With all eyes on the RTX series of cards – from the 2070 to the 2080ti, no one really had the guts to fully justify spending the price premium for the card. The RTX 2060 is about to change that.
The RTX 2060 that roughly floats at a price more accessible by the mid-range market is about to make some raw numbers on how much does it really compare to the higher end GTX 10xx series cards and also the other RTX cards.
First Impressions:
Design-wise, Asus ROG Strix design could’ve used an update. Asus seems to have re-purposed the existing Strix cooler for this one. Though the added RGB on the ROG logo on the back plate is a nice touch.
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it – We loved the size of the Strix 2060 as it was one of those slimmer options even for the cooler it has. The black accent that extends to the port area is also a nice touch.
The ol’ reliable – The basic design features that made the Strix series of cards is always a welcomed sight, it just works and with minimal iterations for the RTX line that still makes it distinguishable makes up for some good brand imaging.
Performance
With a cooler comparable to its predecessor – will the Strix RTX 2060 be able to handle the workload well on its current configuration?
GPU temps: 49°C on idle, then maxes out at 64°C after 20mins of stress testing with FurMark. Idle is pretty toasty but with a temp not exceeding 65°C on load is a good sight that the cooler works well on load.
Performance wise, The 2060 will be performing a bit less than that of the other higher cards – however, being able to achieve such numbers at a more accessible price makes it a viable option for more PC builders. The 2060 is the most accessible RTX-class graphics card right now and it would make sense to get the 2060 just to get into the RTX bandwagon without hurting the wallet too much.
4K resolution gaming is achievable as well with the RTX 2060 though we’d recommend turning down the graphical details of high-end games for optimized 4k gaming maintaining above 60FPS. This card is more suited for FHD or QHD resolutions.
Final Thoughts and Recommendation:
The ASUS Strix RTX 2060 is the bastion of a long known image molded to a new technology – A familiar face with new features. ASUS perfectly created a card that doesn’t bulk too much while still providing decent cooling on load
Predicted to be the most popular RTX card, the 2060 brings the RTX factor in the table for mid-range gamers – both meeting price and performance in a premium brand all in one package
Downside are ASUS cards tend to be on the expensive side compared to other brands and the idle temps for the card is a bit on the toasty side – though with a few tweaks on the fan profile this can be mitigated.
In-house nerd. PC Gamer. Probably one of the most try-hard FPS gamers in the team but still never manages to maintain a rank beyond silver.