Rumour: Nvidia to launch GeForce GTX 1660 Super and GeForce GTX 1650 Ti in October
The rumours of a GeForce GTX 1660 Super are beginning to gain more substance, including Chinese website ITHome, which suggests an expected launch on October 22nd, as well as Videocardz sources at ASUS who suggest the AIB partner is working on at least three distinct models for the Nvidia GTX 1660 Super launch.
Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1660 Super was first rumoured at the beginning of this month, alongside a lower-end GeForce GTX 1650 Ti.
Team Green clearly isn’t particularly interested in clearing up any confusions which arise from its naming conventions; the average Joe can hardly be expected to pick which is faster out of a GeForce GTX 1660 Super or a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti. Hint: The Super is a slower video card based on rumours so far. Now we just away a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Super to further complicate things.
GeForce GTX 1660 Super
Specs-wise, the GeForce GTX 1660 Super isn’t shaping up to be anywhere near as exciting as its name indicates. If rumours are to be believed, we’re potentially looking at the exact same TU116-300 GPU used for the standard GTX 1660, complete with 1408 CUDA Cores.
The big difference would come from the memory, which is expected to switch 6GB GDDR5 to 6GB GDDR6, ramping up memory speed from 8 to 14 Gb/s. Based upon a 192-bit memory bus, this would increase the maximum memory bandwidth of the GTX 1660 Super from 192 GB/s all the way up to 336 GB/s. This would make it the stronger graphics card for higher resolutions, in terms of both screen resolution and texture resolution, although the TU116-300 isn’t particularly well-suited for gaming above 1080p anyway.
Dependant on pricing, this mid-gen refresh could well see the GeForce GTX 1660 replaced already with a like-for-like solution.
GeForce GTX 1650 Ti
The other GPU on the slate is the GeForce GTX 1650 Ti. This one’s a bit more logical, sitting somewhere between the GeForce GTX 1650 and GeForce GTX 1660. It’s expected to use a variant of the TU117 with at least 1024 cores unlocked (versus 896 on the standard GTX 1650). Pricing will be key here but this could a tidy and cheap graphics card if Nvidia handles it well.
GeForce GTX 16 Series Product Range
GeForce GTX 1650 GeForce GTX 1650 Ti (Rumoured) GeForce GTX 1660 GeForce GTX 1660 Super (Rumoured) GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
If all of this is true then we expect October to become an absolute battleground for mid-range graphics cards. Nvidia could have two mid-range video cards inbound, while AMD is expected to launch its low and mid-range Radeon RX 5300 and Radeon RX 5500 GPUs in mid-October. There should end up being plenty of choices for those looking in the $150-$250 range.
What do you reckon then, are we going to see a phasing out of the GeForce GTX 1660, or will it coexist alongside the Super? Are Nvidia putting out tempting low-end products or are AMD poised to steal the show with 7nm Navi in October? Share your thoughts below!
