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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti penned for mid-August?

by Parm Mann on 19 July 2012, 09:53

Tags: NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA)

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We've been impressed with NVIDIA's top-end GeForce GTX 690, GTX 680 and GTX 670 graphics cards, but if recent history has told us anything, it's that the next card down the line - the GTX x60 - is the one that really tickles many users' fancy.

The GeForce GTX 460 was an awesome card (heck, it still is), the GeForce GTX 560 Ti was a big seller, and it's only a matter of time until NVIDIA follows up with a GeForce GTX 660 Ti that hits the sweet spot of performance and sub-$300 pricing.

But how long can you expect to wait? Well, according to the latest rumours circulating from Swedish website sweclockers.com, the long-awaited GeForce GTX 660 Ti will make its debut in the third week of August. NVIDIA's done well to keep the card under wraps with only a month to go, but a few rumoured specifications are beginning to leak through the cracks.

According to reports, the GeForce GTX 660 Ti will be based on the existing GK104 die, with NVIDIA opting to retain seven active Streaming Multiprocessors. This will give the card the same number of processors as the GeForce GTX 670 - 1,344 - but NVIDIA will differentiate its number-three solution with a tighter 192-bit memory bus, a smaller 1.5GB frame buffer and, presumably, lower clock speeds.

All logical steps, and the final package is said to be arriving with a $299 (£230) price tag that will put the GeForce GTX 660 Ti right up against AMD's Radeon HD 7870.

Should these specifications hold true, here's how NVIDIA's three fastest single-GPU graphics cards will compare:

  GeForce GTX 680
(2,048MB)
GeForce GTX 670
(2,048MB)
GeForce GTX 660 Ti
(1,536MB)
Launch Date March 2012 May 2012 August 2012
DX API 11.1 11.1 11.1
Process 28nm 28nm 28nm
Transistors 3.54bn 3.54bn 3.54bn
Die Size 294mm² 294mm² 294mm²
Streaming Multiprocessors 8 7 7
Processors 1,536 1,344 1,344
Texture Units 128 112 112
ROP Units 32 32 32
GPU/Shader Clock (MHz) 1,006 915 Unknown
Boost Clock (MHz) 1,058 980 Unknown
Memory Size (MB) 2,048 2,048 1,536
Memory Clock (MHz) 6,008 6,008 Unknown
Memory Bus (bits) 256 256 192
Power Connectors 6+6 6+6 Unknown
TDP (watts) 195 170 Unknown
Release MSRP $499 $399 $299



HEXUS Forums :: 13 Comments

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It appears the HD7950 3GB is starting to drop in price with a few retailers having pre-overclocked models under £250. So perhaps it might be the HD7950 against the GTX660TI by August.

Now,hopefully we shall have some more powerful cards for under £200 in the next few months.

However,what has happened to the GK106?? The GK104 is nearly 40% bigger than Pitcairn,so seems a rather large part for them to use.
Give it a month for the dust to settle on the mid-range price war and I think it'll be time to buy a new graphics card!
I'm going to make some basic predictions again :D

Performance ~ 5% faster than HD7870 (at reference clock speeds for both cards)
Price ~ £230 for cheapest models (£240 at launch)
Power consumption slightly better than 7870 (say 5W at load)

The 7870 can be had for £220 if you shop around at the moment, let's see how close I am :)
cptwhite_uk
I'm going to make some basic predictions again :D

Performance ~ 5% faster than HD7870 (at reference clock speeds for both cards)
Price ~ £230 for cheapest models (£240 at launch)
Power consumption slightly better than 7870 (say 5W at load)

The 7870 can be had for £220 if you shop around at the moment, let's see how close I am :)

I'd say more like £250 if you wish to get your hands on Gigabyte OC or ASUS Direct CU versions. Availability won't be great either (or will it?). And that's a month away. You can get GTX 570 and GTX 560 448 core edition from same Gigabyte/ASUS for below £200 mark now. I am sure the new GTX 660 will be 15% faster but who cares, it will also cost 15% more. It's too long a wait. I am getting GTX 560 448 or GTX 570 next week. Enough is enough.
I have a Gigabyte 460 OC atm - will probably looking to upgrade - now should I sell before launch and be without BF3 for a month!