Zotac GTX 1660 AMP Review: Quiet but Pricey

A compact 1080p contender

Reviews
By Joe Shields
last updated
(Image: © Zotac)

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Zotac’s GTX 1660 Amp showed that it is more than capable of running a 1080p monitor along with games at ultra settings. Nearly all titles were at or over 60 fps and those that were not needed simple adjustments to get there. When compared to the Gigabyte RX 5500 XT Gaming OC 8GB, the results showed the Nvidia card almost 9% faster. Within its own product stack, the GTX 1660 is also several percentage points faster than the GTX 1650 Super we recently reviewed, but still falls short of the GTX 1660 Super.

The card uses the IceStorm 2.0 cooler that is able to keep the card running cool and nearly silent. Though it does not have an idle fan stop, it is nearly inaudible at idle and quiet on load. Heat is exhausted in the chassis but running under 120W, doesn’t take much to mitigate. Proper case airflow goes a long way.

(Image credit: Zotac)

At $239.99 on Newegg, Zotac’s Amp is priced a lot higher than most other GTX 1660s, which start at around $200, like Zotac’s non-Amp version. Looking at the big picture, AMD’s Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GB starts at $199.99 on Newegg as well but performs several percentage points slower -- at least on our PCIe 3.0 test bed. AMD’s recently announced Radeon RX 5600 XT will be an interesting addition to the GPU market, likely performing better though at a higher price point.

Overall, Zotac’s GTX 1660 Amp with the IceStorm 2.0 cooler and factory overclock, performed well at 1080p using Ultra settings. Price to performance may not be the best compared to similar cards, but the cooling and quiet operation may offset that cost -- especially if you need a compact card for an SFF system. 

If you are looking for a card that can surpass 60 fps at 1080p ultra settings in most titles, a GTX 1660 should be on the shortlist. If you can find the Zotac Amp for less than $230, it is a good deal. Otherwise, there are less-expensive cards to be had from Nvidia as well as the AMD RX 5500 XT 8GB variants if you don’t mind slightly less performance.

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Joe Shields
Joe Shields
Motherboard Reviewer

Joe Shields is a Freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US. He reviews motherboards.

2 Comments Comment from the forums
  • TheGuy746
    This is a terrible card for the above mentioned price. I just bought a 1660 super (zotac, basic version). Never goes above 74 degrees running full tilt for 3 hours (synthetic load) goes down to 70 after 10 mins
    And I have cheap ass fans in my case that barely push any air out of the case... (And the stock intel cooler that just pumps out all the CPU's heat into the case)
    Ambient temps are around 28 degrees at my place and it's quite humid.
    Save your money and go with the 1660 super.
    Edit: fixing a typo
    Reply
  • cryoburner
    Why would anyone consider paying $240 for a 1660 (non-SUPER) at this point, when a 1660 SUPER will perform 10-15% better and can be had for the same price or less? Zotac only offering 2 years of warranty coverage when most other manufacturers offer 3 doesn't help either.

    The 1660 cards priced close to $200 make sense, but anything priced much over $210, not so much, seeing as you might as well go for a notably faster SUPER variant at that point.
    Reply