(I used Claude AI to generate this article based on my video's transcript, so keep that in mind it might not be perfect even though I've gone through it to correct any issues I see. Also keep in mind that I've done further testing with an ASUS Proart 4060 compared to the MSI 1060 on my old PC and noticed a few situations where the CPU was limiting performance such as FFXIV minimum framerates.)
Check out the GIGABYTE 4060 OC Low Profile 8G card:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IMz7vb
Or look for a used MSI 1060 6GB ARMOR 6G OC OCV1 card:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/43oY9Kt
ebay: https://ebay.us/3IqNQg
As an affiliate of these shops, I earn from qualifying purchases!
I recently decided to take a look at the GIGABYTE RTX 4060 low profile version. This was the cheapest RTX 4060 card I could find as an Amazon Warehouse Deal (affiliate link), and I was curious to see if my old computer would benefit from upgrading from a GTX 1060 6GB to this new card.
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| Low profile! |
My current system is built around an Intel i7-6700 CPU, which is likely to be the main limitation in this comparison. I was particularly interested in the sound profile of this card given its tiny size. I don't take a look in the video, but potential benefits of AV1 encode/decode are one reason I wanted to upgrade.
The GIGABYTE RTX 4060 Low Profile: A Unique Design
This card features three fans, which hopefully offsets the smaller size (spoiler... they don't). For connectivity, it provides two DisplayPort and two HDMI outputs, an interesting combination. It also comes with a low-profile bracket in case you want to use it in an ITX build.
The card has some weight to it, and on the back, there's an 8-pin connector. The TDP (Thermal Design Power) is 115 watts, which exceeds the 75 watts provided by the PCIe connector.
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| It looks tiny in my PC. |
Benchmark Methodology
To compare the performance between my old GTX 1060 and the new RTX 4060, I used a benchmark called Phoronix Test Suite (openbenchmarking.org). Besides the benchmarks, I also used a Kill-A-Watt EZ to measure power consumption, which I display on screen to show the difference between the two cards.
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| The ports |
As far as I can tell, the 4060 is more efficient than the 1060. That's a nice benefit of not buying a GPU for many years - you get the advantages of smaller manufacturing processes and other advancements along the way. More performance for less overall power use in this case.
Benchmark Results:
1. Gaming Performance
In Final Fantasy 14, there was a noticeable improvement in the score between the 1060 and the 4060. However, for two other games at 1080p, the difference wasn't as significant.
2. 3D Rendering Performance
There was a significant improvement in Blender render times for 3D modeling. If you're into that kind of work, getting a new GPU makes a ton of sense. There was also a big difference in the Chaos Group V-Ray benchmark score.
3. 2D Rendering
Even in 2D rendering using Java, there was a large improvement in the score.
4. Synthetic Benchmarks
For the Superposition Benchmark using ultra quality settings, I saw basically double or almost triple the number of frames with the 4060. This is impressive considering I'm still using the same processor as before.
5. Video Encoding Performance
In Magix Vegas Pro, doing renders with H.264 and H.265 (which were very close), went from around 9.6 frames per second on the 1060 up to 12.3 frames on average on the 4060. This improvement in render times is pretty nice, especially since I do a ton of video work. I didn't try to gauge performance while editing, but that would be something to look at in the future if I can figure out a realistic way to do it (maybe an external recording of automatic mouse/keyboard control).
Power Efficiency
I did long recordings tracking power use, which I'll need to look through in detail. However, I did notice that the 1060, using FurMark, topped out a bit higher than the 4060. This is surprising considering you're getting more performance and using less power, at least in that specific case.
Thermal and Acoustic Considerations
In the case of this GIGABYTE 4060 low profile version, there are some drawbacks. Obviously, the sound profile is not great when it gets taxed. It has three small fans, which is better than two, but small fans don't sound great.
Conclusion
I'm actually going to be sending this card back. I picked this one up because it was cheaper than anything else I could find at the time, but it's worth spending more money to get a card with physically larger fans. This is a specialty card - if you need it, you need it. It's a very nice card for what it is.
I hope you enjoyed this comparison of my MSI GTX 1060 6GB card to this GIGABYTE RTX 4060 low profile card. The results were very interesting, and I was surprised that even with my old processor, I was seeing some improvements. If you're into 3D modeling or video work, getting a new GPU like the 4060 makes a ton of sense, even if you're not upgrading your entire system. For gaming, the benefits may vary depending on your specific games and settings. Also keep in mind that I've done further testing with an ASUS Proart 4060 compared to the MSI 1060 on my old PC and noticed a few situations where the CPU was limiting performance such as FFXIV minimum framerates.