MSI GeForce GTX 1660 VENTUS XS 6G OC review - Conclusion

Final words and verdict

Anyone that hasn't upgraded towards a bit of an affordable mainstream solution might be compelled and attracted towards the GeForce GTX 1660. If you come from the 900 series say a GTX 970, then 1660 might be a viable alternative. The cards will be a notch faster than the 1060 6GB series at roughly the same or even lower price. The 1660 non-Ti however is clearly positioned against the competitions Radeon RX 590. The basic models will start at 219 USD and we expect prices in the 199 pound and 229 EUROS range here in the EU  (depending on the country). With the GTX 1060 you do get up-to-snuff with the latest Turning architecture, just not tensor and RT cores. So in the 1920x1080 and maybe even 2560x1440 most games will run fine, alongside improved power consumption. When we focus in at the AIB product then MSI has a nice offering at hand with the new revision of the GeForce GTX 1660. This 6 GB card offers the performance once can expect and is boosting to 1830 MHz right out of the box. And that gives it, say, a 5% advantage over the reference clock specification. NVIDIA once again is not releasing a reference model. Neither will there be GPU SKU distinction with A models etc. Tweaking wise there's plenty left, even with the locked power limiter of this XS OC model. We do think that all cards will match a roughly 10% OC bracket that, really, is by NVIDIA's design. As mentioned, the 6 GB of graphics memory at Full HD is sufficient. 

Aesthetics

The Ventus (XS) series is a normal looking product. It does not come with fancy RGB options and does not have the mega hyper cooler. If you look at the photo above you can actually see the aluminum fins. That's said, for the base MSRP product this really isn't a bad looking card IMHO. Also, a backplate is provided. While taste differs, really I think the card looks fine, it's easy to drop in card alright. 

Cooling & acoustic levels

The card tops out at roughly 65 Degrees C while gaming. So that's not bad at all, the acoustics I'd rate as silent, we doubt you'll ever hear the card once mounted into a chassis. In idle the fans do not spin btw. We've heard no noticeable coil whine. But I do want to note that any graphics card at a high-enough FPS can make some coil whine. 

Overclocking

Much like any NVIDIA product these days, we've been able to push roughly 10% to 15% extra perf out of the card compared to a reference clocked card. Both traditional overclocking, as well as the OC Scanner, reached roughly that level. The combination of memory, power and voltage settings will bring you a proper overclock. Once you've applied it, you get a few percent more perf. This card is somewhat memory bandwidth limited, so tweaking there can really boost your FPS.

Concluding

NVIDIA needs a mainstream graphics card that will bring the cash flow back, the GTX 1660 might just be priced right for many. But will it offer enough perf to make a substantial difference? That's more complicated to answer of a question as you think it would be. I do not find the GTX 1660 a massively faster product than the GTX 1060 but it certainly is a nice performing card. Truth be told, of the GTX 1660 Ti was priced at 219 then that would have been the proper cash-cow for NVIDIA. The reality is also that most consumers have put RTX cards on hold due to the sales price of the range, which is very steep. The GeForce GTX 1660 certainly addresses the issue of offering a more compelling product. So who is going to step up from the GTX 1000 series? Well, anyone with a GTX 1050 but not 1060. So perhaps the GeForce GTX 1660 is an interesting enough card for GeForce GTX 960/970 owners that are looking to upgrade. Back to the AIB MSI then. Most manufacturers obviously will try and push their more expensive products, like the gaming X for MSI. The baseline performance with the factory tweak is sweet as well and it did also tweak really nicely. The product is fast enough for any day gaming up-to, the Full HD monitor resolution domain of 1920x1080. The 6 GB of graphics memory seen over 8 GB really isn't a hindrance either as long as you stick to that resolution. Looking at it from a competition point of view, the card positions itself at the Radeon RX 580 and even 590 cards. Once again please let me reiterate, the Raytracing and AI feature like DLSS, of course, have been stripped away. The product as-is is good, the power consumption of the 1660 series, by the way, is really good. If you are in the market for a long overdue upgrade coming from that 900 series, this could be it. I'm inclined to steer you towards the 1660 Ti though, but that product only makes sense under a 299 USD/EUR price range. The product as fabbed and presented by MSI though comes recommended.

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