NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Buyer's Guide
Positioning and generation
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 is a desktop graphics card based on the Turing architecture. On FrameScope's GPU hierarchy it sits in the Entry Gaming band, which means it lands in the lower-middle part of official requirement tiers. It suits budget-minded players and people who mainly play mainstream esports titles and a good share of recent releases.
Because it is an older generation than the later RTX cards, it has no ray tracing support and no DLSS. It does support FSR, the upscaling option that works across most hardware. Today it is best thought of as a dependable entry card for mid-range requirements rather than a card for high resolutions or top-end settings.
In our catalogue, about 130 games reach their official recommended requirements with this card, and roughly 140 more run well above the recommended level. About 19 games have official minimum requirements it cannot reach, mostly demanding newer releases.
Key specs explained
The card has 6 GB of VRAM on GDDR5 memory with a 192-bit memory bus. Six gigabytes handles most games at 1080p, but newer titles with high texture settings can run into the limit, so lowering texture quality is the usual fix. GDDR5 and a 192-bit bus are entry-level choices, which limits how much data the card can move at higher resolutions.
Ray tracing is not supported, so ray-traced lighting options will not be available and any requirements built around it fall outside what this card can do. DLSS is also not supported, but FSR is, and FSR can render at a lower internal resolution and upscale the image, which helps stretch the card's useful life.
Taken together, these specs define the sensible use for the card: 1080p esports and mainstream gaming.
Suitable games and resolutions
Against official requirements, this card is best suited to esports titles, indie games and strategy or simulation games with moderate demands. Titles in our catalogue that reach their recommended requirements include Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, Mewgenics, Farthest Frontier and BALL x PIT, so it handles plenty of good-looking games that are not extremely demanding.
Games such as Big Ambitions, Yet Another Zombie Survivors and Fields of Mistria only just reach their official minimum requirements, so you should expect to play them on low to medium settings. Demanding titles like Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020) 40th Anniversary Edition and SILENT HILL f are beyond what this card can comfortably handle.
For resolution, 1080p is the practical target. Going to 1440p means accepting reduced detail settings and leaning on FSR to keep things smooth. 4K is outside the sensible range for this card.
Compared with similar hardware
In our GPU hierarchy, the nearest cards above the GTX 1660 are the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 6GB desktop card and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070. The RTX 3050 Laptop GPU sits at the same tier position, but it is a laptop part, so it should not be read as a direct desktop comparison. The RTX 3050 6GB and GTX 1070 sit higher in the ranking.
Below it are the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Super, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 and the AMD Radeon RX 590. The GTX 1650 Super is a step lower in the same entry-level range, while the GTX 980 and RX 590 also rank below it.
These comparisons only show relative position in official requirement tiers, not real-world gaps. When choosing, decide based on the games you want to play and your budget.
Buying new or used
When buying new, make sure your power supply has enough wattage and the right connectors. This is a moderate-power card that a mid-range PSU can usually run, but check the case clearance for the card's length and make sure cooling airflow is adequate.
With a used card, find out whether it was used for crypto mining, since long periods at full load wear out fans and thermal paste and can shorten the card's life. Before buying, check that the fans are quiet, the display outputs work and the seller can show a working test image. A proof of purchase or remaining warranty lowers the risk considerably.
For a new card, prefer a version with full warranty coverage from a reputable brand, and compare variants, since cooler designs and factory overclocks differ.
Upgrade advice
If you already own this GTX 1660 and find 1080p detail or game selection is no longer enough, an upgrade makes sense. When you upgrade, check the processor and memory as well so that one of them does not become a bottleneck and hold back the new card.
The more suitable upgrade targets in our database are the AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT, Intel Arc A580 and AMD Radeon RX 5700, each a clear step up in tier. Choose based on your budget and the features you want, such as more VRAM or specific upscaling support.
If most of your games already run acceptably, there is no need to rush. Waiting until a real limitation becomes intolerable is the more practical approach.
