Ever because it got here out all these years in the past, Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1060 has been one of many go-to graphics playing cards of this era. Capable of very good body charges at 1080p and 1440p alike, there’s no surprise it’s develop into some of the well-liked GPUs on the planet. Now, nevertheless, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti has arrived, and by golly it’s a corker. In truth, it’s simply gone straight in as one of many best graphics cards you should purchase at the moment. But simply how a lot sooner is the GTX 1660 Ti vs the GTX 1060? Well, that’s what I’m right here to search out out by way of the facility of graphs. Let’s hop to it, lets?
GTX 1660 Ti vs GTX 1060: How we take a look at
As per typical, I’ve examined every card with my common games benchmarking suite at 1920×1080 and 2560×1440 resolutions. That contains Final Fantasy XV (with Nvidia’s fancy HairWorks, TurfEffects, VXAO and ShadowLibs results turned off), Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Monster Hunter: World, Total War: Warhammer II, The Witcher III, Forza Horizon four and Metro Exodus.
Paired with my Intel Core i5-8600Okay CPU and 16GB of Corsair Vengeance 2133MHz RAM, I’ve seen what every card can do on max settings at every decision and brought a mean body price (both from their very own built-in benchmarks or from my very own repeated handbook gameplay exams) to see how they stack up towards one another.
The playing cards in query are the Asus’ ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1660 Ti OC and the 6GB Asus GeForce GTX 1060 OC 9Gbps Edition. Now I ought to be aware, this explicit GTX 1060 isn’t really that can be purchased any extra, however it’s the one one I’ve handy. The excellent news, although, is that when it was obtainable, it was one of many sooner GTX 1060s on the market, so it ought to nonetheless give us a fairly good concept about what absolutely the base case state of affairs is in comparison with the GTX 1660 Ti.
That mentioned, Asus’ ROG Strix OC card can also be one of many costlier and sooner GTX 1660 Ti playing cards on the market as properly, so the outcomes beneath also needs to be taken as a sort of finest case kind deal for what you will get on a GTX 1660 Ti. I’m fairly assured that you just’ll have the ability to apply many of the outcomes beneath to the cheaper GTX 1660 Ti playing cards on the market as properly, although, as my early exams with Asus’ £260 Phoenix GTX 1660 Ti have been solely a mean of 2-5fps behind the ROG Strix OC – and most often it was extra like 2-3fps. As a outcome, I reckon you possibly can safely apply all of the figures I speak about beneath to almost all of the GTX 1660 Tis on the market, no matter how a lot they price.
Now we’ve acquired the methodology out of the best way, allow us to gaze upon some beautiful graphs.
GTX 1660 Ti vs GTX 1060: 1080p efficiency
With games getting extra demanding by the 12 months, the GTX 1060 has slowly began to lose its foothold as the very best graphics card for taking part in games at 60fps on Ultra settings at 1080p, and nowhere is that this extra prevalent than on the games I’ve examined above. Don’t get me unsuitable – 45-55fps continues to be completely playable in my eyes, however when the GTX 1660 Ti glides in with an easy common of 56fps minimal, it begins to make the GTX 1060 look very previous hat certainly.
Indeed, with a lift of at the very least 10fps, if not nearer to 15fps in a whole lot of instances, the GTX 1660 Ti is kind of the step up over the 6GB GTX 1060, turning a few of at the moment’s hardest games (except for Metro Exodus, that’s) from sort-of-playable-but-slightly-creaking adventures into buttery clean delights.
That mentioned, as evidenced by the GTX 1060’s nonetheless wonderful common of 55fps in The Witcher III, Nvidia’s outgoing 1080p champ might be nonetheless greater than sufficient in case your game library has a barely older classic than the most recent and best. Indeed, until you’ve acquired a 1920×1080 with a excessive refresh price, you then in all probability gained’t see any profit on the GTX 1660 Ti in any respect in these types of games, as your monitor will solely ever have the ability to show 60fps – which the GTX 1060 might be able to doing already.
However, for those who are a kind of folks whose PC is beginning to really feel prefer it’s falling aside on a few of these newer games, then the GTX 1660 Ti is completely the best way to go if you need the bestest finest speeds on the bestest finest settings.
Speaking of which, for those who’re questioning why the GTX 1060’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider outcome seems to be slightly low, that’s as a result of I’ve acquired the complete SMAA x4 anti-aliasing choice enabled right here, fairly than one thing a bit extra manageable like common SMAA. You can nonetheless get body charges across the 60fps mark with mentioned common SMAA setting on the GTX 1060, reality be informed, however what I actually needed to focus on right here was how rather more succesful the GTX 1660 Ti is when the game’s actually piling on the stress. And by means of comparability, working the game with SMAA on the GTX 1660 Ti will get you body charges within the 80-90fps area.
Of course, it’s nonetheless completely doable to get an honest 60fps on High with the 6GB GTX 1060 at this decision, which for most individuals can be completely tremendous – particularly when it prices an excellent £60 lower than the GTX 1660 Ti within the UK proper now. However, when the GTX 1660 Ti can hit speeds within the 70-90fps area at this decision, you’re not solely higher future-proofed for when games begin to get even more durable, however you’ve additionally acquired extra scope to take pleasure in greater refresh charges for those who resolve to improve your monitor additional down the road as properly. That’s why the GTX 1660 Ti is my new finest graphics card of selection for 1080p resolutions, whereas the GTX 1060 (and RX 580) have been relegated to ‘What you should actually buy’ standing for those who’re wanting to avoid wasting money and aren’t that fussy about taking part in games at the very best graphics settings.
GTX 1660 Ti vs GTX 1060: 1440p efficiency
Where the GTX 1660 Ti actually begins to make a reputation for itself is at 2560×1440. As you possibly can see from the graph beneath, a whole lot of games are barely playable on the GTX 1060 on Ultra settings at this decision, with titles like Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Monster Hunter: World and Metro Exodus all within the stuttering mid-20s, and The Witcher III, Final Fantasy XV and Total War: Warhammer II within the harmful mid-30s zone.
Admittedly, it’s not just like the GTX 1660 Ti is hitting a constant 60fps right here, both, with half the games on take a look at hovering across the 40-45fps mark. But as I mentioned in my GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 comparability piece, the 30-40fps area is unquestionably the purpose at which a small bump in numbers could make a surprisingly large distinction to general smoothness, remodeling a game that’s teetering on the unsuitable facet of 30fps into one thing much more manageable.
I’d fortunately take 43fps in Final Fantasy XV, for instance, if it meant having the ability to play it at its Highest element setting at 1440p (sans Nvidia results, thoughts), and I’d in all probability additionally hazard Monster Hunter: World on 40fps as properly simply so I can stare upon its fabulous dino costumes in better element.
Of course, you’ll get a lot better outcomes on each playing cards by dropping issues all the way down to High. Here, the GTX 1660 Ti actually comes into its personal, hitting near-60fps in virtually every thing going (besides Metro, as a result of every thing struggles with Metro’s insane benchmarking settings, extra particulars of which will be present in my Metro Exodus graphics performance marathon).
I’ve excluded Forza Horizon four right here, as each playing cards may already hit 60fps again on Ultra at this decision, and I’ve additionally missed off Shadow of the Tomb Raider as a result of a) the GTX 1660 Ti can already do 60fps on Highest (with common SMAA enabled, as per the graph above), and b) since you’d need to accept Low on the GTX 1060 earlier than you bought the identical sort of velocity with simply common SMAA enabled and I didn’t need it to get all embarrassed.
As I mentioned above, the GTX 1060’s 40-50fps outcomes listed below are nonetheless completely playable at this decision. But a clean 60fps on High here’s a fairly imply feat for a graphics card that solely prices £260 / $279, particularly when a whole lot of GTX 1060s within the US are nonetheless going for $250 within the US proper now. This makes the GTX 1660 Ti such a simple advice for anybody seeking to purchase a brand new graphics card proper now – particularly for those who’re within the US, as a result of why accept 60fps on Medium at 1440p when you possibly can have the identical velocity on High for virtually the identical cash?
It’s a barely more durable promote within the UK, the place 6GB GTX 1060 costs are nonetheless as little as £200 at time of writing, as for me that’s nonetheless sufficient of a value hole to make the GTX 1060 value contemplating as a finances choice for these seeking to maintain prices as little as doable. Personally, I’d urge you to stretch to £260 for those who probably can, however I perceive that not everybody has sufficient cash to try this.
GTX 1660 Ti vs GTX 1060: Conclusion
As a outcome, for those who’re seeking to spend as little as doable and aren’t that fussed about having the most recent and best graphics settings, then I reckon you’ll nonetheless be completely comfortable choosing a 6GB GTX 1060 if a) you’re within the UK, and b) are primarily seeking to play games at 1920×1080.
If you’re aiming for 2560×1440, nevertheless, then I’d strongly suggest discovering room in your finances for the GTX 1660 Ti, as you’ll not solely get a heck of much more out of it at this decision, however it can additionally stand you in a lot better stead as games get more and more extra demanding down the road.
If you reside within the US, alternatively, the GTX 1660 Ti is palms down means higher worth for cash than the GTX 1060, no matter whether or not you’re on the lookout for a 1080p card or a 1440p job. The RTX 2060 nonetheless has the sting as absolutely the best graphics card for 1440p for those who don’t wish to break the financial institution (simply), however for those who’re seeking to maintain prices below £300 / $300, the GTX 1660 Ti is the cardboard to purchase.
