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GTX 660 upgrade to MSI GTX 960 4GB

gadji

gadji

gadji

Associate
Joined
22 May 2015
Posts
4
Hi all,

I have a GeForce GTX 660 1.5gb that came as standard in my HP Envy 700-060ea. It is struggling to play newer games, so I was thinking about getting another one to work along side it (cheaper option), or replacing it with a MSI GTX 960 4GB.

I've never changed a graphics card before, so forgive me if these questions are stupid :confused::

1) If I get another 660 to work alongside the current one, does it have to be identical? i.e. be a 660 and have the same 1.5GB memory?

2) If I were to upgrade, the MSI 960 has an 8 pin power connector, current card has 6 pin - would it run optimally if I just used an adapter like this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Startech-Express-Power-Adapter-Cable/dp/B001TK3TJY

Any advice mould be greatly appreciated. :D

Full spec is as follows:

Intel Core i7 4770
16GB DDR3
2TB Hard Drive

Motherboard:
MSI MS-7826 (Kaili)
Form factor: uATX: 24.4 cm (9.6 inches) x 24.4 cm (9.6 inches)
Chipset: Intel Z87
Memory sockets: 4 x DDR3
Processor socket: LGA1150
Expansion Slots:
1 PCI Express x16 (Gen3.0)
3 PCI Express x1 (Gen2.0)
1 half-length mini card

Power Supply:
Form Factor: internal ATX
Total wattage: 460W
Nominal input voltage range:
100-127V/3A (50-60Hz)
200-240V/2A (50-60Hz)
 
I think you will find 660s in SLI will be faster than a single 960. The 660s in SLI perform quite close to the original Titan/970 at 1080p. Problem is with that very low 1.5GB you could be giving yourself a vram issue in recent games. Also you will have questionable compatibility with a 1.5GB 960 and 2GB 960.

Add the fact that NVIDIA seem to have Maxwell cards as their priority when optimising now, I think the 4GB 960 will give you the best overall experience in the latest games.

Oh yeah, I wouldn't recommend SLI with your PSU either but yes a simple 6 pin to 8 pin adapter would be fine for the 960.
 
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I also agree that the best option here is to go for a single 4GB 960. I'd recommend waiting till AMD release their new cards though (in a couple weeks). Since there could either be better options or the 960 could drop in price. Even if it's just a mere £5/£10 drop.
 
Thanks for the advice.

On reflection I think ill need to go down the upgrade route rather than SLI regardless as my MB only has 1 PCIe x16 slot (and THREE PCIe x1 slots, for some reason!)
 
As others have mentioend the 4GB 960 is a bit of an odd card. Yes it would be a sizable upgrade for you, but it's 4GB of memory is largely redudant. If you are gaming at the kind of resolutions or settings that actually need to utilise it's 4GB of memory you will have long ran out of actual graphics grunt to do the amount of processiong those settings need. If you turn the settings down so it can actually run at a respectable frame rate you will no longer need the 4GB of memory.

Looking on OC at the minute the cheapest 4GB 960 is £200, I would suggest you spend an extra £50 and get the cheapest 970 you can get your hands on. It's a big jump over the 960 in terms of rendering power and can actually make usre of its memory allocation.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-039-IN&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1010

Alternatively, go for the very cheapest 960 you can get in 2GB form and accept that you will have to settle for medium / high textures instead of ultra to keep the memory usage below the 2GB limit on modern games. This would be a fair bit cheaper at only £150.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-070-KF&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=2379

In short, go for the bottom at £150, or the top at £250. As much as the 4gb 960 sits squarely in the middle at £200, it's performance doesn't match that middle rating. In truth, it offers nothing more than the £150 version does.
 
Unlikely, I think they've said no movement on 970 prices because of how fast they're still shifting them, it will just be the 980 that comes down a bit.

TBH you'd be better off with a 2nd hand 780, there's one on the members market for £160, even on thief bay they can be picked up for about £180-200 and they'd destroy a 960.
 
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I know someone who's a well known member here and on other popular forums who's wanting to shift a 780 EVGA Superclocked card for £200. I don't know if you're allowed to link so I haven't done it yet.
 
gadji said:
hopefully if I leave it a couple of weeks the 970s price will come down a bit with the 980ti launch...
Click to expand...

As others have said it's unlikely, t he 980ti is looking to be a £600 card so it's not really likely to affect the mid range £300 option.

Remember the 970 is still a £270-£300 card depending on the grade you go for when they aren't on offer! If I didn't already have one I'd be all over that one for £250 as it's the cheapest I have seen them in a long time. Mine's happily maxing just about everything I throw at it at 2560*1440. I even managed to play through Assassins Creed Unity with everything maxed except for AA (FXAA used) and still averaged around 40fps.
 
People keep parroting wrong info.

4Gb of VRAM is useful on less powerful cards for textures. It has been shown time and time again, that textures do not take a lot of gpu power.

So in effect a 4Gb 960 can run ultra textures in most games. It will be the other settings it will have to tone down. The same with a 2Gb 960 or an equivalent AMD card.
 
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