GTX 1660 vs GTX 1660 Ti: Which one should you buy?

GeForce GTX 1660 and GTX 1660 Ti are mid-range graphics cards in the new GeForce GTX 16 series from Nvidia. These are the most exciting graphics cards in the market today, because of their competitive pricing and amazing performance. However, the main area of concern is that the performance and price difference between these graphics cards is not that huge, and this has raised quite a bit of confusion among gamers and buyers.

gtx-1660-vs-gtx-1660-ti

Many of the PC users and gamers are in dilemma that whether they should go the top-of-the-range GTX 1660 Ti, or is it a better idea to save some money for other components or upgrades, and go for its younger brother, which is GTX 1660. So, to clear this confusion out, here I am going to compare both these graphics cards on different parameters, so that you can have a more complete idea about them, and can make a well-informed decision on buying your new graphics card. Let’s get started!

GTX 1660 vs GTX 1660 Ti Comparison

Here is a clear-cut comparison between GTX 1660 and GTX 1660 Ti graphics cards based on their specifications, performance, pricing, power consumption, and features.

GPU Architecture

Both these graphics cards are based on Turing GPU architecture and use the same TU116 core. However, GTX 1660 is a cut-down version of the TU116 and has got lesser CUDA cores than GTX 1660 Ti. GTX 1660 Ti comes with 1536 CUDA Cores, while GTX 1660 has got 1408 CUDA Cores (128 less than GTX 1660 Ti). The lesser number of CUDA Cores in GTX 1660 does have some performance impact, but it has got a slightly higher GPU Boost clock of 1785 MHz, as opposed to 1770 MHz in GTX 1660 Ti.

  GTX 1660 GTX 1660 Ti
GPU Chip TU116 TU116
GPU Architecture Turing Turing
CUDA Cores 1408 1536
GPU Clock (Base/Boost) 1530 / 1785 MHz 1500 / 1770 MHz

Memory [VRAM]

When it comes to video memory, then both these two graphics cards come with 6GB VRAM having 192-bit interface, but differ in memory type and speed. GTX 1660 Ti comes with GDDR6 memory at 12Gbps speed, and offers bandwidth of 288 GB/s, while GTX 1660 has got GDDR5 memory running at 8Gbps, offering total bandwidth of 192GB/s, which is significantly less than in GTX 1660 Ti. The faster memory in GTX 1660 Ti helps in high-resolution gaming, especially at 1440p, and in applications where memory speed plays an important role in determining the outcome of the result.

Must Read: GDDR5 vs GDDR6 vs HBM2 Memory Comparison

  GTX 1660 GTX 1660 Ti
Memory Size 6 GB GDDR5 6 GB GDDR6
Memory Interface 192-bit 192-bit
Memory Speed 8 Gbps 12 Gbps
Memory Bandwidth 192 GB/s 288 GB/s

Features

Both these cards are VR ready and come with the same features that include support for DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan, OpenCL, G-Sync, and Nvidia Ansel. They come with Nvidia’s new NVEC Encoder that delivers 15% improved efficiency over previous generation Nvidia graphics cards and is optimized for Open Broadcaster Software (OBS). Also, they come with Dedicated FP16 Cores and supports Adaptive Shading / Motion Adaptive Shading (MAS) / Content Adaptive Shading (CAS). Although both these cards are based on Turing GPU architecture, they do not come with RT cores for Real Time Ray Tracing and Tensor cores for AI and DLSS. Also, SLI support for these cards is also absent.

Gaming Performance

Here are some benchmarks of both these graphics cards in popular games at 1080p resolution.

gtx-1660-vs-1660-ti

Well, there is no doubt that GTX 1660 Ti is faster than GTX 1660 in all benchmarks and overall. However, the difference in FPS is not that much, and on average, GTX 1660 Ti is about 12% – 15% faster than GTX 1660. Just like GTX 1660 Ti, GTX 1660 is very capable of delivering more than 60FPS in almost all popular AAA games at ultra graphics settings @1080p resolution.

Power Consumption

The power consumption of both these cards is almost the same and is rated at 120W. Both of them require one 8-pin PCIe connector and a 450 Watt PSU for their working. So, in this department, there is no winner, as both of them are almost equal in this area.

Check out: Best Budget Power Supply (PSU) for Gaming

Pricing & Availability

The base variant or reference model of GTX 1660 is priced at $219 MSRP and that of GTX 1660 Ti at $279 MSRP. There is a $60 price difference between these cards, which can be a deciding factor when it comes to buying. Some of the other models of these cards with higher overclocking and with dual & triple-fan cooling do cost a little extra, and you can check the current prices of them from the links given below.

Check GTX 1660 Price on Amazon

Check GTX 1660 Ti Price on Amazon

GTX 1660 vs GTX 1660 Ti Specifications

Specifications GTX 1660 GTX 1660 Ti
GPU Chip TU116 TU116
GPU Architecture Turing Turing
CUDA Cores 1408 1536
Memory Size 6 GB GDDR5 6 GB GDDR6
Memory Interface 192-bit 192-bit
Memory Speed 8 Gbps 12 Gbps
Memory Bandwidth 192 GB/s 288 GB/s
Bus Interface PCI Express 3.0 PCI Express 3.0
DirectX 12 12
OpenGL 4.5 4.5
Vulkan API Yes Yes
SLI support NA NA
VR Ready Yes Yes
G-Sync Yes Yes
Power Consumption 120W 120W
Recommended PSU 450W 450W

See also:

Final Thoughts

Well, It is really hard to choose between these two graphics cards, especially for 1080p gaming, as both of them are quite capable of running the latest games at ultra-graphics settings at 1080p with 60 FPS or more on average. However, if you are on a very strict budget then it is better to go for the base model or variant of GTX 1660 at $219, but if you can stretch your budget a little bit more, and want to have a shot at 1440p gaming too, then getting a GTX 1660 Ti is an intelligent choice. On average, GTX 1660 Ti is around 12% to 15% faster than GTX 1660, which is not a huge margin but the extra FPS gain always comes in very handy, especially when too much action is going on in a game at some moment, and you don’t want to face performance lag due to it. If you still have any confusion regarding which card to buy, then you can ask me your queries in the comment section below.

(*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase through the links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Thank you for supporting the work I put into this site!)

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