GeForce GTX 660 Ti
Radeon HD 7870 XT
GeForce GTX 660 Ti vs Radeon HD 7870 XT Performance Spectrum
About G3D Mark
G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.
GeForce GTX 660 Ti vs Radeon HD 7870 XT FPS Benchmarks
Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.
Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.
Path of Exile 2
Counter-Strike 2
League of Legends
Valorant
Among Us
Apex Legends
ARC Raiders
Baldur's Gate 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
GeForce GTX 660 Ti vs Radeon HD 7870 XT: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict
See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.
GeForce GTX 660 Ti
2012Why buy it
- ✅50% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (3 GB vs 2 GB).
- ✅Draws 150W instead of 185W, a 35W reduction.
- ✅Measures 241mm instead of 267mm, a 26mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower average FPS than Radeon HD 7870 XT across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ❌2012 hardware with 3 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌10.7% HIGHER MSRP$299 MSRPvs$270 MSRP
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 14.8 vs 16.6 G3D/$ ($299 MSRP vs $270 MSRP).
Radeon HD 7870 XT
2012Why buy it
- ✅47.1% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ✅Costs $29 less on MSRP ($270 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
- ✅Delivers 12.1% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 16.6 vs 14.8 G3D/$ ($270 MSRP vs $299 MSRP).
Trade-offs
- ❌Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 3 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
- ❌2012 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
- ❌23.3% higher power demand at 185W vs 150W.
- ❌10.8% longer card at 267mm vs 241mm.
Quick Answers
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GeForce GTX 660 Ti vs Radeon HD 7870 XT Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
GeForce GTX 660 Ti
The GeForce GTX 660 Ti is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in August 16 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock ranges from 915 MHz to 980 MHz. It has 1344 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,415 points. Launch price was $299.
Radeon HD 7870 XT
The Radeon HD 7870 XT is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 19 2012. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 925 MHz to 975 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 185W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,470 points. Launch price was $270.
Graphics Performance
The GeForce GTX 660 Ti scores 4,415 and the Radeon HD 7870 XT reaches 4,470 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.2% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 660 Ti is built on Kepler while the Radeon HD 7870 XT uses GCN 1.0, both on a 28 nm process. Shader units: 1,344 (GeForce GTX 660 Ti) vs 1,536 (Radeon HD 7870 XT). Raw compute: 2.634 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 660 Ti) vs 2.995 TFLOPS (Radeon HD 7870 XT). Boost clocks: 980 MHz vs 975 MHz.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 660 Ti | Radeon HD 7870 XT |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 4,415 | 4,470+1% |
| Architecture | Kepler | GCN 1.0 |
| Process Node | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Shading Units | 1344 | 1536+14% |
| Compute (TFLOPS) | 2.634 TFLOPS | 2.995 TFLOPS+14% |
| Boost Clock | 980 MHz | 975 MHz |
| ROPs | 24 | 32+33% |
| TMUs | 112+17% | 96 |
| L1 Cache | 112 KB | 384 KB+243% |
| L2 Cache | 384 KB | 512 KB+33% |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
The GeForce GTX 660 Ti gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon HD 7870 XT leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 660 Ti | Radeon HD 7870 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling Tech | Upscaling support | FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 |
| Frame Generation | Not Supported | Not Supported |
| Ray Reconstruction | No | No |
| Low Latency | NVIDIA Reflex | AMD Anti-Lag |
Video Memory (VRAM)
The GeForce GTX 660 Ti has 3 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon HD 7870 XT carries 2 GB. GeForce GTX 660 Ti gives you 50% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bandwidth: 144.2 GB/s (GeForce GTX 660 Ti) vs 192 GB/s (Radeon HD 7870 XT) — a 33.1% advantage for the Radeon HD 7870 XT. Memory bus width is 192-bit on the GeForce GTX 660 Ti and 256-bit on the Radeon HD 7870 XT. L2 Cache: 384 KB (GeForce GTX 660 Ti) vs 512 KB (Radeon HD 7870 XT) — the Radeon HD 7870 XT has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 660 Ti | Radeon HD 7870 XT |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 3 GB+50% | 2 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 144.2 GB/s | 192 GB/s+33% |
| Bus Width | 192-bit | 256-bit+33% |
| L2 Cache | 384 KB | 512 KB+33% |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 12 (FL 11_0) (GeForce GTX 660 Ti) vs 12 (11_1) (Radeon HD 7870 XT). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.3 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 660 Ti | Radeon HD 7870 XT |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 (FL 11_0) | 12 (11_1) |
| Vulkan | 1.1 | 1.2+9% |
| OpenGL | 4.3 | 4.6+7% |
| Max Displays | 4 | 4 |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: NVENC 1st gen (GeForce GTX 660 Ti) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon HD 7870 XT). Decoder: PureVideo VP5 vs UVD 3.2. Supported codecs: H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 (GeForce GTX 660 Ti) vs H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (Radeon HD 7870 XT).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 660 Ti | Radeon HD 7870 XT |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | NVENC 1st gen | VCE 1.0 |
| Decoder | PureVideo VP5 | UVD 3.2 |
| Codecs | H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2 | H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce GTX 660 Ti draws 150W versus the Radeon HD 7870 XT's 185W — a 20.9% difference. The GeForce GTX 660 Ti is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 450W (GeForce GTX 660 Ti) vs 500W (Radeon HD 7870 XT). Power connectors: 2x 6-pin vs 2x 6-pin. Card length: 241mm vs 267mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 97°C vs 80.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 660 Ti | Radeon HD 7870 XT |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 150W-19% | 185W |
| Recommended PSU | 450W-10% | 500W |
| Power Connector | 2x 6-pin | 2x 6-pin |
| Length | 241mm | 267mm |
| Height | 111mm | 111mm |
| Slots | 2 | 2 |
| Temp (Load) | 97°C | 80-18% |
| Perf/Watt | 29.4+21% | 24.2 |
Value Analysis
At launch, the GeForce GTX 660 Ti came in at $299, while the Radeon HD 7870 XT launched at $270. On MSRP, Radeon HD 7870 XT was 9.7% cheaper ($29 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 14.8 (GeForce GTX 660 Ti) vs 16.6 (Radeon HD 7870 XT) — the Radeon HD 7870 XT offers 12.2% better value.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 660 Ti | Radeon HD 7870 XT |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | $299 | $270-10% |
| Performance per Dollar | 14.8 | 16.6+12% |
| Codename | GK104 | Tahiti |
| Release | August 16 2012 | November 19 2012 |
| Ranking | #472 | #469 |
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