Im undecided in which GPU i get for my gaming rig.
GeForce GTX 660
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121660
OR
XFX Radeon HD 7870
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150605
Help me chose one!
7870.. The GHZ edition you found is great but look for a tahiti or XT version of the 7870, they are around the same price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131484&Tpk=7870%20tahiti
The one in the link above is the same price although its sold out atm. It is even better then the xfx card you are looking at.
I had a similar question when I built mine but for me it was either the 7870 or any NVidia GPU, I hadn't necessarily decided on one, so I've done a fair bit of research on this. I checked out the 7870, 660 and 660 Ti, side by side with similar computers otherwise. All were 3570K based with similar motherboards, though I don't remember the exact models, same OS (Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit), and had 8GB of 1600 MHz DDR-3. In just about every game, the 7870 got the highest framerates, usually about 8-10 higher than the 660 and 2-6 higher than tha Ti, but both the NVidia cards looked smoother, despite the lower framerates. Especially in Far Cry 3. The 7870's would occasionally drop frame rates to about 20 for a few seconds then jump back up to 50-55 out of nowhere and even when they all were running at about 80 FPS in Skyrim (modded slightly, max settings, FSAA on) the NVidia's just looked smoother and more fluid.
I ended up buying the 660 Ti then getting a second for shits and giggles, and a little bit of futureproofing, and am totally satisfied with the purchase. Framerates are always high and I can max out any game without a thought. And even before I picked up the second, it always managed to impress me and I cant think of a game that I've had to turn down any of the settings on so far.
Specs:
Mobo: Asus M5A97 LE R.2
CPU: AMD FX 8350
GPU's: DUal NVidia GTX 660 Ti
HDD: SanDisc Extreme SSD (256 GB)
HDD2: Western Digital 1TB
RAM: 16GB 1800 MHz Corsair (4x4GB)
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Case: Antec 500
PS. I have overclocked nothing and dont think I will for a while, it handles everything exceptionally.
This one.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131484
Looking at those prices a $220 GTX 660 (non TI) will perform slightly worse overall than a $230 AMD 7870 (Pictairn XT). So in terms of price/performance both of those items you've linked are good value for their performance. At this stage you should base it on price and the games you play. If you're into Borderlands 2 and WoW then the 660 will be your better option. For everything else, Far Cry 3, BF3 etc, it will be the 7870 at a cost of $10 more.
If you're willing to increase your budget by $25 you could get Sapphire's 7870XT. Is it worth the extra $15-$25? Yes, especially if you plan to overclock. This will perform near stock 7950 (non boost) and Stock GTX 660ti levels.
Bottom line, it's what you can afford.
the 7870 will beat the GTX 660, and Oc'd the 7870 will definitley be able to match/beat the GTX 660TI