GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!

GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!
11 min read
22 July 2020

Which graphics should you pick in your next laptop? The Nvidia GTX 1660 Ti, or is it worth paying more for the RTX 2060? In this comparison we’ll take a look at the differences in gaming performance and more to help you decide which is worth it. Let’s start with the spec differences.

GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!The RTX 2060 has 25% more CUDA cores than the 1660 Ti, however the 1660 Ti is capable of higher base and boost clock speeds. Both graphics options have 6GB of GDDR6 memory, however the 2060’s is a bit faster. The power limits of both graphics also differ a bit and this will impact performance.

In this comparison we’re using two Ryzen 4800H based machines, the ASUS TUF A15, so the 1660 Ti has an 80 watt power limit while the 2060 has a 90 watt power limit, expect a 115 watt 2060 to do better to what we’re looking at here.

The reason I’m comparing these two is because the RTX 2060 is the next step up from the GTX 1660 Ti at the moment, and as I’ve got two TUF A15s with the same chassis, CPU, RAM and cooling, I was interested to see the difference between these GPUs with Ryzen based laptops. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!We’re going to compare 20 different games, so this should allow us to get a good range of results to work out the average difference. Both laptops were tested with the same version of BIOS, Windows version, and Nvidia drivers, so let’s get into the results.

Red Dead Redemption 2 was tested using the games benchmark tool. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!I’ve got the RTX 2060 shown by the red bars, and the GTX 1660 Ti shown by the purple bars below. I’ve also tested all games at every single available setting preset, which are arranged from lowest at the bottom to highest up the top. In this test at ultra settings, the 2060 was 6% faster than the 1660 Ti.

Battlefield 5 was tested in campaign mode by running through the same section of the game on both laptops. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!Regardless of setting level, the RTX 2060 graphics is ahead as expected, with again a 6% higher average FPS at the highest ultra setting preset. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!Shadow of the Tomb Raider was tested with the games built in benchmark tool, and the 2060 was 5% faster at the highest setting preset in this one, and the difference was the same at lower settings too. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!Control was tested by walking through the same part of the game on both laptops. I’ve found this to be a more GPU heavy game, which explains why the 2060 had one of the best results out of all games tested with a 12% higher average frame rate at high settings.GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison! Ghost Recon Breakpoint just had a below average 4% boost to average FPS at ultra settings, however there were bigger differences at the lower setting levels, particularly in terms of 1% low performance which saw massive gains with the 2060, indicating a more stable result. BGTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!orderlands 3 was also tested using the games benchmark tool, this time at the highest setting preset there was an above average 9% improvement to average FPS from the 2060 laptop, and the gap narrows in as we step down to lower setting presets. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!Apex Legends was tested in the World’s Edge map running through the Drill Site on both laptops, and the 2060 was around 6% faster with all settings at maximum, or 4% faster with all settings at minimum.GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison! Call of Duty Modern Warfare was tested in campaign mode, and also with either minimum or maximum settings as there are no built in presets. The differences were on the smaller side here, with just a 5% gain at max settings with the 2060 laptop, or less than a 4 FPS boost. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!The Division 2 was tested using the game’s benchmark tool, and the 2060 was 6% faster than the 1660 Ti at max settings, so on par with quite a few of the other titles that we’ve tested here. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!Fortnite was tested using the replay feature with the exact same replay file used on each laptop. There was a 5.5% boost to average FPS at maximum settings, however this seems to increase with lower levels, as the 2060 had a massive 26% lead at lower settings. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!Monster Hunter World was tested running through the main town in the same manner on both machines. Once more, around about a 6% increase to average frame rate at the highest setting level preset with the 2060. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!Rainbow Six Siege was tested with the games benchmark tool using Vulkan, and this test saw the biggest difference out of all 20 titles tested, with the 2060 15% ahead of the 1660 Ti at ultra settings. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!Likewise Metro Exodus was also tested using the games benchmark tool and saw the second biggest improvement out of all games tested, with a 12% higher average frame rate on the 2060, granted the frame rates get so low at the higher setting presets in this test both are still giving lower results. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!The Witcher 3 tends to be a more GPU heavy game, and I’ve tested it by passing through the same part of the game on both laptops. There was an above average result seen with the 2060, which was 8% faster than the 1660 Ti at ultra settings in terms of average FPS. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!CS:GO was tested with the Ulletical FPS benchmark, and as this test seems to be more CPU dependent than GPU, it saw the smallest difference out of all titles tested, with the 2060 just 3% faster with all settings maxed out. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!Dota 2 also doesn’t really seem to benefit much from improved GPU power, as the 2060 only gave it the second lowest improvement out of all games tested with just a 4% higher average frame rate at max settings, while results were far closer together at other levels. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!Overwatch was tested in the practice range, and while actual gameplay doesn’t perform as well, this more accurately allows me to perform the same test pass which is ideal for a comparison like this. At the highest epic setting preset the 2060 was 7% ahead of the 1660 Ti in average frame rate. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was tested using the games built in benchmark, and there was an above average 8% higher average FPS from the 2060 at max settings, but like some of the other games tested, interestingly the performance boost was way higher at lower settings, especially in terms of 1% low performance.GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison! Far Cry New Dawn was also tested with the games benchmark tool, and once more the 2060 was 8% faster in average FPS at the highest setting level.GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison! Don’t worry we’ve got racing games too, F1 2019 was 6.5% faster on the RTX 2060 in average FPS with the highest setting level in use.

In terms of overall improvement, over these 20 games the RTX 2060 graphics is performing 7.2% better in terms of average FPS.GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison! As you can see, the performance difference can vary a fair bit between games. Tests that are more CPU bound like Dota and CS:GO saw lower differences. This is also in contrast to the 14% performance boost I found when comparing the 1660 Ti and 2060 last year but with Intel processors, so not sure if we’re seeing less difference here as a result of the Ryzen 4800H processors, I’ll be doing some Intel vs AMD comparisons.

Outside of gaming I’ve also got some 3DMark results, and as expected the 2060 was ahead of the 1660 Ti.GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison! I’ve also got the results of SPECviewperf which tests various professional 3D rendering workloads. GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!As both machines should in theory have the same cooling solution and thermal paste we can accurately compare temperature differences.

GTX 1660 Ti vs RTX 2060 - Ryzen Laptop Comparison!I’ve tested both laptops two different ways, above the red bar I’m stress testing with the Aida64 CPU stress test and Heaven GPU benchmark, while below the red bar I’m testing gaming by playing Watch Dogs 2. In the stress tests the temperatures were similar, but while playing the actual game the 2060 system was hotter, granted most of that seemed to affect the processor as the GPU was only 2 degrees warmer than the 1660 Ti.

Now for the final difference, the price. This will depend on where you live, but in general expect the RTX 2060 to cost more money, as it’s a higher tier graphics option. In the US the TUF A15 with GTX 1660 Ti seems to go for $1000 USD, while the RTX 2060 model is $200 more expensive, granted it’s currently out of stock in this example and does also have double the storage space, however I haven’t been able to find a better example. In this case, you’re paying 20% more money for an on average 7% performance boost in games.

Check out: 1660 Ti vs 1660

The improvement definitely isn’t that large between the two, granted it does depend on the game. Honestly I think the GTX 1660 Ti is in a great sweet spot, assuming you don’t care about ray tracing. Even all this time after ray tracing was released in 2018, there are still few games that can actually take advantage of it. Some like Control do utilize DLSS well, but these options are definitely in the minority, I can’t say I’d personally pick the 2060 just to get first generation ray tracing hardware, but that’s me and who knows what the future will hold.

Anyway let me know which graphics you’d pick for your next laptop and why down in the comments.

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JT 1.4K
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