Page 3 : NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Benchmarking, Thermal Output, Noise Level

Benchmarking Notes

Our graphics benchmarking test bed has the following specifications :

We used the GeForce driver version 368.64 for all three NVIDIA graphics cards used in our tests. NVIDIA released a newer GeForce driver 368.81 several days ago but it does not support the GeForce GTX 1060.

We used the latest Radeon Software 16.7.1 driver for both AMD graphics cards used in our tests. In addition, we enabled the Compatibility Mode for the Radeon RX 480 to ensure that it keeps to its rated 150 W TDP.

 

GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition Thermal Output

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 uses the new NVIDIA GP106 GPU, which is fabricated on the 16 nm FinFET process. The smaller process technology allowed NVIDIA to stuff almost 50% more transistors into a die that is almost 12% smaller than the previous-generation GeForce GTX 960.

Thanks to the more efficient FinFET process, and the new NVIDIA Pascal architecture which is designed for power efficiency, the GeForce GTX 1060 has a TDP (Thermal Design Power) of just 120 W. We tested this out by recording the peak exhaust temperature of the GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition, and compared it to the new GeForce GTX 1070 and Radeon RX 480 graphics cards, as well as the previous-generation GeForce GTX 980 Ti and Radeon R9 380 graphics cards.

Note that these are not the recorded temperatures, but how much hotter the exhaust air is above ambient temperature.

As you can see, it is a really cool-running card, producing significantly (6.4 °C) cooler exhaust air than the Radeon RX 480 graphics card. However, this is partly because the GeForce GTX 1060 exhausts both ends of the card, while the Radeon RX 480 only exhausts its heat out one end.

 

GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition Noise Level

Of course, the lower exhaust temperature might be due to a more powerful, and therefore, noisier, fan. Let’s see how noisy the GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition fan really is…

In the video above, the GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition was recorded while it was running the 3D Mark Fire Strike Ultra benchmark. As you can hear, it is very quiet even in our open testbed. It will be virtually silent inside an actual PC chassis.

Okay, now let’s take a look at some benchmarks!

Next Page > 3DMark DirectX 12 & Direct 11 Benchmark Results

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