NVIDIA is known today for its cutting-edge RTX cards that it just released. This process, which started with the RTX 20 series, was previously introduced to users with the series called NVIDIA GTX. These cards have been sold for a long time, but although their popularity has decreased with RTX cards, they can still take their place in the preference list of many users.
The powerful member of the GTX 16 series released in 2019, the GTX 1660 Ti was created with the Turing architecture and is one of the most powerful cards in the family. Although it does not include the features of the RTX series, it is quite popular. So, will this card still work in 2022? What games can we play with this card? Is the GTX 1660 Ti still worth buying? Let’s look for answers to these questions together.
Is the GTX 1660 Ti still worth buying? Pros and Cons:
- Pros of the GTX 1660 Ti
- The card has up-to-date driver support.
- The card can offer high performance in most games
- Although the card does not support DLSS, it does support FSR technology.
- The card is more accessible and affordable than the RTX series graphics cards
- Cons of the GTX 1660 Ti
- Card does not support Ray Tracing and DLSS technologies
- Your card may cause a bottleneck problem with your old processor.
- The card may experience performance drops above 1080p
- The price of the card is increasing and the price / performance ratio is decreasing
- Some of the games you can play with the GTX 1660 TI and the performance you will get
- Counter Strike
- VALORANT
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Call of Duty Warzone
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- God of War
- Forza Horizon 5
- Result: The year is 2022, would you buy the GTX 1660 Ti?
Pros of the GTX 1660 Ti:
The card has up-to-date driver support:
Update support is undoubtedly a must for every gamer. Users who want to play the latest games smoothly, especially, have to update their video card drivers. These updates provide many benefits such as compatibility of cards with the latest games, fixing general performance problems of the card and adding new technologies. Therefore, when switching to a new card, it is very important to know how up-to-date this card is and how many updates it will receive. Since our card is out of 2019, it will be updated by NVIDIA for a long time. Currently, the current NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready Driver version 516.59, released on June 28, 2022, is available for this card.
The card can deliver high performance in most games:
We will explain the performance of the graphics card in more detail with FPS and game examples later in the article, but in general, we can say that this card can easily work in today’s competitive and other high demand games. You can play most games easily, especially in 1920×1080 resolution, which is the most preferred resolution. You don’t need to turn down your graphics settings like other old cards, because the “Ti” statement at the end shows us that the card is more powerful. With this card, which is more powerful than the plain GTX 1660, you can experience a satisfying level of gaming.
Although the card does not support DLSS, it does support FSR technology:
Especially with the enormous FPS increase it offers, the DLSS technology, which satisfies the players using RTX graphics cards, provides a serious FPS increase by providing minimum sacrifice from the image quality thanks to artificial intelligence. GTX cards do not have this feature, but instead, it is possible to gain FPS increase with Fidelity Super Resolution, a similar technology developed by AMD. Therefore, the DLSS minus is covered with FSR support, albeit not completely. Although FSR is not as effective as DLSS, it also makes old cards preferable with the FPS advantage it offers to players. It is also worth highlighting that FSR technology does not work in every game, but this technology is offered especially in current games.
The card is more accessible and affordable than the RTX series graphics cards:
Especially with the high inflation we are facing today, the prices of graphics cards have increased considerably. This card has both pros and cons when it comes to price. Although this card is seriously expensive in all respects, you can find the card more easily and buy it at a more affordable price compared to RTX cards. Prices are also quite high in the second-hand markets, but with intensive research, you can find a reasonable price compared to others.
Cons of the GTX 1660 Ti:
Card does not support Ray Tracing and DLSS technologies:
Although some players are not interested in these technologies, DLSS is very important, especially since it provides a great performance increase. Although the card has FSR support, DLSS technology is much more advanced and has achieved great success. Thanks to Ray Tracing technology, you can reach very realistic light reflections and graphic quality. In today’s gaming, RTX and DLSS technologies provide great benefits to players. Unfortunately, this card does not support either of these features.
Your card may present a bottleneck problem with your old processor:
This article is especially for players whose computers are quite old and want to switch to a new graphics card. Although not as powerful as RTX cards, the GTX 1660 Ti is a very powerful graphics card. Processors need to work in harmony and performance with graphics cards. If your processor has not been maintained for a long time or is very old, it may not feed the 1660 Ti and a bottleneck problem may occur. So you may even need to upgrade to a new processor.
The card may experience performance drops above 1080p:
Yes, perhaps the number of people who play games in 2K or 4K resolutions is very small, especially in our country, but there is no one who does not want to. If you have a 2K or 4K monitor and want to play games in high resolution, this card may require dimming the graphics in some games. There may even be situations where you need to lower the resolution according to the game. If you are playing games at 1080p resolution, this is not a problem, but when you go higher, the power of the card may not be enough for you.
The price of the card is increasing and the price / performance ratio is decreasing:
As the last minus, it is worth mentioning the price. Yes, we said that it is more affordable than RTX cards in the plus part, but this does not mean that this card still does not have a high price. The card is quite expensive and day by day this brings the price/performance ratio down. As the card gets more expensive, players may want to put more on it and turn to RTX cards. This may discourage users who want to buy the card. For this reason, we recommend that you make your shopping by taking into account the factors such as the period you want to buy the card and the second-hand market situation.
Some of the games you can play with the GTX 1660 TI and the performance you will get:
- Counter Strike:Global Offensive
- VALORANT
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Red Dead Redemption 2
- Call of Duty Warzone
- Assassin’s Creed Valhalla
- God of War
- Forza Horizon 5
Editor’s Note: According to the tests, the values below are the average FPS values. Factors such as the processor brand, model and generation or RAM size in the system used can affect the FPS values.
Counter Strike: Global Offensive: 316 FPS on High
Developed by Valve and still very popular today, Counter Strike: Global Offensive is almost indispensable for all hardware tests. Since the FPS you will get in games may vary depending on the processor you use, you should not forget that these values are variable but average values. When we look at the UserBenchmark data, in the test with the Intel i5 9400F processor, an average of 316 FPS was obtained at 1080p high settings. Considering the instant drops and FPS drops in the game, 219 FPS was captured. So we can say that you have a 240 Hz monitor and even if you are a professional gamer, you can easily play CS: GO with this graphics card.
VALORANT: 250 FPS at medium setting
VALORANT, the team-oriented 5v5 FPS game developed by Riot Games, is currently among the most played games in our country. Especially gamers using high Hz monitors care about the high performance of their graphics cards, because for them, the higher the FPS, the higher the fluency. In a test with the Ryzen 5 3600 processor, an average of 250 FPS is obtained at 1080p medium settings. Of course, since this is the average value, it can also happen that the FPS sometimes goes up to the range of 270-280 or drops to the range of 170-180. Since VALORANT is a processor-oriented game, there can be huge differences from processor to processor. However, when we look at this value to give an idea, it is possible to play the game fluently without any problems on a 144 Hz and higher monitor.
Grand Theft Auto V: 85 FPS at max setting
Grand Theft Auto V, the successful game of Rockstar Games, which was released in 2013 and is still being updated and played today, is, as always, a must for performance tests. According to Userbenchmark data, with the Intel i5 9400F processor, an average of 85 FPS is achieved at 1080p at the highest setting. Except for competitive games, it is generally quite satisfactory for 60 FPS and above players. We can say that the GTX 1660 Ti got a successful result from this test as well.
Red Dead Redemption 2: 87 FPS at medium settings
Red Dead Redemption 2, another popular game of Rockstar Games, is currently considered one of the best games in the game world. RDR 2, which has managed to find its place in most hardware tests, is a game that can force most systems when high settings and resolution are desired. In the test conducted with the Ryzen 9 5900X processor, an average of 87 FPS was achieved at 1080p medium settings. If you go to high/ultra settings again in 1080p resolution this time, you can get 55 FPS. If you don’t mind going under 60 FPS a little bit, it’s possible to play at these settings. When you try 4K resolution, unfortunately, you cannot go above 35-40 FPS in both medium and high settings.
Call of Duty Warzone: 86 FPS at max settings
Call of Duty Warzone, which has a unique audience among competitive games, is also a very popular game. In the Call of Duty Warzone test with the Intel i5 12600K processor, an average of 86 FPS was captured at 1080p maximum settings. Warzone is a game that consumes a lot of RAM, and the RAM size it uses can go up to 16 GB. Therefore, if you do not have enough RAM, you may have difficulty seeing these values or other problems may arise. Players who want a smoother experience on 144Hz monitors can easily lower the settings to over 100 FPS.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: 60 FPS on medium settings
Valhalla, the latest game of Ubisoft’s popular series Assassin’s Creed, is another game that has been in testing since its release. In the test with the Ryzen 7 3700X processor in Valhalla, a game that can force systems, an average of 60 FPS was captured at 1080p medium settings. This FPS sometimes goes down to 45 FPS, sometimes it goes above 60 FPS, but the average value usually continues as 60 FPS. For those who want to waive the FPS a little and increase the graphics, let’s say that 45 FPS is captured in the high setting.
God of War: 60 FPS on high settings
God of War, which made its debut exclusively for PlayStation, continues to be awaited today with its new game Ragnarok. In the tests performed with the Intel i7 9750H processor in the first game God of War, an average of 60 FPS is obtained at 1080p high settings. This value can sometimes go up to 70s, and sometimes it can drop to values like 50 FPS. When you maximize the settings, the FPS drops below 60, but it does not see below 30. Therefore, we can give the good news that those who want higher graphics and will not be bothered by losing a bit of FPS can play at the highest setting.
Forza Horizon 5: 75 FPS on Ultra setting
We chose our latest game for racing lovers. Forza Horizon 5, which is very well optimized, can give high FPS values on most computers, but not every computer can see Ultra settings. According to the tests made with the Ryzen 9 5900X processor, an average of 75 FPS was obtained in the 1080p Ultra setting. This is a very high value. In Forza Horizon 5, you can have a smooth game experience in 1080p resolution without having to adjust the settings.
Result: The year is 2022, would you buy the GTX 1660 Ti?
As a result, we can say that the GTX 1660 Ti is still a current and performance card for 2022. If you do not play games at high resolutions such as 2K and 4K, or if RTX and DLSS technologies are not indispensable, you can buy this graphics card with peace of mind. Before you buy, it is very useful to follow the market conditions that your trader is up-to-date and of course.
We have come to the end of our article “It’s 2022, can you buy a GTX 1660 TI?” What do you think about this 3-year card that debuted in 2019? If you have, you can share your performance results with us in the comments section.