GPU Gigabyte RTX 2060 Mini ITX review

[Zephyraeon]

I couldn't find much information about this card when I was looking into ordering it, figured I'd try to spread the word a bit in case other people are looking at ITX sized RTX cards.

First up, I haven't written a review of this kind before, and I definitely don't have all the fancy tools that most of you have, but I'll do the best with what I have, and let me know if you have any questions or anything else you'd like me to confirm.

Test rig:

• Silverstone RVZ01 (in vertical position)
• MSI B450I Gaming Motherboard
• 2x8GB G.Skill 3200MHz CL16 RAM
• Ryzen 5 2600 (stock with stock cooler and NH-F12 fan mounted above)
• Corsair SF600 Platinum
• Samsung 860 EVO 2.5" 500GB SSD
• Gigabyte RTX 2060 6GB Mini ITX (with 2x NH-S12A mounted above)

Unboxing
Nothing fancy here.


Temperatures
NB: room temperature is about 30C
At idle my CPU is around 37C and GPU around 43C
GPU temperature has been limited to 75C to prevent heat damage, not looking into trying to get around this but will update with regular temps from gaming.

Volume
NB: Currently my current build has a few old Noctua fans meaning at idle it still runs at about ~54dB - waiting on riser cable for my S401 case before I can test without case fans interfering.
The fan doesn't start until the GPU reaches 60C, meaning there is virtually no noise unless it's being actively used, however it hits 60C almost immediately when any significant load is put on it.
The GPU fan can be heard over the top of the existing case fans, but only increases the volume by an incremental 1dB.
Setting the fans to run at 100% load the total system volume increases to ~62dB, however the system never ran above 70% during benchmarking.

Overclocking
I was able to increase the core clock by 80MHz and the memory clock by 600MHz on my particular card. See pictures for results using the Time Spy benchmark.

Mod-ability
The top shroud can be removed by unscrewing 2 small screws on each side of the heatsink - be careful removing it, the shroud is mounted by plastic between the fins - I slightly bent the fins on my cards heatsink when I took it off to take a look.
The heatsink has an indent for the shroud's 90mm fan which is about 96mm long and 10mm deep. There's an additional ~8mm between the top of the heatsink and the top of the 2 slot IO, meaning there would be enough space for a single Noctua A9x14 to fit there if you wanted to see how that would go. I'm considering testing this, but need to source a GPU to 4-pin fan header.

 

[tinyitx]

Temperatures
NB: room temperature is about 30C
At idle my CPU is around 55C and GPU around 43C
.

I hope it is a typo of the CPU idle temp. Perhaps 35C?
If it is not, then you might have some serious thermal problem with the CPU cooling.

 

[Zephyraeon]

I hope it is a typo of the CPU idle temp. Perhaps 35C?
If it is not, then you might have some serious thermal problem with the CPU cooling.

It was definitely idling at 55C - remember my room temperature is around 30C with minimal circulation. Although I forgot to check the idle temps before benchmarking, 55C and 43C are what they appeared to stabilise as afterwards.

I’m fairly certain that the CPU temp doesn’t go much higher under load however. In any case, I’ll be changing the CPU cooler soon, nothing I can do about it for now.

 

[runcyclexcski]

I am considering to get this particular mini-ITX, and I wonder if Gigabyte can provide the CAD file for modelling. It would be very useful to play with different arrangements, cables, etc. Obviously, there are some excellent CAD models of mini-ITX cards on grabcad (for example the one below). However, there may be differences between manufacturers, and one also relies one the accuracy and precision of the model made by someone else. When I build optical instruments, it's understood that manufacturers provide CAD models of the components.

https://grabcad.com/library/mini-itx-motherboard-2

 

[tinyitx]

It was definitely idling at 55C - remember my room temperature is around 30C with minimal circulation. Although I forgot to check the idle temps before benchmarking, 55C and 43C are what they appeared to stabilise as afterwards.

I’m fairly certain that the CPU temp doesn’t go much higher under load however. In any case, I’ll be changing the CPU cooler soon, nothing I can do about it for now.

OK, your idle temp is 55C. 25C degrees above ambient temp is quite high when idling.
Anyway, what is the load temp then?

 

[Tazpr]

OK, your idle temp is 55C. 25C degrees above ambient temp is quite high when idling.
Anyway, what is the load temp then?

I mean he is running the stock cooler in higher than average ambient conditions with limited air circulation in a case with virtually no airflow... Not really that surprising to me.

 

[Zephyraeon]

Alright, I checked the idle CPU temp when I got home again and it tends to idle around 37C, which seems a lot more reasonable. I've also updated the post above with some more photos of the underside of the PCB and some of the results from a Time Spy benchmark, at stock and after OCing.

 

[princess_daphie]

I couldn't find much information about this card when I was looking into ordering it, figured I'd try to spread the word a bit in case other people are looking at ITX sized RTX cards.

First up, I haven't written a review of this kind before, and I definitely don't have all the fancy tools that most of you have, but I'll do the best with what I have, and let me know if you have any questions or anything else you'd like me to confirm.

[...]

Volume
NB: Currently my current build has a few old Noctua fans meaning at idle it still runs at about ~54dB - waiting on riser cable for my S401 case before I can test without case fans interfering.
The fan doesn't start until the GPU reaches 60C, meaning there is virtually no noise unless it's being actively used, however it hits 60C almost immediately when any significant load is put on it.
The GPU fan can be heard over the top of the existing case fans, but only increases the volume by an incremental 1dB.
Setting the fans to run at 100% load the total system volume increases to ~62dB, however the system never ran above 70% during benchmarking.

i got the same card yesterday and am test-running it right now. have you noticed the fans acting weird when setting them under 30% in MSI Afterburner? They also act weird when ramping up automatically when getting to 60C, as if the PWM was 1 second on, 0.5 second off, and so on?

 

[Zephyraeon]

i got the same card yesterday and am test-running it right now. have you noticed the fans acting weird when setting them under 30% in MSI Afterburner? They also act weird when ramping up automatically when getting to 60C, as if the PWM was 1 second on, 0.5 second off, and so on?

Actually afterburner wouldn’t let me adjust the fan profile at all for this card. In order to test 100% load I had to download EVGA’s Precision tool instead. Maybe try that and see if it helps? I’d be super interested to see how your card/build performs too!

I haven’t used the card for anything other than benchmarking yet, and fans in front of it make it hard to hear but I didn’t notice any ramp up or switching of the fan on and off around 60C, it seemed to come on when it hit 60C and stay on until it cooled down.

 

[princess_daphie]

Actually afterburner wouldn’t let me adjust the fan profile at all for this card. In order to test 100% load I had to download EVGA’s Precision tool instead. Maybe try that and see if it helps? I’d be super interested to see how your card/build performs too!

I haven’t used the card for anything other than benchmarking yet, and fans in front of it make it hard to hear but I didn’t notice any ramp up or switching of the fan on and off around 60C, it seemed to come on when it hit 60C and stay on until it cooled down.

that's weird! msi afterburner totally works normally for me with this card! the actual weirdness is how the fan is reacting to lower fan speed ( about < 30% )! i think i should try and run the card without msi afterburner running at all, i dunno, i think it was alright when i tested it on my bench.

i will try evga precision tool though, to see if there's any benefit.

-- EDIT:

I've found a post on a different place discussing the very issue I'm noticing:

https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/r...revving-noise-and-turn-on-off-problem.423708/

Hopefully links to other forums that have different specialization is all right?

 

[Legion]

that's weird! msi afterburner totally works normally for me with this card! the actual weirdness is how the fan is reacting to lower fan speed ( about < 30% )! i think i should try and run the card without msi afterburner running at all, i dunno, i think it was alright when i tested it on my bench.

i will try evga precision tool though, to see if there's any benefit.

-- EDIT:

I've found a post on a different place discussing the very issue I'm noticing:

https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/r...revving-noise-and-turn-on-off-problem.423708/

Hopefully links to other forums that have different specialization is all right?

Did it do this before you started messing with it?
If it didn't, stop using afterburner and just leave it alone
Some cards just really don't like having their fan curves messed with especially ITX cards which have been tuned by the factory to cope with situations like being stuffed into tiny, poor airflow boxes.

Trying to set the card to something other than it's own settings will result in some "unpredictable" behaviour!

 

[princess_daphie]

Did it do this before you started messing with it?
If it didn't, stop using afterburner and just leave it alone
Some cards just really don't like having their fan curves messed with especially ITX cards which have been tuned by the factory to cope with situations like being stuffed into tiny, poor airflow boxes.

Trying to set the card to something other than it's own settings will result in some "unpredictable" behaviour!

i know i was thinking maybe it's something like that, but then i got to read multiple threads on multiple sites all across witnessing this very issue on many of gigabyte's and other brands too, from 1000 and newer 2000 series cards! has something to do with the cards' BIOS having issues with PWM values lower than 43% or something...

 

[Legion]

@Tek Everything Is this something you witnessed in your Gigabyte RTX 2070 mini? Did or does it have any of these issues?

 

[Windfall]

I am considering to get this particular mini-ITX, and I wonder if Gigabyte can provide the CAD file for modelling. It would be very useful to play with different arrangements, cables, etc. Obviously, there are some excellent CAD models of mini-ITX cards on grabcad (for example the one below). However, there may be differences between manufacturers, and one also relies one the accuracy and precision of the model made by someone else. When I build optical instruments, it's understood that manufacturers provide CAD models of the components.

https://grabcad.com/library/mini-itx-motherboard-2

It would be ideal, and I have tried to get CAD models from Gigabyte, Asus, and ASrock.
I've even contacted their engineering departments.

In any industrial/semi-pro situation (Like your optical instruments), they would give you a CAD model, no questions asked (this is why I prefer and use industrial motherboards), but as a consumer, they aren't going to, because they think enthusiasts/consumers don't need it.

So, long story short, they won't.

 

[runcyclexcski]

but as a consumer, they aren't going to, because they think enthusiasts/consumers don't need it.

Do you think it might help if, in my request, I wrote that these models are needed for professional work, and use my official university credentials etc? Or, do they only target consumer markets, and we need to look for 'professional grade' motherboard supplier if we wanted CAD models.

We got a free NVIdia TESLA K-40 GPU this way (had to write a page about what we will need it for).

 

[Windfall]

Do you think it might help if, in my request, I wrote that these models are needed for professional work, and use my official university credentials etc? Or, do they only target consumer markets, and we need to look for 'professional grade' motherboard supplier if we wanted CAD models.

We got a free NVIdia TESLA K-40 GPU this way (had to write a page about what we will need it for).

Yeah, that may make it more feasible, if you include university credentials, but it is going to be far easier if you go for industrial stuff. Consumer companies' marketing divisions probably won't even have a CAD model, but industrial companies will.

 

[Tek Everything]

@Legion I haven't really noticed this issue with my 2070, although I tested the card in an open air setting and I'm using a custom fan profile now. I'll run some additional tests in auto fan mode to see what happens.

 

[fishyswaz]

I got this card a few days ago, and just had chance to test it out on my test bench before popping it in an S4 Classic.

Reasonably impressed - in synth tests maxes out at 1920 core with no manual oc, peaks at 65C on the bench.

Fan is pretty quiet (although ymmv as my hearings rubbish from too many gigs). There's a very small amount of coil whine pre ramping, but this may well disappear after a bit of use.

PSU at the wall drew a max of 186.1w in Heaven on an Asus Z170 Fatal1ty mitx with a 6700k and 16gb 3200 memory.

System total running 6700k stock with Prime and Heaven drew 298.2w from the wall, similar amount with Realbench.