MSI GTX 1060 Gaming X Graphics Card Review

A Closer Look

During the past few reviews, I’ve criticised graphics card vendors who constantly fixate on a red and black colour scheme. This is because I’d prefer to see unique designs which spark lively discussion. Despite this, I’m still partial to the gaming-orientated red and black theme providing it’s been implemented in an elegant manner. Honestly, MSI’s Gaming series of GPUs continues to impress and makes this infusion of colours look surprisingly fresh. More specifically, the lightening accents and textured black section in the centre offers a really distinctive appearance. Not only that, the red shroud around of the fans and silver stickers featuring the MSI Gaming Dragon logo injects more colour into the graphics card. Overall, the sleek aesthetic is wonderful and should match a large number of custom builds.

The MSI GTX 1060 Gaming X incorporates a hefty matte black backplate which prevents unwanted droop and improves the graphics card’s appearance. Additionally, the stealth Gaming dragon is beautifully done and identifies the product’s gaming focus in a stylish way.

MSI’s Twin Frozr VI cooling solution is a staggering 20% cooler and 40% quieter than the previous iteration. This is a marvellous achievement since the Twin Frozr V design remains exceptionally capable and I’m thrilled that it’s been improved upon even further. An integral part of this success relies on the new Torx 2.0 high-angled fan blades which generate 22% more air fan pressure than their predecessor. The dispersion fan blade has a steeper curve which accelerates airflow. Also, each Torx 2.0 fan employs double ball bearings to enhance longevity and ensure RPM increases seem less audible.

As you can see, the aluminium heatsink features a dense fin array and an assortment of nickel-plated copper heat-pipes which disperse heat extremely well. Not only that, the smoothed square shape maximises heat transfer from the surface of the copper base. According to MSI, advanced aerodynamics directs more air directly onto the heat-pipes. Similarly, deflectors on the heatsink enlarge the surface area to lower temperatures. MSI have deployed a nickel-plated copper base plate and premium thermal interface material which showcases their attention-to-detail when tackling GPU load temperatures.

The MSI GTX 1060 Gaming X has a 6-phase power delivery, premium Japanese capacitors and super ferrite chokes. These components are used on a custom PCB which is reinforced by a rugged anti-bending strip. MSI even included memory cooling plates which help overclock the memory to a faster speed. The PWM heatsink is another useful addition although it lacks the micro-fins seen on the GTX 1080 model. Nevertheless, it’s still a wonderful PCB design and a vast improvement compared to NVIDIA’s stock configuration.

Unlike the Founders Edition which utilises a single 6-pin PCI-E connector, MSI has opted for an 8-pin to leverage extra overclocking headroom.

Here we can see the rear I/O houses three DisplayPort 1.4, a dual-link DVI-D connector and HDMI 2.0b.

Once powered on, the lightning bolts fire up in a red colour which creates a spectacular finish. This is an ingenious idea and I absolutely love the subtly of MSI’s LED implementation. Please note, I’m pretty certain this section can only light up in red but it’s not a huge issue since other colours wouldn’t really be suitable.

On the other hand, the MSI logo’s colour can be changed to suit your preferences and the branding remains stylish without being too extravagant. Of course, it’s possible to cycle between a number of transitional effects for the logo and lightning bolts including static, breathing, flashing, double flashing and random.