Palit GeForce GTX 1660 Super StormX Review, Testing, Hashrate and Overclocking – Nvidia GeForce 1660 SUPER series video cards are on sale and we got one of such video cards in the Palit performance of the Storm X series. Storm X is a series of small-sized video card solutions from Palit that can be placed in the smallest format cases Mini ITX. Recommended retail price – 17500 rubles. for the standard version and 17,900 rubles. for the factory overclocked version.
Introduction
The 1660 SUPER graphics card is built on the same manufacturing process as the 1660 and 1660ti – Turing 12nm FF TU116. The Nvidia 1660 SUPER contains 1,408 CUDA cores, 88 texture blocks and 48 raster blocks. GPU clock speeds are 1530 MHz and 1785 MHz in turbo boost mode. The SUPER prefix brings changes already familiar from other video cards: GDDR6 with an effective memory frequency of 14 Gb / s, which provides a memory bandwidth of up to 336 GB / s. The memory bus runs at the same frequency as the video cards 1660 and 1660ti – 192 bit. The official declared TDP of the video card is 125 watts, which translates into a requirement for a power supply unit with a capacity of at least 450 watts.
The Palit Nvidia GeForce 1660 Super StormX graphics card is primarily designed for the game in 1080p resolution, but we also tested the video card in 1440p resolution.
Appearance
The Palit Nvidia GeForce 1660 Super StormX offers a compact form factor and the ability to install in MiniITX chassis. The video card is made in black, the protective casing is made of thick plastic and does not bend at all, the printed circuit board is also black, the decorative back panel is missing on this model. For cooling the video card is responsible for one fan with a diameter of 92 mm. The video card is 168 mm long, 122 mm wide and 40 mm high, which corresponds to two PCI-E slots. The weight of the video card is 416 grams. The design of the video card is minimalistic – the protective casing contains several decorative ribs and recesses, RGB is absent. Interestingly, the video card does not have a bright green sticker SUPER, which is found on the representatives of the RTX series.
To strengthen the printed circuit board, an additional metal panel is used, which also acts as a heat distributor for GDDR6 memory and the video card’s power system. The panel is in contact with the memory and VRM using thermal pads; an aluminum radiator of standard design is soldered on top of the panel. To improve heat transfer between the radiator and GPU chip, 3 copper tubes with a diameter of 5 mm are additionally used.
The video card requires an additional power source through an 8-pin connector. The Palit Nvidia GeForce 1660 Super StormX graphics card contains three connectors for connecting monitors: DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0b and DVI-D, which allows simultaneous operation of up to 3 monitors and a maximum resolution of 7680×4320 @ 60Hz.
Palit Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 6GB StormX GPU: Quick Look
System configuration: GTX 1660 6GB StormX
The video card was tested in a closed case. The rotational speed of the case fans and the CPU was fixed at ~ 1000 rpm, which is almost silent with coolers installed.
System configuration: Hashrate
- Processor: Ryzen 3600 @ 4050MHz
- RAM: 16Gb Crucial Ballistix Sport LT @ 3800MHz CL16
- Motherboard: Asus Prime X470-PRO
- SSD: Samsung EVO 860 500Gb
- CPU Cooling: Be Quiet Dark Rock Pro 4
- Power Supply: XFX XTR Black Edition 750W Gold
- Case: NZXT H500
- Operating System: Windows 10 1903
- Nvidia Driver Version: 441.08 WHQL
Video card: Palit Nvidia GeForce 1660 Super StormX – Amazon
Temperature, noise, power consumption: GTX 1660 6GB StormX
To test the temperature of the video card, we used the stress test of the Superposition synthetic benchmark in the 1080p Extreme preset. After 10 minutes from the start of the test, the temperature readings in the HwInfo program and the fan speed were measured. HwInfo was used to measure power consumption.
The Palit 1660 Super StormX 6GB video card strives to keep the temperature under load at 72 degrees, which forces the only 92 mm fan to spin up to 2400 rpm, making the video card very noisy. At the same time, the video card holds a frequency of 1950 MHz on average in the core and consumes up to 125 watts.
In overclocking, the video card immediately begins to run up against the power limit – the Palit Nvidia GeForce 1660 Super StormX refuses to consume more than 135 watts. At the same time, the frequency of the video card was increased to stable 2040 MHz with spikes up to 2070 MHz. The memory frequency was stabilized at around 1100 MHz. To ensure an adequate noise level, it was necessary to further adjust the fan operation curve, limiting the maximum speed in the region of 1950 rpm, which gives a relatively comfortable noise level in a configuration with a closed case. The temperature in the stress test at the same time stopped at 78 degrees. Not great, not terrible.
In this case, in both cases, the video card kept the set frequency very smoothly, and power consumption varied +/- 5 W.
Tests in games: GTX 1660 6GB StormX
Testing in games was carried out in two resolutions 1920×1080 and 2560×1440. Each benchmark was run three times in a row and one additional time after rebooting the computer, on a home system with running programs like Steam, Discord, etc. for a result closer to realities.
Start with Rainbow Six: Siege. For testing, we used the benchmark built into the game with “competitive” graphic settings, which are listed in the screenshots below.
In both 1440p and 1080p, the Nvidia GeForce 1660 Super graphics card delivers stable above 144 FPS. In 1080p resolution, the video card is more than enough for comfortable 144Hz gaming.
Far Cry: New Dawn. Testing was carried out at the maximum graphics settings with the motion blur turned off using the game benchmark in DirectX 11.
Despite the use of an outdated engine and DX11, the game produces comfortable FPS in both 1080p and 1440p.
Borderlands 3. Testing was carried out at the maximum graphics settings with the motion blur turned off using the game benchmark. Since DirectX 12 is very buggy in the game, testing was carried out using DirectX 11.
The state of “Borda” has not gone far from the release one – a patch that improves performance, the developers promise in November. In the meantime, the same disgusting results as on the release. Small-playable FPS even in 1080p, but the problem is easily solved by twisting some graphic settings. Lowering certain graphic parameters allows you to get a gain of up to 50% FPS with almost no loss of image quality, which makes the video card capable of delivering a comfortable FPS of 1440p.
Tom Clancy’s Division 2. Testing was carried out at the maximum graphics settings with the motion blur turned off using the game benchmark in DirectX 12.The “maximum” graphics settings in the Division are as tough as in Borderlands 3, but with a better picture. Having twisted a couple of graphics settings, you can achieve a comfortable FPS level of 1080p. At medium-high settings, you can play comfortably at 1440p.
** Shadow of the Tomb Raider. ** Testing was carried out at the maximum graphics settings with the motion blur turned off and SMAA T2X anti-aliasing using the game benchmark in DirectX 12.
One of the most optimized games on the list. That in 1080p, that in 1440p the game gives a comfortable FPS level at maximum graphics settings.
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. Testing was carried out at the maximum graphics settings using the game benchmark in DirectX 11.
The obsolete engine from Ubisoft continues to use DX11 and produces low FPS on any systems. Even during the short built-in benchmark, the six-core processor chews on a pair of frames in two places, which affects a low 0.1%. It almost does not depend on the video card – the stator is absent only on Intel 8-core game processors. Otherwise, the video card produces a smooth frame time and a relatively comfortable FPS at 1080p.
Total War: Three Kingdoms. Testing was carried out at the maximum graphics settings with the motion blur turned off, SSAO turned on and the maximum size of the armies using the game benchmark (battle benchmark) in DirectX 12.
Three Kingdoms continues the tradition of the Total War series – a tradition of godless mockery of modern systems. Despite the support of DX12, optimization in Three Kingdoms is far from ideal – with maximum graphics settings, budget video cards are not able to provide a comfortable level of play. For a comfortable game in 1080p on the Nvidia GeForce 1660 Super graphics card, you will need to lower the graphics settings.
Battlefield V. Testing was carried out at the maximum graphics settings with the motion blur turned off and the future frames turned off, in Conquest multiplayer mode on the Aerodrome map for 64 people in DirectX 12.
The test is not at all scientific, but very realistic, since the load in multiplayer is much higher than in the most difficult scenes of a single player campaign. In this test, I do not post the results of 0.1%, since this indicator was dependent on respawns, downloads and transitions to the menu. In the game, the FPS stays stable above 60 even in the hottest moments, and at 1440p it sags up to ~ 50 occasionally during meetings with tanks and with a lot of explosions around the player.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019). Testing was carried out at the maximum graphics settings with the motion blur turned off in the multiplayer mode Ground War on the Karst River Quarry map in DirectX 12.
Just like with Battlefield V, the test is not at all scientific, but it describes the game situation well. In 1080p, the video card stably gave out 60+ FPS at maximum graphics settings on a large card in the heat. At 1440p, there was already a noticeable decrease in the frame rate below 60, but with a decrease in some graphics settings, you can achieve a stable FPS above 60.
In addition, we tested the behavior of the video card using the MSI Afterburner program during one round of playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) in Ground War mode on the Karst River Quarry map.
Thanks to excellent optimization, the frame rate is very stable and all the spikes that are visible on the chart belong to the respawn when the menu or killers are loaded.
Tests in synthetic benchmarks
3dMark Fire Strike Extreme
3dMark Fire Strike Extreme OC
3dMark TimeSpy
3dMark TimeSpy OC
Unigine Superposition 1080p Extreme
Unigine Superposition 1080p Extreme OC
Overclocking: GeForce GTX 1660 Super StormX
To overclock the video card, the MSI Afterburner application was used. Overclocking our copy of the video card was able to stabilize at frequencies:
+150 Gpu Clock
+1100 Memory Clock
What results in the average core frequency in games ~ 2040 MHz and a memory frequency of 8100 MHz.
Overclocking stability was tested in the stress test 3DMark Time Spy, Firestrike Extreme and Unigine Superposition. After passing all the tests, overclocking was additionally tested in the Battlefield V game for one multiplayer round on the Narvik map for 64 people.
Overclocking our instance allowed us to get a stable increase in gaming performance up to 10%, while power consumption increased to 135 watts. In well-optimized games, the FPS increase is close to 10%, and in games with poor optimization, overclocking allows you to get an increase of only a few FPS.
Conclusion
Nvidia has prepared a proactive response to AMD’s imminent release of the RX5500 / 5500XT graphics card, fully covering the low-end graphics card market with 1660 Super models and the upcoming November 1650 Super. Thus, regardless of the budget, you can find a suitable model of a video card. The situation itself is not entirely pleasant. Nvidia offers a graphics card that kills the point of buying a GeForce 1660 and a GeForce 1660ti – 1660 Super graphics card is significantly faster than a GeForce 1660 at the same price and very, very close to the GeForce 1660ti. Why was it impossible to release one 1660 Super for the ~ $ 200-250 MSRP segment? We know the real answer; there is no need to voice it.
However, the Nvidia GeForce 1660 Super is by far the best choice for playing in 1080p. The video card creates a solid margin of power, guaranteeing a comfortable game with maximum graphics settings in well-optimized games. The video memory size may become a potential problem – 6 GB, but so far no game has approached this mark in either 1080p or 1440p resolution, and when modern games begin to cross this barrier, the video card will no longer be able to issue a comfortable FPS. For poorly optimized games, unfortunately, you have to lower the graphics settings.
Video card Palit 1660 Super StormX with a modest form factor provides good cooling for the video card, but with a high noise level. The standard fan profile is very loud, so the subsequent adjustment of the fan curve is a must. For systems with a standard form factor, I recommend that you refrain from this model and pay attention to low-cost dual-fan models that can provide a lower noise level in the standard fan operation profile, given the low power consumption of 125-135 watts. For example, a series of Gaming Pro from the same Palit, which is only 500 rubles. more expensive than the tested model and is sold at a recommended price of 17,900 rubles. I don’t see the point of overpaying for premium models, because the TDP of video cards will still be blocked at around 135-140 watts, even for the most expensive copies.
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