ZOTAC Intros the Super Compact GeForce GTX 1060 Series

[btarunr]

ZOTAC International, a global manufacturer of innovation, is pleased to change the playing field of graphics cards once more with a new member in ZOTAC GeForce GTX 10 Series. The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 series is the latest addition within the NVIDIA Pascal architecture, with superior performance that can drive the VR experience.

The ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 series will be available in Mini and AMP Edition, both super compact short length cards. The Mini enables raw gaming power to come to smaller builds without compromising thermal performance and noise level. This is made possible with a single wide 90 mm fan helped with direct GPU contact and a carefully designed aluminum heatsink providing for even heat dissipation all within a 6.85-inch length.



The AMP Edition cranks up performance with a factory tuned boost to provide greater performance while keeping temperatures and noise level low. The signature IceStorm thermal system is helped by vertically configured 8mm copper heatpipes and a copper cold plate contact, providing a three-point chilling effect on the card. The wide blade on the dual 90mm fans delivers more cool air to the core with less RPM, meaning this card will be barely audible even under load. FREEZE continues to regulate the fans, providing a silent mode when idle with auto fan stop and start within a 8.27-inch length.

Both super compact Mini and AMP Edition cards are VR Ready while only taking 2 PCIE slots, making this the perfect upgrade for enthusiasts and users who are looking to march into VR or build a powerful compact system.

Accompanying the ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 series is Firestorm, the ZOTAC graphics card utility, redesigned with a new look dotted with new and improved features. The performance-tweaking and fan settings have been revamped to deliver a more user-friendly experience.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[RCoon]

Is the age of half-height GPUs dead now?

 

[PLAfiller]

Is the age of half-height GPUs dead now?

I hope not, but x-60 series never had half-height. Probably GTX1050 will have - Zotac, Gigabyte, KFA2, Colorful Yuri.

 

[Frick]

I hope not, but x-60 series never had half-height. Probably GTX1050 will have - Zotac, Gigabyte, KFA2, Colorful Yuri.

Considering what the 750ti did with just pcie power is shall be interesting to see what Pascal will make of it.

 

[sweet]

Considering what the 750ti did with just pcie power is shall be interesting to see what Pascal will make of it.

Do you want another PCIe-gate

 

[Caring1]

Is the age of half-height GPUs dead now?

And single slot cards.

 

[bug]

Prices. We need prices.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

If something like the GTX 1060 or RX 480 were made using an interposer and HBM, would it even fit on a half-height card the length of the PCIEx16 slot and under 75w? I think a card like that would be ideal for HTPCs and to replace defective integrated video processors.

The thickness of the interposer may require dual-slot solution for cooling though.

 

[LTUGamer]

and there is picture of reference card... Here is the real one:

 

[silentbogo]

Is the age of half-height GPUs dead now?

With ITX systems in trend, like never before, I'm also shocked that for the past 3-4 generations of GPUs all we get is an LP version of GTX650, GTX750Ti, HD7750 and R7 240 (usually arriving when it is almost too late).
Not sure if we will see an LP GTX1050, but with current specs I am sure that 1060 will not be one of the cards with low-profile version (mostly due to 120W max TDP and ever-present power connector).

 

[FordGT90Concept]

All of those are on 28nm. Without a change in process tech, there's really not much point in putting out new card. It'd effectively just be a rebrand. Thanks to TSMC 16nm and GloFo 14nm, they finally have a reason to revisit the low power/small form factor cards.

I agree, no GTX 1060 for low profile.

 

[bug]

If something like the GTX 1060 or RX 480 were made using an interposer and HBM, would it even fit on a half-height card the length of the PCIEx16 slot and under 75w? I think a card like that would be ideal for HTPCs and to replace defective integrated video processors.

The thickness of the interposer may require dual-slot solution for cooling though.

I don't know about height, but making them 75W is definitely a no-go. GDDR5 just doesn't eat that much power. See here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/9266/amd-hbm-deep-dive/2
More specifically: "...by AMD’s estimate 15-20% of Radeon R9 290X’s (250W TDP) power consumption is for memory"

 

[bug]

and there is picture of reference card... Here is the real one:

Not bad at all, assuming it's still quiet enough. That DVI connector sticks out like a sore thumb, though. (Yeah, I know some will swear they can't live without one, I'm just saying, it's the only port that's doesn't sit flush with the exhaust. It also comes with nuts...)

 

[Basard]

Not bad at all, assuming it's still quiet enough. That DVI connector sticks out like a sore thumb, though. (Yeah, I know some will swear they can't live without one, I'm just saying, it's the only port that's doesn't sit flush with the exhaust. It also comes with nuts...)

I can't live without one! I almost killed myself when I had to plug my secondary (DSUB) monitor into the primary DVI port!!!

 

[bug]

I can't live without one! I almost killed myself when I had to plug my secondary (DSUB) monitor into the primary DVI port!!!

This DVI doesn't do analog signaling, so it doesn't help with older monitors.

 

[Frick]

With ITX systems in trend, like never before, I'm also shocked that for the past 3-4 generations of GPUs all we get is an LP version of GTX650, GTX750Ti, HD7750 and R7 240 (usually arriving when it is almost too late).
Not sure if we will see an LP GTX1050, but with current specs I am sure that 1060 will not be one of the cards with low-profile version (mostly due to 120W max TDP and ever-present power connector).

There were outliers, like the Afox HD7850. Looks like a screamer, sadly. Many low profile cards are screamers, sadly, even the very slow ones. A Pascal/Polaris <75W card, low profile and clever cooling has great potential.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I don't know about height, but making them 75W is definitely a no-go. GDDR5 just doesn't eat that much power. See here: http://www.anandtech.com/show/9266/amd-hbm-deep-dive/2
More specifically: "...by AMD’s estimate 15-20% of Radeon R9 290X’s (250W TDP) power consumption is for memory"

I was more after the space GDDR5 requires. Most cards are using 1 GB chips with up to 8 of them. Those take up a lot of PCB real estate. HBM2 is capable of 2-4 GB per stack with up to 4 stacks on an interposer. I'm thinking two 2 GB stacks (4 GB total) + a GPU that keeps the total package power consumption under 75w. It would no doubt have to be lower power than the GPU of GTX 1060 and RX 480 but not by much.

I think we could be seeing respectable low profile cards in the next few years.

 

[bug]

...

I think we could be seeing respectable low profile cards in the next few years.

It depends. For HTPC, any current IGP will do. For gaming, I don't know whether you'll call "respectable" something that can barely push FHD in a year or two...
But who knows? I don't have a crystal ball.

 

[silentbogo]

There were outliers, like the Afox HD7850. Looks like a screamer, sadly. Many low profile cards are screamers, sadly, even the very slow ones. A Pascal/Polaris <75W card, low profile and clever cooling has great potential.

Wow. Can't see the dimensions, but it definitely looks like >260mm... Not sure if there are any LP cases that can fit this card. 220mm would probably be the absolute max length for the card of this size.

I was more after the space GDDR5 requires. Most cards are using 1 GB chips with up to 8 of them.

GTX750Ti in 2GB variant has 4 chips on each side. They are not effectively cooled, but with lower clocks they also did not produce much heat. My last LP card from MSI had a more urgent issue of VRM cooling...

It depends. For HTPC, any current IGP will do. For gaming, I don't know whether you'll call "respectable" something that can barely push FHD in a year or two...
But who knows? I don't have a crystal ball.

Even current iGPUs can't push anything other than CS:GO @ 1080p resolution, but something like GTX650 or higher - definitely can. I've built several very-very low budget rigs based on GTX750's and 950's for my friends obsessed with World of Tanks, and they feel quite comfortable running stable 60FPS@1080p at max settings (no motion blur). Same rig with a dual-core haswell can easily handle Dota 2 or Team Fortress 2 at max settings with DSR (2048x1536 resolution with downsampling), or even push it to 1440p. Today there are millions of people worldwide, who only needs performance of this level with a little future-proofing overhead, and will not require more at least for another 4-5 years. If GTX1050 can match the performance of GTX960, this would be the best potential card for 1080p gaming.

Purely theoretical spec is going to be near:
28SM = 896 CUDA cores
128-bit bus, 2GB and 4GB GDDR5 variants
TDP up to 80W
If downclocked and downvolted, it can probably become an nice 60W low profile bus-powered card.

NB!: before you start throwing rotten tomatoes - note that this is simply my wishful thinking, not backed by any official information, or speculative leaks.

 

[Aquinus]

Is the age of half-height GPUs dead now?

Only if they can't manage to get a significant amount of performance out of a low-profile dedicated GPU compared to current and upcoming iGPUs. Considering iGPUs don't use much power and are the ultimate low-profile option, it's kind of hard to compete in this area. Iris Pro really isn't too shabby if you're not gaming with it. My laptop with an i7 4770HQ is more than capable of decoding 4k video so, when you take gaming out of the equation, there really is no need for a dedicated GPU and by the time you start gaming, you're really going to want more "umfph" than what a low-profile dGPU can provide. It's almost a relic from the days when iGPUs were garbage even for non-gaming tasks.

Intel 845G with Intel Extreme Graphics anyone? I do not long for those days. I remember when going from that to a Radeon 9200 was night and day. That doesn't happen nowadays.

 

[bug]

Even current iGPUs can't push anything other than CS:GO @ 1080p resolution, but something like GTX650 or higher - definitely can.

Fans of AMD's APUs would crucify you for that.

I've built several very-very low budget rigs based on GTX750's and 950's for my friends obsessed with World of Tanks, and they feel quite comfortable running stable 60FPS@1080p at max settings (no motion blur). Same rig with a dual-core haswell can easily handle Dota 2 or Team Fortress 2 at max settings with DSR (2048x1536 resolution with downsampling), or even push it to 1440p. Today there are millions of people worldwide, who only needs performance of this level with a little future-proofing overhead, and will not require more at least for another 4-5 years. If GTX1050 can match the performance of GTX960, this would be the best potential card for 1080p gaming.

In my experience, that's how it starts. But then people notice other are playing (much) better looking games and they want in, too. You are correct however, there's no shortage of games that don't require much GPU power today. My assertion still stands, though, "acceptable" is a very, very subjective term

 

[Steevo]

Nvidia has carefully told all AIB partners not to disclose pricing or retail availability I see. I'm sure we will see high prices and limited availability for these cards as well which is unfortunate for all of us. Hopefully they can get whatever bugs there are in the process out and start cranking out chips to keep the competitive pressure on AMD who seem to be binning more chips with higher voltage to make sure more make the cut.

 

[Basard]

This DVI doesn't do analog signaling, so it doesn't help with older monitors.

Yes, but some dvi ports wont accept old analog adapters!!!!!

 

[Disparia]

The Mini was pictured earlier. If you have a little more room in your case, this is the dual fan AMP edition also mentioned:

From another press release the AMP will be 6GB while there are both 6GB and 3GB Mini models.

 

[silentbogo]

The Mini was pictured earlier. If you have a little more room in your case, this is the dual fan AMP edition also mentioned:

Their new AMP models look much larger than the older ones. I used an older Zotac GTX660 AMP cooling (with orange fans) some time ago to "shrink" an MSI GTX 660 Gaming/OC.
It used to be 220mm long, but this one looks almost as big as TwinFrozr (>255mm).