NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M is an upper mid-range, DirectX 11.1 compatible graphics card that was announced in the first quarter of 2012 for laptops. As of this writing, it is the fastest Kepler-based GPU built on the GK107 architecture and is manufactured in 28nm at TSMC. The graphics card uses a 128-Bit wide memory interface with GDDR5-VRAM.

Architecture

The Kepler architecture is the successor to the Fermi architecture that first appeared in laptops with the GeForce 400M series. The GK107 Kepler core offers two shader blocks, called SMX, each with 192 shaders for a total of 384 shader cores that are clocked at the same speed as as the central core. Although more shader cores are available in the Kepler architecture as compared to the Fermi design, the Kepler shaders are still expected to be up to twice as power efficient. However, due to the missing hot clock of the shader domain, two shaders of a Kepler chip are of similar speed to one shader of a Fermi chip (as the latter was clocked twice as fast). PCIe 3.0 is now supported by the mobile Kepler series and an optional Turbo mode can automatically overclock the Nvidia card by a theoretical 15 percent if the laptop cooling system allows it. The implementation of this boost mode is done in the BIOS, but it is ultimately dependent upon the manufacturer of the laptop.

Performance

Thanks to the GDDR5-VRAM, the gaming performance of the GeForce GTX 660M is well ahead of the GT 650M DDR3 and on par with the AMD Radeon HD 6950M. Even the older high-end Fermi-GPU GTX 570M is only slightly faster. Therefore, current games as of 2012 run moderately well in 1080p resolution and high details. Only a few very demanding games, such as Metro 2033 or Crysis 2, may need reduced graphical settings for smoother gameplay.

Features

The improved feature set now includes support for up to 4 active displays. Furthermore, high resolution monitors of up to 3840x2160 pixels can now be connected using DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI 1.4a if available. HD-Audio codecs, such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, can be transmitted via bitstream mode through the HDMI port. However, as most laptops will feature Optimus, the integrated GPU will likely have direct control over the display ports and may limit the feature set available by the Nvidia Kepler cards.

The 5th generation PureVideo HD video processor (VP5) is also integrated in the GK107 core and offers hardware decoding of HD videos. Common codecs such as MPEG-1/2, MPEG-4 ASP, H.264 and VC1/WMV9 are fully supported up to 4K resolutions while VC1 and MPEG-4 are supported up to 1080p. Two streams can be decoded in parallel for features such as Picture-in-Picture. Another novelty is the inclusion of a dedicated video encoding engine similar to Intel QuickSync that can be accessed by the NVENC API.

The power consumption of the GeForce GTX 660M should be best suited for notebooks 15-17 inches or greater.

Manufacturer

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 600M Series

GeForce GTX 680M SLI	2688 @ 0.72 GHz	2x 256 Bit @ 3600 MHz
GeForce GTX 680MX	1536 @ 0.72 GHz	256 Bit @ 5000 MHz
GeForce GTX 675M SLI	768 @ 0.62 GHz	256 Bit @ 3000 MHz
GeForce GTX 680M	1344 @ 0.72 GHz	256 Bit @ 3600 MHz
GeForce GTX 670MX SLI	1920 @ 0.6 GHz	2x 192 Bit @ 2800 MHz
GeForce GTX 675MX	960 @ 0.6 GHz	256 Bit @ 3600 MHz
GeForce GTX 675M	384 @ 0.62 GHz	256 Bit @ 3000 MHz
GeForce GTX 670MX	960 @ 0.6 GHz	192 Bit @ 2800 MHz
GeForce GTX 670M	336 @ 0.6 GHz	192 Bit @ 3000 MHz
GeForce GTX 660M	384 @ 0.84 GHz	128 Bit @ 4000 MHz

Codename

N13E-GE

Architecture

Kepler

Pipelines

384 - unified

Core Speed

835 MHz

Memory Speed

4000 MHz

Memory Bus Width

128 Bit

Memory Type

GDDR5

Max. Amount of Memory

2048 MB

Shared Memory

DirectX

DirectX 11, Shader 5.0

technology

28 nm

Features

Optimus, SLI, PhysX, Verde Drivers, CUDA, 3D Vision, 3DTV Play

Notebook Size

large

Date of Announcement

22.03.2012

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - 3DMark 11 + Fire Strike + Time Spy

10.5 pt (11%)

Intel HD Graphics (Bay Trail) -87%

...

Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU) -9%

NVIDIA GeForce MX150 -8%

NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450 -7%

NVIDIA GeForce 945M -7%

AMD Radeon RX Vega 10 -5%

AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000) -5%

AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 -4%

AMD Radeon RX 640 -4%

NVIDIA Quadro M1200 -3%

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M

AMD Radeon RX Vega 5 2%

AMD Radeon R9 M280X 2%

NVIDIA Quadro P2000 Max-Q 2%

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655 4%

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q 4%

AMD Radeon RX Vega 9 5%

NVIDIA GeForce MX250 6%

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M 8%

AMD Radeon RX 540 9%

...

AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (Desktop) 802%

100%

3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Score

10200 Points (14%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

3DMark - 3DMark Cloud Gate Graphics

12861 Points (6%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Score

1703 Points (4%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

3DMark - 3DMark Fire Strike Standard Graphics

1751 Points (4%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

3DMark - 3DMark Ice Storm Graphics

113363 Points (15%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance Score

min: 2307 avg: 2545 median: 2543 (7%) max: 2727 Points

+ 11 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

3DMark 11 - 3DM11 Performance GPU

min: 2087 avg: 2327 median: 2369 (4%) max: 2414 Points

+ 9 benchmarks and specifications - Hide comparison chart

AMD Radeon HD 6250 -93%

...

NVIDIA GeForce 930MX -5%

AMD FirePro W4190M -5%

AMD Radeon R7 M440 -4%

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti -2%

Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640 -2%

Intel UHD Graphics G1 (Ice Lake 32 EU) -2%

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570M -1%

AMD Radeon R7 512 Cores (Kaveri Desktop) -1%

AMD FirePro W4170M -1%

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M

NVIDIA Quadro M500M 1%

AMD Radeon HD 8550G + HD 8750M Dual Graphics 1%

AMD Radeon 530 1%

NVIDIA GeForce 840M 2%

AMD Radeon HD 8850M 2%

NVIDIA Quadro K2100M 3%

AMD Radeon HD 8650G + HD 8670M Dual Graphics 3%

ATI Radeon HD 5770 4%

NVIDIA GeForce 940M 4%

...

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 2422%

100%

3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +

3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +

3DMark 2001SE - 3DMark 2001 - Standard

46020 Points (48%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

3DMark 03 - 3DMark 03 - Standard

min: 35347 avg: 39387 median: 39449 (21%) max: 41898 Points

+ 7 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

3DMark 05 - 3DMark 05 - Standard

min: 18640 avg: 20551 median: 19535 (28%) max: 23933 Points

+ 7 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +

Unigine Heaven 2.1 - Heaven 2.1 high

min: 31.3 avg: 32.6 median: 32.5 (6%) max: 33.4 fps

+ 6 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

SPECviewperf 11
specvp11 snx-01 +

specvp11 lightwave-01 +

specvp11 ensight-04 +

specvp11 catia-03 +

Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Gaming graphics

min: 6.8 avg: 7.2 median: 7.2 (91%) max: 7.3 Points

+ 7 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

Windows 7 Experience Index - Win7 Graphics

min: 6.8 avg: 7.2 median: 7.2 (91%) max: 7.3 Points

+ 7 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

Cinebench R10 Cinebench R10 Shading (32bit) +

Cinebench R11.5 Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64 Bit +

ComputeMark v2.1 - ComputeMark v2.1 Result

566 points (1%)

+ 1 benchmarks and specifications + Show comparison chart

- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card

- Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

Titanfall

2014

60 fps + Compare

49.3 fps + Compare

39.4 fps + Compare

20.8 fps + Compare

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.

Thief

2014

46 fps + Compare

30.7 fps + Compare

26.4 fps + Compare

13 fps + Compare

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings low.

Assassin´s Creed IV: Black Flag

2013

57.2 fps + Compare

45.3 fps + Compare

26.4 fps + Compare

13.6 fps + Compare

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..

X-Plane 10.25

2013

82.2 fps + Compare

38.4 fps + Compare

18.7 fps + Compare

10 fps + Compare

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..

Call of Duty: Ghosts

2013

75.1 fps + Compare

59.4 fps + Compare

32.6 fps + Compare

16.3 fps + Compare

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..

Battlefield 4

2013

77.7 fps + Compare

53.4 fps + Compare

34.8 fps + Compare

14.9 fps + Compare

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..

Batman: Arkham Origins

2013

187 fps + Compare

118 fps + Compare

58 fps + Compare

27 fps + Compare

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.

F1 2013

2013

154 fps + Compare

112 fps + Compare

102 fps + Compare

41 fps + Compare

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.

Fifa 14

2013

485.5 fps + Compare

287.9 fps + Compare

286.4 fps + Compare

170.2 fps + Compare

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.

Total War: Rome II

2013

118.8 fps + Compare

86.3 fps + Compare

67.7 fps + Compare

16.1 fps + Compare

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.

Saints Row IV

2013

79.6 fps + Compare

67.4 fps + Compare

33.4 fps + Compare

20.8 fps + Compare

» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

2013

105.4 fps + Compare

57.1 fps + Compare

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Schenker XMG P502	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	1024MB	10200

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Schenker XMG P502	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	1024MB	12861

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Schenker XMG P502	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	1024MB	1703

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Schenker XMG P502	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	1024MB	1751

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Schenker XMG P502	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	1024MB	113363

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 (59-332603)	3210M	6144 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	9659
Asus G46VW-BHI5N43	3210M	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	9966
Lenovo IdeaPad Y580-20994BU	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	10148
Schenker XMG A722	3612QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	10582
One K73-2O	3610QM	12288 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	10692
Schenker XMG A522	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	10971
Gigabyte P2542G	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	11356
Asus G75VW	3610QM	8192 MB		2048MB	11362
Asus G55VW-S1020V	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	11492
Asus G55VW-S1073V	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	12253
Eurocom Racer 2.0	3720QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz		12698

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Lenovo IdeaPad Y580-20994BU	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	8725
One K73-2O	3610QM	12288 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	9611
Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 (59-332603)	3210M	6144 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	9646
Schenker XMG A722	3612QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	9663
Asus G75VW	3610QM	8192 MB		2048MB	9803
Gigabyte P2542G	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	9811
Asus G55VW-S1073V	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	9813
Schenker XMG A522	3610QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	9890
Asus G46VW-BHI5N43	3210M	8192 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	10028

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Eurocom Racer 2.0	3720QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz		3.38
Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 (59-332603)	3210M	6144 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	4.3

Model	CPU	Memory	Core / Memory	GPU Memory	Value
Eurocom Racer 2.0	3720QM	8192 MB	835 / MHz		1.08
Lenovo IdeaPad Y580 (59-332603)	3210M	6144 MB	835 / MHz	2048MB	1.08