Convince me please

[Monzer_1]

Hello everyone and happy holidays. I'm planning to get a gtx 1060 3gb to use at work to play games I saw the zotac 1 fan and gigabyte 2 fans but the gigabyte is about 45$ more everyone told me they are about the same but I can't make my self buy it as it looks really cheap plastic piece and I feel it will let me down. What would you guys recommend?

 

[volkgren]

Performance shouldn't let you down. But the fan might be louder because it will run warmer.

 

[envy14tpe]

Get the Gigabyte. Better cooling and will give you higher clock speeds at lower temps. Get it.

 

[DRagor]

Since this is for machine at work, I doubt you will be playing for longer periods of time at once, so single fan should perform good too. And Zotac makes good GPUs.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

I'd say save up and get the 6GB model instead. But... that's me and my bias against the 3GB model. (It's more than a difference in RAM vs the 6GB model)

You're using this at work you say. Do they allow you to play games (in your free-time)? Do they allow you to modify their equipment, or is it your personal equipment? (Things to think of to stay out of trouble. You don't have to tell us the answer to these two - three questions.)

Either one will work fine. The Zotac might run a little warmer, maybe not. It might be a little louder, but it will work fine. The Gigabyte is more expensive and probably a little quieter. Both are good brands, so go ahead with the cheapest (the Zotac) if the noise is no concern.

 

[GizmoMKD]

my friend had R9 290 with one cooler and i had gigabyte with 3 coolers R9 290. both performed the same but mine was quieter a lot compared to his card. so if i was you i'll go with gigabyte one because of the number of coolers.

 

[Monzer_1]

Just to understand better . It's basically the same chipset but different cooling system between all 1060 3gb right ? so getting the mini version I don't have much choice oc'ing it and It's probably gonna runs hot ? how much hot exactly ?

 

[shrapnel_indie]

Just to understand better . It's basically the same chipset but different cooling system between all 1060 3gb right ? so getting the mini version I don't have much choice oc'ing it and It's probably gonna runs hot ? how much hot exactly ?

1060 3GB vs 1060 6GB:
No, Not the exact same chipset. Yes, both use the GP106 GPU chip, but the 3GB model has a few parts shut off. In the process, this make it 10% slower than the 6GB model AND also cuts the maximum RAM from 6GB to 3GB. (ANd this is why I have issues with the GTX1060 lineup. The 6GB model should actually be the GTX1060Ti IMHO.)


Now between every 1060 3GB, yeah, its the exact same gimped GP106 on board, and pretty much the same memory chips. Only difference is cooling solutions, and the PCB.

 

[shrapnel_indie]

Just to understand better . It's basically the same chipset but different cooling system between all 1060 3gb right ? so getting the mini version I don't have much choice oc'ing it and It's probably gonna runs hot ? how much hot exactly ?

Now to address the OCing and heat.

Cooling solutions vary. Founders Edition probably run the hottest, with similar blower designs running just as hot (but that can vary some.) Multi-fan coolers will depend on amount of fans, efficiency of fans, and all that. Now, you can tweak the cooling for better performance on almost all of these by adjusting the fan profile on the cards, but you may pay for the cooler temps with more fan noise. Also note some people notice and are irritated by fan noise more than others. Backplates, if the manufacturers do more than just put them there for looks, can help cool some too, if they do the thermal tape and that right,