Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Review & Mega Benchmark
Finally after an inevitable delay, it’s time for our hands-on GeForce RTX 2060 coverage. The first reviews based on Nvidia’s Founders Edition card went out on January 7th, the same day Nvidia officially introduced the card, but sadly we weren’t included. Then cards started to appear on store shelves on the 15th, selling around the $350 MSRP. By then we had received our review samples but since we were technically already late, rather than rush in we decided to take our time and prove an extremely in-depth benchmark comparison.
Today we have a 36 game benchmark with over a dozen different GPUs. You will also find included a number of big performance breakdowns at the end of the article, along with the usual cost per frame stuff. By the time we’re done you’ll know exactly where the RTX 2060 stands, and what it has to offer gamers.
For testing we have the Gigabyte RTX 2060 Gaming OC Pro and the MSI RTX 2060 Gaming Z. Both are great looking boards, but since the Gigabyte card arrived first that’s what we used for all the testing. Later on we’ll look into providing better detail about thermals and other elements that are reserved for individual graphics card reviews as those will vary from one model to the next.
As for the RTX 2060 GPU… it’s an interesting proposition. Whereas the RTX 2070 comes in at $500, the RTX 2060 is 30% cheaper at $350 yet packs just 17% fewer CUDA cores. It uses the same 14Gbps GDDR6 memory but the memory bus has been cut down by 25%, meaning memory bandwidth has been reduced by that amount. RT cores have also been lowered from 36 to 30.
Still the RTX 2060 shouldn’t be a great deal slower than the RTX 2070, so in terms of value it’s likely a better product. It’s also priced to compete with AMD’s Vega 56, so it’ll be interesting to see how those two compare.
Getting on with the benchmark results, out of the 36 games tested we’ll discuss individually the most noteworthy ones and then jump into our breakdown analysis with all the data.
Our GPU test system consisted of a Core i9-9900K clocked at 5 GHz with 32GB of DDR4-3200 memory. We used AMD’s Adrenalin 2019 Edition 19.1.1 drivers for the Radeon GPUs and Game Ready 417.35 WHQL for the GeForce GPUs.
To kickstart things off we have Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Here the RTX 2060 was good for 63 fps on average using the highest in-game quality preset. This placed it on par with the GTX 1080 and Vega 64, making it just 5% slower than the RTX 2070. It was also 9% faster than the GTX 1070 Ti, though just 3% faster than Vega 56.
Moving on to Strange Brigade, the RTX 2060 was good for 86 fps on average or 15% slower than the RTX 2070 this time. It was also 7% slower than Vega 56, though that’s not surprising considering how well this title runs on AMD hardware. Still the RTX 2060 edged out the GTX 1070 Ti, so overall performance was very respectable.
The RTX 2060 performs very well in Battlefield V, trailing the RTX 2070 by a mere 4% margin. It was able to beat the GTX 1070 Ti and Vega 56, so far the RTX 2060 is making the RTX 2070 look rather pointless.
The RTX 2070 does pull away when testing with Sniper Elite 4, here the RTX 2060 was 15% slower but that’s not a massive margin given it costs 30% less. Also we see that the 2060 is able to sit on top of the GTX 1070 Ti and Vega 56.
Monster Hunter World plays quite well with the RTX 2060 at 1440p. Using the highest quality preset we saw an average of 54 fps and this meant the 2060 was barely any slower than Vega 64 and the GTX 1080. It was also 4 to 5 fps faster than the GTX 1070 Ti and Vega 56 on average. Moreover, it was just 11% slower than the RTX 2070.
The new Turing GPUs don’t stack up that well in Warframe when compared to their Pascal predecessors. The RTX 2070, for example, is 8% slower than the GTX 1080, meanwhile the RTX 2060 is 6% slower than the GTX 1070 Ti and just 2% slower than Vega 56.
Moving on we have Just Cause 4. Here the RTX 2060 averaged 59 fps making it just a few frames slower than the GTX 1080 and Vega 64. It was also 11% slower than the RTX 2070 and Vega 64 Liquid.
Frame time performance was similar from the GTX 1070 right up to the GTX 1080.
The Best RTX 2060 Graphics Cards — GeForce RTX 2060 Compared
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Home » PC Components » Graphics Card » The Best RTX 2060 Graphics Cards – GeForce RTX 2060 Compared
by Peter Paul
The GeForce RTX 2060 is finally out and it looks like this will be the more interesting RTX card among the RTX 20 series family. Not to mention it is the most affordable RTX card offering both real-time ray tracing and DLSS. We have reviewed the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Founders Edition and currently testing other RTX 2060 cards.
At this point, we already have a good idea of the RTX 2060’s capability. The RTX 2060 starts at $349 USD, and this time the Founders Edition will also start at that price. The RTX 2060 Founders Edition is already a really good variant of RTX 2060; with its all metal-build and premium look and feel. But what if you don’t like the Founders Edition? What if you want something that is “GAMING”-looking or an RTX 2060 with RGB? I have listed below some of the RTX 2060 available in the market. It’s a comparison table to give you an idea how one RTX 2060 differs to another. If you’re in the market looking for an RTX 2060, go ahead and check them out.
UPDATE: NVIDIA officially dropped the price of the GeForce RTX 2060 Founders Edition to $299 USD to combat AMD’s Radeon RX 5600 XT. As a result prices of the RTX 2060 are now lower and more affordable.
Note: This page is best viewed in Desktop or Desktop view. Table is also scroll-able / swipeable left to right.
The GeForce RTX 2060 is like a cut down version of the RTX 2070. It uses a modified TU106 GPU chip; same TU106 on the RTX 2070 but with some of the Turing Streaming Multiprocessor (SM) disabled. To be exact, it has only 30 SMs, 1920 CUDA cores, 240 Tensor cores and 30 RTX cores. Since it has both Tensor Cores and RTX cores, it is capable of real-time ray tracing and DLSS.
Aside from 1920 CUDA cores, it has 6GB of GDDR6 memory; with a clock speed of 14 Gbps, a memory bandwidth of 336 GB/s and runs on a 192-bit memory interface. An RTX 2060 usually has one 8-pin PCIe power connector and requires at least a 500W PSU.
You can check out our NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Founders Edition review if you are interested to learn more.
In summary, the GeForce RTX 2060 is ideal for 1080p and 1440p gaming; including gaming with high refresh rate monitors. Generally speaking, it’s a (tiny) bit faster than a GTX 1070 Ti and sometimes almost on par with GTX 1080. Well that depends on the scenario and the game being played.
But it’s the general conclusion, and it’s a significant step up from its predecessor the GTX 1060; even faster than a GTX 1070.
Also, since all RTX 2060 in the market has the same GPU chip inside, they will all basically perform the same; regardless of brand, model or size. The main difference will be in temperature, of course that will also affect the maximum (sustained) boost clock speed; the design of the graphics card; the size, aesthetics and additional lighting, and finally their respective prices. Some will be more expensive than the other, but doesn’t necessarily mean that it is faster.
FAQ: What RTX 2060 has the best cooler and great cooling performance?
Basically, the beefier the cooler shroud is, the better the cooling solution on the graphics card. For this, the tri-fan cards would be ideal, like the: Asus ROG Strix RTX 2060 or Gigabyte RTX 2060 Gaming OC 6G. Some dual fans like the NVIDIA RTX 2060 Founders Edition, EVGA RTX 2060 XC Ultra Gaming and MSI RTX 2060 Gaming Z are great as well.
FAQ: What RTX 2060 is the fastest out of the box?
Out of the box, the fastest RTX 2060 are usually the ones with the highest boost clock speed; they usually came with custom PCB and are factory-overclocked. You can see a number of RTX 2060 graphics card above having a boost clock speed of 1830 MHz and more. However, like I said earlier, at some point all these RTX 2060 will likely perform similar due to NVIDIA’ GPU Boost 4.0. Not to mention, you can always easily overclock these graphics cards to bump up the clock speeds.
FAQ: Is it worth it to buy an expensive RTX 2060?
In my opinion, not really. Unless you’re after the design of the card or the brand. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Founders Edition is priced at $349, making it one of the cheapest RTX 2060 in the market. But it also features a really good cooling solution and aesthetics with its all-metal build. And like I said recently, an expensive RTX 2060 isn’t significantly faster than a $350 RTX 2060.
Perhaps it may be faster by a few frames, but they will eventually perform the same at some point. However, going for the cheapest may not always be the answer, same goes with the Founders Edition. You may want an RTX 2060 with RGB lighting, a triple fan design perhaps, or a short ITX version, or even a blower style. It depends on ones preference and budget at this point.
FAQ: What’s the best RTX 2060 for my Gaming PC?
Like I said recently, the cheapest doesn’t mean you should always get that. Because each system or build is different and it may require a different graphics card design or cooling solution. For instance, if you have a rig or is building a small form factor system, then you might want to consider the RTX 2060 ITX variants. The ones with smaller body, so that it would (easily) fit given the limited space.
If your system has limited cooling or limited air intake and exhaust, then you might want to get an RTX 2060 with a blower type design.
This way all heat will be exhausted at the back outside the chassis. If you want something cool and quite, better consider the RTX 2060 with triple fan design. But it would require that you have a well ventilated system since hot air will mostly be blown sideways or in any direction. And well, if you want RGB, then you can check out the list above and see which one has RGB lighting.
I hope this article helped you in one way or another in choosing which GeForce RTX 2060 is the best for you. I am aware that there are other brands that were not included on the list; like from Galax, Palit, Gainward, and Inno3D. They are not usually available in the US so I decided not to include them. I’ll try to update the list if ever a company decided to add another RTX 2060 variant.
There you go, please don’t forget to share this article with your friends if you find it useful and helpful.
Also check out our GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Compared and GeForce RTX 2070 Compared. If you are gaming at 4K UHD or you simply want the fastest gaming graphics card out there.