NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Comparison

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660 Ti vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN — both 28 nm Kepler parts from TSMC, but they occupy very different positions in the GeForce lineup. The GTX 660 Ti ships with 3,540 million transistors on a 294 mm² die, while the GTX TITAN doubles that to 7,080 million transistors across a 561 mm² die. Their benchmark results are split: the TITAN dominates in OpenCL, while the 660 Ti takes Vulkan. This analysis walks through the head-to-head numbers, architectural gaps, and where each card's remaining strengths lie.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only direct comparison available comes from two Geekbench tests, and the results are starkly divided. In geekbench_opencl, the GTX TITAN scores 24,873 against the 660 Ti's 15,113, a delta of -39.2% from the TITAN's perspective. That is a decisive victory for the larger card, reflecting its substantially higher raw compute resources: the TITAN's FP32 throughput of 4.709 TFLOPS is nearly double the 660 Ti's 2.634 TFLOPS. The OpenCL result aligns with that hardware gap — the TITAN delivers roughly 64% more score, which tracks with its 2,688 shading units versus 1,344 on the 660 Ti.

However, the geekbench_vulkan test flips the script. Here the 660 Ti scores 15,012, while the TITAN manages only 10,027 — a 49.7% advantage for the 660 Ti. This is a surprising outcome given the TITAN's superior hardware. The data suggests the TITAN's Vulkan driver implementation or its specific architectural configuration does not translate its raw power into API-level performance. The 660 Ti's Vulkan score is nearly identical to its OpenCL score (15,012 vs 15,113), indicating consistent performance across both APIs. The TITAN, by contrast, drops from 24,873 in OpenCL to 10,027 in Vulkan — a 60% regression that cannot be explained by clock speeds alone, since both cards share the same 1502 MHz memory clock and 6 Gbps effective memory speed.

The win count is even at 1 win apiece across these two tests. Looking at average benchmark scores, the 660 Ti actually edges out the TITAN: 15,063 versus 14,373. This aggregate figure pulls in the TITAN's additional geekbench_metal score of 8,218, which drags its average down. The 660 Ti's percentile ranking is 57 versus the TITAN's 56, meaning the smaller card sits slightly higher among all GPUs despite having half the shading units. The nearest rivals confirm this tight grouping: the 660 Ti sits within -0.1% of the AMD Radeon Pro 560X (15,082) and -0.7% of the AMD Radeon RX 7600 (15,171), while the TITAN's closest competitor is the AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 at -0.1% (14,385).

FAQ

Q: Why does the GTX TITAN score so much higher in OpenCL?

A: The TITAN's OpenCL score of 24,873 versus the 660 Ti's 15,113 reflects its doubled compute resources: 2,688 shading units, 224 texture mapping units, and 4.709 TFLOPS FP32 throughput, compared to 1,344 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 2.634 TFLOPS on the 660 Ti.

Q: How can the GTX 660 Ti win in Vulkan despite having weaker specs?

A: In geekbench_vulkan, the 660 Ti scored 15,012 against the TITAN's 10,027, a 49.7% margin. The TITAN's Vulkan performance is anomalously low relative to its hardware, suggesting driver or architectural inefficiencies in that API, while the 660 Ti's Vulkan result nearly matches its OpenCL score.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The GTX 660 Ti averages 15,063 across its two benchmark tests, while the GTX TITAN averages 14,373 across three tests. The TITAN's additional Metal score of 8,218 pulls its average below the 660 Ti's.

Q: What are the memory differences between the two cards?

A: The TITAN offers 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 384-bit bus with 288.4 GB/s bandwidth, while the 660 Ti has 2 GB on a 192-bit bus with 144.2 GB/s. Both run at 1502 MHz with 6 Gbps effective memory speed.

Q: How do their transistor counts compare?

A: The TITAN packs 7,080 million transistors, exactly double the 660 Ti's 3,540 million. The die sizes scale accordingly: 561 mm² for the TITAN versus 294 mm² for the 660 Ti, giving transistor densities of 12.6M / mm² and 12.0M / mm² respectively.

Q: Which card ranks higher among all GPUs?

A: The 660 Ti holds a 57 percentile ranking versus the TITAN's 56. Both are close to their nearest rivals: the 660 Ti trails the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 OEM by -0.9% (15,199), while the TITAN sits within -0.2% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M (14,404).

Architecture Differences

Both cards use the Kepler architecture from NVIDIA, fabricated on TSMC's 28 nm process. The core difference lies in the chip: the 660 Ti uses GK104, while the TITAN uses GK110. The GK110 is a much larger implementation — 7,080 million transistors on a 561 mm² die versus 3,540 million on 294 mm² for GK104. Transistor density is nearly identical at 12.6M / mm² versus 12.0M / mm², confirming the same manufacturing process but different scale.

The shading unit count doubles from 1,344 on the 660 Ti to 2,688 on the TITAN. Texture mapping units also double from 112 to 224, and ROPs go from 24 to 48. These increases translate directly to fill rates: the TITAN's pixel rate of 49.06 GPixel/s and texture rate of 196.2 GTexel/s are roughly double the 660 Ti's 27.44 GPixel/s and 109.8 GTexel/s. FP32 compute follows suit, with the TITAN at 4.709 TFLOPS versus 2.634 TFLOPS for the 660 Ti.

Clock speeds tell a different story. The 660 Ti runs higher out of the box with a 915 MHz base and 980 MHz boost, while the TITAN operates at 836 MHz base and 876 MHz boost. Despite the lower clocks, the TITAN's massive shader count more than compensates in raw throughput. Memory architecture also differs: the TITAN uses a 384-bit bus versus 192-bit on the 660 Ti, with 6 GB versus 2 GB capacity. Bandwidth doubles from 144.2 GB/s to 288.4 GB/s, though both share the same 1502 MHz memory clock and 6 Gbps effective speed. Neither card includes ray tracing or tensor cores — these are pure Kepler rasterization parts.

Specification Differences

The two cards diverge on nearly every measurable spec. Shading units: 1,344 (660 Ti) versus 2,688 (TITAN). TMUs: 112 versus 224. ROPs: 24 versus 48. Memory capacity: 2 GB versus 6 GB. Memory bus: 192-bit versus 384-bit. Memory bandwidth: 144.2 GB/s versus 288.4 GB/s. Clock speeds: the 660 Ti boosts to 980 MHz from a 915 MHz base, while the TITAN boosts to 876 MHz from 836 MHz. Fill rates: 27.44 GPixel/s and 109.8 GTexel/s versus 49.06 GPixel/s and 196.2 GTexel/s. FP32: 2.634 TFLOPS versus 4.709 TFLOPS.

Power and cooling requirements scale with the hardware. The 660 Ti draws 150 W TDP and uses 2x 6-pin power connectors with a 450 W suggested PSU. The TITAN draws 250 W, needs 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin connectors, and recommends a 600 W PSU. Physical dimensions also differ: the 660 Ti measures 241 mm (9.5 inches) in length, while the TITAN stretches to 267 mm (10.5 inches) with a height of 111 mm (4.4 inches) and width of 38 mm (1.5 inches). Both are dual-slot cards with identical display outputs: 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. They share the same API support — DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175 — and both use PCIe 3.0 x16 interfaces. Production status for both is end-of-life.

Where Each One Wins

The GTX 660 Ti wins in Vulkan workloads. Its geekbench_vulkan score of 15,012 beats the TITAN's 10,027 by 49.7%. This is the card's only benchmark victory, but it is substantial. The 660 Ti also holds a higher average benchmark score (15,063 versus 14,373) and a better percentile rank (57 versus 56). For users running Vulkan-based applications or who value consistent cross-API performance, the 660 Ti's numbers are more reliable — its OpenCL and Vulkan scores are nearly identical, differing by only about 0.7%.

The GTX TITAN dominates in OpenCL compute. Its score of 24,873 is 39.2% higher than the 660 Ti's 15,113. The TITAN also wins on every raw hardware specification: double the shading units, TMUs, ROPs, memory capacity, bus width, and bandwidth. Its FP32 throughput of 4.709 TFLOPS versus 2.634 TFLOPS means compute-heavy OpenCL workloads see nearly double the performance. The TITAN also offers triple the VRAM (6 GB versus 2 GB), which matters for large datasets or high-resolution textures, though no benchmark in this dataset directly tests memory capacity limits.

The power efficiency picture is mixed. The 660 Ti achieves its scores at 150 W TDP, while the TITAN needs 250 W — a 66% increase in power draw for roughly 65% more OpenCL score but a 33% lower Vulkan score. In Vulkan, the 660 Ti delivers 100 points per watt (15,012 / 150), while the TITAN delivers only 40 points per watt (10,027 / 250). In OpenCL, the TITAN delivers 99.5 points per watt versus the 660 Ti's 100.8 — nearly identical efficiency despite vastly different architectures.

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split: the GTX TITAN is the compute monster, the GTX 660 Ti is the API-consistent performer. If the workload is OpenCL-heavy — think general-purpose GPU compute, scientific calculations, or any task that leverages raw FP32 throughput — the TITAN's 24,873 score versus 15,113 makes it the obvious choice. Its 6 GB memory and 384-bit bus also provide headroom that the 660 Ti's 2 GB and 192-bit bus cannot match. The TITAN's hardware advantage is overwhelming: double the shading units, double the ROPs, double the bandwidth.

But the numbers take an unexpected turn in Vulkan. The 660 Ti's 49.7% lead over the TITAN is too large to ignore. For anyone running Vulkan-based games or applications, the 660 Ti is statistically the better performer. Its average benchmark score of 15,063 also beats the TITAN's 14,373, and its percentile rank of 57 edges out the TITAN's 56. The TITAN's Vulkan score of 10,027 is even lower than its Metal score of 8,218 would suggest relative to its OpenCL peak, indicating a fundamental driver inefficiency.

The choice comes down to the workload. The GTX 660 Ti wins for Vulkan users and for those who value consistent performance across APIs. The GTX TITAN wins for OpenCL compute tasks and for users who need maximum memory capacity and bandwidth. The TITAN's launch MSRP is 999 USD, while the 660 Ti launched at 299 USD. Both are end-of-life products, so current availability depends on the secondary market. The 660 Ti is the safer all-rounder based on average scores; the TITAN is the specialist that delivers when the workload matches its strengths. Neither card is a clear overall winner — the 1-1 split in head-to-head tests confirms that the right choice depends entirely on which API and workload matters more to the user.