While the world waits for NVIDIA Ampere to finally see the light of day, NVIDIA quietly releases a new budget graphics card – the GeForce GTX 1050 3GB! Here are the full details!
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 3GB
Featuring a higher-clocked GP106 GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 3GB slides in between the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Price Check), and the “original” GeForce GTX 1050 (Price Check) with 2 GB of GDDR5 memory. There was no official announcement. NVIDIA just slipped it into their GeForce GTX 1050 page.
The new GeForce GTX 1050 3GB is a bit of an oddball. It features the same GPU as the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, clocked higher, so it has 8.5% higher texture and pixel fill rates. Yet, NVIDIA “crippled” it by giving it a 96-bit memory bus, reducing its memory bandwidth by 25%.
The end result – the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 3GB has a 8.5% faster GPU than the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, but 25% less memory bandwidth than the GeForce GTX 1050. It comes with 3GB of GDDR5 memory though – 50% more than the “original” GeForce GTX 1050.
Is this a response to the launch of AMD Raven Ridge desktop APUs, like the Ryzen 5 2400G or the Ryzen 3 2200G? This is certainly a curious, late addition to the esports graphics card market…
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Taipei, 19 July 2016 – GIGABYTE, the world’s leading premium gaming hardware manufacturer, today introduced 4 models for its GeForce GTX 1060 lineup powered by the latest Pascal GP106 GPU.
With the GTX 1060 G1 GAMING (GV-N1060G1GAMING-6GD) leading the charge, GIGABYTE also offers the GTX 1060 WINDFORCE OC edition (GV-N1060WF2OC-6GD) and the single-fan GTX 1060 Mini ITX OC edition (GV-N1060IXOC-6GD) at launch, as well as the GTX 1060 D5 edition (GV-N1060D5-6GD) aimed for value-seeking gamers, to provide maximized performance at each respective budget ranges and for each PC build requirements.
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060 G1 GAMING
The GTX 1060 G1 GAMING raises the game with Super Overclocked GPU, the signature WINDFORCE technology, and RGB Illumination for gamers who crave superior cooling and overclocking performances for next-gen gaming with style.
Through GIGABYTE’s GPU Gauntlet Sorting technology, the top-notch GPU cores built in G1 GAMING cards push overclocking capability to the limit without compromising the system reliability. The highest-grade components augmented with 6+1 phase design make the MOSFET working at a lower temperature to provide more stable voltage output for superior overclocking.
To keep this beast running cool, the WINDFORCE 2X cooling system incorporates dual 90mm alternate-spinning fans with the unique blade design and 2 composite copper heat pipes with direct touch to the GPU, together keeping the card cool and quiet even when heavily overclocked. Fans are also regulated when the system is running at low load or idle. An LED fan indicator provides a user-friendly, instant display of the fan status.
The card brings vividness to PC builds with its full-spectrum RGB and lighting effects using the newly developed XTREME Engine utility software. At rear, a sleek-looking metal back plate adds rigidity and protection to the card. The smart power LED indicator helps to ensure the system stability at all times in case of any power abnormality.
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060 WINDFORCE OC
Fitted with a solid back plate, the GTX 1060 WINDFORCE OC edition runs sufficiently cool and quiet with the help of WINDFORCE 2X cooling system, featuring two semi-passive 90mm fans, a pure copper composite heat pipe with direct touch to GPU, and unique blade fan design.
Alternate spinning fans further reduce turbulence to a minimum. Via the intuitive interface of XTREME Engine utility, gamers can enjoy smooth gaming right away with a simple click of the button to overclock the card without the hassle of any manual adjustment.
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GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060 Mini ITX OC
Measuring 17cm in length, the small form factor GTX 1060 Mini ITX OC edition is perfect for building compact gaming rigs or HTPC. Equipped with 2 composite copper heat pipes with direct touch to GPU and a single 90mm unique-blade fan with semi-passive cooling, the custom-designed cooler can dissipate heat effectively, while running remarkably quiet even under loads. The card is built using Ultra Durable chokes and capacitors, making the MOSFET working at a lower temperature for more stable voltage output.
GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1060 D5
The GTX 1060 D5 edition features the dual-fan WINDFORCE 2X cooler with counter-rotating fans and auto fan stop under light loads, as well as RGB lighting with virtually unlimited color options, making it a smart choice for those looking to build a GP106-powered gaming rig on a budget.
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In conjunction with the new NVIDIA Pascal architecture, NVIDIA also introduced the Founder’s Edition graphics cards. These are not the reference design cards of yesteryears, but premium editions designed and built by NVIDIA. Hence, they are priced at a premium over regular GeForce cards.
Today, we are really excited to reveal our review of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition graphics card. Discover what’s so special about the Founder’s Edition, and find out how the GeForce GTX 1060 performs against the Radeon RX 480!
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Specification Comparison
This specification comparison will show you how the GeForce GTX 1060 compares against the higher-end GeForce GTX 1070 and the flagship GeForce GTX 1080.
This is our video showing the unboxing of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition graphics card. This is exactly what you can expect if you purchase the Founder’s Edition card from NVIDIA.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition comes in a really nice cardboard box that doubles as a display stand. Not that anyone would actually leave the card there just for display!
There is nothing else in the box. Just the GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition graphics card in an anti-static bag.
In this video, we are going to take a quick look at the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition graphics card, and its faceted die-cast aluminium cooler.
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition Up Close
Here are close-up pictures of the various aspects of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition graphics card.
Gamers with older monitors will be glad to note that the GeForce GTX 1060 will come with a dual-linked DVI port, in addition to 3 DisplayPorts and a HDMI 2.0B port.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 has a TDP of just 120 W, so it only comes with a 6-pin PCI Express power connector. However, it does not support SLI, so there is no SLI connector.
Founder’s Edition Advantage
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition was designed to be the ultimate expression of NVIDIA’s gaming vision. Hence, they crafted it with premium materials and components, including a faceted die-cast aluminium-framed shroud for strength, rigidity and looks.
Aesthetics aside, the GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition comes with an improved cooler built around a radial fan and an improved aluminium heatsink. The new heatsink features two copper heat pipes and over 50% more surface area than the GeForce GTX 960.
It also comes with dual FETs for both GPU and memory power supplies, coupled with a low-impedance power delivery network and custom voltage regulators for better power efficiency. All these Founder’s Edition features provide greater overclocking headroom, allowing these cards to hit clock speeds of 2 GHz!
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition Size
For those already measuring their cases to see if the GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition will fit, we measured the card and added the measurements for your convenience.
As you can see, the GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition is “technically” a 7″ long card, but its cooler extends 7.5 cm or 2.95″ beyond the PCB.
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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.
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.
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3DMark DirectX 12 Benchmark (2560 x 1440)
3DMark Time Spy is a new DirectX 12 benchmark that was released just days ago, just in time for this review. It supports new API features like asynchronous compute, explicit multi-adapter, and multi-threading.
In Time Spy, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition was slightly (about 4%) faster than the Radeon RX 480. They would actually tie if the Compatibility Mode was not enabled for the Radeon RX 480.
3DMark (1920 x 1080)
For Direct 11 performance, we started testing the graphics cards using 3DMark at the most common gaming resolution – 1920 x 1080.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition did very well in this full HD test. It was 49% to 57% faster than the Radeon R9 380, and 5% to 10% faster than the new Radeon RX 480.
3DMark (2560 x 1440)
Then we took 3DMark up a notch to the resolution of 2560 x 1440. Let’s take a look!
Despite having 2 GB less memory than the Radeon RX 480, the GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition did even better at this higher resolution. It was now 12% to 16% faster than the new Radeon RX 480, and 57% to 66% faster than the Radeon R9 380.
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Full HD Gaming
We had some problems with the BenQ XR3501 gaming monitor, which prevented us from using virtual resolution to test the four graphics cards. So we benchmarked Total War : Warhammer, The Witcher 3 : Wild Hunt and Fallout 4 in full HD resolution – 1920 x 1080. Here are their average frame rates :
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition is perfect for full HD gaming. It delivers frame rates well in excess of 60 fps, even in The Witcher 3, which was the most arduous game for it. In Fallout 4, it actually averaged 94 frames per second!
Surprisingly, the GeForce GTX 1060 was slightly (1%) slower than the Radeon RX 480 in the DirectX 12 (beta) benchmark of Total War : Warhammer. In the DirectX 11 test, it was actually 25% faster. This shows that the Radeon RX 480 has real potential to improve its standing as more DirectX 12 games are released.
Of course, these are average frame rates. Let’s take a closer look at those games!
Warhammer (1920 x 1080) – DirectX 12
This chart shows you the minimum and maximum frame rates, as well as the average frame rate, recorded by Total War : Warhammer‘s internal DirectX 12 benchmark.
In this DirectX 12 benchmark, the GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition did well, delivering an average of 80 frames per second. This makes it just a tad (1%) slower than the Radeon RX 480, but 42% faster than the Radeon R9 380.
Warhammer (1920 x 1080) – DirectX 11
This chart shows you the minimum and maximum frame rates, as well as the average frame rate, recorded by Total War : Warhammer‘s internal DirectX 11 benchmark.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition did better in the DirectX 11 test, where it was 25% faster than the Radeon RX 480, but a whooping 83% faster than the Radeon R9 380!
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Fallout 4 (1920 x 1080)
This chart shows you the minimum and maximum frame rates, as well as the average frame rate, that FRAPS recorded in Fallout 4.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition actually showed a higher frame rate range than the GeForce GTX 980 Ti, but its average frame rate was 7% slower. Still, this is very impressive performance for a graphics card that costs only US$299. The GeForce GTX 980 Ti cost US$649 at launch.
The Witcher 3 (1920 x 1080)
This chart shows you the minimum and maximum frame rates, as well as the average frame rate, that FRAPS recorded in The Witcher 3.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition did well in The Witcher 3 : Wild Hunt, delivering an average frame rate of almost 70 frames per second. This makes it 8% faster than the Radeon RX 480, and 59% faster than the Radeon R9 380!
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Of course, it is nowhere as fast as its two bigger brothers, but make no mistake – this is the gaming graphics card for the masses. Priced at just US$299 (US$249 for regular versions), it is far more affordable. Yet, it is no performance slouch, delivering 42% to 83% better performance than the Radeon R9 380.
The GeForce GTX 1060 was also 8% to 25% better performance than the new Radeon RX 480 (8 GB) in DirectX 11, and its equal match in DirectX 12.
The GeForce GTX 1060 actually held up quite well against the GeForce GTX 1070. When it comes to 1080p gaming, it was just 9% to 29% slower. Since the GeForce GTX 1070 costs 50% more, the GeForce GTX 1060 definitely offers better value for your money.
If you are gaming at 1080p, the GeForce GTX 1060 will virtually guarantee you average frame rates in excess of 60 fps. It is powerful enough to tackle 1440p gaming if you are not fussy about achieving 60 fps.
More impressively though is its low power consumption and silent operation. The new NVIDIA Pascal architecture, coupled with the 16 nm FinFET process technology, really helped NVIDIA deliver a really cool-running graphics card for the masses. It only has a TDP of 120 W and uses a single 6-pin power connector.
Do note though that the GeForce GTX 1060 does NOT support SLI. Otherwise, two GeForce GTX 1060 graphics cards in SLI would be a cheap alternative to a GeForce GTX 1080. 😀
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition is a guarantee of quality, with a great design. There is no doubt you are buying the best graphics card NVIDIA can produce. We love it so much, we are giving it our Editor’s Choice Award. Congratulations, NVIDIA!
But if you don’t need a nice-looking graphics card, you can always opt for the regular GeForce GTX 1060, and save US$50. That puts it in the same price range as the Radeon RX 480 (8 GB). Since it is significantly faster than the Radeon RX 480 (8 GB) in DirectX 11, and equally fast in DirectX 12, the regular GeForce GTX 1060 is an RX 480 killer.
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More GeForce GTX 1060 Information
For more information on the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, or the NVIDIA Pascal architecture, please take a look at our previous articles :
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NVIDIA invited us to an exclusive media conference call recently. We recorded it for you and compiled it into a video presentation so you can better understand what the new GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card offers gamers. You will also get updates on NVIDIA VR Funhouse and NVIDIA Ansel. Check it out!
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Key Takeaways
The GeForce GTX 1060 is based on the new GP106 GPU manufactured on the 16 nm FinFET process.
The GeForce GTX 1060 has 1280 CUDA cores and with a boost clock of 1.7 GHz.
NVIDIA claims the GeForce GTX 1060 can be overclocked to 2.0 GHz.
The GeForce GTX 1060 has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory running at 2.0 GHz.
The GeForce GTX 1060 will be faster than the GeForce GTX 980.
The GeForce GTX 1060 will only consume 120 watts of power.
The GeForce GTX 1060 will have a 6-pin PCI Express power connector but no SLI connector.
GeForce GTX 1060 custom boards will be available starting July 19, priced at US$249 and above.
NVIDIA will offer the GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition board on July 19 as well, priced at US$299.
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Presentation Slides
For those who prefer to check out the slides, there are 18 of them. So we have to divide them into 3 pages for your convenience. Enjoy!
This presentation will not only cover the new GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card, but also updates on NVIDIA VR Fun House and NVIDIA Ansel. But first, a quick trip down memory lane to when the GeForce GTX 980 was launched two years ago.
The new GeForce GTX 1060 promises to change all that, thanks to the new NVIDIA Pascal architecture, which is optimised for both speed and performance per watt.
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Remember how fast the GeForce GTX 980 was two years ago? Well, the new GeForce GTX 1060 promises to deliver GTX 980-level performance with twice the energy efficiency in VR.
The GeForce GTX 1060 supports the NVIDIA Simultaneous Multi-Projection technology, which allows it to seamlessly project a single image simultaneously to both eyes, yielding a 3X VR graphics performance improvement over previous generation GPUs.
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This allows GeForce GTX 1060 users to play VR games with higher levels of detail, without sacrificing performance or quality, for a more realistic, immersive experience.
Simultaneous Multi-Projection is being integrated into the world’s biggest game engines, Unreal Engine and Unity. More than 30 games are already in development, including Unreal Tournament, Poolnation VR, Everest VR, Obduction, Adr1ft and Raw Data.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 also supports NVIDIA VRWorks, a software developer kit that allows developers to intertwine what users see, hear and touch with the physical behaviour of the environment –convincing them that their virtual experience is real.
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NVIDIA VR Funhouse will be available for free later this month from Valve’s Steam digital distribution service. Developed on Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4, VR Funhouse will work on the GeForce GTX 1080, 1070 and 1060 GPUs and HTC Vive VR headsets. It will also be open sourced to developers and artists so they can create their own VR Funhouse attractions.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 also supports the NVIDIA Ansel technology, a powerful game-capture tool that allows gamers to explore, capture and share the artistry of gaming in ways never before possible. With Ansel, users can compose the gameplay shots they want, pointing the camera in any direction, from any vantage point within a gaming world, and then capture 360-degree stereo photospheres for viewing with a VR headset or Google Cardboard.
Gamers will be able to experience Ansel for themselves with Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst next week, and Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, later this month. Many more Ansel-enabled games are in development, including Epic Games’ Fortnite, Paragon and Unreal Tournament; Cyan Worlds’ Obduction; Thekla’s The Witness; Boss Key Productions’ Lawbreakers; Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s The Division; and the highly anticipated No Man’s Sky from Hello Games.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 features 1,280 CUDA cores, 6 GB of GDDR5 memory running at 8 Gbps and a boost clock of 1.7 GHz, which NVIDIA claims can be easily overclocked to 2 GHz for additional performance.
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Across the top gaming titles, GeForce GTX 1060 is on average 15% faster and over 75 percent more power efficient than the closest competitive product (the Radeon RX 480?) at stock speeds.
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 custom boards will be available starting July 19 from NVIDIA GeForce partners, including ASUS, Colorful, EVGA, Gainward, Galaxy, Gigabyte, Innovision 3D, MSI, Palit, PNY and Zotac. The MSRP will start at US$249.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition board – designed and built by NVIDIA – will be available starting July 19 for US$299. The GeForce GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition is crafted with premium materials and components, including a faceted die-cast aluminum body machine finished for strength and rigidity and a thermal solution designed to run cool and quiet.
Like the GeForce GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 Founder’s Edition boards, a dual-FETs power supply is used to improve power efficiency, along with a low impedance power delivery network and custom voltage regulators.
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