MSI GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER Gaming X review - Introduction

MSI GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER Gaming X (8GB) 

We review the MSI GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER Gaming X, NVIDIA has launched graphics cards in their new Super series, as in super-charged. And the RTX 2060 certainly is. MSI tops it off with a factory tweak, custom design PCB and a spectacular cooler.

It has been a strange year for NVIDIA as the GeForce RTX 2060, 2070 2080 and 2080 Ti became available. People had been very interested and were warmed up for DLSS (Tensor) and the ability to play Battlefield V in that hybrid Raytraced way. NVIDIA initiated massive internet virals to gain media coverage. But then it all kinda exploded in their face as end-users looked the other way when they learned about the very steep price level. There is no audience more critical than a PC Gamer, and when they have to pay a large sum of money for visual differences that are often hard to spot and cost a lot of FPS, you bet that can (and did) backfire. None the less, NVIDIA chose a direction that in my opinion was the right course to follow, and something they cannot back away from. So what to do in the meantime to satisfy the budget conscious PC gamer? Well, with the help of the RT and Tensor-less GTX 1650, 1660 and 1660 Ti NVIDIA got the noses of many gamers pointed in the right direction again. However, graphics cards anno 2019 have become seriously expensive, that fact alone and all by itself is increasingly endangering the GPU related industry, as why pay 500 to 1000 bucks for just a graphics card when you can buy a complete console for less? That is the core and rudimental essence of the root problem that NVIDIA and AMD are fighting right now. None the less, a few weeks ago, NVIDIA started teasing a new Super series, which we still like to refer to as a supercharged product. With AMD's NAVI based Radeon RX 5700 series coming out of the closet soon, NVIDIA figured that it was important enough to release a new series smack down in the middle of vacation time, the summer. Today sees the release of two out of three cards; that's right, there will also be a GeForce RTX 2080 Super, but not a 2080 Ti Super. There are subtle differences to be found in an increased shader count as well as the usage of GDDR6 graphics memory. The new "Super GeForce RTX 2060" cards are a "Turing Refresh" with higher GPU clocks, 256 more shader processors and 8GB GDDR6 memory. 

GeForce RTX 2060 Super

The 2060 Super model RTX cards, of course, are based on Turing architecture. In fact, both the 2060 and 2070 are making use of TU106, each with four more shader clusters activated. NVIDIA has 30 RT (Raytracing) cores, as well as 240 Tensor (AI) cores on the new GPUs, and these are active. This review covers the reference (founders) card, also referred to as the founders edition. It has been fitted with 8GB of GDDR6 memory (14 Gbps), yes, 8GB! To be specific, this graphics card is based on a TU106-410 GPU and has 2176 activated shader processors for the Super version. That number was 1920 on the normal GeForce RTX 2060. It has a 1650 MHz reference boost clock for the founder version. Mind you, the old version had 6 GB of graphics memory, the Super version gets 8GB of the now familiar GDDR6 memory. That has another advantage, as that means a wider 256-bit wide bus and a few more ROPs as well. So, a quick recap. 2GB more and thus wider GDDR6, 256 more shader processors running a faster clock frequency. As such, the RTX 2060 Super is going to make a good step upwards of in-game performance. This product (founders edition) will be priced at 399 USD.

MSI GAMING X 8G

The 2060 SUPER series graphics cards are based on Turing architecture, offering that fundamental shading engine paired with RT and Tensor cores. Our tested card has been fitted with 8GB of GDDR6 memory running a 256-bit wide bus. MSI will offer several SKUs, in the above table you can see the naming, cooling option and listed Boost clocks for your reference. The card comes fitted with one PEG (PCI Express Graphics) power header (8-pin). MSI applies their latest iteration of the TWIN FROZR 7 cooler for the card which makes use of two 9 cm TORX 3.0 fans which combine the advantages of both traditional and dispersion fan blades to generate huge amounts of airflow. Updated trims on the traditional fan blades create concentrated airflow for higher air pressure while also reducing noise. The Gaming X edition has been designed with budget in mind and is merely a few tenners more expensive over reference designs. It's an attractive product with good cooling and acoustic performance.

GeForce	GTX 1060	GTX 1660	GTX 1660 Ti	RTX 2060	RTX 2060 SUPER
GPU	GP106	12nm FF TU116	12nm FF TU116	12nm FF TU106	12nm FF TU106
Shader cores	1280	1408	1536	1920	2176
Memory	6 GB / 3GB GDDR5	6GB GDDR5	6GB GDDR6	6GB GDDR6	8GB GDDR6
Memory bus	192-bit	192-bit	192-bit	192-bit	256-bit

The card offers one HDMI port and three DisplayPorts. There is no DVI and/or Virtual link (USB) connector. This Turing GPU empowered product keeps that GPU at roughly 60 to 65 Degrees C marker depending on game load whilst remaining virtually silent. The GDDR6 memory runs an effective 14 Gbps, the card runs a 45 Mhz faster boost clock. For it's the latest series MSI applies a gunmetal grey & black look combined with very nice Mystic Light RGB.