# Zotac GTX 660Ti AMP! Edition Review



## $ingh (Nov 7, 2012)

*i.imgur.com/6nctQ.jpg


​If we go back a bit you guys may remember that NVIDIA released its new GeForce GTX 660 Ti on August 16th, 2012. GeForce GTX 660 Ti being released to offer the general consumer a bit more bang for buck over the GTX 670 by giving close performance, but with a much lower cost. Huge hopes are laid on this product because it is targeted at the popular mainstream market segment where AMD's Radeon HD 78xx series have entrenched themselves.


Today we’re looking at the ZOTAC GTX 660 Ti AMP Edition, a boldly-styled card that comes with a more attractive price for those on a more modest budget. The AMP! Edition sports a Dual Silencer cooler and a factory overclock that promises big performance results, and we have high hopes since the architecture here is nearly the same as the GTX 670. This card is Having very small PCB Which is great as these types of cards can deliver good performance and also fit into small enclosures which allows for a excellent performing gaming system without needing a huge chassis to hold it. 



​*i.imgur.com/zMok1.jpg
​

_*Introduction to kepler*_ :-


Kepler is realized with the production process to 22nm TSMC. This graphics processor in its full version, consists of eight main units SMX. Each SMX consists of 192 Cuda cores, for a total of 1536 Cuda cores (192 Cuda cores x 8 SMX).


In addition to the Cuda cores are present even 16 Teaxture Units for each SMX for a total of 128 TU. The ROPs are equal to 32 and are coupled to a controller to the memory of 256 bits thus guaranteeing a bandwidth high only together to GDDR5 memory that have operating frequencies of 6 GHz.



Block Diagram of kepler :-



​*i.imgur.com/Owav3.jpg

​
The graphics chip, GK 104 is the same but Nvidia has decided to adapt to new market demands differentiating than the version that is equipped models exceeding GeForce GTX 670 and GTX 680.The GPU in this GTX 660 TI has maintained the characteristics unchanged from that inserted in the GTX 670, except for the memory controller that passes from the previous 256bit to the current 192bit, going to disable one of the 4 memory controller present. In this way, while maintaining the same number of CUDA Core of the GTX 670, NVIDIA has managed to limit the bandwidth available to the chip facing the memory on- board, while doing work on the GDDR5 memory at the same frequency, 6008 MHz the higher models. It seems very clear that the chip can deliver good performance slightly lower than the GeForce GTX 670, precisely because of the lower bandwidth. Another consequence is that the ROPs decreased from 32 to 24. The number of CUDA Core equal to 1344 are obtained by disabling one of the eight SMX in the full version (192 Cuda Core x 7 SMX), the TMU are equal to 112 similar to what was seen for the GTX 670 (Texture Unit 16 x 7 SMX ).




_*Specifications*_:-



New ZOTAC GeForce GTX 660 Ti AMP Edition
1344 processor cores
Engine clock: 1033MHz (base), 1111MHz (boost)
Dual Silencer enhanced cooling solution
2GB GDDR5 memory
192-bit memory interface
Memory clock: 6608MHz
PCI Express 3.0 interface
NVIDIA Surround capable
NVIDIA FXAA & TXAA technologies
NVIDIA SLI ready (3-way)
NVIDIA Adaptive Vertical Sync
NVIDIA NVENC video transcoding acceleration capable
DirectX 11 technology & Shader Model 5
OpenGL 4.2 compatible
Hardware-accelerated Full HD video playback
Blu-ray 3D ready
Loss-less audio bitstream capable




_*Closer Look:-



*_​*i.imgur.com/lpBog.jpg




*i.imgur.com/myLaQ.jpg




*i.imgur.com/6EKMy.jpg




*i.imgur.com/O1UuO.jpg




*i.imgur.com/15B4C.jpg




*i.imgur.com/qi5T9.jpg


​Vrm Design And Heatsink:- 
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*i.imgur.com/myXxK.jpg




*i.imgur.com/6uaO7.jpg



​Accessories & Content:-


​*i.imgur.com/spbqN.jpg





​_*Test setup and Testing Methodology:-
*_



All benching is done with Amd rig with processor overclocked to 4.5ghz, Rest configuration is mentioned below:- 


• AMD BULLDOZER FX 8120 @4.5Ghz

• ASROCK 990FX EXTREME 4

• KINGSTON 8GB 1600 CL10

• CORSAIR FORCE 3 60GB SSD

• ZOTAC GTX 660TI AMP EDITION 

• SVGTECH AOC 120 DT

• SEASONIC PLATINUM 1000W 






_*Benchmarks:-

*_Starting up the testing with some popular benchmarks 3dmark 11, 3dmark vantage and Unique Heaven._*


*_*3dmark 11
*_*
*_3DMark 11 is the very latest benchmark test from the house of Futuremark, which has brought out some of the most comprehensive benchmark applications for PC enthusiasts and gamers. 3DMark 11, as the name might probably suggest, makes use of the Microsoft DirectX 11 API and puts every feature of it at its disposal to use, creating astonishingly realistic visuals. In the process, it evaluates DirectX 11-compliant GPUs and lets gamers know what to expect from upcoming games that make use of the API in terms of visual realism._*
*__*

*_​*i.imgur.com/Hknwz.jpg
_*

*_​*3dmark Vantage

*3DMark Vantage is a full DirectX 10 compliant synthetic benchmark designed to test the DirectX 10 abilities of your video card and computing power of your PC. 3DMark Vantage focuses on the two areas most critical to gaming performance: the CPU and the GPU. With the emergence of multi-package and multi-core configurations on both the CPU and GPU side, the performance scale of these areas has widened, and the visual and game-play effects made possible by these configurations are accordingly wide-ranging.

*

*​*i.imgur.com/6kiCN.jpg

​*Unique Heaven

*Unique Heaven was one of the first demos that supported DirectX 11. Heaven is a technology demonstration for the Unigine engine which supports DirectX 9 through 11 and OpenGL. Version 2.0 adds more scenes and, optionally, more complex tessellation features. Although there is some controversy surrounding the benchmark and as to whether it is an accurate representation of what to expect from future games in regard to DirectX 11, we still decided to use this test to get an insight into the potential of future gaming.

​*i.imgur.com/u5F3D.jpg


​_*Benchmarks Continues:-

*_Continuing the benchmarks with Some Games, and software used to check frames are fraps and internal benchmarks of Games .


*Max Payne 3
*
Max is back! The long anticipated third release in the Max Payne series is the first game developed by Rockstar, which took over the title from Remedy Entertainment. In this first-person shooter, using an over-the-shoulder camera view, you battle the bad guys using game-changing features like Bullet Time or Last Stand. The maps have scenic locations taking the player to places like New York, Sao Paulo, and Panama.

The Max Payne 3 game engine uses DirectX 11 with tessellation and very detailed textures. Game tested at maximum possible settings Achieved.

_*
*_​*i.imgur.com/FVzEQ.jpg

​*Sleeping Dogs

*Sleeping Dogs is a 2012 open world action-adventure video game. The core gameplay of Sleeping Dogs consists of giving the player an open world environment in which to move around freely. Sleeping Dogs is played as an over-the-shoulder, third-person perspective action-adventure game with role-playing elements. The player controls Wei Shen, a Chinese-American police officer, as he goes undercover to infiltrate the Sun On Yee Triad organization. 

Sleeping dogs game engine uses DirectX 11 with tessellation and very detailed textures. We tested the game with details set to the maximum possible.



*i.imgur.com/eL9A9.jpg
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*Crysis 2

*Crysis 2 takes the player into an alien-infested New York City. The game adds a tactical options mode that allows several ways to attack a heavily infested enemy location. The new Nanosuit 2.0, that the player uses, offers more freedom in ability use; multiple abilities can, for example, be used at the same time. To better accommodate a given play style, weapons can be customized with silencers, laser sights, or even a sniping scope.

For rendering, Crytek's CryEngine 3, which comes with reduced system requirements compared to the first Crysis game, is used. Since Crysis 2 is a multi-platform game, with major development focus on the console, the graphics on launch day were only DirectX 9. A Patch Released Later that used the DX11 version and the high-res texture . Benching done with DX11 Patch Included and all maxed settings. 



*i.imgur.com/zLSgU.jpg​

*Batman Arkham City* 

Batman: Arkham City, a sequel to Batman Arkham Asylum, by Rocksteady Games and WB. It was released on the PC platform in November. Batman is imprisoned in Arkham City, an infamous district of the DC Universe that contains the scum of Gotham, most of whom Batman helped put in there. In order to get out, he must go through scores of baddies and encounters many of the iconic supervillains along the way - he's not entirely alone.

Batman Arkham City uses the same Unreal Engine by Epic as Batman Arkham Asylum and takes advantage of DirectX 11. Benching done with DX11 Selected and all ultra settings.



*i.imgur.com/KUtlK.jpg
​*Dirt 3

*Dirt 3 a rally game Colin McRae Rally series, developed and published by Codemasters. The brand name "Colin McRae" has been removed from all versions of this chapter. The gameplay attracts the player in a series of races that will earn reputation points to attract the interest of sponsors, which reward you with new vehicles available.

Maximum Settings Playable used for checking frame rate .



*i.imgur.com/VyY1x.jpg
​*Street Fighter X Tekken

*Street Fighter X Tekken is a crossover fighting game developed by Capcom and released in March 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, in May for the PC. The game features characters from both the Street Fighter franchise and Namco's Tekken series. In the game, players select two characters and face other duos in tag team fighting matches, in which the objective is to knock out both members of the opposing team.

Maximum Settings Playable used for checking frame rate .



*i.imgur.com/NdZlD.jpg



​_*Overclocking:-

*_Overclocking with Kepler is totally Different from all other Graphic card, Kepler’s clocks and voltages will automatically adjust on the fly, depending on the load required. The card will also downclock if there isn’t much load. So a Kepler card is drawing less power, while running cooler and quieter, but can jump right back up to peak clocks in a fraction of a second if necessary.


By using Evga Precision X GTX 660 Ti AMP Edition clocks very well like the other 660 Ti’s, started off by pushing the GPU , Managed to get a setting of 1189 Boost clock up from the Gpu clock of 1111, and memory clocks up from 1652 mhz to 1732mhz which is quite impressive .



*i.imgur.com/mbK7r.jpg


​_*Summary:-

*_The GTX 660 Ti delivers excellent performance levels at reasonable power consumption. The card is small which means guess what people all of those looking to make a smaller system or a LAN box rig could easily fit this card in there for some awesome gaming performance. There is a strange stigma around SFF cards, that they are cheap or underperformers, but the rulebook of perception has just been rewritten. ZOTAC has made the mini-card not just legitimate but a downright killer, and one hell of a performer. Overall, the card is a very solid implementation of a custom GTX 660 Ti design.ZOTAC's cooler keeps the card at good temperature levels and idle fan noise is super low as well. Only under load does fan noise end up being higher maybe because of its compact cooler. The card runs at 70°C under load, so there is plenty of headroom for potential fan noise reduction.

​*i.imgur.com/U6aGs.jpg
​*Pros:-
*

Compact Design
Factory overclocked
Excellent Performance



*Cons:-*


Noisy at higher fan speed
Less Overclocking Headroom



*Specially Thanks to Zotac For providing this review Sample.



*​


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## rajnusker (Nov 7, 2012)

This review is missing so many important points:

1). Temperatures with default and overclocked settings.
2). Noise levels.
3). Power consumption.
4). Overclock settings.
5). Comparison with other cards using the same setup.
6). More elaborated details of the test setup, like the OS used, which service pack, which driver version, etc, etc.
7). Details of game settings. Just showing the FPS won't do anything. 
8). More details of the card itself. Like details of the architecture, card dimensions, etc.

P.S. First you tell that this card overclocks pretty good, and then on the Cons section you say this card has less overclocking headroom. The overclock you did is very minor.


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## $ingh (Nov 8, 2012)

rajnusker said:


> This review is missing so many important points:
> 
> 1). Temperatures with default and overclocked settings.
> 2). Noise levels.



First 2 points already mentioned in the summary ..


rajnusker said:


> 3). Power consumption.



Haven't checked individually card`s consumption but overall system consumptions is around 400watts at playing games etc.


rajnusker said:


> 4). Overclock settings.



settings are also above described and those setting are fully stable at load .


rajnusker said:


> 5). Comparison with other cards using the same setup.



Sorry not having any other Comparative card.


rajnusker said:


> 6). More elaborated details of the test setup, like the OS used, which service pack, which driver version, etc, etc.



os used is windows 7 64bit and drivers used are 306.23 .


rajnusker said:


> 7). Details of game settings. Just showing the FPS won't do anything.



Details of games also mentioned in thread i.e ultra high at different resolution. 


rajnusker said:


> 8). More details of the card itself. Like details of the architecture, card dimensions, etc.



card architecture also thoroughly defined in thread .


rajnusker said:


> P.S. First you tell that this card overclocks pretty good, and then on the Cons section you say this card has less overclocking headroom. The overclock you did is very minor.



please go through whole review again, its already a overclocked edition do read the overclocking section for more details about kepler overclocking .


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## d6bmg (Nov 8, 2012)

Ok, no other comparison card to which you can compare the performence of this card,. and this part is confusing:



> Specially Thanks to Zotac For providing this review Sample.



DO zotac have given you this sample for reviewing purpose or did you buy it?


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## $ingh (Nov 8, 2012)

d6bmg said:


> Ok, no other comparison card to which you can compare the performence of this card,. and this part is confusing:
> 
> DO zotac have given you this sample for reviewing purpose or did you buy it?



its a sample product bro


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## d6bmg (Nov 8, 2012)

$ingh said:


> its a sample product bro



Ok.


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