A decent graphics card is absolutely necessary both for gaming and for working. Despite how good the GTX 1060 is, it is still reaching obsoletion. That means many applications as well as games don’t work with it anymore.
So, if you want to replace your outdated 1060, you’ve come to the right place.
So, what to upgrade from GTX 1060?
The 3060 or the 6600 XT is a competent option to upgrade from the GTX 1060 in the 400$ range. There are many options to upgrade from the GTX 1060. But It all comes down to your PSU capability and your budget range. You might be bound by budget.
That aside, the article also examines the PSU side of things as well.
Now, let’s get right into the matter at hand.
Upgradeability of Your Computer
Instead of which GPU is the best, you should ask which GPU is the best for YOU. There are a few factors to that. I will discuss those factors here.
Compatibility:
This is the most important factor when it comes to upgrading your computer. You must first know if the GPU is compatible with your motherboard and your PSU. Depending on these, there are two branches you may take. They are-
Bound by Budget- Let’s assume you’re bound by budget and do not want to upgrade any other components. Then, you must take a compatible GPU.
Not Bound By Budget- If you’re not bound by budget, then you can upgrade whatever it is you need to upgrade. Compatibility is not an obstacle for you. You simply can get the best upgrade for your 1060 that way.
Best Upgrades from GTX 1060
The Nvidia GTX 1060 was once the staple when it came to Graphics Cards. Primarily because of affordability and stellar performance.
But now technology like RTX and RDNA 2 has been developed. Hence, the once great GPU is now being considered obsolete.
I have listed out some good options in the table below. All these are similarly compatible with GTX 1060. These can be good upgrade for the GTX 660 as well.
| GPUs | ZOTAC RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC | ZOTAC RTX 3060 Ti | Sapphire Nitro+ AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT | Sapphire Nitro+ AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT | MSI RTX 3070 |
| Graphics Coprocessor | NVIDIA RTX 3060 | NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti | AMD RX 6600 XT | AMD RX 6700 XT | NVIDIA RTX 3070 |
| Graphics Ram Size | 12-GB | 8-GB | 8-GB | 12-GB | 8-GB |
| Graphics Ram | GDDR-6 | GDDR-6X | GDDR-6 | GDDR-6 | GDDR-6 |
| Dimensions(LxWxH) | 8.8 x 4.6 x 1.5 inches | 12 x 6 x 3 inches | 9.45 x 4.7 x 1.76 inches | 12.2 x 5.15 x 2.02 inches | 12.7 x 2.2 x 4.7 inches |
| Memory Bus Width | 192 bits | 256 bits | 128 bits | 256 bits | 256 bits |
| Memory Clock Speed | 1807 MHz | 1695 MHz | 2607 MHz | 2622 MHz | 1845 MHz |
| Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price | Check Price |
These are the best options you can get in the market for upgrading your GTX 1060. The prices do get up to $720. It may be mentioned that these are also great upgrades for gtx 750.
The Most Viable GTX 1060 Upgrades
So let’s examine the top recommendations in more depth. I have listed out my recommendations in a descending order for viability.
ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC
The 3060 is an excellent example of a budget modern GPU. However, that is not out of consideration for its gaming performance. Rather because of its workstation performance.
The RTX 3060 has a whopping 12GB video memory to compensate for its narrower 192 bit bus. That allows the GPU to excel at works like video editing. As a bonus, it is not giving up too much of its gaming performance for it.
It has a power consumption of 170 watts at most. Therefore, you may even use a 500-550 Watts PSU for it. That means you don’t necessarily have to upgrade your PSU to upgrade to this GPU.
Apart from pc’s, even laptops like the new Razer Blade 15 also use this 3060 gpu.
Sapphire Nitro+ AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT
NVIDIA is not the only one with budget high performance GPUs. AMD is definitely competent in this lineup as well.
AMD offers the RX 6600 XT in the range of the 3060. It defeats even the old generation flagship RX 5700 XT with a $400 price tag. This is the only proper budget rival of the 3060.
The RX 6600 XT simply offers excellent gaming performance, outperforming the 3060 without RTX. It has more availability compared to the 3060 as well. You will not have to upgrade your PSU or motherboard for this one.
However, it can only be a decent alternative to 3060 as it starts losing out in RTX. RTX and higher video memory sets 3060 apart from this 1080p beast. 3060 is also better when it comes to working.
Sapphire AMD RX 6700 XT Nitro+ and Zotac Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti
This is a high performance gpu from AMD rivaling the 3060 ti. It is a 1440p beast at the measly price tag of $530.
The 6700xt boasts a video memory of 12GB with a higher gaming clock than most. This allows it to be a good workstation as well as a gamestation. This basically offers versatility. But, you still have to upgrade both your motherboard and PSU for it.
However, it falls short of the 3060 ti when it comes to gaming. The 3060 ti offers RTX at a cheaper price tag. That too, with a better performance than the RX 6700 XT.
Furthermore, you will only have to upgrade your PSU for fitting this in. So, 3060 is the clear winner here.
MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 3070
This is the newest iteration of MSI’s iconic GAMING brand, lauded for its gaming performance. Its performance and aesthetics are recognized even by the top Esport celebrities.
Furthermore, that is not the only thing it offers. It offers stellar work performance as well. It is the most powerful GPU of the bunch here.
However, there is a catch. You will most definitely have to upgrade your motherboard as well as the PSU to even use this. So, it is not budget friendly in the least. The total costs may exceed $800. This makes it the least viable.
My Final Verdict
So the clear winner here is the RTX 3060 because of what it offers at its price. You will be able to both game and work with that beast. You can find it on amazon.
However, if you can up your budget a little, I’d suggest you get the 3060 ti. That has a performance uplift of about 30-40% compared to the 3060. The price difference is not a lot either.
Finally, if you are not bound by budget at all, then just go for the 3070. That has the best performance in both gaming and working. You can find it on amazon.
That concludes my viable GPU recommendations for your gtx 1060 upgrade 2022. Now the decision is up to you. Finally, don’t forget to keep your graphics card clean.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can 1060 6GB be used in 2022?
In 2022, the GTX 1060 6GB is still amazingly powerful. On the second-hand market, these cards sell for around $300. Which is around $50 more than they did when they were first released in mid-2016. It is still functional and clear to use. But it’s a bit outdated.
Is it worthwhile to go from a GTX 1060 to 1660?
GTX 1660 has greater overall performance than the GTX 1060, but it doesn’t add up to $280 in performance. Most GTX 1660 Ti evaluations agree that it outperforms the GTX 1060 at 1080p and 1440p, although you won’t notice a difference of more than 10 to 15 frames per second (FPS) in most games.
Which is worthwhile GTX 1070 or GTX 1660?
The GTX 1660 Ti is better in a general sense between GTX 1070 or GTX 1660. The GTX 1660 Ti, on the other hand, comes out on top in the aforementioned benchmarks. It performs as good as or better than the GTX 1070 in most tests, plus it’s often more compact, quieter, and power-efficient.
Conclusion
Hope this article helped you reach a conclusion about what to upgrade from GTX 1060.
You will get plenty of options in the market. But it is a question of whether it is worth it or not. By now you should have the answer to exactly that.
So what GPU did you decide to get for yourself? Let me know in the comments below.
