Asus, MSI, Gigabyte - Advice and experiences?
Posted: Sat Sep 22, 2012 8:14 am
I'm planning an upgrade/new system for gaming and could use some advice on the graphics card. The factors I'm keeping in mind for this are: reliability, noise level and cost. Looking around I think what I want is a GTX 660 or 660 Ti, and have narrowed it down to Asus and MSI. Gigabyte was a contender till I went through the links below...
TechPowerUp did a bunch of reviews of some of these cards, and though I don't know how realistic their noise measurements are, the good thing is they should all be done under the same conditions. There's a slight issue in that all the manufacturers have multiple versions of the cards with different overclocks. Asus for example has 3 660 Ti cards, and lists 5. Two of the cards are Borderlands 2 bundled versions of the others. Comparing specs, and ranking the cards in terms of noise *I think* gives:
1) Asus GTX660 TI-DC2T-2GD5, Asus GTX660-DC2T-2GD5
2) MSI N660 TF 2GD5/OC
3) MSI N660Ti PE 2GD5/OC
4) Gigabyte GV-N660OC-2GD
From most quiet to loudest.
Because our local prices are much higher than overseas, I'm thinking of buying and shipping one in. That would mean I have to forgo the warranty though. So I was wondering if anyone had experience with the actual noise levels of these cards and the reliability of cards nowadays.
Oh and one thing I realised looking though the product pages, is that MSI uses Twin Frozr III on its 660 and IV on its 660 Ti...
TechPowerUp did a bunch of reviews of some of these cards, and though I don't know how realistic their noise measurements are, the good thing is they should all be done under the same conditions. There's a slight issue in that all the manufacturers have multiple versions of the cards with different overclocks. Asus for example has 3 660 Ti cards, and lists 5. Two of the cards are Borderlands 2 bundled versions of the others. Comparing specs, and ranking the cards in terms of noise *I think* gives:
1) Asus GTX660 TI-DC2T-2GD5, Asus GTX660-DC2T-2GD5
2) MSI N660 TF 2GD5/OC
3) MSI N660Ti PE 2GD5/OC
4) Gigabyte GV-N660OC-2GD
From most quiet to loudest.
Because our local prices are much higher than overseas, I'm thinking of buying and shipping one in. That would mean I have to forgo the warranty though. So I was wondering if anyone had experience with the actual noise levels of these cards and the reliability of cards nowadays.
Oh and one thing I realised looking though the product pages, is that MSI uses Twin Frozr III on its 660 and IV on its 660 Ti...