MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Gaming X / MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Ventus XS
March, 2019Type
Graphics CardsPrice
$249 / $219MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Gaming X ($249.99 US) Overview
The MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Gaming X is the top variant within MSI's GTX 16 series family. This graphics card utilizes the most advanced version of the iconic Twin Frozr cooling system known as the Twin Frozr VII. This graphics card is available in the market for $249.99 US right now which makes it $30 US more expensive than the reference MSRP which is not that big of a difference for a fully custom design with a cooler that seems to look and perform great too. The good thing with this graphics model though is that it excels upon the standard reference models in all possible ways.
In terms of specifications, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 features 1408 CUDA cores, 88 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The Turing TU116 die used on the graphics card is based around a 12nm process and has a die size of 284mm2. The core clocks for the card are maintained at 1530 MHz for base and 1785 MHz for boost. The MSI Gaming X model is clocked up to 1860MHz (boost) which will be providing better gaming performance than the reference model.
The chip packs a total of 5.0 TFLOPs of FP32 compute power. The cards feature a 6 GB GDDR5 memory interface running along a 192-bit wide bus interface that delivers 192 GB/s bandwidth. The reference model is powered by a single 8 pin connector and has a TDP of 120W.
The Gaming X design is built upon the foundations of the previous Gaming X layout with dual Torx 3.0 fans that come with Zero Frozr technology and the dispersion fan blade design, allowing higher airflow to reach the heatsink underneath the shroud. The card features a custom 4+2 phase power design on the PCB and is powered by a single 8 connector. The custom PCB is fitted with an anti-bending bracket which offers better durability.
Following are some of the features of the MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Gaming X before we go into detail:
Features
Core/Memory
- Boost Clock / Memory Speed
1860 MHz / 8 Gbps - 6GB GDDR5
- DisplayPort x 1 / HDMI x 1 / DVI-D x 1
Twin Frozr 7 Thermal Design
- TORX Fan 3.0
- Dispersion fan blade: Steeply curved blade accelerating the airflow.
- Traditional fan blade: Provides steady airflow to massive heat sink below. - Mastery of Aerodynamics: The heatsink is optimized for efficient heat dissipation, keeping your temperatures low and performance high.
- Zero Frozr technology: Stopping the fan in low-load situations, keeping a noise-free environment.
RGB Mystic Light
- Customize colors and LED effects with exclusive MSI software and synchronize the look & feel with other components.
Dragon Center
- 1 click to optimize all you need for smooth gaming.
Contents
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The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 is the graphics card to get if you are on a budget, it has the best value in its price range and can play all the latest AAA titles on 1080p resolution at respectable features with a strong suit of Turing shading features backing it up while delivering NVIDIA's world-class power GPU efficiency.
- Turing's Performance and Efficiency at under $250 US
- Many Custom Models Available at MSRP ($219)
- Faster Than The GTX 1060 6 GB and Radeon RX 580 8 GB
- Good upgrade from GTX 960 and GTX 1060 3 GB
- Great performance for 1080p Gaming Titles
- Great performance for eSports Gaming Titles
- Great thermals on both custom cards
- Good Noise levels on both custom cards
- Power efficiency has increased drastically
- Support NVIDIA Adaptive Shading Technology
- Good driver support for GeForce products, compatibility with DX11, DX12, Vulkan, OpenGL titles
- Good Display Connectivity, support for VESA Adaptive-Sync and G-Sync Compatible Monitors
Pros
- No RT Cores For Ray Tracing Support
- No Tensor Cores For DLSS Support
Cons
About the author: A Software Engineer by training and a PC enthusiast by passion, Hassan Mujtaba serves as Wccftech's Senior Editor for hardware section. With years of experience in the industry, he specializes in deep-dive technical analysis of next-generation CPU and GPU architectures, motherboards, and cooling solutions. His work involves not only breaking news on upcoming technologies but also extensive hands-on reviews and benchmarking.
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