TechRadar Verdict
Pros
- +
Small footprint
- +
Decent frame rates
Cons
- -
Bettered by cards at a similar price
- -
Difficult to recommend over a HD 7950
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This really is more like it. We've been impressed by the overclocked AMP! cards from Zotac before - most recently the fantastic GTX 670 AMP! - and it's trying to continue that trend with the GTX 660 Ti AMP! edition.
Where the other manufacturers have approached the new Nvidia card as just another big GPU with high clockspeeds, Zotac has been a little smarter.
Using the same reference PCB as the GTX 670, it's managed to create a card with a far smaller footprint than the competition. You've got to give it props for taking a different approach to the others - especially considering it's managed to hit the same GPU frequency as the slightly pricier Gigabyte card.
The AMP! is right up there with the big boys in terms of gaming performance. In fact, in some instances it manages to hit a higher boost clock for longer. That orange-tinged fan array helps the chip spit out the occasional higher frame rate than the GTX 660 Ti competition.
Benchmarks
DirectX 11 tessellation performance
Heaven 2.5: FPS: Higher is better
EVGA GTX 660 TI SC: 23.7
ZOTAC GTX 660 TI AMP!: 25.4
GIGABYTE GTX 660 TI OC: 24.5
DirectX 11 hi-res gaming performance
Batman: AC: FPS: Higher is better
EVGA GTX 660 TI SC: 48
ZOTAC GTX 660 TI AMP!: 52
GIGABYTE GTX 660 TI OC: 49
DiRT Showdown: FPS: Higher is better
EVGA GTX 660 TI SC: 20
ZOTAC GTX 660 TI AMP!: 22
GIGABYTE GTX 660 TI OC: 23
Metro 2033: FPS: Higher is better
EVGA GTX 660 TI SC: 13
ZOTAC GTX 660 TI AMP!: 14
GIGABYTE GTX 660 TI OC: 14
DirectX 11 1080p gaming performance
Shogun 2: FPS: Higher is better
EVGA GTX 660 TI SC: 68
ZOTAC GTX 660 TI AMP!: 70
GIGABYTE GTX 660 TI OC: 74
DirectX 10 gaming performance
Just Cause 2: FPS: Higher is better
EVGA GTX 660 TI SC: 47
ZOTAC GTX 660 TI AMP!: 50
GIGABYTE GTX 660 TI OC: 50
That still doesn't change the fact there are AMD cards for the same money, which are generally speedier in gaming frame rates. You can also pick up a vanilla GTX 670 for only another £20 more, and that will take both the GTX 660 Ti and HD 7950 outside for a good kicking.
That's before you think about the incredible overclocking potential the GTX 670 still has in its pocket. While the GTX 660 Ti AMP! edition is definitely the finest example of Nvidia's new card we've seen, that still doesn't mean we'd recommend it over the superior GTX 670 or HD 7950 it's up against. This is not the GPU to pick your battles with, Zotac.
