Super Low-Cost Gaming Graphics Card GeForce GTX 1660
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super — This is an interesting product with an entry-level configuration. Firstly, it is an upgraded version of the GTX 1660. In addition, its performance is as good as the GTX 1660 Ti’s. So the latter one becomes almost irrelevant when it comes to comparing.
Advantages:
- Budget price
- No overheating
- Proper performance
Disadvantages:
- RT cores unavailable
- Small choice of ports
We’ve been observing Nvidia Turing being exposed on the market for several years now. So the product lineup has grown significantly in comparison to the starting point. The item in our review is a sequel to the immensely popular GTX 1660. A huge amount of gamers chose it for their PCs. All thanks to its successful combination of enticing price and decent performance.
The original GTX 1660 was a great decision for those who needed to handle 1080p games. It also didn’t lose in performance and was cheaper than the category average price. And now we, finally, have the GTX 1660 Super with GDDR6 memory. With this upgrade, the item is faster and only a little bit pricier.
The processing speed of the product in our review is pretty fast. It is only one step behind the GTX 1660 Ti. Therefore, if you need a 1080p graphics card, this may be the best option currently among the best gaming graphics cards.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super — Prices
As of today, the item’s price equals $379 on Amazon. This is only around $10 more expensive than the original product — GTX 1660. However, with the new GDDR6 memory it gets a huge performance uplift. The price just increases insignificantly.
Besides, even the GTX 1660 Ti is a worse choice in this price category. GTX 1660 Super provides similar characteristics and efficiency, but it saves you around $50. Back in the day, we would’ve certainly recommended the 1660 Ti model without scruple.
Nevertheless, it’s not a smart decision anymore when we have the 1660 Super variation. The Ti is just not necessary from now on.
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Specs
The device has the same base of TU116 GPU as other models in the lineup. At the same time, it is equipped with 1408 CUDA cores, similar to the original 1660. However, there’s one noticeable difference. The upgraded version has GDDR6 memory. It raises the velocity from 8 to 14 Gbps. The RTX 2080’s VRAM runs at this exact speed as well.
The GDDR6 upgrade is an important step. It perfectly fits between the 1660 and 1660 Ti models.
There is also another significant aspect. The item in our review doesn’t provide tensor cores and the RT. You might expect them after getting familiar with the Turing RTX 20 series. That is to say, any game becomes a slideshow while you have ray tracing. For example, we experienced playing Metro Exodus with ray tracing on. Even the menu turned out to be almost impossible to use.
However, the items from this price category aren’t supposed to be flawless. We don’t expect the same capacity as we see in much more expensive models. Neither GTX 1660 nor 1660 Ti had RT cores. No wonder, we don’t find them in the Super version.
Among other specific nuances, we would also mention a limited number of ports. After testing EVGA GTX 1660 Super SC Ultra we only found DisplayPort, HDMI, and DVI. Surely enough, this is not the type of graphics card you’d use with multiple screens. Nevertheless, It’d be better to replace the DVI port with something more useful, like USB-C. A second HDMI output would be fine, too.
Lastly, this item requires additional power to handle. In our case, it’s an 8-pin PCIe power cable. That is to say, 1660 Super needs 127.4 watts for work. Therefore, you have to have at least a 500 watts power station.
GTX 1660 Performance
To be honest, this Super version evolved great interest in us. Especially when we compared it to similar products in the category. During the Time Spy testing, it performed around 5% worse than 1660 Ti. But the Ti is more expensive and has a 14% higher speed than the GTX 1660.
The latter one was, in fact, replaced by the Ti version. The difference wasn’t so noticeable in the Fire Strike test. Our device only lost 2% to the 1660 Ti.
This state of affairs went on as we ran computer games. Playing Metro Exodus with 1080p resolution had the graphics card work at 41 FPS. The previous 1660 version did 38 FPS versus 44 FPS of the Ti. You might think there’s no big difference, but it matters.
Afterward, we took to the less challenging game, Middle Earth. Our card handled the task with no seeming difficulties at all. It showed 79 FPS with the Ultra settings on. In our opinion, this game is typical among the AAA standard.
That’s why you can expect supreme performance in the majority of games. Basically, there are not a lot of games out there similar to Metro. Such releases happen rarely.
The Super version is able to perform on a fairly good level at 1440p as well. However, that’s where the first obstacles come out on the scene. The card presented 54 FPS with Middle Earth running, but the result was drastically different in Metro. It fell to 32 FPS. Technically speaking, this figure allows for playing.
However, it’s not a decent result for a gaming PC. As we all know, the common standard equals 60 FPS. Anyway, you can always experiment with settings. It’s a great way to find a comfortable playing mode for yourself.
From the point of view of the budget gaming niche, this card includes all necessary. It’s a perfect item to close the stand between the 1660 and 1660 Ti. Essentially, Ti becomes obsolete even with approximate data. It’s hard to say what Nvidia intended to do here. However, the outcome is fairly good.
Gaming Graphics Card GeForce GTX 1660: Summary
The Super version is a perfect option for those interested in 1080p resolution gaming. Without exaggeration, the original 1660 version was the best in the budget sector. Now the company is constantly improving it in all possible ways.
The Super series created by Nvidia was incredibly popular among users all over the world. Especially in contrast with the previous RTX failure. Keeping all that in mind, we would definitely recommend buying the 1660 Super.
Reviews of other Nvidia GeForce models:
Nvidia GeForce GTX 3090 review
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 review
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti review
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 review
READ MORE — https://best.kevin.games/gaming-graphics-cards/nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-super-review