In March 2019, Nvidia introduced a line of GTX16xx video cards instead of low-cost and mid-range Pascal (GTX1050-GTX1060-GTX1070) video cards. The GTX1660Ti video card with GDDR6 memory is close in performance to the previous generation GTX1070, but with significantly higher energy efficiency. GTX1660 with GDDR5 memory in turn is the direct heir of the popular model GTX1060. It is possible to say with great confidence that it is the GTX1660 and GTX1660Ti that will become the new favorites for assembling mining rigs in 2019. Therefore, let us compare these two options in more detail in terms of technical characteristics and opportunities in Ethereum mining and determine which of the budget video cards will be the most optimal choice in terms of return on investment.
To clearly understand the technical differences between the GTX1660Ti, GTX1660 and previous-generation video cards, check out the table where the most attention is given to the parameters: number of CUDA cores, GPU frequency, memory bandwidth and power consumption of the video card.
| Specifications | GTX1060 6Gb | GTX1070 | GTX1660 | GTX1660ti | RTX2060 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Release date | 08.07.2016 | 10.06.2016 | 14.03.2019 | 22.02.2019 | 07.01.2019 |
| Teh process | 16nm | 16nm | 12nm | 12nm | 12nm |
| Frequency GPU (BOOST) Mhz | 1506(1709) | 1506(1683) | 1530(1785) | 1500(1700) | 1365(1680) |
| Cores Cuda | 1280 | 1920 | 1408 | 1536 | 1920 |
| GFLOPS FP32 | 4375 | 6463 | 5027 | 5437 | 6451 |
| Memory | 6Gb GDDR5 | 8GB GDDR5 | 6Gb GDDR5 | 6Gb GDDR6 | 6Gb GDDR6 |
| Memory bus width | 192bit | 256bit | 192bit | 192bit | 192bit |
| Total memory bandwidth | 192Gbit/s | 256Gbit/s | 192Gbit/s | 288Gbit/s | 336Gbit/s |
| Power usage | 120W | 150W | 120W | 120W | 160W |
| Announced price, USD | 299 USD | 349 USD | 219USD | 279 USD | 349 USD |
As part of this comparison, we will not take the Pascal generation video cards, since There is a lot of information on their performance in mining, but if you are still interested in such information, you can read it in this material.
Now consider in more detail the differences between the GTX1660 and GTX1660Ti. The first thing you should pay attention to is the recommended prices for video cards, where the GTX1660Ti is more expensive than the GTX1660 by 50 USD, but it also has a more modern GDDR6 memory and more CUDA cores with the same recommended power consumption of 120 watts. And all our further narrative will converge in one decision, namely, whether the overpayment for the GTX1660Ti version is worth the money.
Comparison will be done on the mining algorithm Dagger-Hashimoto or ETHash, which is now mined the popular cryptocurrency Ethereum.
For testing, the miner Claymore Dual GPU Miner v12.0 was used.
As prototypes, models of EVGA video cards are taken:
- EVGA Geforce GTX1660 Ti Black 6GB GDDR6
- EVGA Geforce GTX1660 Black 6GB GDDR5
The GTX1660Ti video card out of the box showed a result of 23.6MH/s. With the consumption of electricity from the network 94W. Those. energy efficiency was 3.98 W/MH
Now let's apply the skills in tuning video cards for Ethereum mining, namely, we reduce PowerLimit to 74%, but on the contrary, we increase the memory frequency by 900MHz. With such overclocking, the GTX1660Ti video card already shows 27.7MH/s, which is 4MH/s more than the runoff values. The power consumption of the card from the outlet was 114W. Energy efficiency in this case will be 4.11 W/MH
Now let's compare the results of the GTX1660 - 20.3MH/s video card with the test result without changes in frequencies and GPU. In this case, the power consumption of the video card was 95 W or 4.68 W/MH
Let us increase the memory frequency of the GTX1660 video card by 900 MHz, and lower the Power Limit to 74%. With these settings, the video card has already issued 24.6MH/s. With a power consumption of 104 watts. Energy efficiency in this case amounted to 4.22 W/MH
From this test, it is possible to single out a rather interesting fact that video cards react differently to overclocking by memory and downvolt. If GTX1660Ti gets an additional 17% to its hashrate with a loss in energy efficiency of 3%, then with the same tuning the GTX1660 gets an increase in performance by a significant 21%, while the energy efficiency of mining, on the contrary, improves by 11%
In order to fully answer the question what kind of video card to choose, you need to compare the results with the price of a video card, and also calculate their payback in the current realities of Ethereum mining, to determine the payback of equipment in the current realities.
As the source data, we take only the values obtained when tuning the video cards and calculate how much each MH in dollars will cost:
- Geforce GTX1660TI - 10,1 USD/MH
- Geforce GTX1660 - 8,9 USD/MH
It turns out buying GTX1660 instead of GTX1660Ti, each megahesh will cost 1.2 USD cheaper or 13%.
But this analysis is not over yet, because The GTX1660Ti has a slightly better energy efficiency of 4.11 W/MH instead of 4.22 W/MH, which can also affect equipment payback, especially if you have expensive electricity.
To calculate the payback, we use the Profit-mine.com calculator, in which we substitute all the necessary data and obtain the following result.
Income of equipment in mining Ethereum cryptocurrency:
- Geforce GTX1660TI - 0,30 USD/day (0,05USD/KW) и 0,16 USD/day (0,1 USD/KW)
- Geforce GTX1660 - 0,26 USD/day (0,05USD/KW) и 0,14 USD/day (0,1 USD/KW)
Equipment payback:
- Geforce GTX1660TI - 930 дней (0,05USD/KW) и 1744 дня (0,1 USD/KW)
- Geforce GTX1660 - 842 дня (0,05USD/KW) и 1564 дня (0,1 USD/KW)
Conclusion: If, when choosing a video card for mining between GTX1660Ti and GTX1660, focus only on mining Ethereum on the Ethash algorithm, then the Nvidia Geforce GTX1660 video card looks much more attractive in terms of return on investment, since such a video card pays off faster 88 days faster (with 0.05USD/KW) or 10% faster than GTX1660Ti. As a result, the GTX1660Ti video card, due to its higher price, loses this comparison to its less advanced fellow GTX1660, although there was a more modern memory and better energy efficiency on its side.
