ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 Dual 3G: Mid-Range On The Cheap

1. Introduction, Pricing & Availability
2. Detailed Specs & Closer Look
3. Test System Specs
4. Benchmarks - Synthetic
5. Benchmarks - 1080p
6. Benchmarks - 1440p
7. Benchmarks - 4K
8. Benchmarks - 3440x1440
9. Final Thoughts

TweakTown's Rating: 85%

The Bottom Line

A great option for mid-range 1080p gamers who want excellent performance in mainstream games, but with some grunt to handle either higher resolutions or detail levels, or higher-end games. Surprising results at 3440x1440, as well.

Introduction, Pricing & Availability

The gaming world isn't dominated by GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards, or even the GTX 1080 - most of the gamers that are playing the mainstream games like CS:GO, Rocket League, etc. are all mid-range gamers. They aren't buying the GTX 1080 Ti or even waiting for AMD's upcoming Radeon RX Vega.

They're buying GTX 1060s or RX 580s, and enjoying the world of 1080p 60FPS+ gaming for under $300. If you can find the cards in a post-Ethereum mining world, something that the ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 Dual 3G also does very, very well - especially with its single 6-pin PCIe connector and dual-fan cooling technology.

Page 2 [Detailed Specs & Closer Look]

You'd think the 3GB version would be the slower of the two, but the GTX 1060 Dual 6GB has lower GPU clocks than its 3GB sibling. The sample we have here is the ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 Dual 3G which has its GPU clocks at 1594/1809MHz, which is impressive considering the Dual 6G version maxes out at 1708MHz. Our card maxed out at 1784MHz boost, without manual overclocking.

The 8GB of GDDR5 is clocked at 8008MHz on a 192-bit memory bus, while the card requires a single 6-pin PCIe power connector.

NVIDIA really hit the mid-range champion spot with the GeForce GTX 1060, and for its price point, you're only going to buy the GTX 1060 for 1080p gaming. I wouldn't recommend a GTX 1060 for 1440p or 4K gaming, but rather the GTX 1070 for anything at 1440p - and really, GTX 1080/GTX 1080 Ti for 1440p @ 100Hz or higher.

For mainstream gamers who want to tap some of those massive games like CS:GO, Rocket League, League of Legends or similar, the ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 Dual 3G is a perfect card. 3GB of VRAM is fine for 1080p gaming, and even better for 720p or so (hey, some gamers don't have new 1080p capable LCDs yet).

ASUS also deploys the same look on its Dual series graphics cards as some of its motherboards. But even though the GTX 1060 Dual 3G is a mid-range card, it still packs a punch in the design and quality departments.

The ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 Dual 3G features patented wing-blade fans with "105% more air pressure" over the heat sink and is up to 3x quieter than reference cards like the GTX 1060 Founders Edition from NVIDIA.

ASUS also uses their own Auto-Extreme Technology with Super Alloy Power II, which is an industry-first 100% automated production process - which is pretty damn cool. What does it do exactly? ASUS says Super Alloy Power II components that "enhance efficiency, reduce power loss, decrease component buzzing under load, and lower thermal temperatures for unsurpassed quality and reliability."

Detailed Specs & Closer Look

Detailed Specs

We don't have the highest clocks on the ASUS GTX 1060 Dual 3G, but here we have the detailed tech specs.

Closer Look

The card itself looks good but feels on the cheaper side. Again, this isn't the ROG-branded ASUS graphics card family, but the mid-range Dual OC member.

There's no backplate on the GTX 1060 Dual 3G, but you can see that the back of the PCB doesn't have too much going on.

We have a dual-slot graphics card with a single 6-pin PCIe power connector.

The 6-pin PCIe power connector up close.

We have the usual Pascal display connectivity: 3 x DP, 1 x HDMI 2.0, and 1 x DVI out.

Test System Specs

I've recently edited my GPU test bed, which was powered by the Intel Core i7-5960X processor, and shifted into the arms of Kaby Lake and Intel's new Core i7-7700K. GIGABYTE hooked us up with their awesome new AORUS Z270X-Gaming 9 motherboard, which is the heart and soul of my new GPU test platform.

Detailed Tech Specs

• CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K
• Cooler: Nocua U12S
• MB: AORUS Z270X-Gaming 9
• RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) G.SKILL Trident Z 4000MHz DDR4
• SSD: 1TB OCZ RD400 NVMe M.2
• PSU: Corsair AX1500i
• Chassis: In Win X-Frame

Detailed Look

A larger article on our 7700K system is available right here.

Here are some shots I've taken of the new system in action:

Benchmarks - Synthetic

3DMark Fire Strike - 1080p

3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.

3DMark Fire Strike - 1440p

3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.

3DMark Fire Strike - 4K

3DMark has been a staple benchmark for years now, all the way back to when The Matrix was released and Futuremark had bullet time inspired benchmarks. 3DMark is the perfect tool to see if your system - most important, your CPU and GPU - is performing as it should. You can search results for your GPU, to see if it falls in line with other systems based on similar hardware.

Heaven - 1080p

Heaven is an intensive GPU benchmark that really pushes your silicon to its limits. It's another favorite of ours as it has some great scaling for multi-GPU testing, and it's great for getting your GPU to 100% for power and noise testing.

Heaven - 1440p

Heaven - 4K

Benchmarks - 1080p

1080p Benchmarks

Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.

Far Cry Primal is a game built on the impressive Dunia Engine 2 with wide open, beautiful environments. It might look stunning, but the performance is actually quite good - but most cards will be stressed at 1440p, and especially so at 4K and beyond.

You can buy Far Cry Primal at Amazon.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the most graphically intensive games we test, with Monolith using their own Lithtech engine to power the game. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at Amazon.

Metro: Last Light Redux comes from developer 4A Games, making the Redux version of Metro: Last Light the 'definitive' version of the game. Redux had a fresh coat of paint on the already impressive 4A Engine, and it really pushes our GPUs to their limits.

You can buy Metro: Last Light Redux at Amazon.

Benchmarks - 1440p

1440p Benchmarks

Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.

Far Cry Primal is a game built on the impressive Dunia Engine 2 with wide open, beautiful environments. It might look stunning, but the performance is actually quite good - but most cards will be stressed at 1440p, and especially so at 4K and beyond.

You can buy Far Cry Primal at Amazon.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the most graphically intensive games we test, with Monolith using their own Lithtech engine to power the game. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at Amazon.

Metro: Last Light Redux comes from developer 4A Games, making the Redux version of Metro: Last Light the 'definitive' version of the game. Redux had a fresh coat of paint on the already impressive 4A Engine, and it really pushes our GPUs to their limits.

You can buy Metro: Last Light Redux at Amazon.

Benchmarks - 4K

4K Benchmarks

Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.

Far Cry Primal is a game built on the impressive Dunia Engine 2 with wide open, beautiful environments. It might look stunning, but the performance is actually quite good - but most cards will be stressed at 1440p, and especially so at 4K and beyond.

You can buy Far Cry Primal at Amazon.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the most graphically intensive games we test, with Monolith using their own Lithtech engine to power the game. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at Amazon.

Metro: Last Light Redux comes from developer 4A Games, making the Redux version of Metro: Last Light the 'definitive' version of the game. Redux had a fresh coat of paint on the already impressive 4A Engine, and it really pushes our GPUs to their limits.

You can buy Metro: Last Light Redux at Amazon.

Benchmarks - 3440x1440

UltraWide Benchmarks

Rainbow Six: Siege has been a successful first-person shooter for Ubisoft, developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft.

Rise of the Tomb Raider is one of the best looking games on the market, a truly gorgeous game - and a wonder to benchmark. The team at Crystal Dynamics made a very scalable PC game that plays really well testing graphics cards. We've got DX11 and DX12 results in one here, showing the slight strengths of running DX12 mode.

Far Cry Primal is a game built on the impressive Dunia Engine 2 with wide open, beautiful environments. It might look stunning, but the performance is actually quite good - but most cards will be stressed at 1440p, and especially so at 4K and beyond.

You can buy Far Cry Primal at Amazon.

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor is one of the most graphically intensive games we test, with Monolith using their own Lithtech engine to power the game. When cranked up to maximum detail, it will chew through your GPU and its VRAM like it's nothing.

You can buy Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor at Amazon.

Metro: Last Light Redux comes from developer 4A Games, making the Redux version of Metro: Last Light the 'definitive' version of the game. Redux had a fresh coat of paint on the already impressive 4A Engine, and it really pushes our GPUs to their limits.

You can buy Metro: Last Light Redux at Amazon.

Final Thoughts

If you're in the market for a new graphics card for 1080p gaming, the ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 Dual 3G is something that should be in your consideration, and even more so if you're building a new PC that has a white theme. For those buying white-themed ASUS motherboards, then the GTX 1060 Dual 3G could be perfect.

1080p 60FPS+ gaming is easy enough for the card, and even light 1440p 60FPS games depending on which one, and if you drop the in-game details to Medium, 60FPS+ is easy. 4K is something that the ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 Dual 3G handles as well, but I prefer a 60FPS+ experience. No one should buy a GTX 1060 for 4K gaming, but it doesn't mean it's impossible.

Microsoft will be releasing their Xbox One X console later this year, promising 4K gaming to the masses - at least on their lounges, but the GTX 1060 Dual 3G is a great alternative. If you've got a mid-range PC with a CPU from 3-4 years ago, you'll be fine with the ASUS GTX 1060 Dual 3G for 4K gaming at 30FPS. You could enjoy non-intensive first-person shooters, or adventure/driving games at higher resolutions on a mid-range card, all at 30FPS average.

This is the type of 4K gaming experience you'll get on PS4 Pro and Xbox One X; I don't think we'll be receiving a sea of games running at 4K 60FPS on an APU.

If you're into mining digital cryptocurrency like Ethereum or Zcash, then the ASUS GeForce GTX 1060 Dual 3G is a fine choice. I've got an entire flank of them (6 x ASUS GTX 1060 Dual 3G) in a single system, and a few odd ones throughout my mining farm. I chose them for their single 6-pin PCIe power connector and dual-fan cooler. I keep them at 75-80% fan speed, and they run nice and cool with additional industrial fans blowing air through my farm.

All in all, ASUS has a great mid-range graphics card with the GTX 1060 Dual 3G. It's not going to break the bank, but it'll easily handle nearly all games at 1080p. You can even ramp up to the 3440x1440 resolution on a 34-inch UltraWide 21:9 display and enjoy respectable performance from the GTX 1060 Dual 3G. A huge selling point considering its cost, far lower than the GTX 1070 or the heights of the GTX 1080 Ti.

ASUS has a cheaper package available with the GTX 1060 Dual 3G, and while 3GB of VRAM might not sound like much, you're mostly fine for today's games. It's only when you stretch out of 1080p and into 1440p and beyond where 4GB+ really comes into play. All in all, ASUS has a great mid-range card with the GTX 1060 Dual 3G, something that really surprised us.

Expect many more mid-range GPU reviews in the near future, as we examine the GTX 1050 Ti, GTX 1050, and RX 560 cards.