MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 2GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 Graphics Card N660 TF 2GD5/OC

The GTX 660 is an entry level gaming card, made to get you 60+fps pretty much any current game (2012 or earlier) at 1600x900 on ultra settings. It may drop as low as 41-45 fps on games when running at 1920x1080 on ultra settings. This specific card (msi overclock version) runs like a champ with the Twin Frozr fans which appear to be the most effective out of all the variants I have looked at and excel at having a long life, cooling better than other variants, and being fairly quiet (although not completely silent like a load of heatfins). It comes secure in a very well protected box so even if it gets jostled around i the shipping container you can rest easy that inside msi box its nice and safe. It comes with a (old) version of MSI Afterburner, which you should update online if you plan to use it. Its free for anyone, even if you don't buy this version, but you can rest easy knowing that this card was made to use it and it really simplifies overclocking. Personally I have been enjoying this card for a few months now with no problems; Running it at 1600x900 resolution its powerful enough to play a game and record it in 720p (HD) with fraps/game booster to upload some very clear ultra setting games to YouTube while it maintains a nice fps to prevent stuttering. If you have a good internet connection it works well with streaming to viewers as well. Its a big help to making your videos look professional and not like a fuzzy glitchy mess. Important things to remember.. -It is an Nvidia card, and they run better with Intel chipsets than ATI chipsets -PCI Express 3.0 also works with 1.0, 2.0 and 2.5 express slots, and has no noticeable loss unless you are running multiple video cards at once. -It is a double wide card, which means while it only connects in a single gpu slot it is fat and needs whatever kind of slot that is next to it to be empty so that its pot belly fans can hang over and do their thing. -It does require a single extra power connection from your pc's internal power supply or it wont run. Don't forget to plug it in. (It has instructions how and even has an adapter thingy that you probably wont need to use) -Its a fairly long card, though the msi twin frozr version is a little shorter than the pny or ev3a 's shrouded versions.

The card works great, runs cool as advertised. Since it covers two slots on motherboard you'll lose a PCI slot. But its worth it to get the extra oomph for graphics performance. Getting the $10 rebate is another matter though. .MSI denied my rebate request because I sent them an AMAZON invoice I copied from my account page. But for $10 it wasn't worth the hassle to complain. Also, the two "free" games from UBISOFT are near impossible to get because of all the hoops they make you jump through. I'm a retired Computer Scientist and it was a loooong process. And they're DOWNLOADS not actual DVDs. So, if you're buying this card for the premiums - good luck.

Nothing about this card feels cheap, or second rate. The build quality is exceptional. If you wish to believe the marketing materials, then all the capacitors are solid aluminium core, which are not prone to bulging or leaking. There is a metal shim across the top of the card that prevents excessive flex. Each output is given a protective covering to prevent dust build-up when not in use. Even the packaging is very well done and safe. The heatsink shroud appears to be aluminium instead of the cheap plastic found on many other cards. A substantial heatsink with decently quiet fans keeps the card sufficiently chilled. Furmark pushes the core temperature of this card to ~65C in my stock Antec 902 case. While the heatsink should receive most of the credit for keeping the GPU cool, it should also be noted that the GTX 660 is not at all power-hungry. Power consumption is roughly equal, if not lower than the direct competition (Radeon HD 7850). A GeForce GTX 660, even over-clocked, is not likely to be the best performing card that can be bought in the 200-250 dollar price range. With only a 192 bit memory bus, the card is somewhat bandwidth constrained as well. However, I've had no trouble playing current games at the highest (or just below highest) settings at decent and smooth frame rates. The past few driver releases have given me no trouble whatsoever, and there are several useful rendering and performance features that can be applied using either a global profile, or game specific profiles. Adaptive V-Sync is my personal favourite. Despite being a great product overall, the silicon is still mid-range. You won't be using it to play Battlefield 3 on three 1440p monitors. For single-monitor gaming though, this card should be sufficient for most gamers.