GeForce RTX 2060: Overview | Specs – Is it Good for Gaming (clock speeds 1365 to 1680 MHz) – The announcement of the first GPUs of the new Turing family with hardware real-time ray tracing took place in August 2018. And no matter how the discussion regarding the “functionality” and “justification” of the new technology developed, this event certainly became a historical phenomenon in the world of 3D graphics. Hybrid rendering from NVIDIA allows not only to achieve a fundamentally different, better quality of lighting in computer games, but also greatly simplifies the task of developers, since visual effects are now mostly automated.
MSI GeForce RTX 2060 Gaming Z Overview
Video card in question NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 was announced in January 2019 and is the youngest member of the series to support the NVIDIA RTX platform. Even before the release of this video card, NVIDIA’s technical marketing director Tom Petersen noted that the recommended minimum for the full operation of the new ray tracing technology is the GeForce RTX 2070 adapter. Accordingly, the RTX 2060 sample should be considered only as an introduction, acquaintance with new visual effects.
However, at the time of writing this review, several months have passed since the appearance of the first models of the GeForce RTX series. During this time, we have seen that the functioning of ray tracing largely depends on the game developers themselves, as well as on the subsequent “finishing” of drivers by NVIDIA programmers. If the first tests of Battlefield V with the inclusion of the DXR mode were hit by a drop in performance, then later with the release of the official patch this shortcoming was significantly corrected. Also, using the example of Metro Exodus, we will see that even the younger model is able to demonstrate good “rays” in the game, including at high graphics settings.
GeForce RTX 2060: Specs
The basis of the GeForce RTX 2060 video adapter is a graphics chip marked TU106. This core also underlies the older GeForce RTX 2070, however, in the 2060 model it is slightly “cut down”. Collectively, we see 1920 stream processors, 240 Tensor cores, and 30 RT cores. The NVIDIA reference model chip runs at reference clock speeds of 1365 to 1680 MHz in boost mode. Therefore, partner models will have either the same or increased frequencies in the case of factory overclocking.
On board the novelty is 6 GB of GDDR6 video memory connected via a 192-bit bus. The power consumption of the RTX 2060 is 160W and the recommended PSU requirement is 500W. The maximum allowable temperature of the graphics core is at around 88 degrees Celsius. The characteristics are discussed in more detail in the table below.
| Details | GeForce RTX 2060 | GeForce GTX 1060 (6 GB) |
| Chip code name | TU106 | GP106 |
| Architecture | Turing | Pascal |
| Technical process | 12 nm | 16 nm |
| Number of transistors | 10.8 billion | 4.4 billion |
| Clock Speed: Base/Boost | 1365/1680 MHz | 1506/1708 MHz |
| Texture Units (TMU) | 120 | 80 |
| Universal Processors | 1920 | 1280 |
| Rasterization units (ROP) | 48 | 48 |
| Number of Tensor cores | 240 | – |
| Number of RT cores | 30 | – |
| Video memory type | GDDR6 | GDDR5 |
| Video memory size | 6 GB | 6 GB |
| Bus bit width | 192 pages | 192 pages |
| Video memory frequency | 1750 MHz | 2000 MHz |
| Additional connector food | 8 Pin | 6 Pin |
| Power consumption | 160 W | 120 W |
| New driver available | Download |
The design, appearance and cooling system of the model in question almost completely copy the GeForce RTX 2070. We will not repeat ourselves here, you can learn more about this at the link above. We only note that the cooling system of the video card surprised me in a good way. The cooler has a high-quality workmanship, temperatures above the limit were not observed. The noise level was quite low, both at idle and under load. The only drawback is the difficult dismantling of the cooler due to the special location of the auxiliary power connector.
The RTX 2060 Founders Edition is 229mm long, 113mm high and occupies 2 slots. This video card has one HDMI 2.0b connector, a pair of DisplayPorts 1.4, and also Dual Link DVI-D. The new VirtualLink interface, which looks like a Type-C port, is also noteworthy. Thanks to this connector, it became possible to connect a virtual reality helmet to a computer with a single cable.
Testing the GeForce RTX 2060 in games
For tests, the specified stand configuration was used:
- processor Intel Core i7-6850K,
- motherboard MSI X99S MPower,
- memory G.Skill F4-3200C14Q-32GTZ (32 GB),
- SSD Plextor PX-256M6Pro (256 MB),
- Corsair AX1500i power supply (1500 W),
- operating system Windows 10 Pro x64,
- GeForce 418.91 driver.
In all games were exposed maximum graphics settings. The tests were carried out at three main screen resolutions. The table below shows the average number of received FPS
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Conclusion
Compared to previous generation graphics cards, the GeForce RTX 2060 is on par with the GTX 1070 and GTX 1070 Ti in performance. At the same time, the recommended price for the novelty is $350 or 31,990 rubles for the Founders Edition option. Partner models will cost a little less. To some, the price may seem overpriced, but remember that the cost of the GTX 1070 at launch was $399.
The novelty is an excellent option for gaming with maximum graphics quality and a resolution of 1440p, and even more so 1080p. However, with the DXR mode activated, the number of frames per second is noticeably reduced, and for example, we will not see the coveted 60 FPS in Battlefield 5. At the same time, Metro: Exodus looks better. In FullHD, with short-term drawdowns up to 35 FPS, the average value is exactly 60 FPS.
Thus, against the background of video accelerators of the previous generation, the GeForce RTX 2060 looks very worthy. Perhaps an upgrade from the GTX 1070 and 1070 Ti adapters will not be a completely justified solution, but for owners of video cards of earlier GeForce series, the upgrade will be quite logical. It remains to be seen the pricing of models from NVIDIA partners, who should present more profitable options.
