The mid-range graphics adapter in 2012 with excellent parameters and acceptable energy efficiency is the NVidia GeForce GTX 660. The specifications at the moment, of course, do not look so impressive anymore, but such an accelerator has not yet slipped to the level of integrated graphics. He is also able to run most gaming applications, but with not the maximum settings.
Market segment for this graphics accelerator
The mid-price gaming accelerator was the GTX 660. Higher in the hierarchy was the NVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti. Technical specifications were much better, but he belonged to the same segment of the video card market. The premium segment at that time was occupied by the GTX670 and GTX680. Their cost was much higher, as well as the speed level. Well, the decisions of the initial gaming segment included the GTX650, GTX650 Ti and GTX650 Ti Boost. The direct competitors of the hero of this review from AMD were the Radeon products with the HD7870 and HD7850 indices. So in this article we will consider a typical mid-range graphics card for 2012.
GPU Specifications
The NVidia GeForce GTX 660 belonged to the generation of the Kepler graphic architecture. The technical characteristics of its semiconductor chip indicated a tolerance of 28 nm, and the chip itself was marked GK106. The total number of transistors in this processor was equal to 2540 million pieces. The core frequency could vary in the range from 960 MHz to 1033 MHz, depending on the level of complexity of the task and the degree of heating of the GPU. There are 960 blocks for processing shaders in this adapter, and they work at the frequency of the GPU. That is, this value can vary from 960 MHz to 1033 MHz. The number of TMUs in this case was 80 for each pipeline, and the ROP was only 24.
RAM and related parameters
In combination with the most common type of RAM, the adapter considered in this material, GDDR5 , should currently function . The recommended frequency of RAM chips in this case is 6 GHz. The RAM bus in this case is with a bit capacity of 192 bits. As a result, we get the throughput at the level of 144 Gb / s. Well, the recommended amount of video buffer for this adapter is 2GB.
Thermal Specifications
Good thermal parameters by the standards of 2012 in the NVidia GeForce GTX 660. The characteristics of the silicon crystal indicate that the heat packet in this situation is 140W. Accordingly, for the full power supply of this product, it is necessary to connect an additional 6-pin connector to it from the power supply side. The maximum allowable temperature for this accelerator is set to 97 0 C, but the minimum power of such a PC component as a power supply is 450 W. In combination with a weaker power system, a computer with such an accelerator will certainly fail.
Competing Products
NVidia GeForce GTX 660 had 4 competitors at once. Some of them had better characteristics, and some had worse. But at the same time, performance along with price changed proportionally. One step below was the GTX 650Ti Boost graphics card. Lower frequencies and more modest specifications, even in overclocking mode, did not allow her to compete on equal terms with the solution that is considered in this review. A similar thing can be noted about the AMD solution in the face of the HD7850. But the other two video cards, GTX 660Ti and HD7870, were more expensive, but they also had better specifications with performance. In the future, the GTX760 accelerator was replaced with a higher speed, and the graphics accelerator of the previous generation could no longer be a worthy competitor.
Cost and reviews
In the new state, such an accelerator from stocks can still be purchased at a price of 7000-8000 rubles. In the used form, this accelerator can be found on various trading platforms of the Global Web at a price of 4000-5000 rubles. About as much as a new or second-hand one is the NVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti. The characteristics of the latter are better, and it is preferable to buy just such a product. For the rest, we can say that against the background of current accelerators based on the Pascal architecture, adapters 4 years ago look quite unconvincing. They are already completely and completely outdated; now it’s better to turn your attention to more recent solutions in the video card niche. Although they cost more, their speed is significantly higher. This is precisely what the owners of such accelerators and computer specialists point to.
Summary
One of the best cards in 2012 in the segment of mid-range products was the NVidia GeForce GTX 660. Its characteristics were really advanced at that time. But now there are more recent accelerators with more advanced technical parameters and a high level of performance.