ASUS ROG STRIX GTX 1660 Ti OC
The video card we are reviewing today provides a huge boost to the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti in many ways. The ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GAMING O6G (ROG-STRIX-GTX1660TI-O6G-GAMING) OC Edition represents the very top-end of ASUS’s offerings with GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPUs. The main issue with this video card has been the fluctuating price.
At its best, this video card has been found for $309, but the MSRP is $329. It carries a price premium over the standard GTX 1660 Ti of $279 because of the high factory overclock and build quality. This is not your standard GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, this video card is completely custom built by ASUS, PCB and all, for overclocking. If you want the most robust GTX 1660 Ti, this is it.
Products
If you hop over to ASUS’s product pages you will find there are nine variants of video cards built on the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU. There are basic one-fan cards that are very short and small, up to the TUF series and then up to the ROG STRIX series. In the ROG STRIX category, you will find three distinct models, all with the same size and shape and 3 fan cooling system. The differences lie in the boost clocks. The regular “6G” boots to the reference 1770MHz in gaming mode, the “A6G” boosts to 1800MHz and the “O6G” that we have here boosts to 1860MHz.
That’s what separates our video card from the rest, it has the highest factory overclock. In gaming mode that is 1860MHz boost which compares to the stock frequency boost of 1770MHz. There is a software OC mode you can enable that takes it to 1890MHz boost clock for easy overclocking. Of course, with the way NVIDIA GPU Boost works the real-time gaming frequency actually runs higher than this thanks to the custom PCB, power delivery and custom cooling.
Custom Card
Speaking of custom cooling, this video card has it to the nines. This video card uses ASUS’s three fan axial-tech fan design and MaxContact technology. Axial-tech fan design brings larger blades and a unique barrier ring to increase air pressure. The video card supports 0dB technology so the fans do not run at below 55c.
MaxContact Technology allows 2x more contact with the GPU for improved thermal transfer. The oversized heatsink uses six heatipes that make direct contact with the GPU and transfer heat to three distinct heatsink blocks. The PCB is customized, and oversized to allow a larger oversized heatsink for more heat dissipation area. There is a metal frame that increases structural integrity and a full backplate.
ASUS Super Alloy Power II power components are being used for the highest quality hardware that can withstand extreme conditions. The video card also supports ASUS FanConnect II and Aura Sync RGB with a header. There is also a button on the back of the video card to turn off the RGB.
Dual BIOS
Also, very uniquely this video card sports a dual-BIOS onboard. There is a switch that lets you change the video card from Performance Mode to Quiet Mode. The default position ships in Performance Mode. Performance Mode will let the fans spin up to keep the card running cool at all times. Quiet Mode keeps the same power target and top-end settings but offers a less aggressive fan curve for quiet operation at medium temps.
There are two HDMI outputs and two DisplayPort outputs. The recommended PSU is 450W. There is one 8-pin power connector on board. The video card measures 11.9” in length, so be prepared to have plenty of space, this is a big video card.