First Build/Post - basic Graphics Card question

First Build - 660Ti Graphics Card question

I'm a noob and have SO much to learn, so I'm mostly following the CustoMac Pro advice on parts, but I've gotten to the graphics card now and I'm stumped on brand choices.

I'm looking at the Nvidia 660Ti cards, specifically ones by EVGA, MSI, and Gigabyte. The primary difference on stats seems to be the core clock and boost clock speeds. Gigabyte seems a little less pricey for its rating. Would I go wrong with any of these? And does "Superclocked" mean anything from a practical standpoint?

EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-3662-KR GeForce GTX 660 Ti

• Core Clock: 980MHz
• Boost Clock: 1059MHz

EVGA 02G-P4-3660-KR GeForce GTX 660 Ti

• Core Clock: 915MHz
• Boost Clock: 980MHz

GIGABYTE GV-N66TOC-2GD GeForce GTX 660 Ti

• Core Clock: 1032MHz
• Boost Clock: 1111MHz

MSI N660TI-2GD5/OC GeForce GTX 660 Ti

• Core Clock: 941MHz
• Boost Clock: 1019.5MHz

And thanks to the whole community here. I've been skulking around the site for a little while, and it's fantastic!

radiofrog said:

I'm a noob and have SO much to learn, so I'm mostly following the CustoMac Pro advice on parts, but I've gotten to the graphics card now and I'm stumped on brand choices.

I'm looking at the Nvidia 660Ti cards, specifically ones by EVGA, MSI, and Gigabyte. The primary difference on stats seems to be the core clock and boost clock speeds. Gigabyte seems a little less pricey for its rating. Would I go wrong with any of these? And does "Superclocked" mean anything from a practical standpoint?

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If you are not into heavy gaming where microseconds of response time might make the difference between your character getting killed or living on, or you are doing some heavy graphics work/rendering video, you would never notice a bit of difference in the clock speeds of the gfx cards.

Going Bald said:

If you are not into heavy gaming where microseconds of response time might make the difference between your character getting killed or living on, or you are doing some heavy graphics work/rendering video, you would never notice a bit of difference in the clock speeds of the gfx cards.

Click to expand...

This man knows of what he speaks. I would just add one caveat: that the cooler could make a difference. If you ever do anything that puts a heavy load on the card (gaming or rendering) then the stock coolers (one fan at the back of the card blowing out) tend to be a little bit louder than aftermarket designs, like MSI's Twin Frozer, or Gigabyte's Windforce design.

Sticklyman said:

This man knows of what he speaks. I would just add one caveat: that the cooler could make a difference. If you ever do anything that puts a heavy load on the card (gaming or rendering) then the stock coolers (one fan at the back of the card blowing out) tend to be a little bit louder than aftermarket designs, like MSI's Twin Frozer, or Gigabyte's Windforce design.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the responses!

I do a little gaming, but mostly graphic design with some video editing. I'm mostly looking for some longevity. Good to know about the cooling, Sticklyman; I'll probably be adding another cooling system later, especially if I end up overclocking. I don't know how loud the cooling fans get, but the case will be under my desk.

So are all three of these brands about equally reputable?

radiofrog said:

Thanks for the responses!

I do a little gaming, but mostly graphic design with some video editing. I'm mostly looking for some longevity. Good to know about the cooling, Sticklyman; I'll probably be adding another cooling system later, especially if I end up overclocking. I don't know how loud the cooling fans get, but the case will be under my desk.

So are all three of these brands about equally reputable?

Click to expand...

All three are good cards. I tend to lean a bit more in preference to the EVGA because they adhere more closely to the "reference" dseign, but that is more of a problem with AMD gfx cards. for nVidia cards, if you are going to "stress" the card - go with the more open card with the most fans, rather than an enclosed box with a turbine drawing air in and blowing it out the expansion slot.

Going Bald said:

I tend to lean a bit more in preference to the EVGA because they adhere more closely to the "reference" dseign, but that is more of a problem with AMD gfx cards. for nVidia cards, if you are going to "stress" the card - go with the more open card with the most fans, rather than an enclosed box with a turbine drawing air in and blowing it out the expansion slot.

Click to expand...

I was leaning toward EVGA from things I've heard/seen online and from a friend, but I could very well be stressing the card and possibly overclocking it in the future, and all the EVGAs appear to be closed designs.

Probably going to get this then: GIGABYTE GV-N66TOC-2GD GeForce GTX 660 Ti 2GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125440


Thanks again for all the help.