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KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC Review

Upper mid-range Pascal GPU. Nvidia's Pascal generation brought many changes to the GPU segment last year. We now have an upper mid-range model with a specifically developed cooling unit from KFA². Our test sample is also equipped with 6 GB GDDR5 VRAM. Continue reading to find out how effective the cooling unit is and whether it is worth buying this graphics card.

For the original German review, click here.

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 comes from the small graphics manufacturer KFA² and has a specifically designed cooling unit. Our test unit is equipped with 6 GB GDDR5 VRAM, but 3-GB versions are available as well. It comes at an attractive price of £280 (~$360) while the smaller 3-GB version is available from £220 (~$285). The graphics chip is called "GP106" and is produced in the 16 nm FinFET process. It is 200 mm² large and has 1280 CUDA cores that clock at 1518 MHz in our test model. Therefore, the KFA² GeForce 1060 6GB EX OC is slightly faster than the Nvidia reference design (1508 MHz). The 6 GB GDDR5 VRAM clocks at 2000 MHz and is attached via a 192-bit-wide interface. This makes a memory bus width of 192.2 GB/s. The graphics chip supports a maximum of 16 PCIe Gen3 lanes and can make full use of its bandwidth. Power supply is ensured by a 6-pin PCIe connection. You will not find SLI, however. This feature is available from the GeForce GTX 1070.

Like all Pascal graphics chips, the "GP106" supports decoding of videos that use either H.265 or Google's VP9 codecs. It also supports Nvidia's G-Sync, which prevents "tearing" - provided the display panel also supports Nvidia's G-Sync. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 offers a dual-link DVI as well as a HDMI 2.0b and a DisplayPort 1.4 connector for external devices. This way, 4K content can be rendered easily at up to 60 Hz.

KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6GB EX OC
KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6GB EX OC
KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC
KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC
KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC
KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC
KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC
KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC
KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC
KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC
KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC
KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC
Specifications GTX 1050 Mini GTX 1050 Ti KFA2 GTX 1060 6 GB GTX 1070 FE GTX 1080 FE
Chip GP107 GP107 GP106 GP104 GP104
Manufactured 14 nm 14 nm 16 nm 16 nm 16 nm
Shader 640 768 1.280 1.920 2.560
Texture Units 40 48 80 120 160
GPU Base Clock 1.354 MHz 1.290 MHz 1.518 MHz 1.506 MHz 1.607 MHz
GPU Boost Clock 1.455 MHz 1.392 MHz 1.733 MHz 1.683 MHz 1.733 MHz
Memory Bus 128 Bit 128 Bit 192 Bit 256 Bit 256 Bit
Memory Bandwidth 112 GB/s 112 GB/s 192 GB/s 256 GB/s 320 GB/s
Memory Size 2 GB 4 GB 6 GB 8 GB 8 GB
Power (Watt) 75 W 75 W 120 W 150 W 180 W

Test System

Intel Xeon E5 2680v4 (not overclocked), 64 GB DDR4, 2400 MHz, MSI Gaming 9 ACK (MS-7882), Acer Predator XB321HK 4K display, Samsung SM951 M.2 SSD (512 GB, System + Benchmarks), Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 64-bit.

CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z
CPU-Z

Clock Rates

The manufacturer, KFA², ships the GeForce GTX 1060 with a base frequency of 1518 MHz. The average turbo is specified as 1733 MHz. The total 6 GB GDDR5 VRAM clocks at 2000 MHz which results in a memory bus width of 192.2 GB/s. During our FurMark stress tests we found that the unit had no problems reaching the clock rate of 1923 MHz. There were slight variations due to temperature, however. The cooling unit of KFA²'s GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC is well dimensioned and does a great job. Still, you should ensure proper cooling of the case in order to avoid a build-up of heat under constant load.

GPU-Z
GPU-Z
GPU-Z
GPU-Z
GPU-Z (Render Test)
GPU-Z (Render Test)
Nvidia Inspector
Nvidia Inspector
MSI Afterburner
MSI Afterburner
 

Synthetic Benchmarks

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060's performance lies just between those of the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti and the GeForce GTX 1070, which is confirmed by the results of the synthetic benchmarks 3DMark and 3DMark 11. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 does quite well compared to AMD's competitor, the AMD Radeon RX 480.

You can find out more about further benchmarks for the Nvidia GTX 1060 here.

3DMark Ice Storm
3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited
3DMark Ice Storm Extreme
3DMark Cloud Gate
3DMark Sky Diver
3DMark Fire Strike
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra
3DMark Time Spy
3DMark 11
3DMark
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition
16685 Points +32%
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Founders Edition 6 GB
12984 Points +3%
Desktop PC Intel Xeon E5 2680v4 KFA2 GTX 1060 6GB
12648 Points
AMD Radeon RX 480 8 GB Reference
12186 Points -4%
MSI RX 470 Gaming X 4GB
11869 Points -6%
MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
7696 Points -39%
Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 2GB
6797 Points -46%
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition
104764 Points +45%
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Founders Edition 6 GB
80879 Points +12%
AMD Radeon RX 480 8 GB Reference
72213 Points 0%
Desktop PC Intel Xeon E5 2680v4 KFA2 GTX 1060 6GB
72074 Points
MSI RX 470 Gaming X 4GB
66398 Points -8%
MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
50939 Points -29%
Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 2GB
40922 Points -43%
Fire Strike Extreme Graphics
Desktop PC Intel Xeon E5 2680v4 KFA2 GTX 1060 6GB
6022 Points
AMD Radeon RX 480 8 GB Reference
5444 Points -10%
Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 2GB
3199 Points -47%
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition
23990 Points +40%
AMD Radeon RX 480 8 GB Reference
17919 Points +4%
MSI RX 470 Gaming X 4GB
17738 Points +3%
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Founders Edition 6 GB
17401 Points +1%
Desktop PC Intel Xeon E5 2680v4 KFA2 GTX 1060 6GB
17174 Points
MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti
9694 Points -44%
Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 2GB
8571 Points -50%

Legend

 
Desktop PC Intel Xeon E5 2680v4 KFA2 GTX 1060 6GB Intel Xeon E5-2680 v4, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), Samsung SM951 MZHPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
 
AMD Radeon RX 480 8 GB Reference Intel Core i7-4790K, AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop), Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
 
MSI RX 470 Gaming X 4GB Intel Core i7-4790K, AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop), Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
 
MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Intel Core i7-4790K, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop), Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
 
Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Intel Core i7-4790K, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop), Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
 
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition Intel Core i7-4790K, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
 
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Founders Edition 6 GB Intel Core i7-6700K, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop),

Gaming Benchmarks

Game-testing confirmed the impression we received from the synthetic benchmarks. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 sets the agenda, followed by the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 and the AMD Radeon RX 480. Depending on the game and chosen settings, either the AMD unit or the GTX 1060 wins the race. Neither of the graphics cards can really beat the other to make second place after the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070.

Far Cry Primal - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:SM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
90 (72min - 105max) fps +25%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), E5-2680 v4, Samsung SM951 MZHPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
72 (53min - 84max) fps
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), 6700K
67 fps -7%
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 480, 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
59 (47min - 76max) fps -18%
AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 470 (Desktop), 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
54 (43min - 67max) fps -25%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
41 (32min - 49max) fps -43%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
38 (30min - 46max) fps -47%
BioShock Infinite - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset, DX11 (DDOF)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
152 fps +34%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), E5-2680 v4, Samsung SM951 MZHPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
113.5 (21.4min - 246max) fps
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 480, 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
110 (20min - 177max) fps -3%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
79 (45min - 130max) fps -30%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
71.6 (46min - 124max) fps -37%
Rise of the Tomb Raider - 1920x1080 Very High Preset AA:FX AF:16x
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
94 (85min - 104max) fps +39%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), E5-2680 v4, Samsung SM951 MZHPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
67.7 (61min - 76max) fps
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), 6700K
66.9 fps -1%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), 6700K
66.5 fps -2%
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 480, 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
57 (49min - 65max) fps -16%
AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 470 (Desktop), 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
54.3 (49min - 59max) fps -20%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
40.7 (37min - 45max) fps -40%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
36.9 (34min - 40max) fps -45%
The Witcher 3 - 1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
62 fps +44%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), 6700K
44.4 fps +3%
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 480, 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
43.9 (40min - 49max) fps +2%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), E5-2680 v4, Samsung SM951 MZHPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
43 (34min - 50max) fps
AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 470 (Desktop), 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
40.7 (35min - 45max) fps -5%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
27.5 (22min - 32max) fps -36%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
24.1 (18min - 28max) fps -44%
Deus Ex Mankind Divided - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:2xMS AF:8x
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 480, 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
33.4 (26min - 43max) fps +2%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), E5-2680 v4, Samsung SM951 MZHPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
32.9 (25.3min - 42.1max) fps
AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 470 (Desktop), 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
28.4 (22min - 37max) fps -14%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
22.8 (18min - 28max) fps -31%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
21.4 (14min - 29max) fps -35%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
12 fps -64%
Watch Dogs 2 - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), E5-2680 v4, Samsung SM951 MZHPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
50 (41min - 57max) fps
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 480, 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
40.6 (32min - 49max) fps -19%
AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 470 (Desktop), 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
37.4 (29min - 46max) fps -25%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
28.5 (22min - 34max) fps -43%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
20 (16min - 24max) fps -60%
Dirt 4 - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:4xMS AF:16x
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), E5-2680 v4, Samsung SM951 MZHPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
64.8 fps
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 480, 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
64.3 (55min - 83max) fps -1%
AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 470 (Desktop), 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
59.4 (51min - 76max) fps -8%
Battlefield 1 - 1920x1080 Ultra Preset AA:T
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 480, 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
89.4 (76min - 96max) fps +8%
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 480, 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
88.5 (72min - 96max) fps +7%
AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 470 (Desktop), 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
83 (73min - 88max) fps 0%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), E5-2680 v4, Samsung SM951 MZHPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
82.6 fps
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
62.4 (53min - 68max) fps -24%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
39 (34min - 42max) fps -53%
Titanfall 2 - 1920x1080 Very High (Insane Texture Quality) / Enabled AA:TS AF:16x
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), E5-2680 v4, Samsung SM951 MZHPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
136 fps
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
122 (103min - 145max) fps -10%
AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 470 (Desktop), 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
97 (81min - 116max) fps -29%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
56.6 (46min - 72max) fps -58%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
45.7 (34min - 57max) fps -66%
Resident Evil 7 - 1920x1080 Very High / On AA:FXAA+T
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 480, 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
112 (90min - 128max) fps +6%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop), E5-2680 v4, Samsung SM951 MZHPV512HDGL m.2 PCI-e
106 (88min - 131max) fps
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
58.4 (48min - 68max) fps -45%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop)
GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop), 4790K, Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB MZ7PD256HAFV-0Z000
47.5 (33min - 62max) fps -55%
AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop)
Radeon RX 470 (Desktop), 4790K, Intel SSD 530 Series SSDSC2BW240A
37.6 (25min - 66max) fps -65%
low med. high ultra4K
BioShock Infinite (2013) 253.9 217.6 205.1 113.5
The Witcher 3 (2015) 216.4 144.2 70.5 43 28.8
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) 213.1 148.5 83.4 67.7 27.5
Far Cry Primal (2016) 105 90 81 72 28
Deus Ex Mankind Divided (2016) 141.1 109 61.9 32.9 20.6
Battlefield 1 (2016) 149.2 138 91.9 82.6 33.7
Titanfall 2 (2016) 144 144 144 136
Watch Dogs 2 (2016) 141.4 127.1 70 50 24.5
Resident Evil 7 (2017) 392 206 149 106 33
Dirt 4 (2017) 314.9 182.9 119.1 64.8 38.2

Compute Performance

Again, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 and the AMD Radeon RX 480 have very similar results. The GTX 1060's 1280 Shader Units (cores) work fast and help it reach a tight second place. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 offers 40% higher performance and is clearly number one. We chose to only use common graphics cards for our compute performance comparison. Special graphics cards for professional use (Nvidia Quadro series, AMD FirePro series) offer much higher results.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
Desktop PC Intel Xeon E5 2680v4 KFA2 GTX 1060 6GB, E5-2680 v4
AMD Radeon RX 480 (Desktop)
AMD Radeon RX 480 8 GB Reference, 4790K
AMD Radeon RX 470 (Desktop)
MSI RX 470 Gaming X 4GB, 4790K
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti (Desktop)
MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, 4790K
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 (Desktop)
Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 2GB, 4790K
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (Desktop)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Founders Edition, 4790K
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 (Desktop)
Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Founders Edition 6 GB, 6700K
LuxMark v2.0 64Bit
-5%
-18%
-37%
-45%
40%
-15%
Room GPUs-only
1837
1661
-10%
1440
-22%
1175
-36%
1037
-44%
2474
35%
1773
-3%
Sala GPUs-only
3475
3468
0%
3020
-13%
2156
-38%
1864
-46%
5012
44%
2584
-26%
ComputeMark v2.1
8%
1%
-41%
-48%
41%
-0%
1024x600 Normal, QJuliaRayTrace
3313
2746
-17%
2475
-25%
1931
-42%
1572
-53%
4761
44%
3322
0%
1024x600 Normal, Mandel Scalar
1980
2539
28%
2447
24%
1092
-45%
968
-51%
2861
44%
2002
1%
1024x600 Normal, Mandel Vector
1987
2162
9%
2172
9%
1277
-36%
1100
-45%
2706
36%
1994
0%
1024x600 Normal, Fluid 2DTexArr
981
991
1%
911
-7%
596
-39%
555
-43%
1390
42%
963
-2%
1024x600 Normal, Fluid 3DTex
998
1220
22%
1039
4%
597
-40%
554
-44%
1402
40%
985
-1%
1024x600 Normal, Score
9259
9659
4%
9044
-2%
5493
-41%
4749
-49%
13121
42%
9266
0%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
2% / 5%
-9% / -4%
-39% / -40%
-47% / -47%
41% / 41%
-8% / -4%

Stress test & Emissions

3DMark Sky Diver (stress test)
3DMark Sky Diver (stress test)
3DMark Time Spy (stress test)
3DMark Time Spy (stress test)

Power Consumption & Overclocking

3DMark 11 results (with overclocking)
3DMark 11 results (with overclocking)

The KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC has to prove that the cooling unit can keep its promise under constant load. We chose the FurMark stress test and let the program run for one hour. The GPU's temperature rose to a maximum of 73 °C (~164 °F). This shows that the KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC works well within the defined parameters and the cooling fan does not run excessively (1800 rpm). This is good news for the cooling unit that the manufacturer has developed for this model. The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 Founders Edition, which is equipped with one radial fan in the reference design, runs a lot louder under load and cannot keep temperatures below 80 °C (~176 °F). Only a quiet murmuring can be heard under load from inside the closed case.

The two axial fans (80 mm) can also run in 2D mode. Unfortunately, the KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC offers no "fan stop" while idling. That makes the KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC one of the few graphics cards that does not support this feature. Nevertheless, both fans run quietly, so at least in 2D mode the graphics card is not audible.

Under full load we measured a maximum power consumption of 120 Watt. This can be manually adjusted with the help of various tools. We managed to reduce the graphics card's consumption by up to 50%. Naturally, this also means that the KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC cannot reach its maximum performance. If the graphics card's performance is not good enough for you, you can always increase the clock rate a little. We could increase the core frequency by 200 MHz and RAM frequency by 400 MHz in our test model. The "Power Target" should also be increased to 116% in order to ensure stable operation. This also means higher power consumption, which rises to about 137 Watt under load.

The cooling unit has no problems keeping up with the increased clock rate and adapted "Power Target". In our test the unit reached a maximum temperature of 74 °C (~165 °F).

Power consumption without load
Power consumption without load
Power consumption under load (PT 100%)
Power consumption under load (PT 100%)
Power consumption under load (PT 116%)
Power consumption under load (PT 116%)
Power consumption under load and with overclocking (PT 116%)
Power consumption under load and with overclocking (PT 116%)

Verdict

KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC
KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC

The KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC is a desktop graphics card in the upper mid-range and is worth thinking about for £280 (~$360). Comparable models from other manufacturers are often more expensive. In regards to performance, the GTX 1060 lies right in between the considerably more expensive GTX 1070 and the slightly cheaper GTX 1050 Ti. Thanks to the 6 GB GDDR5 VRAM, the KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 GB EX OC has enough reserves to display current content smoothly with maximum settings and in 1080p. Its performance is not enough for 4K gaming with acceptable frame rates.

The KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC is convincing with its good performance and low power consumption. It also has a reliable and quiet cooling unit.

If you do not like AMD graphics cards and the GTX 1070 is too expensive for you, it is worth taking a closer look at the KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC. This graphics card offers reliable performance without annoying system noise under load. It also supports overclocking and can cross the 2-GHz barrier easily with boosting. The KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC works just as quickly as the Founder's Edition, which is Nvidia's reference design. Accessories are rather disappointing, however. The manufacturer offers nothing but a Driver CD and power adapter. Nonetheless, the KFA² GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB EX OC is a good graphics card that can be purchased at a fair price.

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Sebastian Bade, 2017-07- 4 (Update: 2020-05-19)