Colorful RTX 4060 iGame Ultra Graphics Card Review

I've always been a fan of Colorful as their iGame series are usually strong-performing cards and have unique designs that make them stand out a little more from the competition. I'm happy to report that their new cards are no exception, with their Ultra cards coming in both double and triple fan configurations for both the Nvidia RTX 4060 and the RTX 4060 Ti. Furthermore, this is a factory overclocked model, meaning it'll boost to 2580 MHz, so it should run a little faster and the big coolers should make light work for this more modest GPU architecture. They've also treated the cards to a unique aesthetic thanks to a holographic coating on the shroud. RTX 4060 The RTX 4060 is the most affordable new card from Nvidia in quite a while, and that's sure to appeal to those still on much older hardware, especially anyone with a graphic card that starts with GTX and not RTX. Looking at the Steam Hardware Survey, the most popular card is still the GTX 1650 and largely the GTX 1600 series in general, with some RTX 30xx series mixed in. So those who didn't upgrade with the release of the last generation, they're most certainly feeling the performance strain in modern titles, so this should be the upgrade path they've been waiting for. Features 3072 CUDA Cores2580 MHz Boost Clock1830 MHz Base Clock17 Gbps Memory Clock8GB GDDR6128-bit Memory Bus272 GB/s Bandwidth A Closer Look This is one seriously kick-ass-looking card, but we didn't like it when we saw photos and videos, then we saw it in person and loved it, and now we have the hard sell of showing you photos and videos of it again. It has one of those holographic stickers on it, like when you find a shiny in a pack of Pokemon stickers (or whatever kids collect these days). So it changes from blues, through reds and purples as you move it around It has some great-looking fans too, with all three of them clocking in at 90mm, featuring 11 fins, and a ring that joins the fins together to better direct the airflow down through the heatsink, these should move some serious air and heat! The shroud looks fantastic though, and while it is plastic, there are so many unique patterns and panels on it that grab your attention. I normally like a more understated look for my graphics cards, but I have to admit, this one is just really unique and interesting, and I love it. Down the sides of the card, you'll find a large strip of ventilation where you can see the exposed heatsink fins, and this should allow air and heat to easily escape the card. However, keeping with the loud and in-your-face design, there's a huge GeForce RTX logo and the words ULTRA on the outward-facing side. There's even an embossed logo at the back that reads "ULTRA, break the routine, beyond imagination" and honestly, I'm surprised it isn't in neon pink or something to match the rest of the design though. The backplate looks stunning, with a cool graphic design and one of the most interesting airflow vent designs I've ever seen. However, I do wonder if it is restricting airflow as the openings are not that big, but I doubt cooling will be an issue regardless, given the size of this GPU core and the overall size of this cooler. At the back of the card, there's a single HDMI and three Display Ports, which are clearly labelled too with embossed port logos above each; I've never seen that done before. There's even an easy-to-reach turbo button back here, which is pretty handy. The card is easy enough to dissemble, with the one-piece metal backplate being fully removable. The plastic shroud is a single piece too and can be unplugged and removed. Each of the fans is screwed into some metal supports that act like an exoskeleton to the heatsink, ensuring the card stays nice and rigid. The heatsink is made up of two parts, with a dense area above the PCB, and then a huge extension on the back that is fed by two large heat pipes running the length of both heatsinks. The actual PCB is quite small, but features SKhynix 2GB GDDR6 VRAM chips, giving the card its 8GB total, but there's certainly room on the PCB for a few more if they chose to do a large model. How We Test We continue to update our testing methods around once per year. As such, we re-test older hardware to reflect changes over time. These can be driver updates, Windows updates, game patches, and more; all of which have an impact on performance figures. Furthermore, we update our test benches to newer and more relevant hardware. This means that our new reviews aren’t always comparable to those of older reviews, so please compare the testing methodology on older reviews should you be trying to compare them with newer ones. Replicate Our Results When it comes to our benchmarks in our reviews, the benchmarks are pretty self-explanatory and are kept as simple as possible, although there are a few exceptions. Remember that your choice of a graphics card, CPU, the silicon lottery, and other factors can yield different numbers, and there’s always a margin for error when using any software. Links are provided below, as well as the settings we use. We encourage you to not just look at how one product compares to any other, but how it compares to your own. If you’re looking to build a new system, you should benchmark your current PC using the benchmarks available to you. You should then look at the percentage improvement from your current hardware to the hardware tested here to give you a ballpark figure of how much of an upgrade this will provide you with. Processor Test Systems Test System (GPU) Motherboard ASUS ROG Z690 Maximus HeroBIOS Version 1720 Buy Now Processor Intel Core i9 12900K Review Buy Now GPU Changes Per Review RAM Patriot Viper Venom 32GB (2x16GB) 6200MHz Review Buy Now CPU Cooler NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB Buy Now Power Supply NZXT C1000 Gold Review Buy Now Storage Seagate FIRECUDA 530 1TB Review Buy Now Chassis NZXT H7 Flow Review Buy Now OS Windows 11 Pro Version 21H2 Drivers AMD Graphics: 22.10.1NVIDIA Graphics: 521.90 Additional Hardware Nvidia PCAT Software We use a variety of software from different developers to assist in our testing and to give us the most consistent results possible. Some applications are specifically used for testing, while others are simply used for monitoring and to aid us in making sure that our results are as accurate as possible. Software Used 3DMark FireStrike & TimeSpy (download) Gaming To gauge performance levels which are easily reproduced time after time, by both ourselves and our readers, we now stick strictly to games' default profiles. Given how powerful most modern cards are getting, we've begun using more demanding profiles for most games, but will otherwise state on a per-game basis if we use other profiles beyond High, Ultra, Maximum or their respective equivalent at all resolutions. V-Sync is always disabled in our testing, and all FPS caps that can be removed are. We also enable XMP and Resizable bar technology across all platforms to keep things as fair as possible. Games While we test a lot of games, it's not possible to display all of the data on the website or in our videos. Instead, we include access to all of our testing data for our Patreon members (link), where members get a ton of other benefits as well. What we do, however, is display charts for averages across all game titles to give a better picture of performance across all titles tested. Call Of Duty WarzoneCyberpunk 2077Death StrandingWatch Dogs: Legion Resolutions 4K (3840 x 2160) Some tests will also include features such as NVIDIA DLSS and Ray Tracing. However, these will be clearly labelled and may only appear in reviews for graphics cards that support those features. Power Consumption Not being content on simply reading total system power draw at both idle, we now have the ability thanks to the ElmorLabs PMD-USB device that allows us to measure power draw directly through the EPS power connectors. We test at idle, during gaming load, of which we measure drawing a run of Cyberpunk 2077 and during Cinebench R23 at load too. Temperatures We take temperature readings after 10 minutes of desktop idle with no background programs running, then take the recorded maximum delivered during the same runs as when we measure power consumption, being during our Cyberpunk 2033 run, and during Cinebench R23 at load too. Call Of Duty Modern Warfare II Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II drops players into an unprecedented global conflict that features the return of the iconic Operators of Task Force 141. From small-scale, high-stakes infiltration tactical ops to highly classified missions, players will deploy alongside friends in a truly immersive experience. Available now on Steam. The iGame puts out a respectable 96 FPs in Call of Duty, putting it right between the INNO3D and the Gigabyte cards 95 and 97. They're all so ridiculously close that I doubt you could tell them apart from gameplay. Weirdly though, as the average FPS goes up 1FPS from card to card, the 1% lows go down 1FPS, isn't that weird? Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world, action-adventure RPG set in the megalopolis of Night City, where you play as a cyberpunk mercenary wrapped up in a do-or-die fight for survival. Improved and featuring all-new free additional content, customize your character and playstyle as you take on jobs, build a reputation, and unlock upgrades. The relationships you forge and the choices you make will shape the story and the world around you. Legends are made here. What will yours be? Available now on Steam. There's a little more variation in Cyberpunk, with a 2FPS difference, but so far the INNO3D card is still the fastest of the bunch, but the iGame is certainly holding on strong at 82 FPS. Death Stranding From legendary game creator Hideo Kojima comes a genre-defying experience, now expanded in this definitive DIRECTOR’S CUT. As Sam Bridges, your mission is to deliver hope to humanity by connecting the last survivors of a decimated America. Can you reunite the shattered world, one step at a time? Available now on Steam. It's the same story here, with the INNO3D card holding a strong 155 FPS lead, and the iGame coming in at 150 FPs with a 131 FPS 1% low. Watch Dogs: Legion Build a resistance from virtually anyone you see as you hack, infiltrate, and fight to take back a near-future London that is facing its downfall. Welcome to the Resistance. Recruit and play as anyone in the city. Everyone you see has a unique backstory, personality, and skill set. Available now on UPlay. Only by 1FPS, but the iGame pulled ahead of the INNO3D here. Honestly, though, they're so close I feel that if I benchmarked them again tomorrow the RTX 4060s would all change places on the chart. For the temperatures we ran the card in an hour-long F1 22 test and here we see the Colourful card sat at a steady GPU temperature of 54 degrees and throughout the test it didn’t drop below 50. Now looking at the hotspot, we saw the temp rise to 66 degrees, which in comparison to INNO3D's 85 degrees… This card is doing well so far. For the fan speed, this card came in the quietest of the 4060s we have here in the office, with an RPM of 1456. Finally looking at the GPU power and the Colourful came in with a round 120w. How Much Does it Cost? The Colorful RTX 4060 iGame Ultra Graphics Card is available from today, and you can check for up-to-date stock and price on Amazon here. However, Colorful stock can often be a little on the lighter side here in the UK, so you may have to shop around a little for this one. Overview This is certainly one of the most striking-looking RTX 4060 cards hitting the market today. I must admit I was looking forward to the Zotac Spider-Man one but was sorely let down by the fact it was just a black GPU in a fancy-looking box. That's not the case with the Colorful RTX 4060 iGame Ultra Graphics Card, as this one comes in a nice box, and has a truly very shiny graphics card within. It's got that shimmer and colour change to it as you look from different angles and just makes me smile like a 10-year-old me finding a shiny in my pack of Pokemon stickers. The Colorful RTX 4060 iGame Ultra isn't just a fantastic bit of shiny sticker though, as the whole graphics card looks like it has been designed to grab your attention. The backplate looks stunning, with its bright pink decal over a white backplate, the word ultra looks like it's bursting off the side of the card, and the shroud has a mixture of materials and a chrome strip that manages to look both sleek and visually loud at the same time. If that's not enough, there's a huge heatsink, with a triple fan configuration, with those large fans coming with an 11-blade design and axial trim that further pushes air down into the card rather than out to the side. Everything is tuned to just be a little bit better, and it ran significantly cooler than the INNO3D card and was most definitely quieter than all the other 4060s too; no doubt why they called this one the "ultra" then! When it comes to performance, it's still the same humble RT 4060 architecture underneath, and while the big cooler and the factory overclock do give it a nice performance bump, it's fairly small. For the most part, rival cards have their own custom coolers and OC profiles too, so they're all very competitive on performance. What gives Colorful an edge is that it runs cool and quiet and it also just looks fantastic. Should I Buy One? If you're looking to upgrade your old GTX-series cards, this is the most affordable RTX 4000 series card to date, but even then, it's got a cooler design that can make it stand out next to models that cost significantly more money.