NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Review: Smooth 1080P Gaming For Less
GeForce GTX 1660 - The Most Affordable Turing GPU Yet
We are only a couple of weeks removed from the launch of the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti and NVIDIA is already at it again. This time around, we have yet another affordably-priced, Turing-based GPU to show you all, the GeForce GTX 1660 – sans Ti. As its naming suggest, the new GeForce GTX 1660 is very similar to its more-powerful counterpart; they’re both based on the same GPU, but a few cores and other components have been disabled in the GTX 1660. A handful of other changes have been made with the GeForce GTX 1660 as well, which push the card down a rung in terms of performance, but also bring down the price.
We have a couple of GeForce GTX 1660 cards on tap for you here, one from EVGA and another from Gigabyte. The EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 XC Black and Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC 6G may both be based on the same GPU and target the same price point (and audience), but they have very different designs. Before we dive in, let’s see how NVIDIA has spec’d the GeForce GTX 1660 and breakdown where this new mainstream GPU fits in the current landscape...
As you can see in the table above, the new GeForce GTX 1660 and the 1660 Ti are both based on the TU116 GPU (For more information on TU116 and the Turing architecture, see here and here). Two SMs have been disabled in the GTX 1660, however, which results in a lower CUDA core count – 1,408 vs. 1,536. The default base and boost clocks on the GTX 1660, however, are slightly higher than the Ti’s, at a base clock of 1530MHz and a boost clock of 1785MHz. The GeForce GTX 1660 has the same number of ROPs as the GTX 1660 Ti, but 8 texture units have been disabled in the GTX 1660 and it is also outfitted with slower, less expensive memory. The GeForce GTX 1660 has 6GB of GDDR5 with an effective data rate of 8Gbps, whereas the 1660 Ti’s GDDR6 runs at 12Gbs. The end result is lower peak bandwidth for the GTX 1660 in comparison to the Ti – 192GB/s vs. 288.1, which is more in-line with the Pascal-based GeForce GTX 1060.
As was the case with the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, all GTX 1660 boards will be coming from NVIDIA’s partners – there will be no Founder’s Edition. Pictured here are the EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 XC Black and Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC 6G.
The EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 XC Black is essentially identical to the EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti XC Black we showed you a couple of weeks ago in terms of its design, and the latter was very similar to the EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 XC Black we showed you before that. Because its design is so similar to the products featured in our previous articles, we won’t dwell too much on the EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 XC Black here.
Just like its big brothers, the EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti XC Black has a short PCB at only about 7.5” long. The cooler is relatively thick though, at 2.75 slots wide, and it has a dense array of fins with a single axial fan on-top – which is plenty for this particular GPU, as you’ll see a little later. In regard to its clocks, the EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 XC Black conforms to the reference specs listed in the table above.
The EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 XC Black features the same webbed fan shroud and angular design as most of EVGA’s recently-released graphics cards, though it does not have any RGB lighting. The outputs on the card are also somewhat different than many newer GeForce cards, and consist of one full-sized DisplayPort, an HDMI port, and a DVI port – and all three can be used simultaneously. The USB Link connector and second DisplayPort available on NVIDIA’s Turing-based GeForce RTX cards are not present here (nor is it present on the Gigabyte card we'll be showing you next).
The Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC 6G is obviously powered by the same GPU, but Gigabyte went in somewhat of a different direction. This card actually has a shorter PCB than EVGA's, but its shrouds and cooler extend off the back and make the overall card about 9” long, and it is only two slots wide – there’s no need to sacrifice that additional slot with the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC 6G. There are also dual fans on the card, which sit atop an aluminum heatsink that has copper heat pipes running through it. And one of the heat pipes makes direct contact with the GPU, to ensure optimal cooling.
Like the EVGA card there is a single 8-pin PCI Express power feed present, but Gigabyte cranks the boost clock up a bit on this card. The Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC 6G’s boost clock is 1,830MHz, which should give it a slight edge in the benchmarks. Its other speeds and feeds remain the same.
There is no lighting to speak of on the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC 6G either, though its output configuration is different than EVGA’s. Gigabyte saw fit to enable its card with a trio of DisplayPorts and a single HDMI port. It seems that Gigabyte is going after new system builders with their card that will likely use the latest display standards, while EVGA is also catering to potential upgraders that may have a GTX 960-class card and monitor with an older DVI connector.
We have a couple of GeForce GTX 1660 cards on tap for you here, one from EVGA and another from Gigabyte. The EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 XC Black and Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC 6G may both be based on the same GPU and target the same price point (and audience), but they have very different designs. Before we dive in, let’s see how NVIDIA has spec’d the GeForce GTX 1660 and breakdown where this new mainstream GPU fits in the current landscape...
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As you can see in the table above, the new GeForce GTX 1660 and the 1660 Ti are both based on the TU116 GPU (For more information on TU116 and the Turing architecture, see here and here). Two SMs have been disabled in the GTX 1660, however, which results in a lower CUDA core count – 1,408 vs. 1,536. The default base and boost clocks on the GTX 1660, however, are slightly higher than the Ti’s, at a base clock of 1530MHz and a boost clock of 1785MHz. The GeForce GTX 1660 has the same number of ROPs as the GTX 1660 Ti, but 8 texture units have been disabled in the GTX 1660 and it is also outfitted with slower, less expensive memory. The GeForce GTX 1660 has 6GB of GDDR5 with an effective data rate of 8Gbps, whereas the 1660 Ti’s GDDR6 runs at 12Gbs. The end result is lower peak bandwidth for the GTX 1660 in comparison to the Ti – 192GB/s vs. 288.1, which is more in-line with the Pascal-based GeForce GTX 1060.
Just like its big brothers, the EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti XC Black has a short PCB at only about 7.5” long. The cooler is relatively thick though, at 2.75 slots wide, and it has a dense array of fins with a single axial fan on-top – which is plenty for this particular GPU, as you’ll see a little later. In regard to its clocks, the EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 XC Black conforms to the reference specs listed in the table above.
There is no lighting to speak of on the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 OC 6G either, though its output configuration is different than EVGA’s. Gigabyte saw fit to enable its card with a trio of DisplayPorts and a single HDMI port. It seems that Gigabyte is going after new system builders with their card that will likely use the latest display standards, while EVGA is also catering to potential upgraders that may have a GTX 960-class card and monitor with an older DVI connector.
