GTI 660Ti Superclocked vs Power Edition (And some more questions)

[SecretMachine]

Hello,

I'm looking to upgrade my graphics cards from what I currently have which is a GTX 460 SLI configuration. I've been looking at these cards mainly as they're affordable and I quite like the thought of getting Borderlands 2 for free!
However, I'm failing to see the difference between these two editions of graphics cards. They're only £5 different in price on Overclockers and they're specs seem pretty similar!

Can anyone shed some light on this?

I also use a Z68A-GF65 motherboard and a Corsair Enthusiast Series TX 750W V2 High Performance '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply. Will this provide enough juice for these graphics cards?

I'm also buying some more RAM for my PC. 8Gb more to be exact. I can mix and match RAM if they have the same timings?

Final question. I currently have two hard drives, one which is new and fast and one which is getting on and quite slow which is where currently Windows is installed. I'm looking to upgrade to 64Bit windows so I can actually utilize the increased RAM, however, I want to put the Windows on the new drive. What's my best bet? To transfer the 32bit over to the new drive, then upgrade, uninstall Windows 32bit on one drive and then do a clean install of 64bit on the new one?

Sorry for the essay, any help on any of the issues would be appreciated!

 

[Apem]

The power edition has a bigger factory overclock and a better cooler.

 

[Speed]

TX 750W will be more than enough for either a single or two GTX660Ti cards.

Yes you can mix and match Ram, they don't have to have the same timings it will default to the slower ones on both usually. That isn't to say you won't get problems, generally anything over 8GB is a waste if you are just gaming.

Clean install is always best, so if it was me I'd do a clean install of x64 Windows on the faster drive. Just backup any data to the slower drive, unplug it, put the faster drive in and install onto that. Most things you'll be able to retrieve by just plugging in the slower once Windows has finished installing but make sure you have everything first.

So to clarify you are getting two GTX660Ti's to replace two GTX460 cards?

 

[SecretMachine]

No only one GTX660. I can't really afford to buy two at the moment. I'll go for the Power Edition then, it's nice that it's cheaper too.

Thanks for the advice on the Windows installation. Problematically my slower drive is a lot smaller in terms of storage, so I won't be able to retain everything.
What about uninstalling Windows from the older drive? Will I have to do that also? And how so?

 

[Speed]

Main reason I ask is I'm not sure you are going to see large gains, although I guess selling the GTX460s would certainly help. At the moment most people including myself feel that the GTX660Ti cards are over priced, so if it was me I'd hold out to see if prices come down from the just released premium.

You could always purchase another internal or external drive to use for backup/storage, then sell the slower drive once everything is sorted. Simple case of deleting the Windows files or pulling all the important files off it and formatting it. Alternatively with the SSD prices as they are at the moment, getting an SSD as a boot drive is always a sound upgrade. Install Windows on that and use the other drive(s) as storage.

 

[SecretMachine]

Ahh. I didn't realize that they were that new as such.
I would most likely hang on to the GTX460 as it's just useful to have components hanging about if something goes wrong with the current ones.

My main reason for upgrading is that currently my GTX460s has been giving me a ton of aggro with the SLI configuration. So I'm looking to get a higher end card that might be able to pull certain things off without needing to SLI it.

I currently have a Seagate 1Tb external storage but jesus it's gonna take a while to transfer everything!

 

[Speed]

Ahh. I didn't realize that they were that new as such.
I would most likely hang on to the GTX460 as it's just useful to have components hanging about if something goes wrong with the current ones.

My main reason for upgrading is that currently my GTX460s has been giving me a ton of aggro with the SLI configuration. So I'm looking to get a higher end card that might be able to pull certain things off without needing to SLI it.

I currently have a Seagate 1Tb external storage but jesus it's gonna take a while to transfer everything!

Indeed it can be useful but the longer you have parts like graphics cards the more value you lose on them.

What sort of issues are you getting?

 

[SecretMachine]

Yeah very true. Given the way technology is, the value of components decrease by the minute. I'll look into selling them.

What if I was to purchase the 660 now and then purchase another one down the line and SLI it? Would I have to get the EXACT same model as in the "Power Edition" or can I select from any that are the same config?

I was just getting weird issues such as hang ups, visual glitches and things like that. I know they sound like problems that arise from overheating, but my temperatures are quite low in the case.
Also another reason, I use a Delta Audio 44 soundcard, which connects to a breakout box, allowing me to use these nice monitors called Event Tuned Reference 5. Really good studio level speakers as I also do music production on the side.
Problematically, SLIing the cards means that one card is literally about 3cm's away from the soundcard and generates really funky and horrible sounds when I play a game that utilizes the SLI. So this means I have to play every game with headphones?

Any idea how I could get around this? I'd still like to use the breakout box and use these speakers!

 

[Speed]

Yeah very true. Given the way technology is, the value of components decrease by the minute. I'll look into selling them.

What if I was to purchase the 660 now and then purchase another one down the line and SLI it? Would I have to get the EXACT same model as in the "Power Edition" or can I select from any that are the same config?

I was just getting weird issues such as hang ups, visual glitches and things like that. I know they sound like problems that arise from overheating, but my temperatures are quite low in the case.
Also another reason, I use a Delta Audio 44 soundcard, which connects to a breakout box, allowing me to use these nice monitors called Event Tuned Reference 5. Really good studio level speakers as I also do music production on the side.
Problematically, SLIing the cards means that one card is literally about 3cm's away from the soundcard and generates really funky and horrible sounds when I play a game that utilizes the SLI. So this means I have to play every game with headphones?

Any idea how I could get around this? I'd still like to use the breakout box and use these speakers!

No you wouldn't have to get the same exact one, any GTX660Ti would do. If they have different overclocks it would default to the slower one but you can overclock them manually with something like MSI Afterburner. It is also worth considering the GTX670 as well if you do decide to purchase now, prices are not that far apart and the GTX670 is a better card. You can get GTX680 performance once overclocked as well which would be more suitable if SLi it going to prove to be a problem in the future, as it would be more capable as a single card.

Strange, I assume removing the second card solves the problem? What about disabling SLi in the nVidia drivers?

I've not got that much experience with high end sound cards but does it have a shield on it? Could be some kind of EMI caused by the card being so close or heat transfer, but like you say temps seem fine.

With regards to the visual issues you can try are swapping the cards around, making sure the SLi bridge is properly seated or try another one. Also underclocking them with MSI Afterburner etc to see if that clears up the issues.

 

[SecretMachine]

Thanks for all your advice so far. Really appreciate it.

I'll have a look into the GTX670. What sorta specs can the 660 handle alone? Am I talking about Ultra on Battlefield 3 with decent FPS or am I being too optimistic? I'm noticing some lag with Batman Arkham City running it on superhigh settings with the 460SLI, that's probably a given considering the age of the cards and demand of the game, but how would the 660 compare?

Disabling the SLI cures the problem. I've tried fiddling with the drivers and it seems like the latest one has made it abit unstable for my system. Hopefully some new ones will come out soon.

No shield, it's pretty much bare and I agree I believe it's EMI causing it. I'm not really sure what to do with it. I use the breakout box to plug in my vinyl player and record with, so I'd rather not be without it. :/

I'll look into that. Thanks!

 

[SecretMachine]

I've worked out how I can connect my turntable (and my Xbox360) without using the breakout box.
If I purchase a female RCA to 3.5mm stereo jack, I could plug that into the Line input in the back of my PC. How do I work out how many line inputs I have? I'd like to have the Xbox and turntable plugged in at the same time if possible.

 

[Speed]

Thanks for all your advice so far. Really appreciate it.

I'll have a look into the GTX670. What sorta specs can the 660 handle alone? Am I talking about Ultra on Battlefield 3 with decent FPS or am I being too optimistic? I'm noticing some lag with Batman Arkham City running it on superhigh settings with the 460SLI, that's probably a given considering the age of the cards and demand of the game, but how would the 660 compare?

Disabling the SLI cures the problem. I've tried fiddling with the drivers and it seems like the latest one has made it abit unstable for my system. Hopefully some new ones will come out soon.

No shield, it's pretty much bare and I agree I believe it's EMI causing it. I'm not really sure what to do with it. I use the breakout box to plug in my vinyl player and record with, so I'd rather not be without it. :/

I'll look into that. Thanks!

What resolution do you use while gaming? Also what CPU do you have and is it overclocked? If so to what speed? These are key when trying to compare performance.

To clarify, disabling SLi cures what problem? The sound card one? Try swapping the cards around if you haven't already, once done make sure SLi is enabled and see if the problem still remains.

The other option could be to add a EMI shield to the sound card. From what I've read you can make one out of aluminium foil, obviously that isn't a long term solution but it could be used to see if the problem can be solved that way. Obviously you want to make sure that the foil doesn't touch anything electrical, especially when the fans come on.

With regards to the latest drivers, did you select the Clean Install option under Advanced when installing? If not that might be worth a try.

I've worked out how I can connect my turntable (and my Xbox360) without using the breakout box.
If I purchase a female RCA to 3.5mm stereo jack, I could plug that into the Line input in the back of my PC. How do I work out how many line inputs I have? I'd like to have the Xbox and turntable plugged in at the same time if possible.

Not sure, creating a thread in Sound City might be a good idea for that question.

 

[SecretMachine]

I use 2048 x 1152. Single monitor. My CPU is an i5 2500k 3.5Ghz. No overclocking on that or the graphics cards. I had MSI installed initially, but it bugged out on me for some reason and I've stayed away from overlocking for awhile.

Apologies, SLI being disabled fixes any irregularities with my computer that I mentioned before such as hang ups etc.

The soundcard issue persists regardless of where I place the graphics cards. Due to the design of the motherboard, where the soundcard input is placed, I can't put it any further from the cards. They're both exactly the same too.

I tried the aluminium foil, it seemed to work but I was really uncomfortable having that so close to my graphics card (we're literally talking about a 1cm gap) and considering I move my PC between houses sometimes, its abit too tenuous!

No I haven't tried that, I'll make sure I do that next time. Thanks.

I'll go and create a thread over there.

 

[Speed]

I use 2048 x 1152. Single monitor. My CPU is an i5 2500k 3.5Ghz. No overclocking on that or the graphics cards. I had MSI installed initially, but it bugged out on me for some reason and I've stayed away from overlocking for awhile.

Apologies, SLI being disabled fixes any irregularities with my computer that I mentioned before such as hang ups etc.

The soundcard issue persists regardless of where I place the graphics cards. Due to the design of the motherboard, where the soundcard input is placed, I can't put it any further from the cards. They're both exactly the same too.

I tried the aluminium foil, it seemed to work but I was really uncomfortable having that so close to my graphics card (we're literally talking about a 1cm gap) and considering I move my PC between houses sometimes, its abit too tenuous!

No I haven't tried that, I'll make sure I do that next time. Thanks.

I'll go and create a thread over there.

Quite a high but uncommon resolution, your performance should slightly lower than 1080p due to the extra pixels you have. So if you take a look at the various 660Ti and 670 reviews out there you should get a good idea as what to expect. I think generally with a single card you'll get approx 50-55FPS with an overclocked 660Ti in BF3 Ultra. An overclocked 670 would be some 5-10 FPS faster depending on the overclock. Obviously this isn't an exact science as there are many factors involved but I'd definately consider the 670 if you do have the extra cash, especially if you want to use just a single card.

What motherboard do you have? Assuming you have a board that allows overclocking on the K series CPUs (P67, Z68, Z77 etc) then I'd suggest clocking your 2500K. It can provide good gains in games regardless of the graphics card. You need the cooling, so it will depend on your HSF but even small overclocks to say 4.2GHz can provide good performance improvements.

So the foil worked with SLi enabled? Indeed, as mentioned it was only really to see if an EMI shield would help, not a permanent solution by any means. Might pay to see if you can either source a EMI shield that will fit your card or modify one to fit.