The Power of the GTX 1060: A Review of the Mid-Range GPU

When it comes to graphics processing units, mid-range options are often overlooked in favor of more powerful high-end models. However, there's one card that has proven itself to be a sweet spot for many gamers: the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060. In this review, we'll take a closer look at this powerful GPU and its performance capabilities.

The build quality of the GTX 1060 is on point, with a sturdy back plate and stap-in design that makes it easy to install in most ITX cases. The card's dimensions are slightly under 9 and 1/4 inches, making it a great fit for compact builds. However, one feature that caught our eye was the unusual extrusion in the frame. This unnecessary design choice could potentially limit case compatibility, particularly with left-side panel designs.

In terms of performance, the GTX 1060 has proven itself to be a force to be reckoned with. We ran various games through the latest G Force driver 378.5 eight and four, including Witcher 3, GTA 5, Battlefield 1, and City Skylines. The results were impressive, with frame rates that exceeded expectations in many cases. For example, in Witcher 3, we saw a respectable average of 39 FPS at ultra settings, which is not bad considering this is one of the most demanding games out there.

One of the standout features of the GTX 1060 is its performance balance between GPU and CPU intensities. In GTA 5, for example, we saw an average frame rate of 69 FPS at maxed-out settings, with smooth gameplay and rich visuals. This level of performance is impressive, especially considering that this card is a mid-range option.

Of course, the GTX 1060 has its competitors in the market, particularly from AMD's Radeon RX 480. In our opinion, this card falls into the sweet spot for many gamers, offering great value for its price and performance capabilities. While it may not look as sleek as some other designs, this card is manufactured by a reputable brand and is easy to find within most budgets.

If you're in the market for a new graphics card that fits your budget, we highly recommend considering the GTX 1060. Its performance is impressive, and its value is hard to beat. Additionally, with our affiliate link, you can purchase this card through Newegg or Amazon while supporting our channel at no extra cost.

In conclusion, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 is a powerful mid-range GPU that offers great performance and value for gamers. While it may not be as powerful as some high-end options, its balance between GPU and CPU intensities makes it a great choice for those looking to upgrade their build without breaking the bank.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI bet you're wondering who or what the heck XLR8 is well their PNY now with a dedicated gaming division so if you see this name you'll know they're all about PC gaming they manufacture everything from ssds to Ram to graphics cards and on that note in light of Blue Sky Overkill spec sheet I asked them to send a GTX 1060 budget friendly alternative for the 1080P and light 1440p gamer my first impression looks pretty dope XLR8 proudly boasts the black and red color scheme a bit cliche sure but consistent to say the least you won't have an issue finding Hardware to match a brief summary of the spec sheet up front most of you know by now at 1060 is a 1060 1280 Cuda cores a boost clock of 1797 MHz which is a mild jump from the reference frequency and 6 gabes of vram the card utilizes a single 8 Pin also a bump from the stock six pin but still sips on power in relation to previous generations lengthwise the card's a little under 9 and 1/4 in so it should fit in most ITX cases it comes with a back plate a stap in my book but with backwards writing that I wish they'd rotate around you'll find red LEDs under the two fans along with a prominent GTX 1060 logo up front my only complaint here the weird Extrusion in the frame it serves no functional purpose as far as I can tell and could potentially limit case compatibility especially with that left side panel other than that build quality is on point the Shroud isn't flimsy and the cooler underneath Sports copper pipes and aluminum sinks the kind of combination for which you'll want to look temperatures under load at stock never past 75c even in a small form factor case with minimal air flow the fans do crank up quite a bit though with the stock curve not as loud as the founders edition of course but will become audible at around 30% fan speed by default the card will never pass 50c unless you're doing something very insane with your graphics card and the sound was still tolerable in fact most hard drives are louder than this card is under load almost always a perk of third party coolers now let's talk performance if you've seen GTX 1060 reviews in the past this one's probably nothing new in terms of frame rates anyway I ran the latest G Force driver 378.5 eight and four different games which pull PC resources in unique ways the computer in question my ITX PC build from a few months ago it's supporting an i5 7600 K clock to 4.4 GHz and 16 GB of 2.8 GHz ddr4 pairing a GTX 1060 with something like an i77700k or an i75820k wouldn't really make much sense in the real world so we won't be doing that here a card this size fits with plenty of room to spare even in something as compact as this fractal design node 2 2 after a quick boot and Driver install it was Off to the Races now seeing as though this is my first official benchmarking video of a GTX 1060 which is kind of hard to believe I've just never owned one until now I was actually pleasantly surprised I was running each of these games in at least the ultra preset in 1080P something my old GTX 970 could barely handle and was impressed by what I saw first up Witcher 3 received a respectable frame rate we didn't reach 60 FPS on average but bear in mind this is Witcher 3 on Ultra which will will tax the living hell out of any modern GPU and at that 39 ain't bad for a minimum I expected worse moving on to GTA 5 good old 69 on average 47 for the men GTA5 is an excellent example of balance between GPU and CPU intensities gameplay was smooth and Rich especially with everything maxed out save anti-aliasing Battlefield 1 is another beautifully optimized game in my experience minimums and averages are always very close that's exactly what you want to see a staggering 86 on average here is superb for a card in the mid $200 price range lastly a CPU intensive title City skylines won't tell us much about how powerful the graphics card is other than to say that you could swap this card for one three times its price and you likely won't see much of a difference in frame rate making the 1060 a sweet spot for most gamers in 1080P it is no secret at this point that the rx480 is a very compelling competitor and we ask a room full of 100 people which one they would prefer I'm sure around 50% would say the AMD card the other 50% would say Nvidia for various reasons I prefer nid for their software but I prefer AMD for their value it just comes down to which one you weigh more but if you ask me this particular card I think could look a bit better but it definitely falls into the GTX 1060 Sweet Spot in terms of price it's also manufactured by a reputable brand I use p& ssds all the time so if you're in the market for a green team car that looks favorably on your budget this 1060 here is the way to go and as always you can find links to the card showcased in this video in the description both my Amazon and new EG affiliate links are tied to those so if you do purchase something via the link I do get a small Kickback it goes a long way I do appreciate it give this one a thumbs up if you thought it was cool thumbs down for the opposite click a subscribe button if you haven't already I will catch you in the next video this is Salazar Studio thanks for learning with us wI bet you're wondering who or what the heck XLR8 is well their PNY now with a dedicated gaming division so if you see this name you'll know they're all about PC gaming they manufacture everything from ssds to Ram to graphics cards and on that note in light of Blue Sky Overkill spec sheet I asked them to send a GTX 1060 budget friendly alternative for the 1080P and light 1440p gamer my first impression looks pretty dope XLR8 proudly boasts the black and red color scheme a bit cliche sure but consistent to say the least you won't have an issue finding Hardware to match a brief summary of the spec sheet up front most of you know by now at 1060 is a 1060 1280 Cuda cores a boost clock of 1797 MHz which is a mild jump from the reference frequency and 6 gabes of vram the card utilizes a single 8 Pin also a bump from the stock six pin but still sips on power in relation to previous generations lengthwise the card's a little under 9 and 1/4 in so it should fit in most ITX cases it comes with a back plate a stap in my book but with backwards writing that I wish they'd rotate around you'll find red LEDs under the two fans along with a prominent GTX 1060 logo up front my only complaint here the weird Extrusion in the frame it serves no functional purpose as far as I can tell and could potentially limit case compatibility especially with that left side panel other than that build quality is on point the Shroud isn't flimsy and the cooler underneath Sports copper pipes and aluminum sinks the kind of combination for which you'll want to look temperatures under load at stock never past 75c even in a small form factor case with minimal air flow the fans do crank up quite a bit though with the stock curve not as loud as the founders edition of course but will become audible at around 30% fan speed by default the card will never pass 50c unless you're doing something very insane with your graphics card and the sound was still tolerable in fact most hard drives are louder than this card is under load almost always a perk of third party coolers now let's talk performance if you've seen GTX 1060 reviews in the past this one's probably nothing new in terms of frame rates anyway I ran the latest G Force driver 378.5 eight and four different games which pull PC resources in unique ways the computer in question my ITX PC build from a few months ago it's supporting an i5 7600 K clock to 4.4 GHz and 16 GB of 2.8 GHz ddr4 pairing a GTX 1060 with something like an i77700k or an i75820k wouldn't really make much sense in the real world so we won't be doing that here a card this size fits with plenty of room to spare even in something as compact as this fractal design node 2 2 after a quick boot and Driver install it was Off to the Races now seeing as though this is my first official benchmarking video of a GTX 1060 which is kind of hard to believe I've just never owned one until now I was actually pleasantly surprised I was running each of these games in at least the ultra preset in 1080P something my old GTX 970 could barely handle and was impressed by what I saw first up Witcher 3 received a respectable frame rate we didn't reach 60 FPS on average but bear in mind this is Witcher 3 on Ultra which will will tax the living hell out of any modern GPU and at that 39 ain't bad for a minimum I expected worse moving on to GTA 5 good old 69 on average 47 for the men GTA5 is an excellent example of balance between GPU and CPU intensities gameplay was smooth and Rich especially with everything maxed out save anti-aliasing Battlefield 1 is another beautifully optimized game in my experience minimums and averages are always very close that's exactly what you want to see a staggering 86 on average here is superb for a card in the mid $200 price range lastly a CPU intensive title City skylines won't tell us much about how powerful the graphics card is other than to say that you could swap this card for one three times its price and you likely won't see much of a difference in frame rate making the 1060 a sweet spot for most gamers in 1080P it is no secret at this point that the rx480 is a very compelling competitor and we ask a room full of 100 people which one they would prefer I'm sure around 50% would say the AMD card the other 50% would say Nvidia for various reasons I prefer nid for their software but I prefer AMD for their value it just comes down to which one you weigh more but if you ask me this particular card I think could look a bit better but it definitely falls into the GTX 1060 Sweet Spot in terms of price it's also manufactured by a reputable brand I use p& ssds all the time so if you're in the market for a green team car that looks favorably on your budget this 1060 here is the way to go and as always you can find links to the card showcased in this video in the description both my Amazon and new EG affiliate links are tied to those so if you do purchase something via the link I do get a small Kickback it goes a long way I do appreciate it give this one a thumbs up if you thought it was cool thumbs down for the opposite click a subscribe button if you haven't already I will catch you in the next video this is Salazar Studio thanks for learning with us w\n"