Best Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics cards 2024
Finding the best 1660 Ti Graphics Card out there!
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Landing as another addition to the Turing family of graphics cards, the GTX 1660 Ti is a great choice for the mid-range market. Hailed as a card for mainstream gamers, the GTX 1660 Ti cuts out some of the features seen on other models with no deep learning or even ray tracing to speak of.
We know that coming to a decision on which graphics card to choose is a difficult choice, even if you’ve managed to narrow down your search to just one model. With so many options in the product line, it can be hard to choose the best one.
If you’ve decided that the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is for you, we are here to help you choose the best model for your needs. While there isn’t a lot of variation between each card, there’s enough to look at that warrants a bit of research.
We’ll also give you a bit of an introduction into how we make our choices and what we look for in a card. If you’re new to all this, look out for the section that goes through some of the technical terms you might come across before we get to the comparisons.
Our Top Picks
How We Choose
When we look at what constitutes the ‘best’ graphics cards in any series, we like to be as objective as possible in our reasonings. We do this by aiming to test out as many products as possible before we make recommendations. Some of the key areas we look at are specifications, price, performance, and overall user reviews.
This is often a time-consuming task that not a lot of our users have time for when picking system components. We use this well-rounded approach, so you don’t have to, and at the end of it all, you should have a better idea of what you’re looking for.
How We Test
When we write these guides, we like to make our recommendations based on the results we’ve gained rather than relying on guesswork.
When we conduct testing, we pay close attention to the overall performance and temperatures of the cards as well as looking at desirable features such as RGB, additional ports, and dual BIOS support.
Only by doing this are we confident in the products we recommend. We aim to provide accurate reviews that our readers can use to decide if a product is worthy of their investment.
Things To Consider
There is a lot to consider when looking for the ‘best’ GPU. While you may be constrained by a set budget, you’ll be surprised at the number of options you have available.
You’ll also need to consider how well the card will integrate into your existing system. There’s little use in having a top of the line graphics card if you don’t have the system to back it up, or even if you don’t play demanding games, to begin with.
Price
The first thing that many of us look at is the price of each component. It’s important to know just what you’re getting for your money these days and whether that extra bit of performance is worth another $50.
The GTX 1660 Ti is by no means an entry-level card. With prices ranging from $200 upwards, this is definitely a card for enthusiasts. If you opt for one of the higher specification models, you’ll have to part with a little more cash too.
Performance
If you’re going to be spending that much on a graphics card, you’ll want it to perform at its best, right? It can be hard to translate what we read on the page to expectations in the game sometimes. That’s where reviews and benchmarks come in handy.
Having a good idea of the type of game you want to play and the performance you’re expecting can help narrow your card of choice down quite drastically. The GTX 1660 Ti pushes the boundaries of what you see in standard graphics cards, and you’ll be able to engage in some high quality 1440p gaming with this card.
Cooling
A vital part of any build is the cooling solution that you use. You need to pay special attention to this if you plan on using a powerful graphics card or if you want to overclock. This will raise temperatures of the component you are overclocking beyond the usual figures.
Usually, the cooling system that comes with each graphics card is enough for standard operating temperatures. If you plan on pushing this card to its limits though, you may want to consider investing in more fans or even a water cooling setup.
Size
Now, before you purchase a high-end graphics card, you’ll want to have a quick double-check that you have enough room in your case to fit it. This problem is becoming more common with higher-powered graphics cards as they usually have more fans to keep them cool. This, in turn, takes up more horizontal space inside your case.
Understanding The Specs
Before we start diving into some comparisons and pros and cons, it’s important to have a general idea of what we’ll be comparing and what some of these keywords mean.
Clock Speed
When we mention the clock speed for these cards, this is generally what most people look at as a good indicator of performance.
While other factors play a part in the overall performance, the clock speed of a card refers to the speed the card operates at (measured in MHz). This is an important measurement as it shows just how fast the card can process information at any given time.
Overclocking
We briefly mentioned overclocking earlier on in this article. The act of overclocking refers to the process of pushing your component beyond its usual limits. This allows you to extract even more performance than usual, at the cost of higher temperatures.
If you plan on overclocking, you’ll want to make sure you keep an eye on overall temperatures as well as factoring in whether your cooling system is going to be good enough to cope with the increase in heat.
VRAM
Working in a similar way to RAM in the rest of your system, the amount of VRAM a card has refers to its amount of dedicated onboard RAM.
Higher amounts of VRAM are becoming more important when running more demanding games. With a higher amount of VRAM to take advantage of, your graphics card will be putting less stress on the rest of your system when running games.
The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti comes with 6 GB of VRAM, which has proven to be more than enough to support both higher resolutions and graphical settings.
The The Best GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Graphics Cards
In-depth Review
The ZOTAC card comes overclocked right out of the box, which saves you a lot of tinkering when it comes to finding a stable clock.
One of the great features of this card is its small form factor. Measuring only 8.3 inches in width, ZOTAC states that this card fits in 99% of systems. This is great news if you’re going for a micro PC build and need something smaller. In even better news, it doesn’t look like you lose much performance either.
The ICESTORM 2.0 cooling hardware is what helps keep this card running nice and cool. With three 6mm copper heat pipes, a wide array aluminum heatsink, and two 90mm fans, there’s more than enough cooling here to deal with standard running temperatures.
You’ll also get to use the OC scanner software that takes away some of the trial and error of finding a stable overclock. This automatically looks for the highest and most stable overclock, so you don’t have to.
Gigabyte has always been one of the go-to offerings for video cards due to the impressive amount of cooling available. This card is slightly larger than some of the others we have covered today due to the fact it uses three fans as part of its Windforce cooling system. These 80mm fans have an alternating spinning motion to help keep turbulent airflow to a minimum.
The heat pipes are also designed to make maximum contact with the GPU; this enhances heat transfer and keeps the card cool. If you are looking for a silent build, the 3D active fan system will automatically turn off the fans once temperatures are low enough.
If you want a fancy, flashy card, this might not be the option for you. There is, unfortunately, only a small RGB area on Gigabyte’s offering, and it only covers the logo. You can still change the color and patterns of the lighting, though, which gives a nice subtle effect.
This OC edition comes with a base clock speed of 1860 MHz straight out of the box. This can still be tweaked using the AORUS engine if you are looking for a bit extra, though.
It wouldn’t be a good graphics card comparison if we didn’t cover one of ASUS’ ROG offerings. The main method of cooling on this card is the three Axial-tech fans. These have been newly designed for the latest top-end ROG graphics cards and feature larger blades and a barrier ring to increase pressure downwards.
While there isn’t a lot in the way of clock speeds to separate the cards this time, the ASUS ROG has a couple of tricks up its sleeve. The dual BIOS feature lets you switch from a performance to a quiet mode to keep noise levels down. This is a great feature that gives you a bit more customization in your build.
If you want a bit of color in your build, like its other offerings, the ROG card comes with a fair bit of RGB customization that can be altered on the fly. This lights up around six small strips surrounding the main fans.
This GTX 1660 Ti also comes with a reinforced frame to help prevent any lateral bending of the PCB.
The offering from MSI doesn’t have as high a clock speed as some of the cards we’ve spoken about, but it’s not far off. As with the ZOTAC card, you’ll be able to use MSI’s proprietary software to overclock your card as well as using their OC scanner to find the highest stable overclock settings for your card.
The cooling is taken care of by two of MSI’s TORX fans that use a dispersion fan blade to accelerate airflow around the card. These fans look great too, and while there isn’t any RGB to speak of, the industrial shaped design of the VENTUS card will look great in any build.
Fitting in with the industrial theme, the sturdy brushed-black backplate helps complement the white design seen on the front of the card. While this isn’t the most flashy card out there, it’s a great offering.
The Best GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Graphics Cards frequently asked questions
What is the best GTX 1660 Ti?
The best choice for GTX 1660 Ti is the ZOTAC Gaming Amp. With a great mix of affordability, performance, and build quality it is an all-around great choice. For other top selections, the Gigabyte Gaming, ASUS ROG Strix, and MSI Ventus rate also great selections. These will all perform well and get the desired effect.
Final Word
Each card that we have mentioned today would make a great addition to your system. While some of these cards clock higher than others, some also have additional features that you can take advantage of.
It all comes down to your personal preference when selecting one of these cards; in some cases, the differences are marginal. If we had to pick a favorite, it would likely be the ROG offering due to its impressive clock speed and handy dual BIOS feature.
However, if you’re just looking for something to squeeze into your system and are running a bit low on space, the ZOTAC offering is one of the smallest cards we’ve featured today.
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