[Manuel Calavera]

Nvidia Geforce GTX 1060, Powered by the GP106, Launching In The Fall

The die size appears to be around 200mm˛ and if the GPU has two Global Processing Clusters then we can expect around 1280 CUDA cores (256 CUDA Cores per Streaming Multi Processor and 5 SMPs per GPC). The Nvidia GTX 1060 should work only on power provided by the PCIe by design but will probably have an optional 6 pin connector added by AIBs to ensure overclocking headroom. Even though the GP106 is near the bottom of the barrel of the Pascal lineup, depending on the clocks, it could still pack a lot of punch thanks to the use of 16nm FinFETs. The time has come when entry level actually means entry level and not a downright horrible gaming experience.

While we don’t know the exact price of this particular GPU, since we are looking at the general price range of GTX 960, the GTX 1060 should be priced anywhere between $179 to $229. The product placement of this particular GPU is for budget gamers (as opposed to HTPC builds). Keep in mind that there is a further cut down version of the chip, known as the GP107/GP108. These are the variants which will only be useful for HTPC purposes and not any real gaming. Because of this, we can consider the GP106 the last piece of the Pascal lineup that is of any interest to the gaming public.

Various entries for potential Pascal based graphic cards were spotted at 3D Mark a while ago. And if they are anything to go by, Pascal architecture has incredible potential. Which means the GTX 1060 will be nothing to sneeze at. If clocked high enough, the card could even be powerful enough to near the VR minimum spec (GTX 970 performance levels) which will allow Nvidia to market an additional VR ready GPU. The Total Available Market for VR is currently limited by the amount of high end cards on the market right now (GTX 970/R9 290 and above).