The GeForce RTX 2060 is finally out and it looks like this will be the more interesting RTX card among the RTX 20 series family. Not to mention it is the most affordable RTX card offering both real-time ray tracing and DLSS. We have reviewed the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Founders Edition and currently testing other RTX 2060 cards. At this point, we already have a good idea of the RTX 2060’s capability. The RTX 2060 starts at $349 USD, and this time the Founders Edition will also start at that price. The RTX 2060 Founders Edition is already a really good variant of RTX 2060; with its all metal-build and premium look and feel. But what if you don’t like the Founders Edition? What if you want something that is “GAMING”-looking or an RTX 2060 with RGB? I have listed below some of the RTX 2060 available in the market. It’s a comparison table to give you an idea how one RTX 2060 differs to another. If you’re in the market looking for an RTX 2060, go ahead and check them out. Show What’s the Best RTX 2060? – GeForce RTX 2060 Specs ComparisonNote: This page is best viewed in Desktop or Desktop view. Table is also scroll-able / swipeable left to right. The GeForce RTX 2060 is like a cut down version of the RTX 2070. It uses a modified TU106 GPU chip; same TU106 on the RTX 2070 but with some of the Turing Streaming Multiprocessor (SM) disabled. To be exact, it has only 30 SMs, 1920 CUDA cores, 240 Tensor cores and 30 RTX cores. Since it has both Tensor Cores and RTX cores, it is capable of real-time ray tracing and DLSS. Aside from 1920 CUDA cores, it has 6GB of GDDR6 memory; with a clock speed of 14 Gbps, a memory bandwidth of 336 GB/s and runs on a 192-bit memory interface. An RTX 2060 usually has one 8-pin PCIe power connector and requires at least a 500W PSU. You can check out our NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Founders Edition review if you are interested to learn more. In summary, the GeForce RTX 2060 is ideal for 1080p and 1440p gaming; including gaming with high refresh rate monitors. Generally speaking, it’s a (tiny) bit faster than a GTX 1070 Ti and sometimes almost on par with GTX 1080. Well that depends on the scenario and the game being played. But it’s the general conclusion, and it’s a significant step up from its predecessor the GTX 1060; even faster than a GTX 1070. Also, since all RTX 2060 in the market has the same GPU chip inside, they will all basically perform the same; regardless of brand, model or size. The main difference will be in temperature, of course that will also affect the maximum (sustained) boost clock speed; the design of the graphics card; the size, aesthetics and additional lighting, and finally their respective prices. Some will be more expensive than the other, but doesn’t necessarily mean that it is faster. FAQ: What RTX 2060 has the best cooler and great cooling performance? Basically, the beefier the cooler shroud is, the better the cooling solution on the graphics card. For this, the tri-fan cards would be ideal, like the: Asus ROG Strix RTX 2060 or Gigabyte RTX 2060 Gaming OC 6G. Some dual fans like the NVIDIA RTX 2060 Founders Edition, EVGA RTX 2060 XC Ultra Gaming and MSI RTX 2060 Gaming Z are great as well. FAQ: What RTX 2060 is the fastest out of the box? Out of the box, the fastest RTX 2060 are usually the ones with the highest boost clock speed; they usually came with custom PCB and are factory-overclocked. You can see a number of RTX 2060 graphics card above having a boost clock speed of 1830 MHz and more. However, like I said earlier, at some point all these RTX 2060 will likely perform similar due to NVIDIA’ GPU Boost 4.0. Not to mention, you can always easily overclock these graphics cards to bump up the clock speeds. FAQ: Is it worth it to buy an expensive RTX 2060? In my opinion, not really. Unless you’re after the design of the card or the brand. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Founders Edition is priced at $349, making it one of the cheapest RTX 2060 in the market. But it also features a really good cooling solution and aesthetics with its all-metal build. And like I said recently, an expensive RTX 2060 isn’t significantly faster than a $350 RTX 2060. Perhaps it may be faster by a few frames, but they will eventually perform the same at some point. However, going for the cheapest may not always be the answer, same goes with the Founders Edition. You may want an RTX 2060 with RGB lighting, a triple fan design perhaps, or a short ITX version, or even a blower style. It depends on ones preference and budget at this point. FAQ: What’s the best RTX 2060 for my Gaming PC? Like I said recently, the cheapest doesn’t mean you should always get that. Because each system or build is different and it may require a different graphics card design or cooling solution. For instance, if you have a rig or is building a small form factor system, then you might want to consider the RTX 2060 ITX variants. The ones with smaller body, so that it would (easily) fit given the limited space. If your system has limited cooling or limited air intake and exhaust, then you might want to get an RTX 2060 with a blower type design. This way all heat will be exhausted at the back outside the chassis. If you want something cool and quite, better consider the RTX 2060 with triple fan design. But it would require that you have a well ventilated system since hot air will mostly be blown sideways or in any direction. And well, if you want RGB, then you can check out the list above and see which one has RGB lighting. I hope this article helped you in one way or another in choosing which GeForce RTX 2060 is the best for you. I am aware that there are other brands that were not included on the list; like from Galax, Palit, Gainward, and Inno3D. They are not usually available in the US so I decided not to include them. I’ll try to update the list if ever a company decided to add another RTX 2060 variant. There you go, please don’t forget to share this article with your friends if you find it useful and helpful. Also check out our GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Compared and GeForce RTX 2070 Compared. If you are gaming at 4K UHD or you simply want the fastest gaming graphics card out there. Then go ahead and check the RTX 2080 Ti.
From the last batch of releases comprised of Nvidia's RTX mid-range and high-end GPUs as well as AMD's Radeon VII, the GeForce RTX 2060 was the best scoring of them all. It is also the most affordable, and that's no coincidence. The RTX 2060 offers the best value within that group, and is poised to replace the GTX 1070 as the middle ground for great performance at a price that remains within reach of most enthusiasts. In the past few weeks we've seen requests on what's the best GTX 1070 to buy replaced by what is the best RTX 2060 board. While some readers want to know which model is outright the best, others are more interested in best value or what options are suitable for Mini-ITX builds. Without further ado, here are the top four RTX 2060 cards in the market right now... Best Priced RTX 2060Gigabyte RTX 2060 OC or RTX 2060 Mini-ITX OCAs of writing, there aren't many models selling at the $350 MSRP, in fact as I put this video together there's just two Gigabyte models, the RTX 2060 OC and RTX 2060 Mini-ITX OC. A few days prior there was also the Zotac Gaming RTX 2060 Twin Fan, which we'd been recommending, but it's now jumped a bit in price. The Gigabyte RTX 2060 Gaming OC features a triple fan cooler and it delivers where it counts. We've been watching this model for sometime now and pricing has been consistent, it came in as one of the cheapest models at $370 and for a month now it's been available at all major online retailers for $350. If you can get the Zotac Twin Fan model for $350, it's a worthwhile option, too. The Gigabyte is a basic model, packs some decent features such as alternate spinnings fans, direct touch copper heatpipes and a full length backplate. It's by no means the coolest or quietest RTX 2060 out there and if you're willing to spend $20-$30 more you will get a better product in that respect. Best Premium RTX 2060Asus ROG Strix RTX 2060 OCIf you're not stretching the budget to get an RTX 2060 and have a little extra spending, we highly recommend the Asus ROG Strix RTX 2060 OC Gaming. At $400 it's $50 more expensive than the few base models you can find at the MSRP, but you get a lot more graphics card for the money. Granted it's not much faster, but it is significantly cooler and quieter. Out of the box it runs at just 62 degrees and that's an 11 degree improvement over the similarly priced MSI RTX 2060 Gaming Z. VRM and GDDR6 memory temperatures were also very low relative to other high-end 2060 models and our card overclocked like a champ, holding an operating frequency of 2055 MHz with ease. Just be aware that this thing is the size of a high-end graphics card, it measures 300mm long, stands 132mm tall and is a whopping 50mm wide. There's three 85mm fans, a full-size backplate and enough customizable RGB lighting to put your christmas tree to shame, though for those after a stealth look, you can kill the lighting with the press of a button. Overall the Asus ROG Strix RTX 2060 OC Gaming won't disappoint those after a premium RTX 2060 experience. Best Mini-ITX RTX 2060Gigabyte RTX 2060 Mini ITX OCThere are two main choices here: the MSI RTX 2060 Aero ITX OC and Gigabyte RTX 2060 Mini ITX OC and we're going with the Gigabyte model for a few reasons. MSI has announced the RTX 2060 Aero ITX OC, but good luck finding one, it doesn't appear to be on sale yet. We'd probably recommend the Gigabyte anyway as it's slightly shorter. The 126mm height of the MSI model will make compatibility with some Mini-ITX cases such as the Geeek A30 very difficult. The 121mm tall design of the Gigabyte version is more suitable for these smaller cases. The Gigabyte model also has a zero RPM fan mode and when under load is relatively quiet for a single-fan 2060. Perhaps best of all, it's readily available at the MSRP, meaning you can buy one today for just $350. Best Blower Style RTX 2060Asus Turbo RTX 2060We are not too fond of blower-style graphics cards, but in few scenarios they can make sense. Your options here are extremely limited though, and the only widely available version comes from Asus with their Turbo RTX 2060. For $390 it's up there with the more expensive models and while we'd typically recommend avoiding it, if you must get a blower-style card this would be your best choice. The Turbo RTX 2060 features a 80mm IP5X rated dual-ball bearing fan, some subtle lighting, measures 268mm long and is, of course, a dual-slot card. Closing ThoughtsPicking the right RTX 2060 is a little tricky and for the most part it's all about the price. There are very few $350 options to choose from, and once you get up over the MSRP they all seem to jump up pretty close to $400. If you're going to spend ~$380, for example, you might as well just go the full hog at that point and get the beastly Asus ROG Strix RTX 2060 OC Gaming for $400. It's still at least $100 cheaper than a base model RTX 2070 and for the most part offers similar performance. The cheapest Vega graphics cards still cost a little over $400 and you'll be hard pressed to get one that matches the quality of the ROG Strix RTX 2060 OC Gaming. |