Nvidia officially released the GeForce GTX 1060 based on the GP106 GPU die, and OEMs are scrambling to get their custom versions of the GTX 1060 to market. MSI opted to create six 1060 GPUs with various thermal solutions and clock speeds.
The fastest of these GPUs is the MSI GeForce GTX 1060 Gaming X 6G, which uses the company’s TwinFrozr VI cooler with a metal backplate and features a factory overclock of 1809 MHz. Naturally, this will also be the most expensive of MSI’s GTX 1060 GPUs, and it comes with an MSRP of $289 to prove it.
MSI produced the GeForce GTX 1060 Gaming 6G, which is another card with the TwinFrozr VI cooler and a metal backplate. MSI clocked the card somewhat lower at 1746 MHz. This card is slightly less expensive as well, with a $279 MSRP. Both of these GPUs have built-in RGB LED lighting too, which makes for a nice aesthetic touch.
MSI also equipped two GTX 1060s with its Armor 2X thermal solution, which isn’t quite as effective as the company’s TwinFrozr VI cooler due to a less beefy heatsink, but it should still be more than adequate to cool the GeForce GTX 1060. The faster of these two GPUs is the GeForce GTX 1060 Armor 6G OC that comes with a boost frequency of 1759 MHz, while MSI clocked the slower GeForce GTX 1060 Armor 6G variant at 1708 MHz.
MSI priced the GeForce GTX 1060 Armor 6G OC at $259, but we do not have pricing information for the other Armor 2X GPU. Neither card comes with a metal backplate or LED lighting, and they are essentially identical to each other except for their clock speed.
Further down the ladder is MSI’s GeForce GTX 1060 6GT OC, which uses an unnamed dual-fan cooler. MSI gave the card an identical clock speed in compared to the GeForce GTX 1060 Armor 6G OC, which means that both cards are likely pulled from the same bin and just use different thermal solutions. This card hits Nvidia’s recommended MSRP dead on at $249.
At the bottom of the stack is MSI’s GeForce GTX 1060 6G OC, which is again clocked at 1759 MHz. This card uses a simpler unnamed single-fan thermal solution, however, which means it will likely run somewhat warmer than the other cards in the list.
All of these GPUs are available now from various retailers.
| MSI GeForce GTX 1060 GPUs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPU | GTX 1060 Gaming X 6G | GTX 1060 Gaming 6G | GTX 1060 Armor 6G OC | GTX 1060 Armor 6G | GTX 1060 6GT OC | GTX 1060 6G OC |
| Core Clock | 1594 MHz | 1531 MHz | 1544 MHz | 1506 MHz | 1544 MHz | 1544 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1809 MHz | 1746 MHz | 1759 MHz | 1708 MHz | 1759 MHz | 1759 MHz |
| GPU | GP106-400 | GP106-400 | GP106-400 | GP106-400 | GP106-400 | GP106-400 |
| Memory | 6 GB GDDR5 8100 MHz | 6 GB GDDR5 8000 MHz | 6 GB GDDR5 8000 MHz | 6 GB GDDR5 8000 MHz | 6 GB GDDR5 8000 MHz | 6 GB GDDR5 8000 MHz |
| Thermal Solution | TwinFrozr VI | TwinFrozr VI | Armor 2X | Armor 2X | Dual-Fan | Single-Fan |
| Backplate | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| LED | Yes (RGB) | Yes (RGB) | No | No | No | No |
| Connectivity | 3 x DisplayPortHDMIDL-DVI-D | 3 x DisplayPortHDMIDL-DVI-D | 3 x DisplayPortHDMIDL-DVI-D | 3 x DisplayPortHDMIDL-DVI-D | 3 x DisplayPortHDMIDL-DVI-D | 3 x DisplayPortHDMIDL-DVI-D |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 277 x 140 x 39 mm | 277 x 140 x 39 mm | 279 x 140 x 38 mm | 279 x 140 x 38 mm | 247 x 115 x 39 mm | TBA |
| MSRP | $289 | $279 | $259 | N/A | $249 | N/A |