Msi gtx 1660 gaming x review in Spanish (full analysis)

Unboxing and design
Heatsink and PCB
Test bench and performance tests
What are we looking for in the tests?
Game Testing
As expected, this graphics card allows a very good overclock and gives us some extra FPS. We have been able to raise the core to 1630 MHz and the memories to 2401 MHz.
With these figures we have managed to have 85 stable FPS with Shadow of the Tomb Raider in Full HD, in 2K we go up to 60 FPS and in 4K up to 34 FPS. We earned almost 10 FPS. What a blast from Turing architecture!
Temperature and consumption
Final words and conclusion about MSI GTX 1660 Gaming X
MSI GTX 1660 Gaming X
COMPONENT QUALITY - 95%
DISSIPATION - 85%
GAMING EXPERIENCE - 88%
SOUNDNESS - 88%
PRICE - 80%
87%

How we like to analyze a graphics card! On this occasion, we bring you the analysis of one of the models most loved by our readers: MSI GTX 1660 Gaming X 6 GB and which comes to replace the classic GTX 1060 6 GB.

Is it worth buying a GTX 1660? Will this model measure up? All this and much more, in our exhaustive analysis.

We thank MSI for the assignment of this GPU and its trust in us to carry out this analysis.

Unboxing and design

The MSI GTX 1660 Gaming X is presented in a compact and colorful case on its front. We see an outstanding image of the card in operation, the model in very large letters and that we are in front of the 1660 series.

While in the rear area details the main technical characteristics and news of this new model by MSI. It looks good We continue!

Once we open the box, we will find two compartments. The first includes the graphics card and the second includes accessories:

CD with drivers and MSI software for its configuration Instruction manual and quick guide Cardboard Labels

The MSI GTX 1660 Gaming X graphics card It is designed with the new Nvidia Turing graphics card architecture. Specifically, it mounts the TU116 chip that it is manufactured on a 12 nm FinFET lithograph and its die is 284 mm² in size. While a total of 88 texturizing units (TMUs) and 96 crawling units (ROPs) complement it.

Regarding its cooling, it has a heatsink along with two double-bearing fans, signed by TORX 3.0 technology. with a size of 90 mm. We find it interesting to detail that its radiator is made of premium aluminum and incorporates a good amount of nickel-plated copper heatpipes, but we will talk about this a little later.

Among its most notable benefits it has 0dB technology. But this… What does it mean ? It consists of a technology that allows the fans to be stopped at rest, when the graphics chip begins to rise above 60 ºC the fans turn on to always leave the graphics card as fresh as possible. MSI has done a great job since past generations and this one was not going to make an exception.

MSI has done a great job with its cooling system, although the front casing is plastic, it offers a great thermal solution for a graphics card that already offers great temperatures. It consists of a size of 247 x 127 x 46 mm and a weight of 845 grams. That is, it is a very compact graphics card and you will have no problem installing it in your chassis.

There are two details to keep in mind on this graphics card. The first is that it incorporates a metal backplate in the lower area of the GPU. This will help us to give firmness and improve the cooling of our graphics card.

And the second is that it incorporates RGB lighting, very light, with a multitude of effects for the 16.8 million colors. You can see the good work of MSI in this model. We already saw it on the GTX 1660 Ti and now we see it repeated on this GTX 1660.

At the power level, you only need an 8-pin PCI connector for power. According to NVIDIA, it has an indicative TDP of 120 W, which seems to us a success. With a good power supply of 500 to 600W is more than enough for this graphics card.

Finally, we highlight that it incorporates a total of three DisplayPort 1.4 connections and an HDMI 2.0b connection. With the Displayport connection we can output a video signal of up to 4096x2160p @ 60Hz while with HDMI it allows us 7680x4320p @ 60Hz. That is, we have a graphics card for a few years, at least to give video.

Heatsink and PCB

To remove the heatsink from the MSI GTX 1660 Gaming X is a very simple task. We must remove the four screws that surround the chipset in the rear area and we can disconnect the three internal cables from the GPU. At first glance we see that we have a large grill that integrates a total of 5 copper heatpipes.

The graphics card is protected by a metal foil that is responsible for cooling parts of the Mosfets and memories. This comes in handy, as we will have greater longevity on our graphics card.

At the moment we have not seen any GTX 1660 that has a VRM greater than 4 + 2 phases of MOSFET power. In the case of MSI we are talking about very good quality components. The graphics processor has clock frequencies of 1500 MHz and is capable of going up to 1860 MHz thanks to BOOST.

This GPU has 1408 CUDA Cores, a total of 6 GB of GDDR5 memory with a bandwidth of 12 Gbps. These modules have a bus width of 192 bits, and a bandwidth of 192 GB / s. Although on paper we are in front of a graphics card almost traced to the GTX 1060 we have to highlight the NVENC encoder that adds support for H265 at 8K at 30 FPS. Maybe for a new team it makes sense, but to renew your GTX 1060 is not a good idea?

Test bench and performance tests

TESTING BENCH
Processor:	Intel Core i9-9900K
Base plate:	Asus Maximus XI Formula
Memory:	Corsair Vengeance PRO RGB 16 GB @ 3600 MHz
Heatsink	Corsair H100i V2
HDD	Kingston UV400
Graphic card	MSI GTX 1660 Gaming X
Power supply	Corsair RM1000X

For benchmarks we will use the following titles:

3DMark Fire Strike normal. 3Mark Fire Strike 4K version. Time Spy.VRMARK.

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, and the second resolution is making the leap to 2K or 1440P (2560 x 1440P) gamers. 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

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. We've revamped the old 2016 Tomb Raider for this new Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

As expected, this graphics card allows a very good overclock and gives us some extra FPS. We have been able to raise the core to 1630 MHz and the memories to 2401 MHz.

With these figures we have managed to have 85 stable FPS with Shadow of the Tomb Raider in Full HD, in 2K we go up to 60 FPS and in 4K up to 34 FPS. We earned almost 10 FPS. What a blast from Turing architecture!

Temperature and consumption

We have obtained 50ºC at rest because the fans are off until they reach 60 degrees . Once the fans are started at full load, we obtain an average of 64 ºC. While overclocked, temperatures rise to around 71 ºC on average.

Consumption is for the entire team *

The consumption of the equipment is 47 W which when we upload the work to the GPU amounts to 206 W. Although if we stress the processor we get approximately 326 W. With overclock we go up to 377 W.

Final words and conclusion about MSI GTX 1660 Gaming X

As you already know, the series of graphics cards from MSI, I really like. The MSI GTX 1660 Gaming X was not going to be less? This new revision has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory, the benefits of the new Turing architecture, a high-quality heatsink and a metallic rear backplate.

At the performance level it is a very competent graphics card to play in Full HD and with graphics in between in WQHD (2K). It is also a very good option for virtual reality games without leaving you much money on an RTX or a higher model.

We recommend reading our guide on the best graphics cards

When we overclock we get to the performance of a GTX 1660 Ti and with this MSI it will not be very difficult for you to get there. The temperatures and consumption are great. Without a doubt it is a 100% recommended purchase. Currently we find it for 279.90 euros in the main online stores, for a little more you have the 1660 TI that with OC we get the performance of an RTX 2060.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ PERFORMANCE	-SOMETHING HIGH PRICE
+ FIRST QUALITY COMPONENTS
+ OVERCLOCK CAPACITY
+ CONSUMPTION
+ TEMPERATURES