LABS TEST / GRAPHICS CARDS
W
e’ve alluded to it several times on
previous pages and here it finally is:
the current sub-£200 champion
graphics card, the GTX 1660 Super. Built on
the same Nvidia TU116 GPU as the GTX 1660,
the Super version houses the same number
of stream processors and runs at the same
base and boost clock speeds as its cheaper
sibling, but crucially, it uses GDDR6 memory.
This one change makes all the difference, as
memory bandwidth leaps from 192GB/sec to
336GB/sec, unlocking a huge amount of
extra performance.
Our sample Zotac GTX 1660 Super card
has two fans that, intriguingly, are different
sizes. This card isn’t an exotic delight for the
sight, and there are no fancy frills such as
RGB lighting, but the Zotac GeForce GTX
1660 Super still has a smart look. MoreZOTAC GEFORCE GTX
1660 SUPER /£199 inc VAT
SUPPLIER overclockers.co.ukimportantly, this card does a good job when
it comes to cooling and noise control. Those
two fans do an excellent job of keeping on
top of heat transfer, remaining surprisingly
quiet even long into gaming sessions. This
will depend on the airflow configuration of
you case, though, as this isn’t a blower-style
cooler (along with most of the cards on test),
so little hot air is exhausted out the back of
the card.
Zotac has helped where possible with
heat exhaustion by opening up one whole
side of the rear I/O bracket. This means you
miss out on a fifth video output, but the three
DisplayPort sockets and single HDMI port
will be enough for most. Like the GTX 1660, a
single 8-pin PCI-E power adaptor is required
to get enough juice to this card.
When it comes to gaming performance,
this card really shows the importance of
memory bandwidth. In Battlefield V at 2,560
x 1,440, for instance, performance leaps
up by 22 per cent, from 48fps to 59fps,
compared to the GTX 1660. The gains aren’t
always so striking elsewhere, but in Total
War: Warhammer II at 2,560 x 1,440, we also
see a leap from 25fps to 34fps.
The extra memory bandwidth can’t perform
miracles, though, and this card still struggles
with ray tracing due to its lack of dedicated
RT cores. A frame rate of 31fps at 1080p is
the best it could manage in our testing – it’s
technically borderline playable, but you really
need a much higher frame rate for a game
such as Battlefield V.Crucially, what the GTX 1660 Super
delivers is a perfect sweet spot of price and
performance. It comfortably outperforms the
GTX 1660 while costing just £19 more, and it
only trails the GTX 1660 Ti by a handful of FPS,
despite costing £45 less. It also comfortably
outpaces the AMD Radeon RX 590 while
consuming far less power.Conclusion
The Nvidia GTX 1660 Super is the undisputed
king of the sub-£200 graphics card market
right now. It offers an excellent balance of
performance and price while including support
for the latest ray-tracing features. Several
cards get close to it in some areas, but the GTX
1660 Super comfortably tops the charts when
it comes to bang for your buck.SPEC
Graphics processor Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660
Super, 1530MHz base clock, 1785MHz boost clock
Pipeline 1,408 stream processors, 48 ROPs
Interface PCI-E 3
RT Cores 0
Tensor Cores 0
Memory 6GB GDDR6, 1750MHz
(14GHz effective)
Memory interface 192-bit
Bandwidth 336GB/sec
Outputs/inputs 3 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x HDMI 2b
Power connections 1 x 8-pinVERDICT
At current pricing, the GTX 1660 Super is
the card to get if you budget can’t stretch
beyond £200.SUPERB
+ Reliable 1080p
performance
+ Can stretch to some
2,560 x 1,440 gaming
+ Ray-tracing support
+ GDDR6 memorySOUP HERB- No RT cores
- Poor ray-tracing
performance
PERFORMANCE
39 / 50RAY TRACING
2 / 10OVERALL SCORE
76 %
EFFICIENCY
9 / 10VALUE
26 / 30c
us
tom P
C
ccuuss
stommPP
CCA
P
PR
OVE
D
LABS TEST / GRAPHICS CARDS
W
e’vealludedtoit severaltimeson
previouspagesandhereit finallyis:
thecurrentsub-£200champion
graphicscard,theGTX 1660 Super.Builton
thesameNvidiaTU116GPUastheGTX1660,
theSuperversionhousesthesamenumber
ofstreamprocessorsandrunsatthesame
baseandboostclockspeedsasitscheaper
sibling,butcrucially,it usesGDDR6memory.
Thisonechangemakesallthedifference,as
memorybandwidthleapsfrom192GB/secto
336GB/sec,unlockinga hugeamountof
extraperformance.
OursampleZotacGTX 1660 Supercard
hastwofansthat,intriguingly,aredifferent
sizes.Thiscardisn’tanexoticdelightforthe
sight,andtherearenofancyfrillssuchas
RGBlighting,buttheZotacGeForceGTX
1660 Superstillhasa smartlook.More
ZOTAC GEFORCEGTX
1660 SUPER/£199inc VAT
SUPPLIER overclockers.co.ukimportantly, this card does a good job when
it comes to cooling and noise control. Those
two fans do an excellent job of keeping on
top of heat transfer, remaining surprisingly
quiet even long into gaming sessions. This
will depend on the airflow configuration of
you case, though, as this isn’t a blower-style
cooler (along with most of the cards on test),
so little hot air is exhausted out the back of
the card.
Zotac has helped where possible with
heat exhaustion by opening up one whole
side of the rear I/O bracket. This means you
miss out on a fifth video output, but the three
DisplayPort sockets and single HDMI port
will be enough for most. Like the GTX 1660, a
single 8-pin PCI-E power adaptor is required
to get enough juice to this card.
When it comes to gaming performance,
this card really shows the importance of
memory bandwidth. In Battlefield V at 2,560
x 1,440, for instance, performance leaps
up by 22 per cent, from 48fps to 59fps,
compared to the GTX 1660. The gains aren’t
always so striking elsewhere, but in Total
War: Warhammer II at 2,560 x 1,440, we also
see a leap from 25fps to 34fps.
The extra memory bandwidth can’t perform
miracles, though, and this card still struggles
with ray tracing due to its lack of dedicated
RT cores. A frame rate of 31fps at 1080p is
the best it could manage in our testing – it’s
technically borderline playable, but you really
need a much higher frame rate for a game
such as Battlefield V.Crucially, what the GTX 1660 Super
delivers is a perfect sweet spot of price and
performance. It comfortably outperforms the
GTX 1660 while costing just £19 more, and it
only trails the GTX 1660 Ti by a handful of FPS,
despite costing £45 less. It also comfortably
outpaces the AMD Radeon RX 590 while
consuming far less power.Conclusion
The Nvidia GTX 1660 Super is the undisputed
king of the sub-£200 graphics card market
right now. It offers an excellent balance of
performance and price while including support
for the latest ray-tracing features. Several
cards get close to it in some areas, but the GTX
1660 Super comfortably tops the charts when
it comes to bang for your buck.SPEC
Graphics processor Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660
Super, 1530MHz base clock, 1785MHz boost clock
Pipeline 1,408 stream processors, 48 ROPs
Interface PCI-E 3
RT Cores 0
Tensor Cores 0
Memory 6GB GDDR6, 1750MHz
(14GHz effective)
Memory interface 192-bit
Bandwidth 336GB/sec
Outputs/inputs 3 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x HDMI 2b
Power connections 1 x 8-pinVERDICT
At current pricing, the GTX 1660 Super is
the card to get if you budget can’t stretch
beyond £200.SUPERB
+ Reliable 1080p
performance
+ Can stretch to some
2,560 x 1,440 gaming
+ Ray-tracing support
+ GDDR6 memorySOUP HERB- No RT cores
- Poor ray-tracing
performance
PERFORMANCE
39 / 50RAY TRACING
2 / 10OVERALLSCORE
76 %
EFFICIENCY
9 / 10VALUE
26 / 30cc
uuss
tommPP
CCA
P
PR
OVE
D