{"id":34542,"date":"2013-04-05T18:15:57","date_gmt":"2013-04-05T17:15:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=34542"},"modified":"2013-06-30T17:12:06","modified_gmt":"2013-06-30T16:12:06","slug":"an-upgraders-guide-from-8800-gtx-to-gtx-650-ti-boost-pt-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/an-upgraders-guide-from-8800-gtx-to-gtx-650-ti-boost-pt-2\/","title":{"rendered":"An Upgraders Guide &#8211; from 8800-GTX to GTX 650 Ti BOOST (Pt. 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"left\"><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n                                                                                                google_ad_client = \"pub-7021221536180758\"; \/* 468x60, created 11\/11\/09 *\/ google_ad_slot = \"1949837292\"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = 60;\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/show_ads.js\">\/\/ < ![CDATA[\n\n\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"mceTemp mceIEcenter\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"mceTemp mceIEcenter\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Last week, Nvidia released its &#8220;sweet-spot&#8221; $169 GeForce GTX 550 Ti BOOST 2GB based on its &#8220;GK106&#8221; 28nm Kepler DX11.1 architecture.\u00a0 Nvidia&#8217;s partners\u00a0have also begin shipping a $149 1GB GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST to compete on price directly with the 1GB HD 7790.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-34444\" title=\"GeForce_GTX_650_Ti_BOOST_3q\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/GeForce_GTX_650_Ti_BOOST_3q.jpg?resize=396%2C322\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/GeForce_GTX_650_Ti_BOOST_3q.jpg?resize=396%2C322 550w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/GeForce_GTX_650_Ti_BOOST_3q-300x243.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 396px) 100vw, 396px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We\u00a0evaluated the GTX 650 Ti BOOST&#8217;s performance in <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=34375\">our Preview<\/a> where we compared it both stock and overclocked to the GTX 660 where it shares most of its DNA and performance, and where it\u00a0leaves the stock GTX 650 Ti completely outclassed.\u00a0 Now we are going to look at the new GTX 650 Ti BOOST as a $169 upgrade for Nvidia users that currently have an older flagship\u00a0DX10 card\u00a0such as a 8800-GTX or GTX 280, or perhaps a newer DX11 midrange card such as the <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=21598\">Galaxy\u00a0GTX 460-SOC<\/a> or even the <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=25002\">EVGA GTX 550 Ti <\/a>which launched at $149.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_34620\" style=\"width: 490px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/TheCards.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-34620\" class=\" wp-image-34620\" title=\"TheCards\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/TheCards.jpg?resize=480%2C568\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/TheCards.jpg?resize=480%2C568 800w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/TheCards-253x300.jpg 253w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-34620\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">8800-GTX, GTX 280, Galaxy GTX 460 SOC, EVGA GTX 550 Ti, GTX 650 Ti, EVGA GTX 660, GTX 650 Ti BOOST<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">We found this quite interesting.\u00a0 From\u00a0the Nvidia GTX 650 Ti BOOST Reviewer&#8217;s Guide:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>&#8221; . . . our own research shows that typical gamers upgrade their graphics card once every three years, and some gamers who purchase lower-priced cards will wait even longer before upgrading. A quick check of the Steam Hardware Survey supports this data: many of the most popular graphics cards are several years old.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Take the GeForce 9600 GT for instance. Originally launched in 2008, the GeForce 9600 GT is currently ranked 10th among the most popular graphics cards used by gamers in the latest Steam survey.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST delivers a tremendous performance upgrade over the GeForce 9600 GT. Besides supporting the latest DirectX 11 graphics, the GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST has twelve times the number of CUDA Cores, four times the amount of memory, and nearly three times the memory bandwidth of the GeForce 9600 GT. As a result, the GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST is up to 6x faster than the GeForce 9600 GT, and is twice as fast as the GTX 550 Ti<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/6xSpeedup.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34590\" title=\"6xSpeedup\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/6xSpeedup.jpg?resize=550%2C290\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/6xSpeedup.jpg?resize=550%2C290 550w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/6xSpeedup-300x158.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>We decided to use the 8800-GTX as a good\u00a0example of the very popular\u00a0DX10 8800\/9800 video cards of the day and evidently of cards that are also still quite popular.\u00a0 The 8800-GTX\u00a0card was a expensive top card in its day\u00a0that was matched or beaten by the 9800 series which was also quite popular.\u00a0 Another popular card was the GTX 280 which was Nvidia&#8217;s flagship 4-1\/2 years ago when ABT was first launched.\u00a0 Basically, either of these cards is capable of beating XBox360 visuals and we want to see how they handle the latest DX11 games, usually on the DX9 pathway.\u00a0 Steam&#8217;s latest survey shows that approximately 1\/3rd of the gamers that\u00a0they survey still use DX10 video cards.<\/p>\n<p>We also want to see if the overclocked\u00a0GTX 460\u00a01GB still is a good gaming card and if the GTX 550 Ti is really half as fast as the GTX 660 TI BOOST as Nvidia suggests; the GTX 550 Ti was launched at $149 and has only 1GB of vRAM compared to the GTX 650 BOOST&#8217;s 2GB.\u00a0 And we will look\u00a0at some\u00a0games that require more than 1GB of vRAM at higher settings.<\/p>\n<p>From top to bottom, the GeForce lineup now consists of:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>GeForce Titan<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GTX 690<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GTX 680<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GTX 670<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GTX 660 Ti<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GTX 660<\/li>\n<li><strong>GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost Edition<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>GeForce GTX 650 Ti<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GTX 650<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GT 640<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GT 630<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GT 620<\/li>\n<li>GeForce GT 610<\/li>\n<li>GeForce 210<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We can see that the GTX 650 Ti Boost Edition sits directly in the middle of Nvidia&#8217;s lineup at $169 and we will be able to compare this midrange performance with\u00a0five other video cards in Nvidia&#8217;s former and current line up.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s check out performance after checking out our test configuration on the next page.<\/p>\n<p><!--pagetitle: Introduction--><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle: Test Configuration--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><span style=\"color: #ffff00;\"><strong>Test Configuration &#8211; Hardware<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Intel Core i7-3770K reference 3.50 GHz\/Turbo to 3.7GHz<\/span>, overclocked to 4.5 GHz<span style=\"font-size: small;\">; HyperThreading is on, supplied by Intel.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>EVGA Z77 FTW motherboard (latest Beta BIOS, USB\/PCIe 3.0 specification; CrossFire\/SLI 16x+16x), supplied by EVGA<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">8 GB OCZ DDR3 PC 1866 Kingston RAM (4&#215;2 GB, dual-channel at 1866 MHz; supplied by Kingston)<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Nvidia reference GTX 650 Ti BOOST, 2 GB (reference clocks 980\/3004MHz), supplied by Nvidia<\/li>\n<li>Galaxy GTX 660, 2 GB reference clocks (980\/3004MHz), supplied by EVGA.<\/li>\n<li>Nvidia GTX 650 Ti, 1 GB reference design and clocks (925\/2700MHz), supplied by Nvidia<\/li>\n<li>EVGA GTX 550 Ti, 1GB factory overclocked (951\/2178MHz) and supplied by EVGA<\/li>\n<li>Galaxy GTX 460, 1GB factory overclocked (900\/1800MHz)\u00a0and supplied by Galaxy<\/li>\n<li>BFG GTX 280, 1GB reference clocks (700\/1848MHz)<\/li>\n<li>8800-GTX, 768MB reference clocks (630\/1960MHz)<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Onboard Realtek Audio<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\">500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200-12 HDD<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Cooler Master Silent Pro Platinum 1000W PSU, Supplied by Coolermaster<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Thermaltake Chaser MK-I Full Tower case, supplied by Thermaltake<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Noctua NH-DH14 CPU cooler and 8 case fans, supplied by Noctua<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Philips DVD SATA writer<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">HP LP3065 2560&#215;1600 thirty inch LCD. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ffff00;\">Test Configuration &#8211; Software<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Nvidia GeForce 314.22 WHQL drivers for all GTXes except for the GTX 650 Ti BOOST &#8211; 314.14 launch drivers. High Quality, prefer maximum performance, single display.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Windows 7 64-bit; very latest updates<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Latest DirectX<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">All games are patched to their latest versions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">VSync is off in the control panel.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">AA enabled as noted in games<\/span><span style=\"font-size: small;\">; all in-game settings are specified with 16xAF always applied; 16xAF forced in control panel for Crysis.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">All results show average, minimum and maximum frame rates except as noted.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Highest quality sound (stereo) used in all games.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Windows 7 64, all DX10 titles were run under DX10 render paths; DX11 titles under DX11 render paths.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #ffff00;\">The Benchmarks<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Synthetic<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Vantage<\/li>\n<li>3DMark 11<\/li>\n<li>Firestrike<\/li>\n<li>Heaven 4.0<\/li>\n<li>Valley 1.0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><strong>DX9 <\/strong><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Left 4 Dead 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Serious Sam 3 BFE<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Alan Wake: Ameican Nightmare<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The Witcher 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Borderlands 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Resident Evil 6 demo<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><em><strong>DX10<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Crysis<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Far Cry 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Just Cause 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Resident Evil 5<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div><em><strong>DX11<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><em>BattleForge<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Alien vs. Predator<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>STALKER, Call of Pripyat<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Metro 2033<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>F1 2010<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>F1 2012<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>H.A.W.X. 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Lost Planet 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Shogun II<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Crysis 2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Dirt 3<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Batman: Arkham City<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Battlefield 3<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Max Payne 3<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>the Secret World<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Sleeping Dogs<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Sniper Elite V2<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Hitman: Absolution<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Assassin&#8217;s Creed 3<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Let&#8217;s head to the performance charts to see how the GTX 650 Ti BOOST &#8211; stock and overclocked &#8211; compares with the non-Boost regular GTX 650 Ti and the GTX 660.<\/p>\n<p><!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle: Performance Summary Charts &#038; Graphs--><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Performance summary charts &amp; graphs<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Here are the summary charts\u00a0of the results of our benchmarking\u00a029 modern PC games and 5 synthetic tests. The highest playable settings are generally chosen and it is DX11 when there is a choice; DX10 is picked above DX9, and the settings are generally maxed unless specified on the chart. Specific settings including AA are listed on the Main Performance chart. The benches are run at 1920&#215;1080 and 1680&#215;1050 as befits the capabilities of the GTX 650 Ti BOOST.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Main Overall Summary chart<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>All results, except for Vantage, Firestrike and 3DMark11, show average framerates and higher is always better. In-game settings are fully maxed out and they are identically high or ultra across all platforms.\u00a0 The only exceptions are that the GTX 280 and the 8800-GTX are DX10 cards and the DX11 games default to either DX9 (usually) or to DX10.\u00a0 This is noted on the chart.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-34568\" title=\"MasterChart\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/MasterChart1.jpg?resize=563%2C1195\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/MasterChart1.jpg?resize=563%2C1195 704w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/MasterChart1-141x300.jpg 141w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/MasterChart1-482x1024.jpg 482w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 563px) 100vw, 563px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>As usual, we begin\u00a0by focusing on\u00a0the synthetic tests.<\/p>\n<h2>Futuremark &amp; Heaven synthetic tests<\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">3DMark 2013 Firestrike is Futuremark&#8217;s latest DX11-only benchmark, 3D Mark 11 is also DX11 and Vantage is DX10. Unfortunately, scores are completely meaningless when they are presented in this way but they do offer supporting data to accompany our game benches. Here\u00a0is the\u00a0chart with Vantage, 3D Mark11, and Firestrike&#8217;s basic and extreme tests as well as Unigine&#8217;s Heaven and Valley:<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-34564\" title=\"Synthetic-DX11\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Synthetic-DX11.jpg?resize=539%2C134\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Synthetic-DX11.jpg?resize=539%2C134 674w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Synthetic-DX11-300x74.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 539px) 100vw, 539px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Now we look at the graphs of the charts specifically focusing on Unigine and note that our old standby Heaven has been upgraded to verion 4.0 with even more demanding settings and performance needs.\u00a0 Unigine also recently\u00a0introduced a new synthetic, Valley 1.0.\u00a0 Both 1920&#215;1080 and 1650&#215;1080 are represented on the graph.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34599\" title=\"Heaven-Valley-DX11\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Heaven-Valley-DX11.jpg?resize=482%2C810\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Heaven-Valley-DX11.jpg?resize=482%2C810 482w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Heaven-Valley-DX11-178x300.jpg 178w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>\u00a0 Here is the GTX 280 and the 8800-GTX running Heaven and Valley in DX9 since they cannot run on the DX11 pathway.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-34563\" title=\"Synthetic-DX9\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Synthetic-DX9.jpg?resize=319%2C94\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Synthetic-DX9.jpg?resize=319%2C94 354w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Synthetic-DX9-300x88.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 319px) 100vw, 319px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/>\u00a0As you can see from the chart above or the graph below, even DX9 is a painful experience for the older DX10 cards\u00a0now, whereas running these benches\u00a0on the much more demanding and better looking DX11 pathway\u00a0is no problem for the GTX 650 Ti BOOST and the GTX 660 which are Nvidia&#8217;s current $170 to $200 midrange cards.<a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Heaven-Valley-DX9.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34600\" title=\"Heaven-Valley-DX9\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Heaven-Valley-DX9.jpg?resize=482%2C484\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Heaven-Valley-DX9.jpg?resize=482%2C484 482w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Heaven-Valley-DX9-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Heaven-Valley-DX9-298x300.jpg 298w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Again, synthetic tests are interesting but they are not necessarily indicative of real world gaming performance.\u00a0 Next up, let&#8217;s look at DX9 games.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>DX9 Games<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We test the popular Source Engine represented by Left 4 Dead 2 and also a demanding DX9 game, Serious Sam 3, BFE with both at completely maxed out settings. We have also added <em>Borderlands 2<\/em> with PhysX, and <em>the Witcher<\/em> with maxed out settings\u00a0except for\u00a0&#8220;ubersampling&#8221;.\u00a0 We also added the <em>Resident Evil 6<\/em> demo.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-34558\" title=\"DX9\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX9.jpg?resize=571%2C214\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX9.jpg?resize=571%2C214 714w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX9-300x112.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 571px) 100vw, 571px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>First up is 1680&#215;1050:<a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX9-16.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34601\" title=\"DX9-16\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX9-16.jpg?resize=482%2C1307\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now we see 1920&#215;1080<a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX9-19.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34602\" title=\"DX9-19\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX9-19.jpg?resize=482%2C1306\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The newer DX9 games are quite demanding unlike Source Engine whose <em>Left4Dead 2<\/em> runs fairly well even on an 8800-GTX.\u00a0 Surprisingly, the GTX 280 does pretty well compared to the GTX 550 Ti and to a much lesser extent than the GTX 460, depending on the game.\u00a0 However, the GTX 660 and the GTX 650 Ti BOOST are in a class by themselves being able to play all of the DX9 games at the most popular resolutions and with the highest settings and even maximum AA in most cases (except SuperSampling).<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s check out DX10 games<\/p>\n<h3><strong>DX10 Games<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>We test four DX10 games &#8211; <em>Just Cause 3, Far Cry 2, Resident Evil 5, <\/em>and <em>Crysis<\/em>.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-34559\" title=\"DX10\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX10.jpg?resize=571%2C148\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX10.jpg?resize=571%2C148 714w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX10-300x77.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 571px) 100vw, 571px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>First up at 1680&#215;1050<a href=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX10-16.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34603\" title=\"DX10-16\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX10-16.jpg?resize=482%2C905\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX10-16.jpg?resize=482%2C905 482w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX10-16-159x300.jpg 159w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>\u00a0Now at 1920&#215;1080:<a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX10-161.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34604\" title=\"DX10-16\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX10-161.jpg?resize=482%2C905\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX10-161.jpg?resize=482%2C905 482w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX10-161-159x300.jpg 159w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Benching these four DX10 games, again the GTX\u00a0660 and the GTX 650 Ti BOOST\u00a0simply stands out from the rest.\u00a0 Only with <em>Resident Evil 5 <\/em>and<em> Far Cry 2<\/em> does the 8800-GTX manage to provide fair framerates, and the GTX 280 is able to keep up except with <em>Crysis<\/em>.\u00a0 The GTX 460 still manages playable frame rates and to a lesser extent, so does the GTX 550 Ti.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>DX11 Games<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Most of our testing emphasizes DX11 games and we are benching 20. Since the graphs and charts get too long, we break them up into\u00a0sections of 6 or 7 games each.<\/p>\n<p>First up are charted\u00a0the older DX11 games.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-34562\" title=\"Older-DX11\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Older-DX11.jpg?resize=571%2C246\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Older-DX11.jpg?resize=571%2C246 714w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Older-DX11-300x129.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 571px) 100vw, 571px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now those same games at 1680&#215;1050 expressed in a graph:<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34607\" title=\"DX11-older-16\" src=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-older-161.jpg?resize=482%2C1310\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-older-161.jpg?resize=482%2C1310 482w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-older-161-110x300.jpg 110w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now the older DX11 games at 1920&#215;1080:<a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-older-19.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34608\" title=\"DX11-older-19\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-older-19.jpg?resize=482%2C1309\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-older-19.jpg?resize=482%2C1309 482w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-older-19-110x300.jpg 110w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-older-19-377x1024.jpg 377w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In every case, the GTX 280 and the 8800-GTX default to the DX9 or DX10 pathway and usually they produce not only inferior visuals to the DX11 pathway, they also are pretty slow.\u00a0 Except for <em>HAWX 2<\/em> and perhaps <em>Lost Planet 2<\/em>, they are unplayable at the high DX 9 settings that\u00a0we have chosen.<\/p>\n<p>In all cases, even the lowly GTX 550 Ti provides a better visual experience with better performance and the GTX 650 Ti BOOST and the TX 660 stand out from the rest.\u00a0 If you have a DX10 card, it&#8217;s time to upgrade.<\/p>\n<p>And it gets worse for the gamer with a DX10 card as we chack out the newer games.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Newer-DX111.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-34614\" title=\"Newer-DX11\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Newer-DX111.jpg?resize=563%2C213\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Newer-DX111.jpg?resize=563%2C213 704w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Newer-DX111-300x113.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 563px) 100vw, 563px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>First of all, <em>Max Payne 3<\/em> does not run on 1GB cards at 1920&#215;1080 or at 1650&#215;1050.\u00a0 We managed a workaround to give you numbers at 1650&#215;1080 as a comparison although the 1GB cards were suffering from a lack of vRAM.\u00a0 <em>Total War: Shogun II<\/em> would not run on the 8800-GTX at the settings we picked and the GTX 280** not only defaults to the DX10 pathway, it drops 2xAA in favor of MLAA.<\/p>\n<p>Now the same DX11 games at 1920&#215;1080:<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34606\" title=\"DX11-newer-16\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-newer-16.jpg?resize=482%2C1106\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-newer-16.jpg?resize=482%2C1106 482w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-newer-16-446x1024.jpg 446w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 482px) 100vw, 482px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Now at 1920&#215;1080:<a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-newer-19.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34609\" title=\"DX11-newer-19\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-newer-19.jpg?resize=482%2C1105\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>\u00a0If you want to play the newer DX11 games at high settings, you will want a modern DX11 card of at least GTX 650 Ti performance levels.\u00a0 For a few dollars more, the GTX 650 Ti BOOST provides a much more playable experience at even 1920&#215;1080 with few visual compromises.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Now let&#8217;s check out our newest DX11 games:<a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Newest-DX111.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-34615\" title=\"Newest-DX11\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Newest-DX111.jpg?resize=563%2C214\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Newest-DX111.jpg?resize=563%2C214 704w, http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/Newest-DX111-300x113.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 563px) 100vw, 563px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>the Secret World<\/em> not only defaults to the DX9 pathway with the 8800-GTX and the GTX 280, it drops SSAO as an option.\u00a0 Likewise, <em>Sniper Elite V2<\/em> defaults to DX9 and cannot enable Advanced Shadows, while <em>Hitman: Absolution<\/em> cannot use MSAA nor anything above low-DOF.<\/p>\n<p>Here are our newest DX11 games at 1680&#215;1050.<a href=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-newest-16.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34610\" title=\"DX11-newest-16\" src=\"http:\/\/i2.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-newest-16.jpg?resize=482%2C1306\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now the same DX11 games at 1920&#215;1080:<a href=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-newest-19.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-34611\" title=\"DX11-newest-19\" src=\"http:\/\/i0.wp.com\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/DX11-newest-19.jpg?resize=482%2C1306\" alt=\"\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Again, the GTX 660 and the GTX 650 Ti BOOST stand out from the rest.\u00a0 The 8800-GTX and the GTX 280 are showing their age while the GTX 550 Ti and the GTX 460 are unable to keep up without lowering settings.\u00a0 The video cards with 1GB of vRAM are beginning to show some disadvantages compared to the 2GB varieties.\u00a0 Let&#8217;s head for our conclusion.<br \/>\n<!--nextpage--><!--pagetitle: The Conclusion--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This has been quite an enjoyable exploration for us in evaluating our new GTX 650 Ti BOOST 2GB where it brings good performance value. We are totally impressed with this cool-running mainstream just above &#8220;entry level&#8221; GTX Ti BOOST gaming card that\u00a0totally runs away from the regular GTX 660 Ti non-BOOST editions as well as the older 1GB DDR-equipped\u00a0GTX 550 Ti, GTX 460 and distances itself completely from the older DX1o cards.<\/p>\n<p>Any gamer that is still on a DX10 card is really missing out on visuals and performance.\u00a0 They are not getting much better than XBox360 visuals\u00a0coupled with\u00a0even slower performance of the newest games.<\/p>\n<p>For its $169 price,\u00a0the GTX 650 Ti BOOST\u00a0gives more than 80% of the performance of the GTX 660 which is priced at $200. Although the GTX 650 Ti BOOST is generally outclassed by the GTX 660, it is also priced about thirty dollars less. Add in the bundled $75 of ingame items for the 3 popular F2P games, and the GTX 650 Ti BOOST becomes a great value.\u00a0 However, a\u00a0gamer who is really into these games might consider spending the extra thirty dollars and get the GTX 660 with the $150 in-game item bundle instead.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>The Verdict:<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>If you are buying a $169 entry level gaming video card right now that is perfect for 1920&#215;1080 as well as being great bang for buck, the GTX 650 Ti BOOST is a great choice especially considering that it is bundled with $75 of ingame items.\u00a0\u00a0 It&#8217;s past time to upgrade from\u00a0DX10 cards and to perhaps use them as a second dedicated card for PhysX.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>We do not know what the future will bring, but the Nvidia&#8217;s GTX 650 Ti BOOST brings good value and a great performer to the latest member of the 28nm GeForce Kepler family. With great features like PhysX and the second generation of 3D Vision, you can be assured of immersive gaming by picking this card for 1920&#215;1080 resolution.<\/p>\n<p>The competition is hot and AMD offers their own set of features including Eyefinity 2.0 and the faster and recently lower-priced HD 7790 1GB editions. We hope to be able to bring you a head to head comparison of the HD 7790 with the 1GB GTX 650 Ti BOOST.<\/p>\n<p>Stay tuned, there is a lot coming from us at ABT. This upcoming week, you can expect a evaluation of Kingston&#8217;s new HyperX Black PCB 16GB 2166MHz RAM kit.\u00a0 We will see if it makes any difference over our current 8GB 1866MHz HyperX.<\/p>\n<p>And don&#8217;t forget to check our forums. ABT forum tech discussions are among the best to be found anywhere!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left; padding-left: 60px;\">Mark Poppin<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left; padding-left: 60px;\">ABT Senior Editor<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px; text-align: left;\">Please join us in our <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/abt\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Forums<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px; text-align: left;\">Become a Fan on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/AlienBabelTech\/123268467142', 'Facebook']);\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px; text-align: left;\">Follow us on <a href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/twitter.com\/alienbabeltech', 'Twitter']);\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px; text-align: left;\">For the latest updates from ABT, please <a href=\"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?feed=rss2\" target=\"_blank\">join our RSS News Feed<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 90px; text-align: left;\">Join our Distributed Computing teams<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: left; padding-left: 120px;\">\n<li>Folding@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 164304<\/li>\n<li>SETI@Home &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech &#8211; 138705<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1\" onclick=\"_gaq.push(['_trackEvent', 'outbound-article', 'http:\/\/www.worldcommunitygrid.org\/reg\/viewRegister.do?teamID=3P39R3SRV1', 'World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech']);\" target=\"_blank\">World Community Grid &#8211; Team AlienBabelTech<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: left; padding-left: 60px;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week, Nvidia released its &#8220;sweet-spot&#8221; $169 GeForce GTX 550 Ti BOOST 2GB based on its &#8220;GK106&#8221; 28nm Kepler DX11.1 architecture.\u00a0 Nvidia&#8217;s partners\u00a0have also begin shipping a $149 1GB GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":34620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2533,7814,5],"tags":[1679,170,3930,4571,6223,121],"class_list":["post-34542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abt-news","category-articles","category-gaming","tag-8800-gtx","tag-gtx280","tag-gtx-460","tag-gtx-550-ti","tag-gtx-650-ti-boost","tag-nvidia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}