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With graphics chipset prices falling, many people are in the market for an upgrade to their PC. Now that you can get the chipset you want at its MSRP, it makes sense that people feel like they’re due in for an upgrade.
For those “in the know,” many of us are looking at older chipsets to see if we can bag a decent upgrade for cheaper than the most recent generations, which means a lot of benchmarking and comparing. So if you’ve been looking to upgrade your GTX 1660 Ti, we’re happy to say that an RTX 2060 is a significant upgrade. But let’s take a quick look at why that is.
GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060: Full Comparison
History & Specs of the GTX 1660 Ti
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The GTX 1660 Ti was the 16 series mid-low range card, succeeding the 1060 and preceding the RTX 2060. The 1660 Ti MSRP’d for USD 279, making it an affordable and compelling option for gamers who didn’t need the fanciest graphics chipsets to play the games they wanted.
The 1660 Ti was launched on 22 February 2019. It was built using the 12-nanometre process and based on the TU 116 graphics processor, using the TU116-400-A1 variant. It supports DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.6, OpenCL 3.0, Vulkan 1.3, CUDA 7.5, and Shader Model 6.6 to give it the capability to run modern games.
It features 1536 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. Additionally, the chipset stored information using GDDR6 and had 6 GB of dedicated video RAM, connected with a 192-bit memory interface.
Its 1500 MHz stock frequency could be boosted up to 1770 MHz, and its memory would concurrently run at 1500 MHz giving it an effective 12 Gbps speed.
The card connected to the rest system using a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface and drew power using a 1x 8-pin power connector. Its TDP was 120 W, but a 300 W power supply is the suggested PSU rating. The overall dimensions of the card were 229 mm×111mm×35mm, and it is a dual-slot card. Its output connectivity was 1x DVI. 1x HDMI 2.0, and 1x DisplayPort 1.4a.
- Next-level graphics for AAA gaming
- Award-winning NVIDIA Turing architecture.
- Broadcast your gameplay to Twitch or YouTube
- Dedicated hardware encoder with Open Broadcaster Software (OBS).
- Capture and share videos, screenshots
History & Specs of the RTX 2060
Like the GTX 1660 Ti, the RTX 2060 is also a 12-nanometre processed card. It was released on 7 January 2019, marking the release of that year’s new generation of cards, and MSRP’d at USD 349. The RTX 2060 was the mid-low budget card for the 20 series.
This card supports DirectX 12 Ultimate, OpenGL 4.6, OpenCL 3.0, Vulkan 1.3, CUDA 7.5, and Shader model 6.6, allowing it to run modern games efficiently. It renders images using 1920 shading units, 120 texture mapping units, and 48 ROPs. The RTX 2060 also features 240 Tenser cores and 30 RT cores to boost processing
The unit’s base clock speed was 1365 MHz with the ability to boost up to 1680 MHz, and its memory clocked at 1750 MHz giving it an effective 14 Gps clock speed. In addition, the card featured 6GB of GDDR6 video RAM using a 192-bit memory bus. So, it was making good use of what it had available.
This card’s TDP was 160 W, but it’s suggested that you use a PSU rated for at least 450 W to run it. It is connected to the board using a PCIe 3.0 x16 slot and needs a 1x 8-pin connector to power it. It’s a little bigger than the 1660, but not by much, with board dimensions of 229mm×113mm×35 mm. However, given how tight the space in a computer case can be, 2mm of width might be meaningful to some people.
It is a dual-slot card, so it will take up two slots even though it’s only using one. The card features five output connectors: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C.
- PCI Express graphics card interface
- 1470MHz GPU clock speed
- 8GB GDDR6 graphics RAM
- 2176 processors
GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060: SideBy Side Comparison
| GTX 1660 Ti | RTX 2060 | |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Turing | Turing |
| Process | 12 nm | 12 nm |
| Slot Size | Dual Slot | Dual Slot |
| Transistors | 6,600 million | 13,600 million |
| Die Size | 284 mm^2 | 545 mm^2 |
| Base Clock | 1500 MHz | 1365 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1770 MHz | 1680 MHz |
| Memory Clock | 1500 MHz | 1750 MHz |
| Effective Clock | 12 Gbps | 14 Gbps |
| Memory Size | 6 GB | 6 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR6 | GDDR6 |
| Memory Bus | 192 bit | 192 bit |
| Bandwidth | 280.0 GB/s | 336.0 GB/s |
| Shading Units | 1536 | 1920 |
| TMUs | 96 | 120 |
| ROPs | 48 | 48 |
| SM Count | 24 | 30 |
| Tensor Cores | 0 | 240 |
| RT Cores | 0 | 30 |
| L1 Cache | 64 KB (per SM) | 64 KB (per SM) |
| L2 Cache | 1536 KB | 3 MB |
| Direct X | 12 | 12 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| OpenCL | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Vulkan | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| CUDA | 7.5 | 7.5 |
| Shader Model | 6.6 | 6.6 |
| TDP | 120 W | 160 W |
| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 450 W |
| Output Connectors | 1x DVI 1x HDMI 2.0 1x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x DVI 1x HDMI 2.0 2x DisplayPort 1.4a 1x USB Type-C |
| MSRP | 279 USD | 349 USD |
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GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060: What’s the Difference?
Both cards have merits. However, the RTX 2060 is significantly more robust and versatile and will likely be supported by NVIDIA for longer. Still, there are a few compelling reasons to pick the 1660 Ti. So let’s look at each card and determine the strongest card based on category.
Overall Value
The Winner: RTX 2060
In a raw comparison of value to price, the RTX 2060 is a clear winner. Within the RTX 20 series, the 2060 was largely considered the best value for the money in terms of benchmarks. At an MSRP of around USD 350, the card provided excellent clock speeds—both base and overclocked.
The RTX 2060 was an effective way for casual gamers and even some streamers to upgrade their PCs to a standard that would allow them to play and stream most games without building a dedicated PC for streaming and gaming.
Most gamers looking to play games at 1080p or lower will be fine with this card. Though gamers looking to play in 1440p or 4K will need to invest in a much more powerful card, this card will not be sufficient to play modern games in these resolutions with good FPS.
On average, the 2060 will net you about 20% more frames in-game, according to UserBenchmark. Of course, this largely depends on the game you’re playing and what graphics settings you have enabled; however, the 2060 consistently scored higher than the 1660 Ti, both at base clock speed and overclocked.
Still, both cards will net you around 100 FPS when playing the games released around the time of the card’s release.
Core Clock Speed
The Winner: GTX 1060 Ti
The GTX 1060 Ti’s cores do have a higher base clock and overclock speed than the RTX 2060. As a result, it’s one of the only sectors where the GTX 1060 Ti is better than the RTX 2060. Still, it’s not especially meaningful given how much faster the RTX 2060’s memory is.
Memory Clock Speed
The Winner: RTX 2060
The RTX 2060’s memory is significantly faster than the GTX 1060 Ti’s. The increased memory speed is one of the primary reasons the RTX 2060 is a better choice for those who can afford the price bump.
Render Config
The Winner: RTX 2060
The RTX 2060 has more shading units and texture mapping units than the GTX 1060 Ti, though they have the same number of ROPs. The RTX 2060 also has 30 streaming multiprocessor cores—six more than the 1660 Ti. Additionally, the RTX 2060 features Tensor Cores and RT cores (a unique NVIDIA core that processes ray-traced graphics in real-time), both things that GTX 1060 Ti does not have.
Board Design
The Winner: RTX 2060
The RTX 2060 has a superior board design. Of course, it is a little bit bigger, but with five output connectors, it’s hard to determine why the extra 2mm would be a problem in the average PC build.
Memory
The Winner: RTX 2060
While both cards feature 6 GB of GDDR6 RAM and a 192-bit memory bus, the higher memory clock speed and bandwidth of the RTX 2060 give the card the edge in this category.
Stage of Life
The Winner: Tie
Both cards were still in active production when writing this article. However, as they’re both from relatively recent generations, you’ll see continued support for several years. Likewise, the GTX 900 series is still receiving updates, though the cards are on their way out. So, you’ve got a good few years before you’ll have to replace these cards because of obsolescence.
3 Must-Know Facts
- While the NVIDIA RTX 2060 is a more powerful card overall, the GTX 1660 Ti has a higher base clock speed.
- The NVIDIA RTX 2060 will most likely receive support updates for a longer period than the GTX 1660 Ti.
- The GTX 1660 Ti and RTX 2060 were released the same year, months apart. Thus, their specs are very similar.
Final Thoughts
NVIDIA’s cards are reliable and beloved by tech geeks for a reason. While they may not be the most recent generation of cards, the GTX 1660 Ti and the RTX 2060 are reliable cards that will serve the people who purchase them well.
As both cards are still in active production, you won’t have to worry about replacing your chipset soon. NVIDIA will continue to provide firmware updates for several years until the cards reach their end-of-life stage.
