The Nvidia RTX 2060 and GTX 1070 are both good gaming graphics cards, but which should you buy? In this article, I have compared 10 games at 1440p and 1080p to help you see the performance difference between them.
 |  |
|---|---|
| GTX 1070 | RTX 2060 |
| BUY NOW | BUY NOW |
| PROS | PROS |
| Excellent 1440p gaming performance. Fantastically overclockable. Very power efficient Super quiet while running. | Ready for 4K @ 30fps gaming. Silky ray traced 1080p gaming. Runs much cooler than previous. |
| CONS | CONS |
| Limited SLI capabilities | Slightly pricier than predecessor. RTX heavily impacts performance at QHD and 4K. |
| GTX 1070 | RTX 2060 | |
| CUDA CORES | 1920 | 1920 |
| BASE CLOCK (MHZ) | 1506 | 1365 |
| BOOST CLOCK (MHZ) | 1683 | 1680 |
| MEMORY | 8GB GDDR5 | 6GB GDDR6 |
| MEMORY SPEED | 8GBPS | 14GBPS |
| MEMORY BANDWIDTH | 256GB/S | 336GB/S |
OVERVIEW
Nvidia RTX 2060:
I am using MSI GeForce RTX 2060 Gaming Z in this review.
The Gaming Z definitely looks like a high-end RTX model. The design is pretty attractive and I personally love the grey color scheme and the backplate which makes it easy to match with most of the builds. Of course it has plenty of RGB’s.
It’s only 247 millimeters long which is great for compatibility and I can safely say that it objectively looks better than most budget RTX 2060.
You will need a single 8 pin connector cable to power it and it offers 3 display ports and 1 HDMI port for your monitors.
Nvidia GTX 1070:
I am using MSI GTX 1070 GAMING X 8G in this review.
MSI GTX 1070 GAMING X looks solid and aggressive.
At the front, there are the two 100 millimeter Trox fans. It also features the Zero FROZR technology which means the fans won’t spin, if the temperature is below 60 degree Celsius.
A stylish cover that incorporates a red and black theme which complements the brand. Beneath that is the TWIN FROZR heat pipes.
At the back, it has a solid backplate with MSI dragon logo and some vent holes.
Connectivity wise, it has 1 DVI, 1 HDMI, and 3 DisplayPorts. This card requires 1x 8-pin and 1x 6-pin power connector. This also features the RGB lighting but on the logo only.
MSI have their own mobile gaming app that allows you to control your graphics card from your phone which I find very handy.
PERFORMANCE
The system that I’m testing with has an Intel i7-8700K CPU in an MSI Z390 Gaming Pro Carbon motherboard running at stock speeds, along with 16GB RAM running at DDR4-3200 in dual channel.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was tested walking through the start of the game with the high setting preset. At 1080p, RTX 2060 was scoring almost 12% higher average and at 1440p RTX 2060 was still 11FPS ahead.
Battlefield V
Battlefield 5 was tested with high settings in campaign mode. RTX 2060 was ahead at both resolutions. In terms of Average FPS, RTX 2060 was 18% ahead at 1440p and 16% ahead at 1080p.
Counter Strike: GO
CS:GO was tested with the Ulletical FPS benchmark at max settings. This was the first game in which winner is GTX 1070. At 1440p GTX 1070 was 3FPS ahead and 1FPS ahead at 1080p.
Far Cry 5
Far Cry 5 was tested with high settings using the game’s built in benchmark tool, this time the RTX 2060 was 14% ahead of the GTX 1070 in terms of average frame rate at both resolutions.
Fortnite
Fortnite was tested using the replay feature with the exact same replay on each machine using high settings. The RTX 2060 was reaching average frame rates 8% higher than the GTX 1070 at 1440p and 17FPS ahead at 1080p.
Overwatch
Overwatch was tested in the practice range as it allows me to perform the exact same test run, perfect for a comparison like this. The RTX 2060 was able to achieve an 6% higher average frame rate over the GTX 1070 Ti at both resolutions.
PUBG
PUBG was tested with the same replay on each machine at high settings. At both resolutions, I was getting solid 60 FPS. In terms of average FPS, the RTX 2060 is the clear winner.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Shadow of the Tomb Raider was tested with the built in benchmark, and with the highest setting preset it tends to be fairly GPU bound, which probably explains why the 2060 was ahead at both resolutions.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Rainbow Six Siege was also tested with the built in benchmark at high settings. This game was about on average with the other games, scoring 10% higher average FPS with the 2060 when compared with the GTX 1070 at both resolutions.
Watch Dogs 2
Watch Dogs 2 tends to be more GPU bound in my experience and again the RTX 2060 takes the lead at both resolutions.
CONCLUSION
Price Difference
The MSI RTX 2060 I’ve used here goes for around $389 and MSI GTX 1070 was around $400. But in general they seem to cost a bit more as supply starts to run out, so you might have to turn to the second hand market.
Performance Difference
There’s no real reason to upgrade from the 1070 to the 2060, it would make more sense to look at something in a tier above both of them like the GTX 1080 or RTX 2070 for example, unless you’re happy with the 15% improvement the 2060 offers.
Which to buy?
When it comes down to it both are very capable of providing a good gaming experience at 1080p and 1440p with high settings. It really comes down to what sort of games you want to play, what resolutions you want to play at, and what frame rates you want to target. If I was buying new today I’d probably go for the RTX 2060.
Let me know which card you’d pick down in the comments, the 2060 or 1070.
