AMD Radeon HD 7950 (3GB) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti (2GB) or the Non-Ti version w/ 3GB?

Question

Which card would be better for gaming? I've been reading about it over the past few days but I cant come to a decision. I'm going to be getting a new computer from iBUYPOWER.com sometime in the close future and would like to know which would be better. I know that the NVIDIA has Advanced PhysX, but AMD can enable PhysX just not on the advanced version that NVIDIA already has. Also, what processor would be optimal for either of these cards? Another thing to factor in, but NOT A DECIDING FACTOR (I just want it to not be a main thing, just to consider it an extra reward) is that the AMD card would come with a few free games: Crysis 3, Bioshock Infinite, Far Cry 3 Blood dragon, Far Cry 3, Sleeping dogs, Hitman Absolution, and 20% off Medal of Honor Warfighter. 

The NVIDIA card would come with Metro: Last Light and 25$ currencies in Hawken, World of Tanks, and Planetside 2.

Again, i dont want that to decide it but its an added benefit. The difference in prices isnt that big, with 2$ less for the 3GB 660 and 10$ less for the 660 Ti 2GB. 

I've read that not many games make use of Advanced PhysX but I've seen borderlands 2 run with it and the particles seem like a nice add on, but it also looks like it would get real old real fast.
Also, the GTX 670 is 86$ more than that radeon, and 96$ more than the 660 Ti, but a 660 Ti w/ 3GB is 6$ less than the 670. Would there be a noticeable difference between the 670 and 660 ti? Would the Ti w/ 3GB be better than the 670 w/ 2GB? Or even just the 660 Ti w/ 2GB better than the 670?

I would also like to know any possible bottlenecks with either of them, with ANY piece of a PC. Thank you in advanced for your answers :)

C-Man · Accepted Answer

The amount of VRAM (3GB vs 2GB) really isn't a factor unless you're running multiple monitors.  For a single 1920x1080 monitor, there's no difference.  If you're running at extreme resolutions like 2560x1600 or dual 1080p screens. that's when 3GB would matter.

On raw performance, it does depend upon the specific game titles you play.  Some titles are more optimized for AMD cards, others are more optimized for Nvidia cards- so you'll want to check benchmarks in the games you plan to play most often.   But the general performance breakdown is that the Radeon HD 7950 is slightly better than the GeForce GTX 660 Ti, especially at higher screen resolutions.  For example, notice the GTX 660 Ti performs better in BF3 at 1680x1050, but at 1920x1200 the HD 7950 takes the lead.  That's partially because the GTX 660 Ti only has a 192-bit memory interface compared to 256-bit for the HD 7950.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Catalyst_12.11_Performance/5.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/tahiti-le-7870-7930-benchmark,3401-3.html

The GTX 670 is a level above both of those cards, and a better choice for high-end gaming.  However, keep in mind that the recently released GTX 770 smokes the GTX 670 and was supposed to sell for roughly the same price.  If your budget and power supply allow, that's the bang/buck pick.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2013/05/31/nvidia-geforce-gtx-770-2gb-review/3

Note that it's not a question of "advanced PhysX".  Only Nvidia cards have any hardware-level PhysX support.  With AMD cards terrain physics calculations are offloaded to your CPU, not handled by the GPU.

Proto · Answer

If you can afford it, the GTX 670.

The Radeon HD 7950 if strictly choosing between the $300ish cards.

Fdasf what are you smoking? The Radeon HD 7870 Ghz edition beats the GeForce GTX 660 (non-Ti) in most games, but is slower than a GTX 660 in BF3 and Crysis 3.  But the HD 7870 doesn't beat a GTX 660 Ti in any scenario.

The new Radeon HD 7870 LE (i.e. the 7930) beats the GTX 660 Ti, but that's a completely different card.

Fdasf · Answer

I would say go with the radeon 7950, it beats both the 660 ti 2 and 3 gb versions, i say this from personal experience. The radeon 7870 ghz edition actually beats the 2 gb 660 ti. They are closely matched but the 7870 pulls through with a few more fps then the 2 gb 660ti. So unless your gonna get a 670 or 680 the radeon 7950 should be your choice.

AJ · Answer

the 660 TI is the best choice, You are basically getting the performance of the 670 at 660 prices.

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AMD Radeon HD 7950 (3GB) or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti (2GB) or the Non-Ti version w/ 3GB?

4 Answers