Inno3D GTX 660 : The Mid-level Surprise Keeps Surprising us more and more

• The_Big_Viper on March 05, 2013 02:55 PM

  Inno3D GTX 660 – The Mid-level Surprise Keeps Surprising us more and more. By: The_Big_Viper We have just concluded the reviews on the so called Mighty Midgets of the Kepler line the GTX 650 and GTX 650Ti. And we are very impressed with how despite being small in size and power draws, are the cards perennial contenders in their respective categories. Now let’s examine the Mid-Level Cards as we start off with the GTX 660. The Inno3D GTX660 is also a mid entry level gaming card targeted for those gamers who are looking for better performance based cards while still in that under Ten Thousand Peso Budget (US$250) range. Will the GTX 660 continue to live up to its siblings performances? Let’s find out…   OUT OF THE BOX The GTX 660 from Inno3D came in a very nice car racing themed box. Same with its siblings it sports the usual box with the same proportions. The GTX 660 is a bit heavier than the GTX 650 and 650Ti models.       The back side showcases itself able to run the hottest titles such as Max Payne 3, The Secret World and Borderlands 2. The card has promised a FASTER, SMOOTHER and RICHER experience like no other along with Direct X 11 compatibility, PCI 3.0 Express interface and 1080p Playback Full HD Compliant.     The box contains the Graphics card as well as a DVI to VGA Connector, a 6pin VGA to 4pin Molex converter, the Driver CD and a small manual for Power Supply guidelines.     Once we got the card outside of the protective film we are happy to find it’s the usual reference design with the blower type fan. Despite the fact that reference designs tend to be a lot hotter than their so called counterparts with aftermarket coolers, these babies are a joy in gaming as they chug up descent numbers in the FPS in our experiences.     The card occupies two slots and despite being small, it weighs hefty for its size and frame.       For cennectivity, it has  a Dual DVI input, HDMI and a Display Port. Sadly only a DVI to VGA Connector is available in the package       PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS: CUDA Cores: 960 Graphics Clock-Base Clock / Boost Clock (MHz): 980/1029 Processor Clock (MHz): 1960 Memory Clock: 6 GBPS Standard Memory: 1024 (1GB) Memory Interface: GDDR5 Memory Interface Width: 128bit Memory Bandwidth (GB/Sec): 144 OpenGL: 4.2 Bus Support: PCI-E 3.0 x16 Supports: DX11, CUDA, PhysX, 3D Vision, 3D Vision Surround SLI: 2-Way Multi Monitor: 3 Active Monitor Support (2 x DVI and 1 mini HDMI) Maximum Resolution (per Output): 2560x1600 Maximum VGA Resolution (per Output): 2048x1536 HCDP/HDMI Compliant Ready: HDMI 1.4a Card Dimensions: 242mm Length x 111mm Height, Dual Slot Maximum GPU Temperatures (in Celsius with ambient of 55c): 97c Maximum Power Draw: 140watts Minimum Power Requirement: 500Watts PSU Fan Type: Blower TESTING AND BENCHMARKING Testing to the card in real world scenarios should be a better gauge on how this baby will perform and instead of the usual test bench where they use Intel Systems; we will be using an AMD Systems for this review. Most of the gamers and LAN shops we know here in the Philippines use AMD for their personal and Shop systems. We hope they could readily gauge and assess based on this review. Test Bed Specs: Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 965BE 3.4Ghz Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws non X 1600Mhz CL8 HSF: Corsair H100 Motherboard: Asrock 990FX Fatal1ty Professional HDD: Samsung Spinpoint 500GB 7200RPM Case: Aerocool X-Predator Black Modded PSU: FSP Raider 750watts 80+ Bronze Monitor: ViewSonic VX2233 LCD Full HD 1920x 1080p @ 60Hz Used Resolution: 1650 x 1050 (Since the targeted market are gamers who are on a tight budget/Lan Shop Owners/”The Masa” we safely assumed not all can accommodate the Full Resolution nor have monitors bigger than 19”/18.5”)   Softwares Used: Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 Graphics Driver Version: NVidia 310.70 Benchmark Software: 3dMark 11 Professional Ver 1.0.4 Games: Far Cry 3, Sleeping Dogs, Batman Arkham City, Metro 2033, RE6 Benchmark Tool and Battlefield 3   3DMARK11 We tested the GTX 660 using 3Dmark 11 versions 1.0.4 under the 'Performance Mode'. On Stock settings, the GTX 660 garnered an impressive score of 5404 Marks 3DMark URL:  http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/5305099   At 5404 Marks Stock, it surpassed the ASUS GTX 560Ti Direct CU II with 4366 Marks at Stock for a 23.77% Difference in Stock Run Performance. 3DMark URL: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/4913108 As well as surpassing the MSI GTX560 at 4120 Marks at stock. An overwhelming difference to its Fermi Counterpart at 31.16% 3DMark URL: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/3276959       Overclocked this card to see if can really perform without bumping any voltage while squeezing a little bit of juice and the card made a very significant jump as it produced 6523 Marks, an increase. 20.71% 3DMark URL: http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/6053783       Now this is quite a darling as the score marks clearly shows you how easy it is to overclock this card.   GAME BENCHMARKS Again, I asked my hardcore gamer friend Orenobaka to help me out with the benchmarks since we wanted to test this out on real gaming situations and with a Hardcore Gamer; how he feels and what insights he could share with us. Sleeping Dogs       Sleeping Dogs Low Settings Vsync OFF       Sleeping Dogs Normal Settings Vsync OFF       Sleeping Dogs Ultra Settings       Far Cry 3        Note: FC3 is pretty much playable even though on ultra-settings just don’t turn on the AA XD   Far Cry Low Settings Vsync Off     Far Cry Medium Settings Vsync ON     Far Cry Ultra Settings Vsync ON No MSAA       Batman Arkham City     Batman PHYSX OFF     Batman PHYSX ON Normal     Batman PHYSX ON Ultra       Battlefield 3 MultiPlayer     BF3 High Settings Vsync On     BF3 Ultra Settings     Resident Evil 6 Benchmark Tool Stock Run       The GTX 660 is a very big jump in performance compared to its Fermi counterpart. This is practically a gem of a card in the mid-level department. FPS Hungry Games Battlefield 3 in Multiplayer mode is giving off 42 to 60fps while Vsync is Turned On in Ultra Settings and letting itself loose when Vsync is Off at 44 to 66 FPS. Far Cry 3 runs at 37 to 55 FPS, and still playable at Ultra Settings. FPS is stable at 42 to 64 FPS when the Vsync is Off. The PhysX test for Batman Arkham City was even better as it was maintaining 25 to 50 FPS without much dip. That was clearly a good improvement from the 650ti and 650.  It let me played the Monster Metro 2033 at 24 to 48 FPS when Vsync is turned on and got 26 to 47 FPS when turned off at Ultra Settings DX11 mode. Even the upcoming Resident Evil 6 ramped up a score of 7372 in Stock mode and let me play the game in very High Resolutions. FINAL THOUGHTS The Inno3d GTX 660 is a keeper in the Mid-level Category with the addition of the option for SLI while maintaining only a Single 6 pin to power. The 140 watts power consumption is 6.6% less than the GTX 560 at 150 watts - a card that needs a  Dual 6 pin to power up. The card is a beauty in terms of looks with its reference design on top of grooves and lines that gives a clean and elegant look. The PHYSX component was respectable with games like Batman Arkham City and Monster Metro 2033 as compared with  the GTX650ti and the GTX650. Even the heavy resource hungry Sleeping Dogs was tamed as it churned out a descent 28 to 38 FPS while Vsync is on and 29 to 42fps when Vsync is turned off. All throughout the Game Benches no problems were encountered. Currently Priced at PHP 9,580.00 (US$ 239.90) this would really make an impression as the card to beat if based on Price-Performance ratio in the mid-level category against its brother, the GTX 660ti or AMD Cards such as 7850 and 7870. Pros:     » Decently priced » Looks and feel are both sturdy and good » Can play graphics hungry games such as Battlefield 3, Metro 2033, Far Cry 3 and even new titles like Crysis 3 and Resident Evil 6 with descent FPS. » At 140watts Full Load but the performance won’t make you think twice compared to the GTX560 at 150watts and the GTX560ti at 170watts. » Good Overclocking Card at stock voltage as it a 20.71% increase without much hitches or hiccups » Uses one (1) 6 pin to power itself up unlike it Fermi counterparts that needs a Dual 6 pin input.          Cons » Flimsy Packaging » Could have added a SLI bridge with the package           This Card Scores a 5/5 for me as it gives a nice cut in the mid-level department maintaining an over all impact in performance, looks and hours of fun playing wit it. Simply put, this is the card that sets the barometer in the mid-level category. “ This keeps on getting better and better and the gaming experience is giving me a blast. After all shelling a little bit of around three thousand pesos while getting a good reference type card that promises you no compromises ” – TPC Orenobaka

• lex_delacroix on April 18, 2013 09:09 AM

  great review. keep it up.

• Itachi_360 on April 26, 2013 02:16 AM

  Got my eyes on this card! Thanks and Awesome review sir!

• nhackzzz on May 01, 2013 11:55 PM

  I own this one :) No Lags in Crysis 3 Ultra :)

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