GTX 660 Upgrade: 8 Supreme GPUs You Should Consider!

Nvidia’s GTX 600 series was the beginning of a new era. The GTX 660 was considered the best mid-range in 2012. It’s 2022 now and if you own a GTX 660 card now, it’s time to upgrade. 

Which graphics card should you consider as a GTX 660 upgrade?

Upgrading from GTX 660 is going to result in a massive performance boost. You can either get entry-level GPUs under $300. Or you can choose a mid-range card which costs a little more. GTX 1060 6GB or RX 6500 XT is the best pick in the entry-level budget. But RTX 3050 or RTX 3060 Ti is the best pick. 

That might seem like everything you need to know before choosing the GTX 660 upgrade option. It may have seemed simple but in reality, it’s not. 

There are multiple graphics cards that work as wonders. And that’s why I have compared different graphics cards for you with different budgets. 

Upgrading Options From NVIDIA GTX 660: 2 Budget Range, 8 Graphics Cards Compared

Nvidia’s GTX 660 has been out in the market for a while, almost 10 years. Nvidia released their Kepler architecture graphics card back in 2012. The GTX 660 release date was 6th September 2012.

The Kepler series had some fantastic cards. The GTX 680 was the flagship of that lineup. But it was launched at $360 and was too expensive for average users. 

But for the budget gamers, NVIDIA brought the GTX 660. It wasn’t as powerful as the GTX 680 but it was a boon for the budget gamers. 

The 60 tier has always been the best pick for budget gamers. Today, 10 years later, NVIDIA still has some top-notch 60-range cards. We have the GTX 1060, RTX 2060, and the most recent RTX 3060.

But if you’re a budget gamer, your first priority is the price. That’s why we have included some budget graphics cards in the mix as well. 

And it’s not just the GTX 660 users that look for these upgrades. Like the GTX 660, there are many considerable RX 580 upgrade options. 

That’s why we have divided the category into 2 different budgets for easier comparison. This will help you choose a graphics card faster. 

Option 1: Entry-Level Budget (Under $300)

First, we’re going to start with our entry-level budget cards. The GTX 660 has been a mid-range card that originally cost only $160 at launch. But graphics cards have become expensive over time. 

In today’s market, having $150 only gets you 4-year-old entry-level graphics cards. That’s why we have added an additional $150 to fit in many options. 

Here, we’ve made a small chart for your convenience- 

We have handpicked these cards for you. The prices are higher than usual. Because of the chip shortage, the prices have risen high due to demand. 

But it’s way better than before. For $250, you can easily manage a GTX 1060 which has 6 GB VRAM. Although quite old, it will last you for a while. It’s way better than the GTX 660 Kepler architecture. 

But the best pick under the $300 is AMD’s RX 6500 XT graphics card. It’s quite new and was released this year for budget gamers. It has about 240% performance of the GTX 660.

In simple words, the RX 6500 XT is about 2.4x more powerful than the GTX 660. Other than that, GTX 1650 is also a great pick for anyone who is going for a budget GPU. 

Finally, there are GTX 1050 ti graphics cards that you can get for temporary usage.

There are many more entry-level GPUs in the market. I tried to compile the ones that I have seen on performance. However, there are many things like compatibility, budget, and user preference according to their purpose. 

Option 2: Upper-Level Budget ($350 to $600)

Nvidia’s GTX 660 was released as a mid-range card. As you have used a mid-range card for a long time it’s time you taste the upper tier.

For example, the gamers that bought the GTX 980 would be looking for a high-range upgrade. Fortunately, there are many upgrade options for GTX 980.

Anyways, like before, we have picked some graphics cards and compared them against the GTX 660. The previous category was focused on the same budget range. 

But this category is about performance. Because most of the cards are considered as the upper tier of this generation. These cards will surely keep you set for another 5-6 years. You’ll also find the most recent successors of GTX 660 here.

For your convenience, we’ve brought everything under one chart- 

From the chart you can see some extreme improvements compared to the GTX 660. The GTX 660 was the leader of the mid-range of 2012 but not anymore.

Today, RTX 3050 provides about 3.5x more performance for the $100 price increase. This graphics card is also super new as it’s been introduced and released in 2022. Under $400, RTX 3050 is a great pick for you.

Then there’s the RTX 2070; the hero of the Turing architecture. It has been a while since the Turing era but this card is still monstrous. It’s a great card under $600.

There are more options for you if you want new cards. The RTX 3060; the older brother of the RTX 3050 is a great pick. It has an insane 12 GB VRAM. And it’s about 4x faster than the GTX 660. 

The price for the RTX 3060 varies due to chip shortages. But after recent market changes, it’s more available for around $450 to $500. 

You can also choose to get the RTX 3060 Ti for a higher price. The RTX 3060 Ti; the better and faster version of RTX 3060 is available.

Here’s a price and performance graph of the recent GPU market.

The 8 GB RTX 3060 Ti has better bandwidth and clock speed. The RTX 3060 Ti is the current leader in the upper-tier market. 

The RTX 3060 Ti is extremely future-proof. And it’s almost equal to the RTX 3070; a high-range card. Getting this card will cost you about $600. 

Simply pick a card that suits your budget and you’re all set for upcoming years. 

Also, a reminder that this gen’s upper-level card will need a decent CPU setup. Otherwise, these graphics cards will cause a bottleneck in your system. 

GTX 660 Upgrade Options!

If you’re still struggling to pick a card, we’ll help you. In easy words, there are two budget options to choose from.

The entry-level GPUs are best for budget gamers. Because in today’s market, the upper-level GPUs cost about 3 times more.

GTX 1060 or RX 6500 XT is perfect for gamers under a strict budget. You still get a nice performance boost in both gaming and work.

But if you want better performance, the budget has to be increased. The RTX 3050 is the cheapest mid-range card; available for under $400. But the RTX 3060 or RTX 3060 Ti is the current best upper-tier card.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the GTX 660 equivalent to?

Nvidia’s GTX 660 is the equivalent of AMD’s RX 460. They’re both mid-range cards for gamers that stay under a strict budget. But there are some performance differences in benchmarks that are quite significant. Nvidia’s GTX 660 is about 3% faster than AMD’s RX 460 in gaming benchmarks. 

Does GTX 660 support 4K?

It may be surprising but the GTX 660 actually does support 4K. Nvidia’s website mentions the 4K support in the GTX 660’s specifications. But it only means the GTX 660 supports 4K monitors. The GTX 660 only has 2 GB of VRAM. For 4K gaming and rendering, the GTX 660 is insufficient and incapable.

What games can I run on GTX 660 2 GB?

Nvidia’s GTX 660 may be a decade old but it still has some magic left. You can still run titles from 2013 to 2019 easily. For example, AC Odyssey, Far Cry 5, and Witcher 3 are some of the titles. You can also play Warframe, Just Cause 4, and Mafia II. You can also play RDR2 on medium settings. 

Final Thoughts

That was everything we could gather on the GTX 660 upgrade. Hopefully, these were enough to give you an elaborated idea about the upgrading. 

You can also check some benchmark results of the card you want to get. Look up the GPU you want to buy and compare it with your current one. This will help you choose a GPU faster and with more confidence. 

Finally, have a nice day and have fun!