Gigabyte gtx 1060 g1 gaming review (full review)

After reviewing the Nvidia GTX 1060 Founders Edition, it 's time to introduce you to one of the best custom models on the market: Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming with its 6GB GDDR5, WindForce 2X dissipation with 6 + 1 power phases and its Ultra components Durable.

Can we ask for something more? Clear! Read the best Spanish-speaking review about this wonder. ?

Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming technical features

Design and unboxing

Gigabyte gives us a presentation at the height of the new GTX 1060. On the cover we see an image of the eye of the "G1 Gaming" series. We also see the certifications for virtual reality glasses, RGB lighting and standard overclocking profile.

At the rear we have all the most relevant news and the most important technical specifications.

Once we open the product we find:

• Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming graphics card. Quick guide. CD with drivers and management software.

The Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming graphics card uses the new Nvidia Pascal GP106 graphics architecture manufactured at 16nm FinFET and features a very compact die size of just 200mm2. Despite being a chip of reduced dimensions, it includes 4.4 billion transistors, so we are dealing with a truly avant-garde and very complex design.

They complete its internal technical characteristics with 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 dimensions of the graphics card are 40 x 278 x 144 mm and its design does not leave the rest of the superior triple fan or Xtreme Gaming range that we have liked so much in old and new generations.

The Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming presents two profiles as standard with Turbo B oost 3.0. The first called "Gaming Mode" or game mode that its core works at 1594 MHz and its turbo goes up to 1809 MHz. While its second profile "OC mode" or overclock mode comes accelerated in 1620 MHz bases and goes up to 1847 MHz. So we are looking at a fairly “overclocking” graphics card.

GDDR5 memory continues to accompany us from several previous generations and surely this is the last batch of graphics cards to mount them (although it may be too soon to say this…), to make way for the new HBM memory chips. The card features 6GB of 2000MHz GDDR5 memory (8000 effective) and an incredible 120W TDP.

It has the new and renovated Windforce 2X heatsink with two copper heatpipes and divided into a double structure. Among its benefits we find a totally passive cooling system that is only activated when you are working on 3D applications (Design, games…), which is why lovers of silence will fall in love with them.

It is also important to note that its fans have quality rolling and each blade has a striped design (3D Stripe Curve) that improves air flow by 23% compared to the previous version. We also see the detail of the 6-pin power connector.

The heatsink allows us to customize the upper letters "GIGABYTE" and "Fan STOP" with its RGB lighting system. Giving a pretty cool touch for extreme customization.

We leave you an image I present its fabulous black backplate and brushed aluminum. We remind you that all GTX 1060 do not allow its connection in SLI.

Finally we show you the rear connections made up of:

• 2 DVI connection. 2 Displayport connections. 1 HDMI connection.

PCB and internal components

To remove the heatsink we must remove four screws located on the chip and three other screws located in the power supply phases. This is the view of the heatsink, as we see it incorporates two copper heatpipes, a high-quality thermal pad (of the best) and a copper surface to cool both the chip and the memories. So the heatsink is responsible for cooling all the components .

The Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming features a custom PCB with 6 + 1 Power Phases (VRM) and Ultra Durable components. Some of you may be wondering Ultra Durable? What is it? It is a technology that incorporates the best components: power supply phases, fan controllers, condensers, and first-rate welds.

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	Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming
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

XTREME GAMING ENGINE software

One of the most interesting options of this new Gigabyte GTX 10X0 series is the incorporation of its “Xtreme Gaming Engine” software that allows you to overclock, adjust options / profiles, control fans and customize RGB lighting.

It really is a pass of software and that shortly after incorporating the option to display frequency, FPS and consumption of the graphics card, it will become one of the best software on the market, if not the best.

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 + 80 MHz in the core to a maximum of 2060 MHz and the memories in more than 4000 MHz.

The results are as expected, since we have taken 13962 points in Fire Strike, which is a palpable improvement to the stock frequencies. Although in games if we notice the improvement in about 3-4 FPS, so it is great.

Temperature and consumption

The temperatures of the Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming have been excellent and with a really low loudness, not to say extremely quiet. At rest we have obtained 40ºC (remember that it is a 0DB system, which is the same as a fan stopped at rest) and at maximum performance it reaches 62ºC in no case. Since the overclock has been so mild, temperatures barely rise to 66ºC.

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 68W at idle and 199W playing with an Intel i7-6700K processor at stock speeds. When we have overclocked it has gone up to 207W at maximum performance.

Final words and conclusion about Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming

The Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming is one of the best graphics cards on the market as it has everything you could ask for: silence, excellent cooling, home overclocking and really good results.

In our tests with an i7-6700k we have obtained excellent results. for example we have played Doom 4 in Full HD at 118 stable FPS with a consumption never higher than 200 W. Its fantastic temperatures with a maximum of 62ºC.

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

Currently we can find it in online stores for a price of 369 euros. It is certainly not what we expected from all the GTX 1060 at launch, but it is one of the best solutions on the market.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ EXCELLENT COMPONENTS.	- SOMETHING PRICE HIGH ON ITS RELEASE.
+ GOOD POSSIBILITY OF OVERCLOCKING.
+ WITH BACKPLATE.
+ VERY GOOD REFRIGERATION.
+ IDEAL FOR VIRTUAL REALITY WITH TWO HDMI CONNECTIONS.

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

Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming

COMPONENT QUALITY

DISSIPATION

GAMING EXPERIENCE

SONORITY

PRICE

9.1 / 10

EXCELLENT GTX 1060: QUIET AND POWERFUL.