's really not worth the risk. So far though from what I've seen, EVGA has some of the best ASIC Quality 660 Ti's.

ASIC Quality essentially dictates the Silicons quality when its binned. It runs on a scale of 0-100% and is scaled as so:

Low ASIC Quality usually means higher default voltages and higher power consumption(obviously). It will overclock lower on air because of the increased power draw and higher requirement of voltages to attain clocks.

Higher ASIC Quality usually means the opposite of above and cards with higher usually have lower default voltages and will overclock much higher using lower amounts of voltage.

[Xs]

I'd honestly pass on the MSI Power Editions... After this it's really not worth the risk. So far though from what I've seen, EVGA has some of the best ASIC Quality 660 Ti's.

Wow, good job MSI, thanks

[Optionlul]

I have nothing but good things to say about EVGA, ive used their cards for years now.

[Deleted]

evga signature 2 or a ZOTAC AMP should work for you.

[Xs]

evga signature 2 or a ZOTAC AMP should work for you.

They both seem excessively priced given what the internet says about them, and the only thing that seems worth the bonus is the Zotac's 5 yr warranty, but most if not all of the range come with a 3 yr warranty, and to be fair if the card lasts 3 years I'll be more than happy since my GPU lifespan is around 1.5-2 yrs

Also your sig made me dig up my old validation test I did

Coz why not

[Deleted]

They both seem excessively priced given what the internet says about them, and the only thing that seems worth the bonus is the Zotac's 5 yr warranty, but most if not all of the range come with a 3 yr warranty, and to be fair if the card lasts 3 years I'll be more than happy since my GPU lifespan is around 1.5-2 yrs

Also your sig made me dig up my old validation test I did

Coz why not

^^
what are the prices of the cards you are looking at?
personally a good warranty gives quite some peace of mind in the unfortunate event something goes wrong. (reason why im sticking to evga for titan that is incoming soon later down the line being able to go watercooling without voiding warranty is a good option aswell)
also what does the internet say about them? because performance wise the zotac one is top performer together with a gigabyte edition that is quite rare to buy. (or atleast around here)

[Deleted]

If you are based in the UK then be wary of what brand you buy. EVGA are a great brand in the US, they seem abit meh in the UK in all honesty. Also their top of the line stuff, their signature series, are the ones which come highly recommended but at a cost. Their reference cards aren't great. They're noisy but they are also competitively priced versus other GTX 660TIs.

[Xs]

^^
what are the prices of the cards you are looking at?
personally a good warranty gives quite some peace of mind in the unfortunate event something goes wrong. (reason why im sticking to evga for titan that is incoming soon later down the line being able to go watercooling without voiding warranty is a good option aswell)
also what does the internet say about them? because performance wise the zotac one is top performer together with a gigabyte edition that is quite rare to buy. (or atleast around here)

If you are based in the UK then be wary of what brand you buy. EVGA are a great brand in the US, they seem abit meh in the UK in all honesty. Also their top of the line stuff, their signature series, are the ones which a highly recommended, but they come at a cost. Their reference cards aren't great. They're noisy but they are also competitively priced versus other GTX 660TIs.

it pretty much said that noisy and expensive for what you get, and as far as the warranties go, as I said I'm not looking for a card that is 100% going to live for 5 years if I have to pay £20-30 extra since I'll probably replace it with an 800 series card before any of their standard 3 year warranties run out

Also price range is flexible, I just have to get a mid range 660 Ti to fit it, which works out around the £200-250 mark plus the F2P voucher with the current nvidia deal

[Deleted]

Well Gigabyte have the best RMA service in the UK just incase things do go bellyup.

This one from DABS is quite good

http://www.dabs.com/products/gigabyt...i-oc-87LS.html - and should be within budget.

Also here is a review done from xbitlabs comparing all the high end GTX 660TIs

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/gra...i_3.html#sect0.

If you're able to get a decent overclock on the memory and GPU clocks then you're looking at stock GTX 670 performance.

[Xs]

Well Gigabyte have the best RMA service in the UK just incase things do go bellyup.

This one from DABS is quite good

http://www.dabs.com/products/gigabyt...i-oc-87LS.html - and should be within budget.

Also here is a review done from xbitlabs comparing all the high end GTX 660TIs

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/gra...i_3.html#sect0.

If you're able to get a decent overclock on the memory and GPU clocks then you're looking at stock GTX 670 performance.

Yeah that's what I plan to do, getting the mid range 660 Ti card from the brand of choice and clocking it

And ty for the link

[DeltrusDisc]

MSI Power Edition has unlocked voltage from the factory which should translate into better overclocking, but you still have to play the silicon lottery :P

This one of the Gigabyte WindForce x3, imo. They are both very good cards. The Asus DC2 is great too.

[Skarsguard]

You can't go wrong with the Asus DC2 if you want a solid card and know what your going to get then the the ASUS and IMO it is the best looking card out of all the cards.

[Drakoes]

I'd choose the MSI Power Edition model. I've always loved MSI's serial-based warranty, and the performance and aesthetics (both in terms of cooling and noise) of their non-reference Twin Frozr coolers.

[Xs]

You can't go wrong with the Asus DC2 if you want a solid card and know what your going to get then the the ASUS and IMO it is the best looking card out of all the cards.

Yeah, I mean ASUS build their OC spec cards with some of the best OCers in the world, and having met/worked with the Danish(?) ASUS events rep, I can tell how much they pay attention to what they have to say