Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB Founders Edition Review

1. Introduction2. Nvidia GTX 1060 Founders Edition3. Testing Methodology4. 3DMark5. Unigine Valley6. Ashes of the Singularity7. Grand Theft Auto V8. Metro Last Light Redux9. Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor10. Rise of the Tomb Raider11. Acoustic Performance12. Temperatures13. Power Consumption14. Overclocking15. Conclusion16. View All Pages

The Nvidia GTX 1060 has performed consistently well across our suite of tests, outperforming its main rival, the RX 480, in performance and power-efficiency terms. While it would be sensible to assume this would entail an Nvidia price premium, that isn't the case and only applies to the Founders Edition variant.

Pricing will start at £239.99/$249.99 for the GTX 1060 in general, while the Founders Edition will retail for a slightly higher premium of £274.99 /$299.99. That pricing is slightly up compared to the previous generation GTX 960, which retailed for $199.99, though the GTX 760 was a $249.99 product back in 2013.

The initial few weeks of retail availability will probably be plagued with limited stock and inflated prices but once things settle down after the launch prices should fall to MSRP levels or lower.

Nvidia's pricing strategy is fair, if not slightly over-aggressive, given that AMD's RX 480 currently holds the same price point but fails to match the GTX 1060 in performance or power efficiency terms. That being said, the RX 480 4GB with its lower $200/£200 MSRP does do well to give AMD a price advantage without any significant performance loss over the 8GB version.

The 4GB RX 480 is 20% cheaper and, on average, is a similar amount less capable so makes an interesting alternative, if power consumption isn't of a significant concern. The RX 480 also benefits from allowing multi-GPU configurations, something the GTX 1060 lacks any support for. Consumers looking to scale up in the future will find the upgrade path more flexible using AMD's equivalent.

With respect to AMD's 4GB RX 480 the question does remain as to whether Nvidia will release a 3GB-equipped GTX 1060 at a lower price point to combat this. In principal it would seem like a smart move though there is presumably no rush to bring this in if the 6GB GTX 1060 sells well.

The Founders Edition variant of the GTX 1060 remains as contentious as with the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080 launches. If truly sold on the design, style and overall aesthetics it may well be worth paying more for but most gamers will be better served by an equivalently priced or cheaper, custom cooled and overclocked GTX 1060 from Nvidia board partners such as ASUS, MSI and others.

Given the high asking price of GTX 1070 it seems the GTX 1060 should become the de facto successor to the GTX 970, with a sublime balance of price, performance and overall refinement. The new GTX 1060 is a clinically well-executed product from Nvidia and gamers looking for a competent 1080p, 1440p or VR-capable GPU would do well to shortlist this graphics card.

Pros:

• Excellent power efficiency.
• Strong performance against rivals.
• Competitive pricing.
• 6GB of VRAM for the mid-range.

Cons:

• Founders Edition is pricey.
• No cheaper 3GB version available.
• Lacks SLI support.

KitGuru says: Affordably priced with excellent performance and power efficiency the Nvidia GTX 1060 takes the sweet-spot and sprinkles on more sugar.

 

 

 

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