Asus gtx 1060 strix review (full review)

After reviewing the Nvidia GTX 1060 Founders Edition, it is time to introduce you to the Asus GTX 1060 Strix 6GB , overclocked clock frequency, DirectCU III heatsink with 0DB cooling and its amazing RGB lighting system. Don't miss our review!

Asus GTX 1060 Strix Review technical characteristics

Design and unboxing

Asus gives us a gala presentation. On the cover we see an image of the new STRIX heatsink for the new generation of graphics cards compatible with virtual reality glasses, DirectX12 and its new AURA lighting system. While on the back they indicate all the technical characteristics of the product.

Once we open the product we find:

• Asus GTX 1060 Strix graphics card. Quick guide. CD with drivers and management software. Two cable pickers.

The Asus GTX 1060 Strix graphics card uses the new graphics architecture Nvidia Pascal, specifically it is the GP106 that It is manufactured in 16nm FinFET and has a very compact die size of just 200mm2. Despite being a chip of small dimensions, it includes 4.4 billion transistors, so we are dealing with a really very complex and advanced design. The dimensions of this We warn that the dimensions of the graphics card is considerably longer than that of the reference model with 29.8 x 13.4 x 4 cm and quite heavy.

These transistors are distributed within the chip in a total of 10 Streaming Multiprocessors units, these in turn contain the large number of 1280 CUDA cores with Pascal architecture. We also found no less than 80 texturizing units (TMUs) and 48 crawling units (ROPs).

The Asus GTX 1060 Strix run frequencies in its GPU of 1, 710 MHz (+200 MHz of the normal model) in base mode that goes up to 1, 873 MHz under Turbo B oost 3.0 for really good performance. Custom models come more nut hikes, so their performance is far superior to this reference model.

GDDR5 memory continues to accompany us from several previous generations and surely this is the last batch of graphics cards to mount them, to make way for the new HBM memory chips. The card has 6 GB of 2000 MHz GDDR5 memory (8000 effective) and a total TDP of 120W.

As expected, it has the new DirectCu III heatsink. It is a huge heatsink consisting of a dense monolithic aluminum radiator, several nickel-plated copper heatpipes and three Cooltech fans with PWM control and 0dB operating mode. With all this, it promises to keep the Pascal GP104 core at a much lower operating temperature than the reference model with very low noise. Plus, fans include Asus Wing-Blade technology to generate up to 105% more air pressure. This heatsink has the peculiarity that it keeps the fans off until the GPU reaches a certain temperature, with all this, it promises a great cooling capacity.

We see an image of the beautiful blackplate (with lightable RGB logo) of this fantastic graphics card.

Finally we show you the rear connections made up of:

• 1 DVI connection, 2 DisPlayPORT connections, 2 HDMI connections.

I really liked that you choose two HDMI as this will allow us to connect the HTC Vive virtual glasses and our main monitor.

PCB and internal components

To remove the heatsink we must remove four screws located on the chip and two other screws located in the power supply phases. This is the view of the heatsink, as we see incorporates 5 copper heatpipes, quality thermal pad and a copper surface to cool both the chip and the memories. (EYE, it has a guarantee seal, if you withdraw you will lose the guarantee).

View of the graphics card PCB. We see a cooling system for the team's memories.

The Asus GTX 1060 Strix features a custom PCB with 6 + 1 power phases and Super Alloy Power II components. They have also integrated premium alloy components into their graphics card designs to enhance overall reliability, thus generating boards that are approximately 40% cooler than their previous designs.

Test bench and performance tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	i7-6700k @ 4200 Mhz..
Base plate:	Asus Maximus VIII Formula.
Memory:	32GB Kingston Fury DDR4 @ 3000 Mhz
Heatsink	Cryorig H7 heatsink
HDD	Samsung 850 EVO SSD.
Graphic card	ASUS GTX 1060 STRIX
Power supply	Corsair AX860i

For benchmarks we will use the following titles:

• 3DMark Fire Strike normal.3DMark Fire Strike version 4K.3dMark Time Spy.Heaven 4.0.Doom 4.Overwatch.Tomb Raider.Battlefield 4.Mirror's Edge Catalyst (New) .

All tests have been passed with the filters to the maximum unless we indicate otherwise. In order to have adequate performance, we have carried out three types of tests: the first is the most common at Full HD 1920 x 1080, the second resolution is making the leap to 2K or 1440P (2560 x 1440P) gamers and the most enthusiastic with 4K (3840 x 2160). The operating system we have used has been Windows 10 Pro 64 bit and the latest drivers available from the Nvidia website.

What are we looking for in the tests?

First, the best possible image quality. The most important value for us is the average FPS (Frames per second), the higher the number of FPS the more fluid the game will go. To differentiate the quality a bit, we leave you a table to assess the quality in FPS, but we will also have the minimum Fps in the tests that were thus possible:

FRAMES BY SECONDS
Frames for Seconds. (FPS)	Gameplay
Less than 30 FPS	Limited
30 - 40 FPS	Playable
40 - 60 FPS	Good
Greater than 60 FPS	Fairly Good or Excellent

Synthetic benchmarks

We attach the most important tests that we can do at synthetic levels, among them we find: 3DMARK FireStrike normal, 3DMARK FireStrike in its 4K version, the new Time Spy and Heaven 4.0 with DirectX 12 support.

Game Testing

We have decided to make the leap to checking various games manually. The reason? Very simple, we want to give a much more realistic vision and cover tests with current games. Since we make an effort, it is consistent with the level of the website and that of our readers.

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Testing in Full HD games

Testing in 2K games

Testing in 4K games

Overclocking

Note: Remember that overclocking or manipulation carries a risk, we and any manufacturer are not responsible for improper use, use the head and always do so at your own risk.

We have increased the overclocking capacity by + 65 MHz in the core to a maximum of 2088 MHz and the memories in 4500 MHz.

As we can see the Asus GTX 1060 Strix comes quite high as standard (about 175 MHz compared to the reference model) and this is evident in its overclocking capacity, since not many exceed 2000 MHz. We are very satisfied with the result obtained, also with scandalous temperatures (see the next section).

Temperature and consumption

The temperatures of the Asus GTX 1060 Strix have been really good, with considerably less noise and temperatures than the reference model. At rest we have obtained 48ºC (remember that it is a 0DB system, which is the same as a fan stopped at rest) and at maximum performance it reaches 58ºC in no case. As the overclock has been so mild, temperatures barely rise to 60ºC .

Another of the great advantages of this range is the reduced consumption that we have in the equipment. Until very recently it was unthinkable to have high-end graphics and get 75W at idle and 198W playing with an Intel i7-6700K processor at stock speeds.

Final words and conclusion about Asus GTX 1060 Strix

After several days of tests at maximum performance we can say that the Asus GTX 1060 Strix is one of the best graphics cards on the market. Its 6 GB of GDDR5 memory, its excellent heatsink, RGB AURA lighting system and its overclocking capacity make it a unique graphics card.

In our tests we have obtained a superior performance compared to the reference version, since coming with more than 100 MHz overclocking and the new heatsink, it maintains frequencies in stock of 2 GHz while playing. Ideal for users who want the most). We have also tested it with the HTC Vive virtual glasses and the experience could not have been better.

We recommend our guide to the best graphics cards on the market.

I really liked its 0DB system and its excellent consumption. A high performance equipment with a standby consumption of 75W and less than 200W at maximum power. Excellent!

It is estimated that this week will find the first units for sale and will surely appear at a price of over 329 euros.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ EXCELLENT HEATSINK.	- FOR NOW NONE.
+ PERFORMANCE SUPERIOR TO THE REFERENCE MODEL AND TO THE RX 480.
+ 0DB REFRIGERATION SYSTEM.
+ OVERCLOCKING.
+ RGB AURA LIGHTING

And after carefully evaluating both the evidence and the product, Professional Review awards him the platinum medal:

Asus GTX 1060 Strix

COMPONENT QUALITY

DISSIPATION

GAMING EXPERIENCE

SONORITY

PRICE

9.2 / 10

POSSIBLY THE BEST GTX1060