Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super: performance analysis

Our performance analysis of the GTX 1660 Super kicks off with a range of titles from 2014 to 2018, showing how the extra memory bandwidth available here is handled in a few different engines. Our frame-rate figures here are recorded from a system using the steadfast Core i7 8700K, overclocked to an all-core turbo frequency of 4.7GHz. This is backed with 16GB of 3400MHz DDR4 memory running in dual channel mode and a single 2TB SSD from Gigabyte (a PCIe 4.0 model, but running at PCIe 3.0 here). The processor is hooked up to a Gamer Storm Castle 240mm liquid cooler, allowing that all-core turbo to be maintained throughout.

As usual, our results are represented with the bespoke Digital Foundry benchmarking system, which generates its results based on direct capture from the graphics card itself, avoiding the accuracy issues of internal frame-time measurements.

If you're reading on a phone or tablet, you'll see the results presented in a way that makes sense for smaller screens: a simple table for each game with average frame-rate and lowest one per cent measurements at each resolution we tested. On desktop, you get the full-fat Digital Foundry experience.

Play the YouTube videos embedded for each game, and you'll see how each card handles the test scene with real-time frame-rates and frame times. You can add or remove data points from the comparison using controls on the right, so you can see how the same card performs at different resolutions, or perhaps how four cards fare at the monitor resolution you're using at home. Below this, a bar chart provides information on how each card fared on average, including the often-illuminating worst one per cent figure. Remember that you can click to swap from absolute frame-rate readouts to percentage differences, which change as you mouse around the bar chart.

Assassin's Creed Odyssey

We begin with one of the most challenging recent games, Assassin's Creed Odyssey. This open-world title includes immaculate texture work and a large number of non-player characters, both of which figure heavily in the benchmark to stretch both CPU and GPU. The GTX 1660 Super performs well here, with a 15 per cent advantage over standard 1660 that places the new card just barely behind the GTX 1660 Ti - to the point where it's highly unlikely that you'd be able to tell the difference in actual gaming. The nearest AMD competition comes from the venerable Vega 56, with both the RX 580 and RX 590 out of contention at the lower end of the market. Looking at 1440p, the 1660 Super manages around 40fps, 12 per cent faster than the standard GTX 1660 and again effectively tying with the GTX 1660 Ti.

Assassin's Creed Unity

We see more of a difference between the three GTX 1660 cards in an older Assassin's Creed title - 2014's AC Unity one of our favourite legacy titles. There's a 14 per cent gap from the base 1660 to the Super card, with a further three per cent separating the Super from the Ti. However, all three cards have an excess of frames at 1080p, so let's look at 1440p as well. At this more challenging resolution, the Super is 15 percentage points ahead the original 1660, putting the card only a few settings tweaks away from achieving a solid 60fps in normal gameplay. AMD's cards are famously bad at processing the depth-of-field effects used throughout the test scene, with a 25 per cent advantage for the 1660 Super over the RX 590 at 1080p.

Battlefield 1

Turing GPUs perform their best work in modern games, and DICE's Frostbite engine is a perfect example, with the GTX 16-series cards outperforming their GTX 10-series rivals. There are also very clear steps between the three GTX 1660 cards here; compared to the base model the Super has a 12 per cent advantage while the Ti has a 19 per cent lead. That makes the latter two cards better choices for high refresh rate gaming at 1080p. At 1440p, all three cards still deliver frame-rate averages above 60. Meanwhile, 4K gaming is broadly possible at max settings on the GTX 1660 Super and GTX 1660 Ti, with both higher-end cards delivering around 47fps on average. AMD is traditionally strong in DirectX 12 titles and that continues here, with the Vega 56 offering between a 16 per cent and 20 per cent lead over the GTX 1660 Super at 1080p, 1440p and 4K.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 1660 Super Analysis

• Introduction, Hardware Breakdown
• Assassin's Creed Odyssey/Unity, Battlefield 1 - Performance Analysis Part 1 [This Page]
• Crysis 3, Far Cry 5, Ghost Recon Wildlands - Performance Analysis Part 2
• Rise of the Tomb Raider, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, The Witcher 3 - Performance Analysis Part 3
• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super - the Digital Foundry verdict