Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G

 After the launch of the GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER, the graphics cards of this line were immediately included in the optimal gaming configurations, still remaining an excellent solution for such systems. A good balance of features, increased memory capacity and a reasonable price - a suitable set for those who are ready to spend reasonable expenses for comfortable performance even in heavy games. There are more than three dozen different modifications of the GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER on the market, there is plenty to choose from. Today we are reviewing the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G - a model with a very long name and a three-fan cooler, which turned out to be in the top of popularity of the series adapters on hotline.ua. What is so attractive about her?
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G (GV-N206SGAMING OC-8GD)
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GIGABYTE offers several modifications of the GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER at once. This is the top version of AORUS with a massive three-slot cooling system and an infinite number of video outputs, several three-fan GAMING adapters in versions with black and white protective covers, as well as WINDFORCE starter modifications with a pair of fans.
Since the announcement of the GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER line, the Taiwanese manufacturer has modified its adapters, offering various revisions of externally similar models, which, however, have certain differences in layout and circuitry. We tested the latest modification of the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G (Rev. 2.0).
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
The video card is equipped with a three-fan cooling system, and also has factory overclocking. Instead of the recommended 1470/1650 MHz formula, the GPU got an average acceleration of 1710 MHz with a similar base frequency. The adapter is also equipped with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory operating at an effective 14,000 MHz.
Table of contents [show]
Design and layout
As we already noted, the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G is equipped with a WINDFORCE 3X family of three fan coolers.
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
The cooler modification in this case has a three-section radiator block, the segments of which are united by four heat pipes. The sufficiently large dimensions of the adapter allow the use of cassettes of aluminum plates with a significant total dissipation area.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
To accelerate the transfer of heat from the GPU to the heatsink, the design provides for direct contact of the heat pipes with the GPU crystal.
The radiator block is blown by three axial 80mm fans with a specific impeller shape to increase airflow.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
Another feature that allows, according to the manufacturer, to increase the blowing efficiency is the Alternate Spinning technology, which implies the rotation of the central fan in the opposite direction in relation to the lateral ones. The developers assure that in this way it is possible to improve the laminarity of the generated air flows, avoiding the occurrence of local zones of turbulence.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
The video card has an original 222 mm PCB. A 6-phase circuit is used for the GPU power regulator, two more are serviced by GDDR6 memory chips. One of the features of the adapter revision 2.0 is that the power elements are located closer to the interface panel, that is, to the right of the GPU.
Additional cooling is provided for VRM assemblies and all memory chips. The soleplate used for these purposes is also connected to the main radiator block.
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G cooler
The total length of the GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G is 280mm. This is not an unnecessarily large adapter, but before buying it is still worth making sure that there is enough free space in the case to install the device. Especially in cases where the system is assembled in an age case with storage baskets.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
The developers rationally used the feature of the adapter with a reduced PCB length. The free space was taken up by larger aluminum radiator fins, thereby increasing the total dissipation area. At the point where the heat pipes exit from the radiator cassette, traces of soldering can be observed, which improves the contact between the elements.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
One 8-pin connector is provided for connecting additional power. Considering the declared thermal package of the GeForce RXT 2060 SUPER of 175 W, such a connector is quite enough for a regular mode and even moderate overclocking of a video card. An additional connector and PCI-E x16 slot can provide up to 225W, so there is still some headroom.
The manufacturer recommends using 550W or more power supplies for a system with a GeForce RXT 2060 SUPER.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
The video card has an additional power supply indicator. If the power cable is not connected, when you turn on the PC in the area of ​​the 8-pin connector, a bright white LED lights up, which you will surely pay attention to. The manufacturer also reports the LED blinking mode when "inappropriate power" is applied, without revealing details. Suppose that we are talking about a significant deviation of the supplied voltage in the presence of problems with the PSU.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
In addition to the functional video card, there is also decorative lighting. On the upper edge, the GIGABYTE logo is illuminated, which will be well read through the side transparent wall of the case.
The RGB Fusion 2.0 application is used to control the lighting. The utility allows you to select a specific glow mode. The proposed list is not very long. Sequential color cycle, static backlight, pulse, single and double flash are available. In addition, you can use the Intelligent mode, in which the color coding (green – yellow – red) will depend either on the GPU temperature, or on the degree of the GPU load, or even on the rotational speed of the video card cooling system fans. Perhaps, we are faced with the last option for the first time. Not that a function of necessity, but the very possibility - something new.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
The app also allows you to customize the illumination of devices that support the RGB Fusion protocol. In our case, it was possible to change the glow of the memory modules, even taking into account the fact that the test bench's motherboard was from another vendor. In addition, this did not prevent me from very meticulously adjusting the effects. Any individual LED on each module of the dual channel kit could be accessed.
On the reverse side, the video card is covered with an aluminum plate. The metal plate is used as an additional reinforcing structure, as well as protection against mechanical damage. At the same time, there is no contact with the elements on the reverse side of the PCB, it does not take part in their cooling.
The GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G interface panel has four video outputs - three DisplayPort 1.4 and full-size HDMI 2.0b. A significant part of the metal plate is occupied by a grate for the outlet of heated air.
In work
The video card supports hybrid cooling mode. At rest, the cooling fans stop, and therefore the adapter itself runs silently. We did not expect anything different from a device of this level with similar dimensions.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
The efficiency of the heatsink design is enough to keep the GPU temperature at the level of 47-49C. In our case, the measurements were carried out on an open bench at 25C indoors.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
Under load, the temperature of the GPU increased up to 70C at a fan speed of ~ 1800 rpm. Typical values ​​in games were 66-68C and 1400-1600 rpm. According to the given algorithm, the fans start rotating when the chip warms up to 59C, that is, we have a certain margin to exclude frequent start / stop cycles even in poorly ventilated cases.
The noise level during gaming sessions is below average. The video card is definitely not silent, but in a closed case it will not raise questions in this regard.
As you can see in the screenshot, the GPU dynamically accelerated up to 1980 MHz under load.
Overclocking
To configure the parameters of the video card, the manufacturer suggests using the proprietary AORUS Engine application.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
The utility allows you to monitor the status and change the key parameters of the adapter. In particular, for the video card under consideration, the Power Limit can be increased up to 108%, and the temperature limit - up to 88C. The video card also allows 100 mV to increase the supply voltage to the GPU.
In the mode of automatic selection of operating parameters, after 10 minutes of tuning, the platform proposed to additionally increase the operating frequency of the GPU by almost 90 MHz.
During the experiments, the base clock frequency of the chip was increased from 1470 to 1600 MHz, while the average acceleration value increased proportionally - from 1710 MHz to 1840 MHz. The Micron memory chips were not very flexible, allowing the effective frequency to be increased to 15,800 (1975) MHz.
After overclocking, the GPU dynamically accelerated up to 2120 MHz, but in games the values ​​often varied between 1980-2050 MHz. The figures are not record-breaking, but in general they are typical for tuned GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER models with original PCB and cooling designs.
Test bench configuration
Intel Core i7-8700K processor (6/12; 3.7 / 4.7 GHz) Intel, www.intel.com
Motherboard ASUS ROG MAXIMUS X Hero (Intel Z370) ASUS, www.asus.ua
RAM HyperX Predator RGB DDR4-3600 16GB (HX436C17PB3AK2 / 16) HyperX, www.hyperxgaming.com
Kingston KC2500 1TB Drive (SKC2500M8 / 1000G) Kingston Technology, www.kingston.com
Thermaltake Toughpower Grand TPG-1200M Thermaltake Power Supply, www.thermaltakeusa.com
Monitor Acer Predator XB271HK (27 ″, 3840 × 2160) Acer, www.acer.ua
1080p and 1440p performance
We examined the capabilities of the GeForce RXT 2060 SUPER 8 GB in detail during our first acquaintance with the adapters of the line. In fact, the SUPER version is on average 10-15% more productive than the classic GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB model.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
Accelerated modification provides a very comfortable frame rate per second in modes with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 and high graphics quality settings. Under these conditions, the video card offers noticeably more than 60 fps in many games, allowing owners of monitors with an increased refresh rate to feel the benefits of such a purchase.
If we compare the performance of the GeForce RXT 2060 SUPER with those for the GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB, then, as we can see, at Full HD resolution, the difference in performance ranges from 50 to 75%. That is, we are talking about devices of fundamentally different classes, even without taking into account the additional capabilities of GeForce RTX. For those who are thinking about upgrading mid-range solutions based on Pascal, recall that the GeForce GTX 1660 is about 20% faster than the GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB, which means the difference in the number of fps when switching from the latter to the GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER will be almost two times.
GeForce RXT 2060 SUPER is not lost when upscaling to 2560x1440. In such cases, increased up to 8 GB of memory with increased bandwidth helps a lot. Of course, the picture quality in this mode needs to be selected more carefully, but in many projects, even at the maximum number of frames per second, it remains quite comfortable.
The SUPER-modification based on the TU106 chip often has an advantage over the Radeon RX 5700. The quantitative indicators suggest that the accelerated version of the Radeon RX 5700 XT is more likely to provide a slightly higher number of frames per second when compared directly under the conditions of classic scene rendering. However, NVIDIA solutions have additional persuasion arguments. Yes, yes, we are talking about hardware units for rendering ray tracing and tensor kernels for vector calculations.
The process of transition from the state of a supported function in the specification to an option that is very useful in practice is a little slower than we would like, but now we are on the verge of big changes. The upcoming next-gen gaming consoles will receive support for ray tracing, which should predetermine the success of hybrid rendering, or at least guarantee more developer attention to this technology. NVIDIA is ready to develop its direction in the PC segment. Hopefully AMD will also join the process with the next generation of Radeon.
DLSS 2.0
As for tensor kernels, there are already applications for them. In the context of games, this is primarily an implementation of anti-aliasing technology with deep learning algorithms - DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling). Here, artificial intelligence (AI) models are used, for the processing of which tensor kernels are exactly needed. NVIDIA started working on DLSS back in 2016. The first generation of the architecture had certain limitations in terms of resolution, and the final results in terms of picture quality did not always meet expectations. For the sake of performance, it was often necessary to sacrifice clarity and detail of the picture.
DLSS 2.0, introduced this year, offers fundamental changes to improve performance, remove resolution restrictions, and strike a balance between image quality and performance. Using reduced resolution data and motion vectors passed through a convolutional autoencoder, it is possible to restore the picture in high resolution and with good detail. Unlike the first generation, DLSS 2.0 does not require a deep learning network for every game. A one-stop solution is applied here, making it easier to use the technology.
A new version of DLSS with partial rendering and high-quality image scaling based on data from a pretrained neural network is already used in Control, Deliver Us The Moon, MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries and Wolfenstein: Youngblood. The sensational Death Stranding has recently joined this set. It was in it that we decided to test such possibilities.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
The game supports DLSS 2.0, allowing you to use two modes with higher quality (Quality) and increased performance (Performance). The final results are pleasantly surprising. DLSS activation in any case significantly increases the number of frames / s, allowing even on the GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER to get very comfortable fps values ​​for playing in 4K.
At this resolution, when using the DLSS Performance preset, the performance increased by 76% - from 46 to 81 fps. At the same time, the clarity of the picture remains at a very good level. If you look closely, you can find minimal simplifications, but in dynamics they are practically indistinguishable. If we use the Quality mode, the picture quality becomes almost better than the original with TAA anti-aliasing. At the same time, we get a performance increase of 37%, having more than 60 frames / s in 4K mode with maximum graphics quality.
When using DLSS 2.0, the amount of used local memory of the video card also decreased by about 600-800 MB. This is good news for owners of the classic GeForce RTX 2060 6GB, which in such cases turns out to be suitable for 4K mode.
At lower resolutions, the cumulative performance gain is slightly lower than at 3840x2160, but these are also significant values. Here you can already adjust the frame rate / s taking into account the refresh rate of the monitor used.
Overall, the first DLSS 2.0 trials are a very pleasant experience. The technology can significantly improve gaming performance. At the same time, the quality not only does not suffer, but can even improve when using the appropriate mode. I would like to see more projects with DLSS 2.0, especially those supporting ray tracing. The hybrid rendering method usually drops the number of frames per second noticeably, and DLSS in this case could be used as a compensator for the performance degradation.

We hope that in November we will be able to test the work of such a formula using the example of Cyberpunk 2077. The project promises to be very technologically advanced, it will receive support for both ray tracing and DLSS 2.0. With the help of tracing, four effects will be realized at once - reflections, shadows, as well as diffuse lighting and shading. The picture on the presentation video looks promising, let's have a little patience.
Working moments
Creators of visual content can even use the potential of their graphics card in between gaming sessions. NVIDIA is actively working with developers of specialized applications to use the GPU to accelerate various computing processes.
Review of the video card GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER GAMING OC 3X 8G
Surely those who follow the events in this segment already know that not so long ago in the next update of Adobe Premiere Pro (14.2), it finally became possible to use the resources of the built-in hardware encoder NVIDIA NVENC. When exporting high-resolution video with H.264 and H.265 / HEVC codecs, the final rendering time is reduced not by percent, but by several times.
The list of optimized applications already includes more than three dozen popular packages for video editing, modeling, visualization, graphics and streaming. It is curious that in addition to using traditional CUDA computers, a number of applications use RTX capabilities. RT blocks are connected to render ray tracing effects, and tensor kernels help out in tasks that use neural network resources (for example, AI Photo Enhancement in Adobe Lightroom).
To use optimizations in specialized packages, NVIDIA recommends installing Studio drivers optimized for these tasks. In the GeForce Experience application, it is quite easy to switch between the Game Ready and Studio versions of the drivers, although it will take some time to automatically reinstall them automatically during the transition.

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