Gigabyte GTX 1660 Ti Gaming OC Review: High Performance Meets Low Temperatures

Are you looking for a Graphics Card for 1080p Gaming that stays cool and quiet?

Then the Gigabyte GTX 1660 Ti Gaming OC Edition is the one you need to check out.

Nvidia announced the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti in February 2019, and it was the first card of the GeForce 16 Series. This new Series is on the latest Turing Architecture but unlike the GeForce 20 Series, the 16 Series GPUs lack Tensor and Ray Tracing Cores.

In the midrange GPUs, Ray Tracing isn’t worth it due to the massive performance penalty you receive. However, the lack of Tensor Cores will result in lower AI/Machine Learning performance. But unless you’re a developer or researcher in AI/Machine Learning field, the lack of Tensor cores shouldn’t bother you at all.

The GTX 1660 Ti like the rest of the Turing GPUs is fabricated using TSMC’s 12nm FinFET Process, which is a minor improvement over their 16nm Node. I’ve already discussed that in my earlier article on fabrication nodes.

For those who don’t have enough time to go through the whole article, here’s a quick summary.

Let’s now dig a little deeper and find out what this card brings to the table.

The Gigabyte GTX 1660 Ti Gaming OC edition is a factory overclocked GPU with a higher boost clock of 1860 MHz compared to the Nvidia’s reference boost clock of 1770 MHz. It features 6GB GDDR6 Memory which has a speed of 12 Gbps.

The most exciting part of the GPU is the 3x Cooling Fans using the Gigabyte’s Windforce technology. There’s also a backplate but that is made up of plastic so it is basically for protection and wouldn’t assist in heat transfer. The Gigabyte’s Logo supports RGB, which can be controlled using their RGB Fusion Software.

It is also worth noting that it is the cheapest 3 Fan GTX 1660 Ti card.

Let’s have a look at some photos of the Card and the box.

Gigabyte GTX 1660 Ti Gaming OC Front

Gigabyte GTX 1660 Ti Gaming OC Box

Gigabyte GTX 1660 Ti Gaming OC RGB Lightning

Gigabyte GTX 1660 Ti Gaming OC Top

1660 Ti Box Back

Gigabyte GTX 1660 Ti Gaming OC Back

In this review, I’ll first check out this GPU’s specification and compare it with the RTX 2060 and GTX 1660. Then we will have a look at the Gaming Performance at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K.

Later on, we will compare the synthetic benchmarks and check how well it performs in applications that can be accelerated using a GPU. In the end, we will test the Thermals, Power Consumption, and Noise levels.

So without any further ado, let’s begin!

    Specification & Features Comparison

Comparison with the RTX 2060 & GTX 1660

This time around, Nvidia has three GPU in their XX60 Lineup. The table given below should help you understand the difference.

The RTX 2060 comes with a lot more CUDA Cores and a faster memory, which creates a significant performance difference when compared to GTX 1660 Ti.

The GTX 1660 has the previous generation GDDR5 Memory, and it has fewer cores compared to the 1660 Ti. The GTX 1660 runs the coolest among the three while the RTX 2060 runs the hottest.

    System Configuration

The configuration of the test system is as follows:

• AMD Ryzen 7 3700x with PBO Enabled
• 16 GB (8GBx2) G.Skill Trident Z RGB 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-16GTZRX)
• MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC
• Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500GB as Boot Drive
• WD Blue 1TB as Storage Drive for Games
• Wraith Prism CPU Cooler
• Antec EarthWatts Gold Pro 650W PSU
• Cooler Master MB511 RGB Case
• 3x Cooler Master Intake Fans included with the Case
• Noctua NF-S12B Redux 1200 and Noctua NF-P14s Redux 1200 as Exhaust Fans

The software & driver versions and other details are as follows:

• BIOS Version: v7B85v18
• Windows 10 1903
• Room Temperature: 30°C/86°F (No Air Conditioning)
• Nvidia Driver version 431.60
• Ryzen High-Performance Power Plan

    Gaming Performance

I’ve tested this GPU with 12 Games in 1080p and nine games in 1440p & 4K.

Games that have an inbuilt Benchmarking Tool are tested using that tool while the rest of the games are tested either using the replay feature or by performing a consistent action like walking/running/driving.

I’ve also recorded the gameplay in some of the games using Nvidia Shadowplay, but recording also had a minor impact on the performance due to lack of Capture Card. So, it is possible for FPS charts not to be consistent with the gameplay footage. The actual FPS is the one shown in graphs. First, let’s have a look at the 1080p Gaming Performance.

1080p Gaming

At 1080p Resolution, we have tested the following games: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Strange Brigade, The Witcher 3, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Just Cause 4, Far Cry 5, Apex Legends, GTA V, Battlefield V, World War Z, PUBG, and Fortnite.

All the games are at High Settings except GTA V, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Fortnite. GTA V is at Very High Preset while Fortnite is at Epic preset. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, texture quality is at High while the rest of the settings are at Normal.

As you can see from the benchmarks, even the latest AAA titles ran comfortably at 70 FPS or above. Most of the high-demanding games releasing in the next two years should comfortably run at 60 FPS or above.

You can always reduce the Graphics quality to Medium in the future if the game is more demanding than what 1660 Ti can handle.

Here are some screenshots that I took while Benchmarking the Games. The images below are of (from left) Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Far Cry 5, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and World War Z respectively.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 1080p Performance 1660 Ti

Far Cry 5 1080p Performance 1660 Ti

Shadow of the Tomb Raider 1080p Performance 1660 Ti

World War Z 1660 Ti Performance at 1080p

You can also see the Graphics Preset in the above images. But photos don’t always tell the complete story, and it is good to experience what it feels like to game on this card.

So, here’s our video showing the average FPS and the 1% Lows in the games we tested:

I feel that this is an excellent GPU for 1080p 60 FPS Gaming for now and in the next few years. It is also a great choice if you have a 75 Hz Monitor. But to play at 120 Hz or 144 Hz, you would either have to lower the settings or pick a higher-end GPU.

Let’s now move on to gaming at higher resolutions.

1440p & 4K Gaming

Even at 1440p, the performance of 1660 Ti is impressive. It should easily give you 60 FPS or higher in most of the modern titles at High Frame Rates. However, for most of the demanding games releasing in the next one or two years, you might have to change the Graphics Settings to Medium to touch 60 FPS.

If you need a GPU which can run games at 1440p High for the next two years, then I’ll recommend you to get a Radeon RX 5700 or the RX 5700 XT instead.

Now, its time to play some games in 4K.

Even though most people won’t use a 4K Monitor with the 1660Ti, I still decided to have a look.

In most titles, you should expect and average FPS around 30-35. It won’t be enough for most people, so playing at 4K would only make sense in older titles.

I decided to change settings in GTA V from Very High to Medium, and the performance improved by 30%. Yes, you can always lower the settings, but I’ll rather play at 1440p High than 4K Low/Medium. For 4K Gaming, I wouldn’t look at anything lower than RTX 2070 Super.

Here are the screenshots from the In-Game Benchmarking Tools for the 1440p and 4K Performance. The images are of (from left) Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Far Cry 5, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and World War Z first at 1440p and then at 4K.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 1440p Performance 1660 Ti

Far Cry 5 1440p Performance 1660 Ti

Shadow of the Tomb Raider 1440p Performance 1660 Ti

World War Z 1440p Performance 1660 Ti

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 4K Performance 1660 Ti

Far Cry 5 4K Performance 1660 Ti

Shadow of the Tomb Raider 4K Performance 1660 Ti

World War Z 4K Performance 1660 Ti

Here’s our video of 1440p & 4K Gaming:

Centurion Mark

The regular visitors of our website must be knowing what Centurion Mark is. It is a method we use score and compare different products. We have a ranking system for Mobile SOCs as well as Mobile GPUs.

Here’s the article on the complete ranking of Desktop GPUs.

While Centurion Mark for Mobile Devices focuses on Power Efficiency and Thermals as well, our ranking for Desktops is purely concentrated on Gaming Performance (1080p+1440p+4K) and Compute Performance.

The Gigabyte GTX 1660 Ti Gaming OC scored 149 points on Centurion Mark which is just a point below the GTX 1070.

While the GTX 1660 Ti is 16% faster than the GTX 1660, it is around 15% slower than the RTX 2060.

    AI/Machine Learning Performance

I recently came across a Python Library that measures the AI Performance of CPUs and GPUs. It relies on TensorFlow, which is the most popular Machine Learning Library. So, these results should be helpful to all the developers & researchers out there who work on Machine Learning and Deep Learning.

While I have performed the 1660 Ti benchmark on my system, the rest of the scores are obtained from their official website.

For AI & Machine Learning, I’ll recommend picking Graphics Cards with Higher CUDA Cores and Tensor Cores. All the cards starting from RTX 2060 all the way up to Titan RTX should do a great job.

    Compute & Synthetic Benchmarks

On Synthetic Benchmarks, the performance was top-notch. Here are some scores from 3DMark, Geekbench, GFXBench, and CompuBench.

3DMark Fire Strike 1.1

GeekBench 4 OpenCL Score

GFXBench ALU2

GFXBench Aztec Ruins

GFXBench Tessellation Offscreen

1660 Ti CompuBench Performance

Other Synthetic Tests

We also performed some other benchmarks, and once again this GPU was performing similar or slightly better than every other 1660 Ti.

The PassMark 3D Graphics Score was way above the average 1660 Ti Score, and I’m not sure if this was an anomaly or some other factor is contributing to a high score. You can check that particular score here.

You can also check our Time Spy Test Result on 3DMark’s website.

    Thermals & Power Consumption

We have observed the temperatures & Power Consumption during Stress Test as well as during Game Play. We have used FurMark for Stress Test, which puts an extreme load on the GPU which you’ll never reach in real-world scenarios.

While we did the rest of our tests at 30°C, these tests are done at an ambient temperature of around 26°C without any air conditioning. At 20°C, you should expect even lower temperatures.

Thermal Performance FurMark

GPU Power Consumption FurMark

Power Consumption Assassin's Creed Odyssey

Thermal Performance Assassin's Creed Odyssey

During the Stress Test, the temperature was 67°C, and while playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, it was 65°C.

With 20°C Ambient Temperature, you should expect temperatures around the early ’60s in Gaming. You can expect it to consume around 110-120 Watts under load and 10 Watts at idle.

I find the thermal performance pretty impressive, and it is even more crucial in regions where the temperature during summer can cross over 40°C.

If you live in a cold region or use an Air Conditioner 24×7, a two-fan 1660 Ti should be good enough.

    Fan Speed & Noise

The fans in this card will only start spinning when you put in under load. I could see the fans spinning only when I played a game or performed a GPU intensive task.

In FurMark, the Fan Speed was just a little over 2,000 RPM.

While playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the fan speed was around 1860 RPM.

Compared to the noise of Wraith Prism at Stock, the noise of the GPU was inaudible. If you need a quiet GPU then look no further and grab this one.

    Final Verdict on Gigabyte GTX 1660 Ti

Among the Gigabyte 1660 Ti models, Gigabyte has a total of 6 different models starting from a Single-Fan Mini-ITX variant all the way up to the Aorus Edition.

The AORUS variant is the only one higher than the model we are looking at today.

The Aorus edition has better Power Delivery (6+2 Phase VRM) and higher boost clocks (1890 MHz). It also has a lot more RGB and other Aorus exclusive features, but the premium you have to pay for a negligible boost in performance isn’t worth it. You can instead spend that money to grab a Radeon RX 5700.

Whether you should go for 1660 Ti depends on your gaming needs and the GPU Prices in your country. If you need a GPU for 1080p High 60 FPS gaming for the next two years, pick this card. If you need something that can handle 1440p at 60 FPS even in the future, grab a Radeon RX 5700 or RTX 2060.