Radeon RX 590 vs GeForce GTX 660 Ti

Place in the ranking	418	229
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	3.19	25.08
Power efficiency	5.24	9.54
Architecture	Kepler (2012−2018)	GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)
GPU code name	GK104	Polaris 30
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	16 August 2012 (12 years ago)	15 November 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$299	$279

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 590 has 686% better value for money than GTX 660 Ti.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	1344	2304
Core clock speed	915 MHz	1469 MHz
Boost clock speed	980 MHz	1545 MHz
Number of transistors	3,540 million	5,700 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	175 Watt
Texture fill rate	109.8	222.5
Floating-point processing power	2.634 TFLOPS	7.119 TFLOPS
ROPs	24	32
TMUs	112	144

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	241 mm	241 mm
Height	4.376" (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	2x 6-pin	1x 8-pin
SLI options	+	-

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	8 GB
Memory bus width	192-bit GDDR5	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	6.0 GB/s	2000 MHz
Memory bandwidth	144.2 GB/s	256.0 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	One Dual Link DVI-I, One Dual Link DVI-D, One HDMI, One DisplayPort	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
Multi monitor support	4 displays	no data
HDMI	+	+
HDCP	+	-
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	no data
Audio input for HDMI	Internal	no data

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

FreeSync	-	+
3D Blu-Ray	+	-
3D Gaming	+	-
3D Vision	+	-

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 (11_0)	12 (12_0)
Shader Model	5.1	6.4
OpenGL	4.3	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	2.0
Vulkan	1.1.126	1.2.131
CUDA	+	-

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 660 Ti 11.47

RX 590 24.37
+112%

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GTX 660 Ti 4421

RX 590 9392
+112%

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

GTX 660 Ti 8415

RX 590 23363
+178%

3DMark Vantage Performance

3DMark Vantage is an outdated DirectX 10 benchmark using 1280x1024 screen resolution. It taxes the graphics card with two scenes, one depicting a girl escaping some militarized base located within a sea cave, the other displaying a space fleet attack on a defenseless planet. It was discontinued in April 2017, and Time Spy benchmark is now recommended to be used instead.

GTX 660 Ti 23726

RX 590 48454
+104%

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GTX 660 Ti 5432

RX 590 16814
+210%

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 660 Ti 37758

RX 590 86825
+130%

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD	75 −34.7%	101 +34.7%
1440p	27−30 −115%	58 +115%
4K	16−18 −119%	35 +119%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	3.99	2.76
1440p	11.07	4.81
4K	18.69	7.97

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

18−20

−122%

40−45
+122%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	27−30 −141%	65 +141%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	18−20 −378%	86 +378%
Battlefield 5	35−40 −278%	136 +278%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	21−24 −200%	69 +200%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −122%	40−45 +122%
Far Cry 5	27−30 −233%	90 +233%
Far Cry New Dawn	30−35 −181%	90 +181%
Forza Horizon 4	75−80 −261%	274 +261%
Hitman 3	21−24 −123%	45−50 +123%
Horizon Zero Dawn	60−65 −393%	301 +393%
Metro Exodus	35−40 −235%	124 +235%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 −184%	91 +184%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	35−40 −278%	140 +278%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 −300%	272 +300%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	27−30 −319%	113 +319%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	18−20 −306%	73 +306%
Battlefield 5	35−40 −239%	122 +239%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	21−24 −178%	64 +178%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −122%	40−45 +122%
Far Cry 5	27−30 −174%	74 +174%
Far Cry New Dawn	30−35 −122%	71 +122%
Forza Horizon 4	75−80 −241%	259 +241%
Hitman 3	21−24 −123%	45−50 +123%
Horizon Zero Dawn	60−65 −370%	287 +370%
Metro Exodus	35−40 −162%	97 +162%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 −131%	74 +131%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	35−40 −208%	114 +208%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	27−30 −82.8%	50−55 +82.8%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 −284%	261 +284%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	27−30 −44.4%	39 +44.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	18−20 −244%	62 +244%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	21−24 −100%	46 +100%
Cyberpunk 2077	18−20 −122%	40−45 +122%
Far Cry 5	27−30 −104%	55 +104%
Forza Horizon 4	75−80 −19.7%	91 +19.7%
Hitman 3	21−24 −123%	45−50 +123%
Horizon Zero Dawn	60−65 −57.4%	96 +57.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	35−40 −170%	100 +170%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	27−30 −75.9%	51 +75.9%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 +94.3%	35 −94.3%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

30−35

−100%

64
+100%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	21−24 −109%	45−50 +109%
Far Cry New Dawn	18−20 −106%	35−40 +106%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	10−12 −127%	24−27 +127%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	8−9 −588%	55 +588%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	12−14 −217%	38 +217%
Cyberpunk 2077	6−7 −150%	14−16 +150%
Far Cry 5	12−14 −115%	27−30 +115%
Forza Horizon 4	50−55 −157%	130−140 +157%
Hitman 3	14−16 −107%	27−30 +107%
Horizon Zero Dawn	21−24 −213%	72 +213%
Metro Exodus	18−20 −222%	58 +222%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	16−18 −312%	70 +312%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−12 −173%	30−33 +173%
Watch Dogs: Legion	70−75 −182%	203 +182%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

18−20

−126%

43
+126%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	10−12 −255%	39 +255%
Far Cry New Dawn	8−9 −225%	26 +225%
Hitman 3	7−8 −171%	18−20 +171%
Horizon Zero Dawn	50−55 −7.5%	57 +7.5%
Metro Exodus	10−11 −260%	36 +260%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	9−10 −256%	32 +256%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	7−8 −171%	19 +171%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	5−6 −740%	42 +740%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	5−6 −300%	20 +300%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 −500%	6−7 +500%
Far Cry 5	6−7 −183%	17 +183%
Forza Horizon 4	14−16 −207%	46 +207%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	9−10 −344%	40 +344%
Watch Dogs: Legion	4−5 −225%	13 +225%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

10−12

−173%

30
+173%

This is how GTX 660 Ti and RX 590 compete in popular games:

RX 590 is 35% faster in 1080p
RX 590 is 115% faster in 1440p
RX 590 is 119% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1080p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the GTX 660 Ti is 94% faster.
in Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with 4K resolution and the Ultra Preset, the RX 590 is 740% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

GTX 660 Ti is ahead in 1 test (1%)
RX 590 is ahead in 71 test (99%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	11.47	24.37
Recency	16 August 2012	15 November 2018
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	8 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	150 Watt	175 Watt

GTX 660 Ti has 16.7% lower power consumption.

RX 590, on the other hand, has a 112.5% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 133.3% more advanced lithography process.

The Radeon RX 590 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 660 Ti in performance tests.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.