Help me decide to choose between the GTx 460 and 660Ti

AvoK95

Im getting my new 750W PSU next week and im gonna save up on some money to buy a graphics card
I got 2 choices here
EVGA 01G-P3-1371-TR Geforce GTX460 1GB DDR5 Dual w/TV $205.00
and
EVGA 01G-P3-1556-KR GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB DDR5 Dual w/TV $175.00

i KNOW that the 460 could dominate the 550Ti but i have a condition :P
if i get the 460 will i be able to SLI it with another graphics card from 5xx series ? such as a GTX 570 ??

and also i got another question
i have 2 PCI-E slots under the vga slot and was wondering on getting a soundcard in the future. since the 460 or the 550Ti use 2 slots my last PCI-E slot will be right under the card. so i jst wanted to ask if i get a soundcard(such as creative) do you think it will block any fans??

and speaking of fans ...anybody know where i could find 12CM case fans that are low on noise ?? ( i know pc and parts has them) but i would like to purchase them from somewhere els since the ones that pc and parts have are very load

Thanks for the help in advance :)

Xsever

According to Techpowerup, the 460 is 14% faster than the 550.

Check the review here for much more info: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GeForce_GTX_550_Ti_Cyclone_II/1.html

AvoK95

Xsever wroteAccording to Techpowerup, the 460 is 14% faster than the 550.

Check the review here for much more info: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GeForce_GTX_550_Ti_Cyclone_II/1.html

i know but i would like to find out if it can be SLI-d with a 5xx series card

MegaCool

Get the 550 Ti and SLI it later with another 550 Ti. I don't think it's possible to have two different GPU models SLI'ed on the same MB - unless you want to use it for PhysX. Also the 5xx series are more power efficient and don't have the overheating issue plagued in the 4xx entry.

I say get the 560 Ti.

AvoK95

the 560TI cost 400$ here but 250$ in the US ... if i find a 560TI i will definitely get it

MegaCool

I'm not sure where did you spot that ridiculous pricing,
I've yet to update my rig signature below :p but I finally got a factory overclocked ASUS 560Ti for $320. And I have to say it was well worth the upgrade from my three year old ATI card. This thing is a beast combined with even my Core i3 (which I overclocked from reference up to 3.6GHz). I get up to 60-70fps in Battlefield: BC2 @1080p with 16xAF and 32xCSAA enabled :p (And that's a heavily cpu dependent game)

Though, you can still get the reference 810MHz ASUS 560 Ti card for (I think $280) from PCandParts.

AvoK95

MegaCool wroteI'm not sure where did you spot that ridiculous pricing,
I've yet to update my rig signature below :p but I finally got a factory overclocked ASUS 560Ti for $320. And I have to say it was well worth the upgrade from my three year old ATI card. This thing is a beast combined with even my Core i3 (which I overclocked from reference up to 3.6GHz). I get up to 60-70fps in Battlefield: BC2 @1080p with 16xAF and 32xCSAA enabled :p (And that's a heavily cpu dependent game)

Though, you can still get the reference 810MHz ASUS 560 Ti card for (I think $280) from PCandParts.

add me on my email i got some things i like to ask you ..lol

yasamoka

MegaCool wroteI'm not sure where did you spot that ridiculous pricing,
I've yet to update my rig signature below :p but I finally got a factory overclocked ASUS 560Ti for $320. And I have to say it was well worth the upgrade from my three year old ATI card. This thing is a beast combined with even my Core i3 (which I overclocked from reference up to 3.6GHz). I get up to 60-70fps in Battlefield: BC2 @1080p with 16xAF and 32xCSAA enabled :p (And that's a heavily cpu dependent game)

Though, you can still get the reference 810MHz ASUS 560 Ti card for (I think $280) from PCandParts.

Hey dude you enjoying 1080p with all its glory now? :D

OC the heck out of it and tell us your results. Don't forget!

shant

560 with a 450 or 250 as phisx would be great, 560 can do 1080p easily, or go with 560 and 550 sli if you wanna use anti aliasing with good framrates

yasamoka

shant wrote560 with a 450 or 250 as phisx would be great, 560 can do 1080p easily, or go with 560 and 550 sli if you wanna use anti aliasing with good framrates

If you're getting 2 cards, how about getting, for the same price a GTX 570 or 580 and overclocking that? PhysX doesn't consume much...few games...little physX effects...I have a GTX 260 and 9600GT PhysX card and telling you that

shant

yasamoka wrote
shant wrote560 with a 450 or 250 as phisx would be great, 560 can do 1080p easily, or go with 560 and 550 sli if you wanna use anti aliasing with good framrates
If you're getting 2 cards, how about getting, for the same price a GTX 570 or 580 and overclocking that? PhysX doesn't consume much...few games...little physX effects...I have a GTX 260 and 9600GT PhysX card and telling you that

agreed, not all games are sli friendly

AvoK95

my power supply is getting shipped tomorrow so time for a graphics card :D
i am considering getting the Asus GTX 560Ti ...i don't need anything better because i am not a hardcore gamer , i only like decent graphics and some FPS.
if in due time my system starts to lag i will consider getting a seconds card like a 550 or another 560

yasamoka

AvoK95 wrotemy power supply is getting shipped tomorrow so time for a graphics card :D
i am considering getting the Asus GTX 560Ti ...i don't need anything better because i am not a hardcore gamer , i only like decent graphics and some FPS.
if in due time my system starts to lag i will consider getting a seconds card like a 550 or another 560

You cannot SLI 560 with 550. Second thing, by the time such a high-midrange / low high-end card starts to lag, cards that far outstrip the card's potential for little money will be available. By then, SLI would sound like a power-hungry, low value, feature-deprived idea. New cards have newer features. Old cards consume more power. My advice is: either SLI immediately or at max after 1 year or forget about it and wait for something better.

There's micro-stuttering to consider, also. Look it up. It would definitely drive me nuts. SLI does not scale theoretically (2x), max usually is 1.8x and rarely 1.9x.

AvoK95

yasamoka wrote
AvoK95 wrotemy power supply is getting shipped tomorrow so time for a graphics card :D
i am considering getting the Asus GTX 560Ti ...i don't need anything better because i am not a hardcore gamer , i only like decent graphics and some FPS.
if in due time my system starts to lag i will consider getting a seconds card like a 550 or another 560
You cannot SLI 560 with 550. Second thing, by the time such a high-midrange / low high-end card starts to lag, cards that far outstrip the card's potential for little money will be available. By then, SLI would sound like a power-hungry, low value, feature-deprived idea. New cards have newer features. Old cards consume more power. My advice is: either SLI immediately or at max after 1 year or forget about it and wait for something better.

There's micro-stuttering to consider, also. Look it up. It would definitely drive me nuts. SLI does not scale theoretically (2x), max usually is 1.8x and rarely 1.9x.

Ill just use it and get a better card later

practo

I usually use this site to compare high-end video cards:

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

yasamoka

practo wroteI usually use this site to compare high-end video cards:

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html

It positions the GTX 295 lower than the GTX 260 when the GTX 295 is essentially a dual card where each card has 240 SPs, 576MHz core clock, 896MB. The GTX 260 has 192-216 SPs, 576MHz core clock, 896MB. A GTX 275, which is essentially half a GTX 295, is more powerful than the GTX 260. So even if only one GPU was running in the GTX 295, it should score higher.

Second, it positions the GTX 460 and Radeon HD5970 as almost equal. That's impossible, knowing that even the 5850 (half a 5970) is more powerful than a GTX 460 since it pretty much closes the gap with a GTX 470.

yasamoka

Oh and answering your other questions, if you get a soundcard that isn't too long, it should not block a STOCK-cooled graphics card. This is because the fan is positioned at the end of the card. Be careful to measure, though, because the GTX 460 is a quite short card, as it doesn't need as much cooling as the GTX 470 / 480 / 570 / 580.

Custom cooling usually maxes out the fan number and area and as such, a sound card would block the cooling. One solution is to check how your motherboard issues its PCI-E lanes to the slots. If it can issue x1 to the top slot and x16 to another slot, then you can place your soundcard above the graphics card.

You need a really good sound system to take advantage of the soundcard. Are you sure you have that? I mean a system as in low hi-fi and above. Good headphones / surround speaker systems / 2.1 speakers.

AvoK95

yasamoka wroteOh and answering your other questions, if you get a soundcard that isn't too long, it should not block a STOCK-cooled graphics card. This is because the fan is positioned at the end of the card. Be careful to measure, though, because the GTX 460 is a quite short card, as it doesn't need as much cooling as the GTX 470 / 480 / 570 / 580.

Custom cooling usually maxes out the fan number and area and as such, a sound card would block the cooling. One solution is to check how your motherboard issues its PCI-E lanes to the slots. If it can issue x1 to the top slot and x16 to another slot, then you can place your soundcard above the graphics card.

You need a really good sound system to take advantage of the soundcard. Are you sure you have that? I mean a system as in low hi-fi and above. Good headphones / surround speaker systems / 2.1 speakers.

i got a 5.1 surround system and a creative headset
but i am not going the buy the 460, i am going the buy the asus 560 which has 2 fans...so i cant buy any soundcard without blocking a fan and i dont have any pci e slots on top of the pci e x16 slot, so i have to wait to find and change my motherboard aswell

yasamoka

No i mean THAT x16 slot, the first slot you place your graphics card in. It should fit x1, x4, and x16 (physically) cards. No need to change the board for that. Or you could place the soundcard in the third slot. Then it wouldn't block airflow. It's just like running SLI with 1 slot space between the cards, but in this instance the lower one doesn't produce much heat, and isn't as large.

Check this store out. He's the ASUS dealer here in Lebanon. He has ASUS GTX 560Ti DirectCU II:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Republic-of-Gamers-Store/215692111791867?ref=hnav

yasamoka

I suggest you try a soundcard before you buy one. If you have good ears, you'll be able to detect the difference. Often, they aren't clear and things will sound "richer" or "broader". At other times, playing games in surround over a soundcard that will let you pinpoint exactly where somebody is coming from will blow away integrated solutions.

Be careful that a better soundcard will reveal bad sound quality in low bit-rate recordings much more clearly, including any you have previously recorded / mixed :P