Today, Nvidia officially announced the GTX 1060, the latest in its long-running line of GTX GPUs, which is scheduled to release on July 19th. Coming in at about $250, this is officially the most affordable graphics card from Nvidia in its Pascal-series. Stylistically, it looks extremely similar to the GTX 1070 and 1080 and is designed as the budget option of the bunch.
Targeted as the entry point card for PC gamers, the GTX 1060 is 100% VR-ready and aims to deliver GTX 980-quality performance at a fraction of the cost. Whereas AMD’s RX 480 hits just below that mark, the GTX 1060 is supposedly expected to achieve it or slightly better. Actual results remain to be seen.
Interestingly, considering this is the budget option, it’s impressive to see that it also supports Nvidia’s Multi-Projection technology, which should ensure the fidelity of delivering high-quality visuals for VR users. Since a GPU has to output two insanely detailed images – one for each eye – this is an important feature, which is integrated into both Unity and Unreal.
As part of the Pascal-series of cards, the GTX 1060 will also support Ansel, Nvidia’s new capture tool. Ansel enables users to freeze whatever game they’re playing and freely move the camera, similar to the Photo Mode seen in several PlayStation 4 games. Previously, features like this were only enabled on the software-side by developers, but by integrating it into the hardware, it should make capturing the best screenshots and moments easier for gamers.
But the best part is that, by using Ansel, you can capture 360-degree photos, which should not only come in handy for developers (2D screenshots never do a VR game justice) but it should also be great for showing off our favorite moments as well.
On paper, the GTX 1060 looks like an excellent option for new VR users looking to build their own rig from the ground up, but it remains to be seen how it officially stacks up against AMD’s RX 480 offering in the same price range.
Nvidia is also releasing a Founder’s Edition of the GTX 1060, available only from Nvidia directly, for $300. The Founder’s Edition will feature dual-FET power supply, as well as a blower-style cooler similar to those seen on the more expensive GTX Pascal GPUs. Both the standard and Founder’s Edition will be available worldwide starting July 19th.
