Asus geforce gtx 1660 review: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super review feat. Asus Dual EVO OC

27 марта, 2023

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super review feat. Asus Dual EVO OC

Reviews

Say hello to the new no-compromises 1080p gaming champion, wearing a crown adorned with GDDR6.

By Brad Chacos

PCWorld

Brad Chacos/IDG

At a Glance

Expert’s Rating

Pros

  • Excellent 1080p gaming performance
  • Runs cool and quiet
  • Backplate, RGB, and idle fan stop features
  • No price premium

Cons

  • Only 1 HDMI and DisplayPort
  • Few extra features
  • Wide and thick physical design

Our Verdict

This is a great graphics card for 1080p gaming. Swapping out the GTX 1660’s GDDR5 memory for much faster GDDR6 gives the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super a sizable performance boost, while the Asus Dual EVO OC’s design runs cool and quiet with some nice extras. There’s no price premium either.

Nvidia revealed the GeForce GTX 1650 Super and GTX 1660 Super on Tuesday, Super-fying its GTX GPUs. And unlike AMD, which tipped its Radeon RX 5500 series hand long before the cards will actually launch in late November, Nvidia’s striking fast. The GTX 1660 Super’s hitting store shelves today in the form of custom models by Nvidia’s board partners.

The GPU at the heart of the $229 GTX 1660 Super remains unchanged. The only major difference comes in the form of amped-up 14Gbps GDDR6 memory, which replaces the last-gen (and far slower) GDDR5 memory found in the original GTX 1660.

The vanilla GTX 1660 is our favorite graphics card for 1080p gaming. Is the big boost in memory speed alone enough to catapult the new GeForce GTX 1660 Super beyond its namesake and justify the card’s $10 price premium?

Oh my, yes. This is one Super upgrade indeed. The Asus Dual GeForce GTX 1660 Super EVO OC we’re reviewing today sticks to the new GPU’s $229 suggested pricing but pushes closer to the performance of the $280 GTX 1660 Ti than the original $220 GTX 1660. Let’s dig in.

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super: Price, specs, and features

Again, the core GPU at the heart of the GeForce GTX 1660 Super remains identical to that of the vanilla GTX 1660. It features the same number of CUDA cores, clocked at the same speed, using Nvidia’s same 12nm Turing GPU architecture optimized for modern game instructions, and so on. The GTX 16-series GPUs don’t have dedicated real-time ray tracing hardware, however. You’ll need to move up to the pricier GeForce RTX 20-series graphics cards for those capabilities.

Here’s how the GeForce GTX 1660 Super compares to its two GTX 1660 siblings, as well as the prior-gen GTX 1060 at the hardware level:

Nvidia

As you can see, the GeForce GTX 1660 Super’s 14Gbps GDDR6 memory is even faster than the 12Gbps GDDR6 in the more expensive GTX 1660 Ti, giving it a sizeable advantage in overall memory bandwidth. Meanwhile, the new Super leaves the original GTX 1660 eating dust, delivering an absolutely ludicrous 75 percent more memory bandwidth. Holy moly. The supercharged memory winds up making a big difference in gaming performance, as you’ll see later, though it also bumps the power requirements up by (a measly) five watts.

The original GTX 1660 will still be sticking around at a lower price. Nvidia declined to provide an official price change announcement, but if you peek around online retailers, you’ll find loads of original GTX 1660 cards selling for around $200 to $210 after rebate. Expect the new price to hover around there unless AMD’s nebulous Radeon RX 5500 series winds up forcing further discounts.

Nvidia isn’t offering Founders Edition versions of the GTX 1660 Super, leaving it up to board partners to supply the market. We’re testing the Asus Dual GeForce GTX 1660 Super EVO OC, which manages to squeeze in some welcome extra features despite sticking to the GTX 1660’s suggested $229 starting price.

Here’s a high-level look at its specs:

Asus

Asus gives the Dual a factory overclock, bumping the boost clock used during gaming from the GTX 1660 Super’s 1,785MHz stock speed up to 1,830MHz out of the box, or 1,860MHz if you install the company’s GPU Tweak II software and activate OC Mode.

The Dual GeForce GTX 1660 Super EVO OC also sports some physical niceties you don’t often see in baseline-priced graphics cards, including a metal backplate and “0dB” fans that don’t spin up until the GPU hits temperatures higher than 55 degrees Celsius, giving you a silent desktop experience. You’ll need to engage the lower-speed Quiet BIOS mode using the card’s physical switch to enable 0dB, though. All-but-obligatory RGB LEDs are present in a understated slanted strip between the GeForce and Asus logos on the edge of the shroud.

Asus

Backplates are rare in baseline-priced graphics cards, but the Asus Dual EVO OC sports one.

Under the hood, the Dual GTX 1660 Super EVO uses Asus’s DirectCU II technology, a fancy branding term for a pair of copper heat pipes that directly contact the GPU itself for better thermal transfer.

Speaking of thermal transfer, this is a fat, wide card—2.7 slots thick—to squeeze in a bigger heatsink under the dual axial fans, which sport a design cribbed from the company’s enthusiast-class ROG graphics cards. The bigger the heatsink, the lower the temperatures, and the longer you’ll be able to seize advantage of the 0dB Quiet mode. The card’s short, though, at just 9.5 inches long. Asus says it qualifies the Dual GTX 1660 Super EVO using a 144-hour validation program that stress-tests the card in 3DMark and several popular e-sports games.

One mild disappointment: Asus only outfitted the Dual with one HDMI connection and one DisplayPort, as well as a legacy DVI port. While people with ancient or ultra-budget displays will no doubt appreciate DVI’s inclusion, ditching it for another HDMI or DisplayPort would’ve been more welcoming for modern setups. If you want to pair a dual-display setup with a virtual reality headset, for example—something that this GPU could certainly handle—you’re out of luck. I usually count DVI as a positive, but only if a graphics card already offers several modern display outputs.

The Dual Super EVO isn’t the only GTX 1660 Super that Asus is announcing today. The chart below shows the company’s entire GTX 1660 Super family, from the entry-level Phoenix all the way up to the flagship ROG Strix.

Asus

Now to see how this puppy handles!

Next page: Our test system, benchmarking begins

Our test system

Our dedicated graphics card test system is packed with some of the fastest complementary components available to put any potential performance bottlenecks squarely on the GPU. Most of the hardware was provided by the manufacturers, but we purchased the cooler and storage ourselves.

  • Intel Core i7-8700K processor ($350 on Amazon)
  • EVGA CLC 240 closed-loop liquid cooler ($120 on Amazon)
  • Asus Maximus X Hero motherboard ($395 on Amazon)
  • 64GB HyperX Predator RGB DDR4/2933 ($420 on Amazon)
  • EVGA 1200W SuperNova P2 power supply ($230 on Amazon)
  • Corsair Crystal 570X RGB case, with front and top panels removed and an extra rear fan installed for improved airflow ($130 on Amazon)
  • 2x 500GB Samsung 860 EVO SSDs ($78 each on Amazon)

We’re comparing the $229 Asus Dual GeForce GTX 1660 Super EVO OC and its GDDR6 memory against EVGA’s vanilla GTX 1660 XC Ultra, which uses the same core GPU configuration with slower GDDR5 VRAM. We’re also comparing it against the Asus ROG Strix GTX 1660 Ti, which packs a more powerful version of the same GPU and slower-clocked GDDR6, as well as Nvidia’s entry-level ray tracing card, the GeForce RTX 2060 Founders Edition. On AMD’s side, we’re comparing the new GPU against the Asus ROG Strix Radeon RX 580 and XFX Radeon RX 590 Fatboy. These days, you can find Radeon RX 580s going for around $170 to $180, and frequently find Radeon RX 590s on sale for roughly $200.

Mentioned in this article

ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1660 Ti

Each game is tested using its in-game benchmark at the highest possible graphics presets, with VSync, frame rate caps, and all GPU vendor-specific technologies—like AMD TressFX, Nvidia GameWorks options, and FreeSync/G-Sync—disabled, and temporal anti-aliasing (TAA) enabled to push these high-end cards to their limits. If anything differs from that, we’ll mention it. We run each benchmark at least three times and list the average result for each test.

We tested the Asus Dual GeForce GTX 1660 Super EVO OC in its default performance BIOS mode, rather than the secondary Quiet mode than enables 0dB fans.

Gaming performance benchmarks

Division 2

Let’s start with the latest games. The Division 2 is one of the best looter-shooters ever created. The luscious visuals generated by Ubisoft’s Snowdrop engine make it even easier to get lost in post-apocalyptic Washington, D.C. The built-in benchmark cycles through four “zones” to test an array of environments. We test with the DirectX 12 renderer enabled. It provides better performance across-the-board than the DX11 renderer, but it requires Windows 10.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Far Cry: New Dawn

Another Ubisoft title, Far Cry: New Dawn drags Far Cry 5’s wonderful gameplay into a post-apocalyptic future of its own, though this vision is a lot more bombastic—and pink—than The Division 2’s bleak setting. The game runs on the latest version of the long-running Dunia engine, and it’s slightly more strenuous than Far Cry 5’s built-in benchmark.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Next page: Gaming benchmarks continue

Strange Brigade

Strange Brigade ($50 on Humble) is a cooperative third-person shooter where a team of adventurers blasts through hordes of mythological enemies. It’s a technological showcase, built around the next-gen Vulkan and DirectX 12 technologies and infused with features like HDR support and the ability to toggle asynchronous compute on and off. It uses Rebellion’s custom Azure engine. We test the DX12 renderer with async compute off.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Shadow of the Tomb Raider ($60 on Humble) concludes the reboot trilogy, and it’s utterly gorgeous. Square Enix optimized this game for DX12, and recommends DX11 only if you’re using older hardware or Windows 7, so we test with DX12.  Shadow of the Tomb Raider uses an enhanced version of the Foundation engine that also powered Rise of the Tomb Raider.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Ghost Recon Wildlands

Move over, Crysis. Ghost Recon Wildlands ($50 on Humble) may already have its Ghost Recon Breakpoint sequel available, but this original still absolutely melts GPUs If you crank all the graphics options up to 11, like we do for these tests.

Brad Chacos/IDG

F1 2018

The latest in a long line of successful games, F1 2018 ($60 on Humble) is a gem to test, supplying a wide array of both graphical and benchmarking options—making it a much more reliable (and fun) option than the Forza series. It’s built on the fourth version of Codemasters’ buttery-smooth Ego game engine. We test two laps on the Australia course, with clear skies.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Next page: Gaming, power, and thermal benchmarks

GTA V

We’re going to wrap things up with a game that isn’t really a visual barn-burner, but still tops the Steam charts day in and day out. We test Grand Theft Auto V ($30 on Humble) with all options turned to Very High, all Advanced Graphics options except extended shadows enabled, and FXAA. GTA V runs on the RAGE engine and has received substantial updates since its initial launch.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Power draw, thermals, and noise

We test power draw by looping the F1 2018 benchmark for about 20 minutes after we’ve benchmarked everything else and noting the highest reading on our Watts Up Pro meter. The initial part of the race, where all competing cars are onscreen simultaneously, tends to be the most demanding portion. 

Brad Chacos/IDG

The faster 14Gbps GDDR6 memory makes the Asus Dual GTX 1660 Super EVO OC suck down slightly more power than its GTX 1660 family siblings. It’s still significantly more power-efficient than AMD’s Radeon duo, which are built around what are essentially 3.5-year-old GPUs.

We test thermals by leaving either AMD’s Wattman (for Radeon GPUs) or EVGA’s Precision X1 (for GeForce GPUs) open during the F1 2018 five-lap power draw test, noting the highest maximum temperature at the end.

Brad Chacos/IDG

The Asus Dual is a lot faster than AMD’s Radeon duo, but the lower power draw helps it keep solid temperatures even without a high-end cooler, like you find on every other custom graphics card in this comparison. The Asus Dual GTX 1660 Super EVO OC’s 65-degree maximum under load is plenty chilly, and it runs pretty darn quietly. These are great results for a graphics card priced at Nvidia’s suggested pricing rather than a premium, though you “earn” them by way of the Dual’s thick, wide design.

Next page: Should you buy the GeForce GTX 1660 Super?

Should you buy the GeForce GTX 1660 Super?

Definitely. This is the new mainstream graphics card to beat for no-compromises 1080p gaming, though AMD’s vaguely detailed Radeon RX 5500 series is coming sometime this quarter.

Brad Chacos/IDG

Simply swapping out the GDDR5 memory for 14Gbps GDDR6 memory makes the $229 GTX 1660 Super well over 10 percent faster or more than its namesake, depending on the game, landing it well within striking distance of the more potent $280 GTX 1660 Ti. Not bad for a mere $10 over the vanilla GTX 1660’s original MSRP, though that’ll be sticking around at an (undisclosed) lower price as well—probably around $200.

Mentioned in this article

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti XC Ultra

The speed bump makes the GTX 1660 Super the likely price-to-performance champion in Nvidia’s crowded GTX 1660 family, though the others still have their place. We’ll have to see where the original GTX 1660’s pricing lands, but it still delivers a solid 1080p/60Hz gaming experience as the cheapest member of the lineup, while the GTX 1660 Ti’s extra oomph is worth considering if you’re rolling with a high-refresh 100Hz-plus monitor or want to dabble in 1440p gaming from time to time.

Nvidia

The GTX 1660 family is all powered by variants of Nvidia’s TU116 graphics processor, built on the Turing GPU architecture.

We gave the Sapphire RX 580 Pulse 4/5 stars

Sapphire Radeon RX 580 Pulse

AMD’s aging Radeon RX 580 and 590 are only holding on through sheer value proposition, thanks to a mixture of aggressive price cuts and game bundles. Sub-$200 pricing with either Borderlands 3 or Ghost Recon Breakpoint as well as three free months of Microsoft’s spectacular Xbox Game Pass for PC delivers a ton of value, but AMD’s options draw a lot more power and require more visual compromises than Nvidia’s GTX 1660 series.

The Radeons are still solid 1080p gaming options, especially if you don’t mind dropping graphics from Ultra to High, but they’re built on 3.5-year-old GPUs at their heart, and it’s starting to show. The two are so close in performance that if you’re going for Radeon’s value, the RX 580 is probably the better bet.

We heartily recommend the Asus Dual GeForce GTX 1660 Super EVO OC specifically, assuming the somewhat portly card can fit in your system. Big, fat graphics cards are the modern trend in powerful high-end GPUs, but still not the norm here in the mainstream price range. Fortunately, most mid- and full-tower cases should be able to squeeze it in.

Brad Chacos/IDG

The Dual GTX 1660 Super delivers great performance, cool temperatures, and quiet gaming. That solid core performance is bolstered by some nice extras like an aluminum backplate, an RGB LED strip, a gentle overclock, and an option to keep the fans idle until your GPU hits game-level temperatures. It’s exactly what you’re looking for in a no-frills mainstream graphics card.

Even better, the price is right. The GTX 1660 Super delivers outstanding value of its own at $229, but if the price starts to creep upwards for custom cards, Nvidia’s new GPU starts to get uncomfortably close to the GTX 1660 Ti’s cost. Asus’s Dual EVO OC sticks to the $229 suggested price and while it’s not brimming with extra features, it’s hard to envision pricier options delivering much more performance, especially with modern Nvidia software capable of delivering one-click automatic overclocks.

Bottom line: It doesn’t redefine the segment like the GeForce RTX 2060 and 2070 Super GPUs did, but upgrading to ultra-fast GDDR6 memory gives the GTX 1660 Super a noticeable and appreciable performance uplift, and the Asus Dual GTX 1660 EVO OC builds on the solid foundation to make a great GPU even better. Say hello to the new no-compromises 1080p gaming champion…though AMD’s Radeon RX 5500 series counterpunch will be landing any day now.

Asus GeForce GTX 1660 TUF Edition Review

IGN Review

TUF enough.

By josh norem

Updated: Jul 31, 2019 4:03 pm

Posted: Apr 25, 2019 3:01 pm

Note that if you click on one of these links to buy the product, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.The GTX 1660 is «Turing for the masses» as it’s the «sweet spot» GPU from Nvidia in the same vein as the GTX 960, 760 and so forth. The company’s x60 GPUs are always some of the most popular due to their delicate balance of pricing and performance. Though the MSRP of the GTX 1660 is $219, the Asus card featured in this review goes for a tiny bit more, selling for $235 online (See it on Amazon). That’s pretty typical since Nvidia’s partners usually charge more than the base price since they add exotic cooling and whatnot to their GPUs, but in this case some of Nvidia’s partners are selling similarly equipped GPUs for $219, making Asus’ offering just a bit expensive. Let’s see if it’s worth it.

Asus GeForce GTX 1660 TUF Edition – Design and Features

Beauty is subjective of course, but I think this TUF design is kind of ugly. Asus uses the same design on its other TUF products including its motherboards in this family so they all look alike, and though the TUF gear was decidedly «camo» in the past, it’s now emblazoned with what seems to be more of a digital camo design. I suppose it’s more interesting than a simple black shroud, but it’s just not my cup of tea. Oddly there is not a ROG Strix version of this GPU, but rather this TUF version with dual fans, and an even cheaper looking Phoenix version with just one fan. So it appears the GTX 1660 is only getting the midrange treatment from Asus, so there isn’t a model with RGB lighting and a triple-fan cooler, like there was with the GTX 1660 Ti.As far as the GPU itself goes, it shares a lot of the same features as the GTX 1660 Ti, just trimmed down a smidge to hit a lower price point. Here’s the spec chart for the midrange Nvidia family. The main differences between the 1660 and the Ti version are pretty apparent; less CUDA cores, and slower memory, but they both have the same 120w TDP and run at roughly the same clock speeds. Considering it costs about $100 less, that’s not too shabby of a tradeoff really.

As far as the board itself goes, it’s eight inches long so it’ll fit in most cases quite easily. It features a metal backplate as part of its TUF design, and has a two-fan cooling apparatus. Asus recommends a 450w PSU for it, and its output options include HDMI, DisplayPort, and DVI. Power is provided by a single eight-pin connector.

Asus GeForce GTX 1660 TUF Edition – Benchmarks

To see how «Tuf» this GPU is I strapped it into the IGN test bench, which holds an Asus Prime Z270 motherboard, Intel Skylake Core i7-7700K CPU, 16GB of RAM, a SanDisk SSD, and an EVGA PSU. It’s being compared to other GPUs in its price class, and some that are below it as well.

Overall the Asus TUF card performed well, but as you can see in the benchmarks at this price you’d be really better off just getting the Ti version since it performs quite a bit better for not much more cash. For example you can get a GTX 1660 Ti for about $260, which is only $25 more than this Asus variant, making it a tough sell. Now if the Asus card was at MSRP of $219, then the stretch to $260 is quite a big longer, making it more of a matter of your budget determining which card to buy. However, due to its inflated price tag it’s just too close to Ti territory to make it a must-buy.Compared to the similarly priced RX 590, it is very, very close, and effectively neutralizes that threat. The two GPUs are close enough in the benchmarks to call it a wash, though the Nvidia GPU holds a strong advantage in Heaven 4.0 and Monster Hunter: World. Overall, the advantage is slightly in Nvidia’s favor in this matchup.

The GTX 1660 is also a very modest upgrade over the Pascal-flavored GTX 1660. Nobody in their right mind would upgrade one generation x60 card to the next, but if you’ve got a GTX 960 or older and are on a budget, the GTX 1660 will be a good upgrade if you’re still at 1080p and limited to around $220 or so.

Purchasing Guide

The Asus GeForce GTX 1660 TUF Edition has an MSRP of $235 and it’s usually the same price online.

Asus GeForce GTX 1660 TUF

On Amazon

See It

The TUF GTX 1660 slots into a very narrow space in a crowded market but performs well. You can get a GTX 1660 card for a bit less money but this one runs silent and is a no-drama 60fps 1440p card, which makes more expensive GPUs seem less relevant. It’s really all you need for gaming these days unless you’re pushing super high resolutions and/or frame rates.

If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, learn more.

Asus GeForce GTX 1660 TUF Edition Review

great

The GTX 1660 TUF from Asus is a great GPU but just a tad bit too expensive.

josh norem

Overview of video cards NVIDIA GTX 1660 Super series ASUS Dual and TUF Gaming. What’s new in the «super» version?

11/08/19

In view of the intensified competition from AMD, NVIDIA began to additionally secure itself and release slightly modified versions of its latest generation video cards based on the Turing architecture.

Such novelties receive an additional prefix Super in the title.

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, RTX 2070 SUPER and RTX 2080 SUPER were the first «Super» graphics cards. nine0003

But recently the turn has come to the more budgetary GTX 16XX series.

A week ago, mid-range graphics cards NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER and GTX 1650 SUPER were announced.

The heroes of this material are video cards based on the GTX 1660 SUPER.

Comparison of the reference characteristics of video cards NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660, GTX 1660 Super and GTX 1660 Ti

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Once again, we recall that the prefix RTX (and not GTX) indicates that the video card has tensor and RT cores. NVIDIA has made a very big bet on these technologies, but at the moment we would not call them fundamentally important. This is an interesting tool for experiments.

We managed to get two GTX 1660 Super graphics cards for testing at once: the ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC with three fans and the dual-fan ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC. nine0003

Meet ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC and ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC

GAMING) and ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC EVO (DUAL-GTX1660S-O6G-EVO) belong to different series, they turned out to have a lot in common.

ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC

ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC

But first I would like to note a rather unusual method of packaging video cards. The boards are attached to the cardboard base with a film. This is the first time ASUS has seen such an option.

Manufacturers have long been not shy about making video cards, even of an average level, very overall. Both models will occupy more than two expansion slots on the motherboard.

The difference in the number of cooling fans is immediately noticeable. nine0003

ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC EVO

ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC

These tubes touch the GPU directly (through the thermal paste, of course).

Upon closer inspection, you notice that both the three-fan ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC and the two-fan ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC (DUAL-GTX1660S)0049 the same radiator is installed.

It is strange that branded RMs got different names. TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC has DirectCU III , while ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC has DirectCU II .

In the description of the models, the manufacturer gives various interesting facts.

ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC (TUF 3-GTX1660S-O6G-GAMING)
ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC (TUF 3-GTX1660S-O6G-GAMING)

ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC (TUF 3-GTX1660S-O6G-GAMING )
ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC (TUF 3-GTX1660S-O6G-GAMING) , which should last longer than usual. nine0003

In addition, boards undergo a 144-hour stability test before packaging.

ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC EVO has its trump cards. Here are advanced Axial-tech turntables with a reduced center part. Accordingly, it became possible to make the blades longer with the same fan diameter.

ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC (DUAL-GTX1660S-O6G-EVO)
ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC (DUAL-GTX1660S-O6G-EVO)

ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC (DUAL-GTX1660S-O6G-EVO)
ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC (DUAL-GTX1660S-O6G-EVO)

The GPU drops below the set value. nine0050

An additional plate on the back of the graphics cards is designed to mechanically protect the devices.

The set of HDMI, DisplayPort and DVI connectors (all 1 pcs. ) Is not rich, but for the vast majority of users it will be enough.

There is a backlight, but modest. Both video cards have a small luminous strip on the sidewall. There is no backlight control.

Backlight ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC

Backlight ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC

As expected, the prefix OC in the name of these video cards indicates slightly increased frequencies. ASUS offers exactly the same video cards, but without the OC prefix.

Oddly enough, the frequencies of ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC and ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC video cards, which are so different in appearance, turned out to be identical.

These are 1530 MHz base and 1830 Boost frequencies for the GPU and a resulting frequency of 14002 MHz for the video memory.

ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC Specifications (GPU-Z application data) with reference frequencies in the table above.

Heat and noise

More fans — better cooling? In the case of this pair of video cards, this is not the case.

Under load, the temperatures of the graphics processors of the presented video cards stabilized at approximately the same level, respectively, 63 and 64 ° C, but the fan speed of the three-fan ASUS TUF Gaming X3 turned out to be even slightly higher than that of the two-fan ASUS Dual (about 1590 rpm versus 1750 rpm).

ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC parameters under load

ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC parameters under load

3-fan version of the graphics card. As a result, part (approximately 30%) of the air blown by the extreme fans does not fall on the radiator fins.

If you look closely, you can see that the side fans protrude beyond the edges of the radiator on the ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC 9 video card0003

In addition, ASUS Dual uses larger fans.

I must say that the maximum GPU temperatures shown are quite low, which indicates the high cooling efficiency of both models.

Video cards are certainly not as quiet as some other models, where 1000 rpm fans are enough for cooling.

Their noise level can be called moderate, at the same time ASUS TUF Gaming X3 GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC works a little louder than its twin-fan sister. nine0003

performance

RAM: 4×4 GB DDR3 1600

  • Storage: SSD (system), HDD
  • Operating system: Windows 10 Pro 64 bit
  • NVIDIA driver used for graphics cards based on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super: GeForce GeForce 441.08

    But the difference is so small that it won’t be noticeable.

    The transition to the new memory type allowed the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super video cards, in general, to come close in speed to the GTX 1660 Ti (compared with the Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 Ti WINDFORCE OC 6G).

    This is also about the same level of performance as the previous generation GTX 1070 video cards demonstrate (the tests used the very advanced MSI GeForce GTX 1070 GAMING X 8G). nine0003

    Unfortunately, there was no direct comparison between the GTX 1660 Super and the regular GTX 1660. But, knowing the performance level of the GTX 1660, we can say that the new GTX 1660 Super, which differs only in a new type of memory, is ahead of it by about 10-15%.

    The GTX 1660 SUPER and GTX 1660 Ti are on par in power consumption and offer better power efficiency than the previous generation GTX 1070.

    Graphics cards based on NIVIDIA GeForce 1660 SUPER have enough performance for demanding modern games when choosing high graphics quality and Full HD resolution. When using a higher 2K resolution, you will sometimes have to sacrifice rendering quality in order to get a more comfortable FPS level.

    Conclusions

    The video cards based on the GTX 1660 Super from ASUS presented in the test are representatives of far from the most advanced lines available in the arsenal of ASUS. nine0003

    Nevertheless, these are high-quality devices provided with proprietary efficient cooling systems.

    Slightly increased frequencies and a luminous element on the case are a nice bonus.

    ASUS TUF GAMING X3 GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC

    Choosing between ASUS Gaming GEFORCE GTX 166Super OC and ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC, we prefer ASUS DUAL .

    Only she of this pair can completely stop the fans and has a more optimal cooling system, despite the smaller number of fans.

    Curiously, ASUS Dual was also slightly cheaper than its «colleague». nine0003

    ASUS Dual GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER EVO OC

    Video cards based on NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super are already available for sale. The cost with us, especially considering that this is the very start of sales, is expectedly very far from the recommended $229.

    Knowing the performance level and considering current prices, you can analyze how these options of GTX 1660 Super graphics cards will be preferable to solutions based on the GTX 1660 and GTX 1660 Ti. nine0003

    Really «super»?

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    Review and comparison of video cards based on NVIDIA RTX 2070 from ASUS, Gigabyte, Inno3D and MSI

    evo
    Test Lab Engineer

    The GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER line of video cards quickly took the top positions in various graphics adapter popularity ratings. With balanced features and an attractive price, this model is a good starting point for mid-range gaming systems. Video card manufacturers offer a variety of modifications of devices based on the NVIDIA TU116 chip and GDDR6 memory. Today we have a curious version of the adapter on our review — ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC. nine0003

    Help

    ASUS offers a dozen different models and modifications of the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER series. Here are compact Phoenix, and numerous DUAL options, and functional versions of ROG STRIX, as well as conditionally “military” versions of TUF with a pair or even three fans. Obviously, the Taiwanese manufacturer tried to diversify the line as much as possible in order to please potential buyers with different requests. Someone needs a compact model, someone is as quiet as possible, and someone is counting on factory overclocking. nine0003

    The ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC (ROG-STRIX-GTX1660S-O6G-GAMING) that came to us for testing has a factory overclocked GPU.

    Course

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    Instead of the recommended formula 1530/1785 MHz, in this case the combination 1530/1845 MHz is used. The graphics card is equipped with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory running at an effective 14,000 MHz. nine0003

    Delivery set

    The video card comes in a fairly compact box with a familiar design. The kit includes only a brief paper manual and two reusable cable ties for laying power cables.

    Design and layout

    ROG STRIX series graphics cards of the last few years are easily recognizable by their characteristic dark color design with chopped forms of a protective cover. And this model is no exception.

    ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER OC uses a DirectCU II cooling system with a medium-sized radiator block. The stacking module consists of aluminum plates, and a pair of 8 mm nickel-plated heat pipes is provided to accelerate heat transfer. nine0003

    The design of the cooler assumes direct contact of the tubes with the GPU die. In this case, the ground tubes completely cover the silicon wafer of the GPU. The technological groove between the heat conductors remains minimal, therefore, we are not talking about local overheating.

    The video card received a fairly powerful power stabilization unit. The GPU uses a 6-phase circuit based on SiC 638 power assemblies, the parameters of which are controlled by the uPI uP9 PWM controller512. A separate 2-phase VRM is provided for memory chips.

    The block with the power piping of the GPU stabilizer in this case is offset to the interface panel. At the same time, additional radiators are not provided for the elements. The assemblies and chokes are located in the fan area, so you don’t have to worry about the temperature regime of the VRM. Although the manufacturer should have added an aluminum profile, even for reasons of aesthetic integrity of the device. nine0003

    Most of the memory chips (Micron D9WCW) are also blown. At the same time, a pair of chips located at the lower edge of the PCB through a massive gasket are in contact with the main heat pipes. These elements are just not blown, so this decision makes sense.

    The graphics card cooler is equipped with a pair of 100 mm fans (impeller diameter — 95 mm) made using Axial-tech technology. The blades are connected along the outer radius with an additional plastic ring.

    According to the manufacturer, this design allows for a more directed air flow.

    The design of the video card uses a reinforcing bracket that additionally connects the mounting plate to the printed circuit board. In this case, it also serves as an element of decor — a large inscription «GeForce GTX» is painted on the aluminum profile.

    The developers also decided to add visual appeal to the device using the current and ubiquitous RGB backlight. In this case, everything looks quite modest and restrained. nine0003

    A small logo of the ROG gaming series is illuminated on the upper edge of the plastic casing in a triangular segment.

    Illumination is configured in the proprietary AURA application. In addition to choosing the color of the glow, here you can also choose one of several modes. Continuous illumination, measured decay, pulsation and an option with automatic color change are available. You can also adjust the intensity of the glow or turn off the backlight altogether.

    Illumination on/off function is organized even at the hardware level. For these purposes, a separate button is placed on the reverse side of the printed circuit board next to the fixing bar. The option may be needed only when assembling the system on an open stand. In all other cases, it will be faster to put out the lights in the AURA application. nine0003

    Next to the button is also a toggle switch for switching BIOS_SW firmware modes. In normal mode, P_mode is activated with basic settings for the operation of the cooling system. At the same time, the fans rotate at low speeds even with minimal load. But when switching to Q_mode, the 0dB Fan option is activated with the fans stopping at rest and lower speeds under load.

    Since we are talking about additional adapter options, we should also note the presence of a 4-pin fan connector on the right edge. The speed of its rotation may depend on the heating of the GPU. Not the fact that such a function is necessary for an economical model of this class. nine0003

    One 8-pin connector is used to connect the auxiliary power. Recall that the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER has a thermal package of 125 W, and therefore, theoretically, it can be content with a 6-pin 12 V connector. Such a connector, together with a PCI Express x16 slot, can provide up to 150 W of energy. However, we are talking about a factory overclocked model, so we expect an 8-pin connector here.

    ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1660 SUPER OC has an additional power connection indicator system. The red light next to the connector will remind you of an unconnected power cable. If power is supplied to the video card, a white LED is lit near the connector. nine0003

    On the reverse side, the adapter is covered by an aluminum protective plate with cutouts through which tantalum capacitors are visible. The additional structural reinforcement also partially helps dissipate heat.

    The thermal pads are routed here on the PCB in the memory chip area. The plate really «works». Under load, the plate in the area of ​​contact with the printed circuit board warms up to ~55C.

    Four video outputs are placed in one row on the interface panel — a pair of full-length DisplayPort and HDMI. Often a 3 + 1 combination is used in favor of DP, but in this case, the developers offer a VR-friendly layout for convenient connection of a VR headset. nine0003

    Almost two thirds of the area of ​​the plug is occupied by a grate with large cells for the outlet of heated air. The longitudinal positioning of the plates in the radiator cassette contributes to partial ejection outside the body. Let’s pay attention to the black color of the mounting plate — an option that is gaining popularity for the overall decor of the system.

    In operation

    As we have already mentioned, in the regular version of ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1660 SUPER OC, the P_Mode mode is used, in which the cooler fans do not stop. nine0003

    At minimum load, the fans rotate at around 950 rpm. Under the conditions of an open bench at a room temperature of ~22C, the GPU warmed up to only 29C. The noise level is minimal.

    Under gaming load, the rotational speed increased at the peak to ~1850 rpm, but often stayed at the level of 1500-1600 rpm. Under such conditions, the cooler kept the GPU temperature within 60C. Note that during the tests, the processor dynamically accelerated up to 1980 MHz.

    We also checked the operation of the video card in Q_Mode by switching the corresponding toggle switch on the top edge of the printed circuit board. In this case, the 0dB Fan technology is activated, that is, the fans stop when the GPU temperature is low. At rest, the GPU heated up to 41C. Although the radiator in this case has medium dimensions, the design used makes it possible to efficiently remove heat.

    In Quiet Mode, the cooling system operation algorithm differs from the basic one. Peak fan speeds were recorded at 1700 rpm, although 1200-1400 rpm were often observed in games. That is, about 200 rpm lower than what we observed in normal mode. The GPU temperature rose to 64C. This is also a perfectly acceptable indicator. Of course, the actual values ​​will depend on the specific conditions of use of the video card, but you can get some idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe differences in the modes. nine0003

    Using Q_Mode, the actual operating frequencies of the GPU did not change much. At the peak, the GPU-Z utility recorded 1965 MHz. At the same time, the difference in the results in the games turned out to be within the measurement error. That is, such a mode can be used without fear of losing valuable frames / c.

    In general, the idea with two operating modes of CO is attractive. If cooling conditions allow, the video card remains silent under minimal load. If the PC is assembled in a compact case with poor ventilation and a heat-abundant processor, perhaps the minimum airflow of the video card will be more justified even at rest. In this case, you don’t even need to fiddle with the cooler algorithm settings. The appropriate mode is selected by switching the toggle switch. nine0003

    Overclocking

    A good factory overclocking of the GPU will benefit the adapter, but still we will try to determine the overall frequency potential of the video card. ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1660 SUPER OC allows you to increase the Power Limit by 20%.

    During the experiments, it was possible to increase the base frequency of the GPU to 1640 MHz. The average acceleration value automatically increased by the same 110 MHz — up to 1955 MHz. The memory chips worked steadily at an effective 15,600 MHz, increasing throughput from 336 to 374.4 GB/s (+11.4%). This will certainly affect the results. It is curious that in this version the memory bandwidth of the video card is almost twice as high as that of the classic GeForce GTX 1660 with GDDR5 memory. And this is all with the identical bus width of both video cards — 192 bits.

    Overclocking experiments were carried out in the standard P_Mode without additional adjustments to the fan operation algorithm. In our case, the GPU temperature increased to 62C, but in order to keep the chip heating at this level, the fan speed automatically increased at the peak up to 2000 rpm (more often — 1700-1800 rpm). On the open testbed, some change in the tone of the cooler was already felt.

    After overclocking, the peak frequency of the GPU was fixed at 2100 MHz, although during a typical gaming load it fluctuated more often between 2025-2075 MHz.
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    Test bench configuration

    Processor Intel Core i7-8700K (6/12; 3.7/4.7 GHz) Intel, www.intel.com
    Motherboard ASUS ROG MAXIMUS X Hero (Intel Z370) ASUS, www.asus.ua
    RAM HyperX Predator RGB DDR4-3600 16GB (HX436C17PB3AK2/16) HyperX, www. hyperxgaming.com
    Accumulator Kingston KC2000 1TB (SKC2000M8/1000G)
    Kingston A1000 480GB (SA1000M8/480G)     		HyperX, www.hyperxgaming.com
    Power supply Thermaltake Toughpower Grand TPG-1200M Thermaltake, www.thermaltakeusa.com
    Monitor Acer Predator XB271HK (27″, 3840×2160) Acer, www.acer.ua

    Performance

    We examined the performance of the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER during our first acquaintance with the video card of this line. We can only confirm the positions of devices in this series by adding the Radeon RX 5600 XT to the list of opponents.
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    The release of GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER turned out to be the least expensive way for NVIDIA to increase the performance of their solutions in the middle price segment. Replacing GDDR5 memory with GDDR6 had a very good effect. Just increasing the memory bandwidth without adjusting other parameters, increased the number of frames / c in games by 10-15%.

    Factory overclocking of the GPU also improves the capabilities of the video card, but the independent overclocking of the GPU and memory provides a much greater effect. In this case, the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER periodically manages to overtake the stock version of the Radeon RX 5600 XT, which is nominally positioned as a higher class solution. However, this new AMD product also has good internal reserves, and if you try to get the most out of this model, then the tuned versions can be fired up almost to the level of the GeForce RTX 2060.
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    However, we are now more interested in the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER. After overclocking, the model can obviously compete with the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti. Considering the difference in price, let’s assume that user interest will shift towards SUPER versions. Such models with a similar design are cheaper, and the difference in performance is minimal.

    4.5

    ITC.UA score

    Pros:
    Good performance in its class; factory overclocked GPU; 6-phase VRM with DrMOS builds; customizable RGB lighting with hardware enable/disable; two modes of operation of the cooling system; support for 0dB Fan technology with fan shutdown; 4-pin connector for additional fan; the protective aluminum plate is in contact with the PCB in the area where the memory chips are located; potential for self-overclocking GPU/memory

    Cons:
    High price; additional heatsink not used for VRM elements

    Pin:
    The upgraded GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER with GDDR6 memory has become the best starting option for mid-range gaming systems, and therefore the variety of models here can only be welcomed.