# GTX 660 or HD 7870? Buying tomorrow.



## HimanshuVikal (Nov 9, 2012)

Hi all,
My very first post . I am going to buy a GPU tomorrow. Till now I had GTX 660 in mind but I just started looking at benchmarks and I think 7870 is a bit ahead or so it seems and memory bandwidth being more and all. I will be playing all kinds of games from First person shooters to RPGs to Racing and fighting (like: Battlefield 3, Crysis 2, Most wanted, Skyrim, witcher 2, Assassin's creed 3, arkham city, etc). But right now I am kind of very excited to play Skyrim on Ultra settings and mod it heavily with 30 plus mods in mind. So people say it will require more VRAM. So 7870 is better? Also it will be more future proof because of VRAM? 

I am not really sure about the prices of the cards and price difference in local market. So don't know which one to go for. I live in delhi and will be buying from Nehru Place. Not sure about the budget 15-16k maybe. I think I read somewhere that GTX 660 was available for 14.5k or something so I am hoping 7870 will be a little bit more.

My sys specs:

AMD phenom 955BE
Gigabyte 880gm ud2h
G.skill ripjaws 1333mhz 2x2gb
Corsair vx 550.
Monitor resolution : 1920x1080.

I would really appreciate who ever helps and put his input and please don't take too long I will be buying tomorrow.
Thanks a lot


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## topgear (Nov 10, 2012)

for your budget GTX 660 is the best bet or if you prefer an AMD card then HD7850.
HD7870 is available at ~18.5-19k but get a GTX 660 Ti makes more sense by spending ~1.5-2k extra


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## rohit32407 (Nov 10, 2012)

So topgear that means spending 2k extra on gtx 660Ti over 7870 is a good investment?  I am asking coz i am hoping to get a new gfx pretty soon as well but don't know if spending 2k extra for 660Ti is worth it.

P.S. Not trying to hijack the thread just that I didnt want to create a new thread for such a small query and topgear mentioned something which is the only confusion I have.


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## havoknation (Nov 10, 2012)

GTX660Ti == radeon 7870 > 660 > 7850.

Your call. Between 7870HD and GTX660ti, only matters is fanclub. Green lovers go for 660ti and Red lovers go for 7870HD


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## rohit32407 (Nov 10, 2012)

I am just a fan of a good GPU doesnt matter if its green or red. I think I will first try to accommodate 7950 or else will go for 660Ti. thanks Havoknation


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## HimanshuVikal (Nov 10, 2012)

Well if 7870 is around 18k then thats too high for me same with gtx660 ti. I'll stick with gtx660. Can anyone tell me its price that I can expect in Nehru Place (and not of any online store like flipkart, because they are too high)


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## Nighthawk12 (Nov 10, 2012)

HD 7950 if you can afford.


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## koolent (Nov 10, 2012)

If you can afford 7950, get it OR else, from the GTX 660Ti and HD 7870, get the one with better cooler as it will give you more OCing headroom.


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## Thetrueblueviking (Nov 10, 2012)

Nighthawk12 said:


> HD 7950 if you can afford.


7950 comess close to 24k.


Read what he said -



HimanshuVikal said:


> *Not sure about the budget 15-16k maybe.*


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## Nighthawk12 (Nov 10, 2012)

He was thinking to buy HD 7870 which costs about 21-22k.
I suggested him 7950 because it is like 1.5-2k more than 7870 and it is much better than HD 7870.
Plus an overclocked 7950 is a beast.


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## Thetrueblueviking (Nov 10, 2012)

Nighthawk12 said:


> He was thinking to buy HD 7870 which costs about 21-22k.
> .



He already mentioned the 7870 @ 19k was a bit out of his budget. A card costing 24 k is really out of the way. Anyway chuck it.


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## The Incinerator (Nov 10, 2012)

SAPPHIRE GRAPHICS CARD HD 7870 GHz EDITION 2GB GDDR5 - Rs 17,680 
GIGABYTE GRAPHIC CARD GTX 660 2GB DDR5 OC - Rs 14,560
GIGABYTE GRAPHIC CARD RADEON HD 7850 2GB DDR5 OC - Rs 13,728

Choose either and you wont be short changed. If I were you I would beg borrow steal but buy the HD 7870 at that yumm price.

Those are Kolkata prices and yes you can order online they are great but before placing the order do confirm over phone.*mdcomputers.in/index.php?route=product/category&path=74_86&sort=pd.name&order=ASC&page=5

NEHRU PLACE - *www.costtocost.in/list/pricelist.pdf


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## Jaskanwar Singh (Nov 10, 2012)

havoknation said:


> GTX660Ti == radeon 7870 > 660 > 7850.
> 
> Your call. Between 7870HD and GTX660ti, only matters is fanclub. Green lovers go for 660ti and Red lovers go for 7870HD



nope. 
660ti is faster than 7870. 

for average 1080p performance refer to this (catalyst 12.11) -
AMD Catalyst 12.11 Performance Analysis Review | techPowerUp
*tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/Catalyst_12.11_Performance/images/perfrel_1920.gif


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## Nighthawk12 (Nov 10, 2012)

Thetrueblueviking said:


> He already mentioned the 7870 @ 20k was a bit out of his budget. A card costing 25 k is really out of the way. Anyway chuck it.



That card doesn't cost 25k.
It costs around 20-21k in Nehru place..


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## Thetrueblueviking (Nov 10, 2012)

Nighthawk12 said:


> That card doesn't cost 25k.
> It costs around 20-21k in Nehru place..



Could be the cheapest variant ... I dont think a good variant would come for 20-21 k.


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## tkin (Nov 10, 2012)

Get GTX660Ti, but if between 660 and 7870, get anyone, do keep in mind with nVidia you get PhysX and with borderlands 2 I won't say its dead, it looks fantastic in borderlands 2.


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## Nighthawk12 (Nov 11, 2012)

Thetrueblueviking said:


> Could be the cheapest variant ... I dont think a good variant would come for 20-21 k.



I'm talking about MSI one.
And it is good.


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## Thetrueblueviking (Nov 11, 2012)

Nighthawk12 said:


> I'm talking about MSI one.
> And it is good.



could u tell the core clock speed and shop name and its no if possible. it would be very helpful getting a 7950 at 20k.


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## topgear (Nov 11, 2012)

This is avaioable at ~23.6 on FK - so on local market should be ~1.1.5k cheaper at-least :
*www.flipkart.com/sapphire-amd-ati-...89-1f348420670d&srno=s_5&otracker=from-search



Jaskanwar Singh said:


> nope.
> 660ti is faster than 7870.
> 
> for average 1080p performance refer to this (catalyst 12.11) -
> ...



Thanks for the pic and after a long time I can see you posting buddy - welcome back 

@ OP - the price of GTX 660 should be same as the HD7850 - hardly ~1k more but should be within your budget ie ~16k.


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## Nighthawk12 (Nov 11, 2012)

Thetrueblueviking said:


> could u tell the core clock speed and shop name and its no if possible. it would be very helpful getting a 7950 at 20k.



Go to Nehru place, Delhi-India, there are atleast 3-4 shops selling it at that price.
They will quote the price about 21k and you can bargain it down to 20k.
MSI R7950


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## Jaskanwar Singh (Nov 11, 2012)

topgear said:


> This is avaioable at ~23.6 on FK - so on local market should be ~1.1.5k cheaper at-least :
> Sapphire AMD/ATI HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 With Boost 3 GB GDDR5 Graphics Card | Graphics Card | Flipkart.com
> 
> 
> ...



u are welcome TP 

btw tell me if u find a review of 7950 boost with catalyst 12.11.
edit - found one - 
*www.legionhardware.com/articles_pa...hz_edition_7950_iceq_xsup2_boost_clock,1.html


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## Thetrueblueviking (Nov 11, 2012)

topgear said:


> This is avaioable at ~23.6 on FK - so on local market should be ~1.1.5k cheaper at-least :
> Sapphire AMD/ATI HD 7950 3GB GDDR5 With Boost 3 GB GDDR5 Graphics Card | Graphics Card | Flipkart.com



Hes saying its available @ 19k ... and if so ... then its a sure stealer...


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## topgear (Nov 12, 2012)

^^ buddy go through the posts of _Nighthawk12_ on this thread - I can't find anywhere he said HD7950 is available at 19k 

@ JaS - here's one more for you  
AMD Catalyst 12.11 Driver Performance Never Settle - AMD Catalyst 12.11 Software Suite


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## Thetrueblueviking (Nov 12, 2012)

@topgear have a look -


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## Skud (Nov 12, 2012)

Talking about reviews, check this (all cards with latest beta drivers):-

HARDOCP - Introduction - Fall 2012 GPU and Driver Comparison Roundup



> High pricing band – Throughout the course of the evaluation, the Radeon HD 7970 traded blows with the GTX 680 and are more or less equals when it comes to the overall game play experience. This is expected given that their pricing is within a few dollars of each other. For those that must have the absolute highest frame rates (even if it makes no difference to the overall game play experience), the Radeon HD 7970 seems to pull ahead of the GTX 680. The GTX 670 brings up the rear in this price band, but ultimately provides a slightly lower game play experience for a lower price.
> 
> Middle pricing band – This pricing band was far less competitive as the Radeon HD 7950 with Boost simply demolished the GTX 660 Ti across the board with regards to raw frame rates and overall game play experience across our suite of testing.
> 
> Low pricing band – Not to be left out, the Radeon HD 7870 held up well on its own, matching the game play experience and raw frame rates to the GTX 660 Ti from the middle pricing band (except for Sleeping Dogs).


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## 1155 (Nov 12, 2012)

At the time when 7xxx was launched AMD's driver showed a dismal performance, but look at them now....7970 performing better than 680. As far as I  recall only a few months back 7970 was lagging behind 680 by substantial margin.  Although it took almost a year to bring out the quality drivers but still it seems awesome. This why I like AMD, their GPUs are outright brilliant but the drivers may be sucky initially. AMD really deserves a praise....

Only thing I regret is that they couldn't keep up on the CPU front. Intel is really robbing us with their stagnant CPU prices and artificially capped CPUs that can't be overclocked so that they can charge a lot extra for their overclockable 'K' counterparts and compatible chipsets like P67,Z68,Z77 etc  

Although for the price point of OP, 660 seems to be the best option. Go ahead and good luck.  The greens are awesome too, at least there drivers don't suck at the time of release.


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## Skud (Nov 12, 2012)

1155 said:


> *At the time when 7xxx was launched AMD's driver showed a dismal performance,*




Where did you get that? The starting performance was far from dismal, but now with the price reduction and newer drivers, they are just awesome .


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## 1155 (Nov 12, 2012)

Skud said:


> Where did you get that? The starting performance was far from dismal, but now with the price reduction and newer drivers, they are just awesome .



Compare it with nVidia's launch of GTX 680, they will look dismal. Of course 7970 ripped apart all previous generation GPUs starting from the launch.


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## Skud (Nov 12, 2012)

680 came some 6 months after 7970, of course, nVIDIA got time to optimize the card just to the level above 7970. And then nVIDIA's options are out, and AMD just tweaked enough to surge ahead. The cream at this moment is pricing and that's where AMD is winning.


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## Nighthawk12 (Nov 12, 2012)

Skud said:


> 680 came some 6 months after 7970, of course, nVIDIA got time to optimize the card just to the level above 7970. And then nVIDIA's options are out, and AMD just tweaked enough to surge ahead. The cream at this moment is pricing and that's where AMD is winning.



+1 to him.


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## Jaskanwar Singh (Nov 12, 2012)

topgear said:


> ^^ buddy go through the posts of _Nighthawk12_ on this thread - I can't find anywhere he said HD7950 is available at 19k
> 
> @ JaS - here's one more for you
> AMD Catalyst 12.11 Driver Performance Never Settle - AMD Catalyst 12.11 Software Suite



thank u 



Skud said:


> Talking about reviews, check this (all cards with latest beta drivers):-
> 
> HARDOCP - Introduction - Fall 2012 GPU and Driver Comparison Roundup



thanks for that link skud


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## 1155 (Nov 12, 2012)

Skud said:


> 680 came some 6 months after 7970, of course, nVIDIA got time to optimize the card just to the level above 7970. And then nVIDIA's options are out, and AMD just tweaked enough to surge ahead. The cream at this moment is pricing and that's where AMD is winning.


Damn right, however 680 came 4 months after 7970. The only annoying thing is that it takes a lot of time to reflect those price cuts in Indian market which is enough to piss off the buyers. Actually 7970's should be priced at where 7950s are right now in India.


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## Skud (Nov 12, 2012)

No point complaining about that, its not going to change. Present prices are fair IMO.


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## 1155 (Nov 12, 2012)

Don't remember when was the last time AMD held the performance crown for single GPU. I mean for last few generations Nvidia had lead over AMD eg GTX 285 > Hd 4890, GTX 480 > Hd 5870, GTX 580 > Hd 6970 but not any more.  Awesome work AMD...


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## topgear (Nov 13, 2012)

Thetrueblueviking said:


> @topgear have a look -View attachment 7636



but he posted that on some other thread ..

Anyway, talking about reviews I think you guys better have a look at this 
*www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-hd-7990-devil13-7970-x2,3329.html


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## HimanshuVikal (Dec 18, 2012)

Hi guys, again. Ok so um..... i am still without a gpu  didn't find a gtx 660 or 7870 anywhere in Nehru Place and it seems like these cards are still not in the market. So I need your help. I'm going to buy online, from the sites which offer CoD like Flipkart, snapdeal, etc. I've raised my budget and I want to buy a 7870 now simply because it seems with the release of Catalyst 12.11 its performing better than a gtx 660 and I want to use this card for the next 3yrs atleast. So more performance is good.

Right now two Sapphire 7870s are available on snapdeal. One is the standard one I think and the other one is a OC edition priced at Rs.18,199 and Rs.18,399 respectively. No point in going for the OC edition because I'll be ocing it anyway, right? 7950 on smc is listed at 22,500, on Flipkart its 1k more.


So is it a good choice with that price and do you guys think this card has good coolers for overclocking?
My psu is vx550 7870 needs 500w so is it cutting it too close or I'll be fine?
Lastly is snapdeal a good site? If the card turns out a DOA they do have some other cards given they replace it.
Thanks.


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## nikhilsharma007nikx (Dec 18, 2012)

well u can get gtx 660 from cost to cost !!!


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## ico (Dec 18, 2012)

HimanshuVikal said:


> Hi guys, again. Ok so um..... i am still without a gpu  didn't find a gtx 660 or 7870 anywhere in Nehru Place and it seems like these cards are still not in the market. So I need your help. I'm going to buy online, from the sites which offer CoD like Flipkart, snapdeal, etc. I've raised my budget and I want to buy a 7870 now simply because it seems with the release of Catalyst 12.11 its performing better than a gtx 660 and I want to use this card for the next 3yrs atleast. So more performance is good.
> 
> Right now two Sapphire 7870s are available on snapdeal. One is the standard one I think and the other one is a OC edition priced at Rs.18,199 and Rs.18,399 respectively. No point in going for the OC edition because I'll be ocing it anyway, right? 7950 on smc is listed at 22,500, on Flipkart its 1k more.
> 
> ...


Go to SMC International and pick up their HD 7950 for 22.5K. The only reason I am saying it is 3 GB VRAM will make a difference if you increase AA. Otherwise HD 7870 is priced great.

Corsair VX550 is good. It will also handle your system with HD 7970 if you don't heavily overclock your CPU/GPU.

What processor do you have anyway?



1155 said:


> Don't remember when was the last time AMD held the performance crown for single GPU. I mean for last few generations Nvidia had lead over AMD eg GTX 285 > Hd 4890, GTX 480 > Hd 5870, GTX 580 > Hd 6970 but not any more.  Awesome work AMD...


If you'll compare their head to head die sizes, you'll know why AMD was slower. Basically AMD built a chip of size < 60% of nVidia and was only 10-15% slower.


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## HimanshuVikal (Dec 18, 2012)

ico said:


> Go to SMC International and pick up their HD 7950 for 22.5K. The only reason I am saying it is 3 GB VRAM will make a difference if you increase AA. Otherwise HD 7870 is priced great.


Yeah that's the reason I am not going for gtx 66Xs because I've read they don't perform well with high AAs. But increasing another 4.3k is too much of a raise. Is sapphire's cooler good enough for OCing? This card :- *www.snapdeal.com/product/sapphire-hd7870-2gb-ddr5-graphic/217443/
My cpu is Phenom II 955be.


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## topgear (Dec 19, 2012)

that cooler is very good for ocing but note that once OCed ( around 4 Ghz @ 1.5v vcore ) your cpu is a major power hog - so you can OC the gpu as you like with the psu but if you are trying to OC the cpu be careful.


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## HimanshuVikal (Dec 19, 2012)

topgear said:


> that cooler is very good for ocing but note that once OCed ( around 4 Ghz @ 1.5v vcore ) your cpu is a major power hog - so you can OC the gpu as you like with the psu but if you are trying to OC the cpu be careful.


Actually I was just asking about OCing the GPU. I've already OCed the cpu at 4ghz without tweaking the voltages. I have a Hyper 212+ installed. In CPUID HM cpu vcore is 1.44. Is that alright? 
You say I can OC the gpu with sapphire coolers. That sounds good. And I hope nothing is wrong with Snapdeal  Should I place the order?


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## topgear (Dec 20, 2012)

should be Ok then.


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## HimanshuVikal (Dec 22, 2012)

Just got my Sapphire HD 7870 OC Edition from flipkart.com for 18,165. Thanks everyone for your help


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## topgear (Dec 23, 2012)

Congrats buddy - so you are playing with GPU OC right now ?


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## HimanshuVikal (Dec 23, 2012)

Thanks. Ha ha ha I haven't been able to install it yet. I still haven't figured it out. My case is CM 690 I've removed 2 of the expansion slots but there is a blue plastic thingy next to each slot and the rear of the card is I think supposed to slide in those blue thingies but I just haven't been able to do that. Either I can break those plastic things although then The card might not install correctly or I'll have to remove the motherboard which will be quite a task for me coz i've never done this before. You see this is my very first gpu and the only thing that I've installed in my pc is hyper 212+.

Here are a few pics that I found on the internet:
*i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa129/xringx/2x140mmfansattopofcase007.jpg
*assets.overclock.net.s3.amazonaws.com/f/fa/fab32f9c_vbattach105149.jpeg


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## rock2702 (Dec 23, 2012)

You have to remove the plastic thing i believe.As for the cm hyper 212,how did u install it?Can u guide me?


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## HimanshuVikal (Dec 23, 2012)

Well I can't remove it. It doesn't come off, I'll just have to break it.
As for the hyper 212+ I read some installation guides over the internet and watched a few videos on youtube. If you search you will find some good quality tutorials. But I just can't find any for the gpu installation on this particular case/cabinet.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Got it working, that blue thing is on some kind of hinge, so all you have to do is pull it up and it rotates and make way for the card, once fixed, move it down and it will grip the edge of the card.


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## topgear (Dec 24, 2012)

^^ that's what called toolfree installation


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## rakesh_ic (Dec 24, 2012)

212 comes with the installation guide. follow the same and it isnt any rocket science.

while installing GC, make sure you remove the back panel strips that will stick your GC's output panel outside. Also remember to screw the GC to the cabinet though it snugly fits into the motherboard.


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