GTX 1060 Compilation Thread

[quest_for_silence]

Good grief, Nvidia nerfed the chip to bring out a cheaper version (3GB with less stream processors and texture units) with the same GTX 1060 moniker. Rather than have two GTX 1060 threads, the 3GB reviews will be below the 6GB ones

4/26/17: Nvidia updated card design with faster VRAM...which led to new SKUs typically with PLUS in the name. Minimal upgrade in gaming framerates.

GTX 1060 6GB - In brief: Great 1080p/decent 1440p, 120W TDP, but OEM stock OC'ed cards will use 125-135W at stress loads. HDMI 2.0b and Display Port 1.4(ready), DVI no longer includes analog VGA signals. Requires one 6-pin PCIe Graphics power connector, but OEM designs may use more. Dimensions stated as: a" x b" x c" are from mfgr websites - others are from reviews. Similar in performance to GTX 980, slightly faster than Radeon RX 480. No SLI bridge.

GTX 1060 3GB - In brief: Great 1080p/ok 1440p*, 120W TDP, but OEM stock OC'ed cards will use 125-135W at stress loads. *If you play games with high textures / texture packs, check the memory usage - you may want to get the 6GB card.
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GTX 1060 6GB reviews:
Nvidia reference design @ Techpowerup, TweakPC (german), HT4U (german)

Roundups:
ComputerBase (German)
Tom's Hardware

Reviews with acoustic testing:

MSI GTX 1060 GAMING X 6GB(10.98-11.02" length, 5.51" height, dual slot (xx"), 8-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive fan hysteresis: fans off with drop to 48C; fans on with rise to 60C.
Techpowerup
eTeknix
Gamers Nexus
Guru3D
Computer Base (German)
KitGuru
hardwareLUXX (German)

MSI GTX 1060 GAMING X PLUS 6GB(10.98-11.02" length, 5.51" height, dual slot (xx"), 8-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive fan hysteresis: fans off with drop to 48C; fans on with rise to 60C.
Guru3D

MSI GTX 1060 GAMING OC 6GB(9.5" length, xx" height, dual slot (xx"), 6-pin PEG. 1 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Not passive under low load.
Techpowerup (wrong dimensions in review)
Guru3D

MSI GTX 1060 Aero ITX 6GB(6.69" length, xx" height, dual slot (xx"), 6-pin PEG. 1 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive under load to 60C.
Guru3D

MSI GTX 1060 Armor OC 6GB(11.02" length, 5.51" height, dual slot (xx"), 8-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive under load to 60C.
Techpowerup

Asus ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1060 OC 6GB (11.73-11.81" length, 5.12-5.28" height, 2.1 slot (1.57"), 8-pin PEG. 2 DP, 2 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive to 57C.
Hexus
KitGuru
hardwareLUXX
Techpowerup
ComputerBase (German)

Asus GeForce GTX 1060 OC 9Gbps 6GB (8.46" length, 4.92" height, 2 slot (xx"), 6-pin PEG. 2 DP, 2 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive to xxC.
ComputerBase
Hexus


Palit GTX 1060 Super Jetstream 6GB[/color](9.6-9.84" length, 4.72-4.84" height, 2.5 slot (xx"), 6-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive fan hysteresis: fans off with drop to 50C; fans on with rise to 60C.
Guru3D
Computer Base
Hexus
Techpowerup

Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming 6GB(11-11.26" length, 4.53" height, dual slot (xx"), 8-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive fan hysteresis: fans off with drop to xxC; fans on with rise to 53C. 150W Power target.
hardwareLUXX
Guru3D
ComputerBase (German)

Gigabyte GTX 1060 Xtreme Gaming 6GB(11.02" length, 5.31" height, three slot (xx"), 8-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive fan hysteresis: fans off with drop to xxC; fans on with rise to 60C. xxW Power target.
Techpowerup

Inno3D iChill GTX 1060 X3 6GB(11.81-11.89" length, 4.92" height, 2.5 slot (xx"), 8-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive fan hysteresis: fans off with drop to xxC; fans on with rise to 55C.
hardwareLUXX
Hexus
ComputerBase (German)

Inno3D iChill GTX 1060 Gaming OC 6GB(10.91" length, xx" height, dual slot (xx"), 8-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive fan hysteresis: fans off with drop to xxC; fans on with rise to 53C.
hardwareLUXX

Zotac GTX 1060 AMP! Edition 6GB(8.27" length, 4.92" height, dual slot (xx"), 6-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive fan hysteresis: fans off with drop to xxC; fans on with rise to 47-58C.
hardwareLUXX
ComputerBase (German)

EVGA GTX 1060 SC Gaming 6GB(6.81-7.09" length, xx" height, dual slot (xx"), 6-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive to xxC.
hardwareLUXX
Hexus

EVGA GTX 1060 FTW + Gaming 6GB(10.47" length, xx" height, dual slot (xx"), 8-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive fan hysteresis: fans off with drop to 51C; fans on with rise to xxC.
hardwareLUXX

EVGA GTX 1060 6GB(6.89" length, 4.33" height, dual slot (xx"), 6-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). No passive fans.
ComputerBase

Gainward GTX 1060 / Palit GTX 1060 Dual 6GB(9.84" length, 4.33" height, dual slot (xx"), 6-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive fan hysteresis: fans off with drop to xxC; fans on with rise to xxC.
ComputerBase


KFA2 GTX 1060 OC 6GB(9.25" length, 4.33" height, dual slot (xx"), 6-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). No passive fans.
ComputerBase
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GTX 1060 3GB Reviews:

MSI GTX 1060 GAMING X 3GB(10.91-11.02" length, 5.51" height, dual slot (1.54"), 8-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive to 60C.
Guru3D
Techpowerup
Hexus

Asus GTX 1060 Dual OC 3GB(9.45" length, 5.12" height, 2.5 slot (xx"), 6-pin PEG. 2 DP, 2 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). 1000rpm fans at idle.
ComputerBase
............................................................................................................................................
Well, Steve: please hijack this post/thread and keep up your usual very good work!
Ok, it's officially hijacked. (Steve)

[Smanci]

The short version from EVGA looks pretty capable in terms of acoustics but look at the minimum fan speed. Again stupidly high.
http://www.legitreviews.com/nvidia-evga ... _184301/11

[Abula]

Seems like a very nice card, slightly faster than RX480 at slightly higher price, overall i like how the offerings are in the mid range.

[CA_Steve]

See what happens when some dude lives 8 or so time zones east of you? Man!

Nice performance/watt.

I'll have time later today to catch up on the gfx card listings. MSI price of $289 is a little higher than I thought it would be, but back then I thought there was going to be a 3GB version. When are the AMD aftermarket cards going to appear?

Looking at NewEgg intro day pricing, the $289 MSI card is going for $300. Asus Strix $310, Zotac Amp $280, and Gigabyte Windforce $250. All are sold out

[lalib]

We saw temperatures of only 67°C during heavy gaming, and pretty much perfect noise levels. Even with demanding games, it will be difficult to notice the two fans, which are spinning slowly, emitting only 28 dBA

Just picked up a MSI gaming X 1060 from microcenter. 28dba @ 67C while gaming seems pretty nice to me. Will report back my subjective experience once I build my system.

EDIT: just fits into my core v1 thermaltake case. very very happy with the sound of the card at stock settings. just have to wait for a couple more case fans and my cpu cooler to come in,

[CA_Steve]

Well, Steve: please hijack this post/thread and keep up your usual very good work!

Ok, it's officially hijacked. (Steve)

[CA_Steve]

Palit Super Jetstream @ Guru3D added.

[~El~Jefe~]

hard ocp people reviewed the 1060gtx as a bit lower than the rx 480 consistently in modern games.

i am upset about that. If it was a 179 dollar card and nice and cool running as it is, I would be happy. I have to game at 1440p so this is an issue now.

[CA_Steve]

hard ocp people reviewed the 1060gtx as a bit lower than the rx 480 consistently in modern games.

That's contrary to the other reviews I've seen where, on average, the RX 480 is ~6-10% slower at 1440p.

[quest_for_silence]

hard ocp people reviewed the 1060gtx as a bit lower than the rx 480 consistently in modern games

...how would the GeForce GTX 1060 perform against the AMD Radeon RX 480? We have found that this highly depends on the game and API involved.

It is clear, crystal clear, that AMD Radeon RX 480 simply performs better under the new Vulkan API and some DX12 API in games so far. In DOOM the AMD Radeon RX 480 wiped the floor with the GeForce GTX 1060 running the Vulkan API. This is not to say GeForce GTX 1060 did not have an enjoyable gameplay experience, it surely did. We were able to play the game maxed out at 1080p and at "Ultra" settings at 1440p with the highest AA setting. This is nothing to laugh at, it's an amazing experience...

...We didn't see much difference in Rise of the Tomb Raider either in DX12 or DX11. In that game, both video cards allowed the same gameplay experience and performance. They really were neck and neck. In The Witcher 3 the GeForce GTX 1060 had a performance advantage...

...We don't think you could go wrong with a non-FE GeForce GTX 1060 for 1080p gaming. It offers near-GeForce GTX 980 performance for $249 and uses a lot less power. We still think that both the RX 480 and GTX 1060 are "1080p gaming" cards. The GTX 1060 runs cool and with custom cards may have some good enthusiast overclocking potential...

They think the RX 480 "may" be better with some new API, ATM, but I'd bet some new driver may even prove the opposite.

[~El~Jefe~]

dx12 it kills it 25% - 13% faster at 1440p and scales same to 1080p.

thats the major thing. that is huge.

[CA_Steve]

dx12 it kills it 25% - 13% faster at 1440p and scales same to 1080p.

thats the major thing. that is huge.

Starting to sound like a political candidate with the "huge" stuff DX12 and Vulcan drivers are in the early days. Magic 8 ball says ask again in a month. Heck, supply issues probably won't settle out for 2 months with all of these soft launches on both sides of the red and green aisles.

[~El~Jefe~]

When dx 11 benchmarks were out, everyone knew that AMD was terrible for several years compared to nvidia.

Dx 11 is a pc thing, vulcan is, from what i read, a way for consoles to program. It unifies programing away from Xbox as being standard relying on Dx whatever. So, this potentially has enormous (yes, like the word Huge) meaning for future standards. Remember, that all consoles use AMD chips. I think that dx 12 and vulcan and mantle all of those thingies, will be ubiquitous and not the usual dx 9 - 10 - 11 slow progress we are used to. Many users

Therefore, if a card cannot excel at the new api's, I cannot recommend it for 2016.

8 minutes ago, people noted that 980 gtx was a great performance per watt card. Now that AMD has less wattage than a 980, but similar performance and better future proofing and 200 dollars cheaper, now AMD sucks. I don't get that.

Point number Two for future proofing: Freesync vs nvidia proprietary sync thing. AMD requires very cheap installation of hardware, nvidia monitors require expensive proprietary add ons and therefore limit selection and increase price for same LCD panel.

If one is playing mostly dx 11 games or is on 1080p and dx12/vulcan, clearly though the 1060 is the way to go as it simply a lower wattage card that plays all at those needs perfectly.

[keif]

The short version from EVGA looks pretty capable in terms of acoustics but look at the minimum fan speed. Again stupidly high.
http://www.legitreviews.com/nvidia-evga ... _184301/11

Yeah, it's too bad - 22c is just unnecessary. I wonder if you can lower it anymore - it is at 45% so it seems likely. If not, maybe you could use a low noise adapter.

I am happy to see it's very easy to cool though. I need a mini card for my Rosewill U2 so I'm very interested in it. Paypal is currently offering $25 off of purchases over $200 on Newegg so I'm very tempted if it comes back in stock.

hard ocp people reviewed the 1060gtx as a bit lower than the rx 480 consistently in modern games.

i am upset about that. If it was a 179 dollar card and nice and cool running as it is, I would be happy. I have to game at 1440p so this is an issue now.

I mean they only tested four games and the 480 only bests it in DOOM vulkan and Hitman. Hitman, being an AMD sponsored title which TPU claims there DX12 implementation is buggy and inconsistent. Nvidia's DX12 and Vulkan performance is something to keep on eye but I wouldn't buy a card based on two games unless they're the only ones or of a few you plan on playing.

[~El~Jefe~]

all games that are high end graphics are developed for AMD hardware and graphics as xbox and playstation are AMD machines. Vulcan,mantle, the free api's are where it is at for 2016 and beyond.

I think AMD fell into this or planned it, I don't know.

[keif]

Also, OC3D has the Zotac AMP which is a two heatpipe, dual fan design and it appears to perform very poorly - far worse than the EVGA SC which is odd. He has a GPU-Z screenshot of it running at 78c and 1800rpm and mentioned it was as loud as the Founders Edition and it was 8c hotter in their comparison.

https://youtu.be/ju-g64sXJOE?t=4m27s

[~El~Jefe~]

for some reason, the founders edition is really great this time with the 1060 GTX.

For a blower style, it seems to be decent for what it is.

zotac should be better than that for heat.

[quest_for_silence]

Well, Steve: please hijack this post/thread and keep up your usual very good work!

Ok, it's officially hijacked. (Steve)

So, please, add these:

Roundups:

ComputerBase reviews MSI GTX 1060 GAMING X, Palit GTX 1060 Super Jetstream and Nvidia GTX 1060 Founders Edition (german)

Reviews with acoustic testing:

MSI GTX 1060 GAMING X (11.02" length, 5.51" height, dual slot (1.54"), 8-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive to 60C.
Review Studio
Gamers Nexus

[quest_for_silence]

dx12 it kills it 25% - 13% faster at 1440p and scales same to 1080p.

thats the major thing. that is huge.

I think we just need to sit down and see: these first days things are not that clear (and they cannot be), albeit Polaris has a good potential.

• http://ht4u.net/reviews/2016/nvidia_pas ... ndex20.php
• http://ht4u.net/reviews/2016/nvidia_pas ... ndex39.php

[ggumdol]

It seems like MSI Gaming X is easily the quiestest GTX 1060. MSI strapped the same cooler/heatsink onto their GTX 1060 and GTX 1070 whereas Palit seems to have massively downscaled and even degraded their cooler/heatsink for GTX 1060.

Roundups:

ComputerBase reviews MSI GTX 1060 GAMING X, Palit GTX 1060 Super Jetstream and Nvidia GTX 1060 Founders Edition (german)

Reviews with acoustic testing:

MSI GTX 1060 GAMING X (11.02" length, 5.51" height, dual slot (1.54"), 8-pin PEG. 3 DP, 1 HDMI, 1 Dual-link DVI). Passive to 60C.
Review Studio
Gamers Nexus

[quest_for_silence]

MSI strapped the same cooler/heatsink onto their GTX 1060 and GTX 1070

But seemingly the GTX 1060 is less thick than the GTX 1070 (it should be 1.54" vs 1.65", but I didn't checked twice).

[Abula]

Guru3d MSI GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X Review

[lalib]

MSI Gaming X 1060

Messing around with MSI Afterburner looks like it won't let me go below 25% which is 625 RPM by default. Of course the fans completely stop below 60C.

Playing around with it further I set it to 21% fan speed = 520sih RPM, fluctuates by about 10RPM, dunno if this is normal. Below 21% it kept turning on and off. Going up to 22% stabilizes at 550 RPM.

Caveats: I've never used MSI afterburner before, nor have I ever messed around with fan settings before. The other fans on the computer are louder than the GPU, so I couldn't tell the difference between off and 550 RPM.

[CA_Steve]

550rpm in a gfx card is pretty awesome. Thanks for checking.

[CA_Steve]

So, please, add these:
<snip>
Review Studio
Gamers Nexus

Both of these sites have noise floors in the 36-37dB range, so the different cards are all crammed together with little meaningful data to pull out of it. However, Gamers Nexus presents a lot of other useful data (like thermals and throttling info over time).

Also added MSI @ Guru3D and Computer Base and Palit @ Computerbase.

[keif]

MSI Gaming X 1060

Messing around with MSI Afterburner looks like it won't let me go below 25% which is 625 RPM by default. Of course the fans completely stop below 60C.

Playing around with it further I set it to 21% fan speed = 520sih RPM, fluctuates by about 10RPM, dunno if this is normal. Below 21% it kept turning on and off. Going up to 22% stabilizes at 550 RPM.

Caveats: I've never used MSI afterburner before, nor have I ever messed around with fan settings before. The other fans on the computer are louder than the GPU, so I couldn't tell the difference between off and 550 RPM.

How are the new ball-bearing fans? Can you hear any scrapping/skating from them?

I had the MSI Gaming 960 and 970 and the bearings on those were completely inaudible even with my ear inches away. Not sure what kind those had though.

[lalib]

How are the new ball-bearing fans? Can you hear any scrapping/skating from them?

This is my first desktop GPU (previously on a laptop 670mx), so I don't really have any reference point for what it should or shouldn't sound like.

Running at 50% speed 1250 RPM and putting my ear up, it just sounds like a fan to my untrained ear. Mostly air movement noise. At minimum 550 RPM, putting my ear up sounds like the quietest fan I've ever heard. I could only really hear it at min speeds when I got closer. The case is on my desk and about 1.5 feet away. No scrapping or skating as far as I could tell, but then again I dunno what a scrapping or skating fan sounds like.

MSI strapped the same cooler/heatsink onto their GTX 1060 and GTX 1070

But seemingly the GTX 1060 is less thick than the GTX 1070 (it should be 1.54" vs 1.65", but I didn't checked twice).

Specs you quoted are correct, the 1060 is 2mm shorter and 3mm sliimmer than the 1070 according to MSI website. The 1060 is using the twin frozr VI design, not sure what accounts for the diff size.

[keif]

Thanks, lalib. That sounds pretty good. It's more like a really light scraping and it's constant - from the ball-bearing fans I've heard, at least.

Good knews on the EVGA SC. The product manager on their forum said they are going to be updating it to have a 0db idle fan mode which I'm guessing means turning the fans off. Apparently the 960 SC had this.

http://forums.evga.com/EVGA-GTX-1060-SC ... px#2517071

[quest_for_silence]

Just a recap of what the market currently offers: http://wccftech.com/nvidia-geforce-gtx- ... -round-up/

[Abula]

Since we have limited reivews from some manufactuers, specially i dont see much of asus, and in case someone is interested, here a video,

LinusTechTip ASUS GTX 1080 Strix Review - "I wanna go fast!"