GPU Review: Low Profile & Single Slot RTX 4060 (Frankenstein) from Taobao

[REVOCCASES]

I got my hands on a prototype of the first Low Profile & Single Slot RTX 4060 - brought to us by the same guys that already made the RTX A2000 8GB - so here is my exclusive first look / review...

Starting with some general info:

• the card will use the RTX 4060 Mobile Chip (GN21-X4-A1) and 8GB Samsung GDDR6 on a 128Bit bus
• true Low Profile & Single Slot form factor
• between 80 - 95W TDP (not decided yet)
• custom low profile 8-Pin power connector & adapter dongle (not SATA)
• 1x HDMI & 1x DP Output
• temperature controlled fan speed
• expected Timespy GPU score: ~9500 +/-
• price expected to be similar like the Gigabyte 4060LP

Things to know:

• the card is still in prototype / testing stage, it will be available later this year via Taobao
• first batch is available here: Huitong Computer Company - but locked at 70W TDP & without additional power connector (7500 Timespy GPU Score)
• currently, the card needs modded drivers from the manufacturer, "Frankendriver" does not support this card yet
• same like their A2000m 8GB, there are compatibility issues on Intel Desktop CPUs >11th Gen
• they are still working on an improved cooling solution (based on my suggestions) but don't expect a quiet card under load
• the total length including power connector/cables will be around 181mm

as mentioned above, the final cooler design is still not ready - this is what I came up with:



and the prototype from the manufacturer:



performance @ 95W TDP:



performance @ 80W TDP:



my thoughts:

I think those guys are doing some really cool stuff with their "Frankenstein" cards and it's great to see a true low profile single slot card which scores well over 9000 points in Timespy - not too long ago we needed a full sized 200W GPU for the same performance...

what I don't like is the 8-Pin power connector - without it, the card would have been ideal for the MS-01 or Thinkstation Tiny - and due to the placement of the connector it would even require some modding to put that card in a case like the Lzmod RLY-V2 . The manufacturer told me that they had to go this route because the performance of a solely slot powered 4060 Mobile wasn't much better than a desktop A2000... well, it is what it is and I believe some people will still find a way to make it work in their tiny builds...

last but not least: the link to the TaoBao shops

首页-恒升电脑-淘宝网 (taobao.com)



RTX4060 3050刀卡8G电竞显卡 支持DLSS光线追踪AI运算小机箱专用-淘宝网 (taobao.com)

 

[SFFMunkee]

Would be great if it's possible to run without the aux power, but I imagine it's expecting to pull power from all 5(?) VRMs
As we've discussed previously, my A2000 was pulling 140W from the slot, even if I wouldn't necessarily recommend that. But 80-90W from the slot should be very feasible in a lot of builds!

The other hiccup is probably the custom drivers - do we know why they require hacked drivers? Is it because to work with the official driver requires some sort of certification/validation process from nVidia? Or is there a technical reason?

 

[REVOCCASES]

I tried without the aux power connected but it didn't work. Guess it'll require some modding if you want to run it without that 8Pin cable.

The official drivers will install just fine but after restart, device manager will show an exclamation mark and report an hardware/driver issue. Probably they use a modded / custom VBIOS and the hardware IDs don't match with any existing 4060s, so I guess the normal drivers don't know what is going on with that card. anyways, after installing the manufacturers driver, you can update with official drivers as I explained in the A2000 8GB thread.

 

[robbee]

Would be great if it's possible to run without the aux power, but I imagine it's expecting to pull power from all 5(?) VRMs
As we've discussed previously, my A2000 was pulling 140W from the slot, even if I wouldn't necessarily recommend that. But 80-90W from the slot should be very feasible in a lot of builds!

The other hiccup is probably the custom drivers - do we know why they require hacked drivers? Is it because to work with the official driver requires some sort of certification/validation process from nVidia? Or is there a technical reason?

From a manufacturer pov, it’s too risky to sell stuff out of spec because you’ll risk high claims if things go wrong.

 

[jasonho]

A new challenger and perfect card for MS-01?

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-rtx-2000e-ada-revealed-as-compact-50w-workstation-gpu-with-16gb-vram-in-a-single-slot-design

 

[Gingerbeer]

A new challenger and perfect card for MS-01?

https://videocardz.com/newz/nvidia-rtx-2000e-ada-revealed-as-compact-50w-workstation-gpu-with-16gb-vram-in-a-single-slot-design

Is this accurate? I swear I read the 50W 2000E was a 4GB card.

[edit] Yep, it's confirmed on PNY's site - 16GB.

[edit2] Ah, it was the A400 I was thinking of

 

[Mattnz24]

The 4060 is up on Taobao if anyone is looking.

Also, I'm wondering whilst the 3050 and a2000 cards were worthwhile, what's the need for this 4060 card when there's cheaper 4060 LP 8GB cards? Is it to do with power draw again, I can't see and difference in specs but might be missing something? Cheers

 

[Mattnz24]

My bad, just noticed this is 20mm shorter in length. Although I'd be interested to know if this is all that's different?

 

[rfarmer]

My bad, just noticed this is 20mm shorter in length. Although I'd be interested to know if this is all that's different?

Single slot.

 

[REVOCCASES]

The 4060 is up on Taobao if anyone is looking.

Are you sure you found this one exactly? Link?

Also, I'm wondering whilst the 3050 and a2000 cards were worthwhile, what's the need for this 4060 card when there's cheaper 4060 LP 8GB cards? Is it to do with power draw again, I can't see and difference in specs but might be missing something? Cheers

Just like @rfarmer said, this 4060 is Low Profile and Single Slot. If you do not need single slot, you are right - there are quite a few other options...

 

[Mattnz24]

Are you sure you found this one exactly? Link?



Just like @rfarmer said, this 4060 is Low Profile and Single Slot. If you do not need single slot, you are right - there are quite a few other options...

I'm a bit confused but that's standard. There seems to be two shops and companies, not sure if they are linked or not. The original link you posted in the A2000 thread gave the link: Huitong Computer Company They are selling a single slot 4060 here

But the link above goes to: Hengsheng Computer They are not selling a single slot 4060 at the moment.

 

[REVOCCASES]

good find, I didn't check for the 4060m since I got mine

Huitong is a re-seller from the original manufacturer, seems they started selling the first batch - but still with the old cooler design (not sure if this already has the temperature controlled fan).

I'll update my first post accordingly

 

[00Joshua00]

Above all, don't forget that the NVIDIA RTX 2000E Ada Generation (SKU: VCNRTX2000ADAS-LLP) is here. Admittedly a little less powerful than its dual-slot counterpart, but it has the merit of existing and does not require any radiator modifications to switch to a single slot like the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation (SKU: VCNRTX2000ADA-PB).

NVIDIA RTX 2000E Ada Generation | Professional GPU | pny.com

NVIDIA RTX 2000E Ada Generation: compact GPU with real-time ray tracing, AI acceleration, and high-performance graphics. Ideal for creative professionals.

www.pny.com

 

[REVOCCASES]

Above all, don't forget that the NVIDIA RTX 2000E Ada Generation (SKU: VCNRTX2000ADAS-LLP) is here. Admittedly a little less powerful than its dual-slot counterpart, but it has the merit of existing and does not require any radiator modifications to switch to a single slot like the NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation (SKU: VCNRTX2000ADA-PB).

NVIDIA RTX 2000E Ada Generation | Professional GPU | pny.com

NVIDIA RTX 2000E Ada Generation: compact GPU with real-time ray tracing, AI acceleration, and high-performance graphics. Ideal for creative professionals.

www.pny.com

Also don't forget this card costs 700 EUR

 

[REVOCCASES]

I'm a bit confused but that's standard. There seems to be two shops and companies, not sure if they are linked or not. The original link you posted in the A2000 thread gave the link: Huitong Computer Company They are selling a single slot 4060 here

But the link above goes to: Hengsheng Computer They are not selling a single slot 4060 at the moment.

OK, I checked with Huitong... the 4060m sold by them has another VBIOS and is locked at 70W TDP so that it does not need the additional power connector - but it also only scores around 7500 Timespy GPU points, which is 2000 points lower than the prototype I tested with 90W TDP

I assume they will select GPUs based on silicon lottery and use the "better" chips for the 70W TDP version, so people can put the card in the Minisforum MS-01 and Thinkstation.

 

[jujudk]

Yeah
What i struggle to understand is that ther's a specific 70w model ? or all can either do 70w or more with external power added ?

Also through superbuy it's pretty pricey ngl

 

[REVOCCASES]

Yeah
What i struggle to understand is that ther's a specific 70w model ? or all can either do 70w or more with external power added ?

Also through superbuy it's pretty pricey ngl

As of now, Huitong is selling the 70W version only, Hengsheng will sell the 90W version later this year.

Both versions have different VBIOSes and the 70W version has no power connector soldered on.

 

[Mattnz24]

As of now, Huitong is selling the 70W version only, Hengsheng will sell the 90W version later this year.

Both versions have different VBIOSes and the 70W version has no power connector soldered on.

Thanks for checking, makes sense. It's great to see these guys doing stuff the main manufacturers won't.

 

[SFFMunkee]

As of now, Huitong is selling the 70W version only, Hengsheng will sell the 90W version later this year.

Both versions have different VBIOSes and the 70W version has no power connector soldered on.

Do either of them work with original nVidia drivers or both require custom/modded?

 

[REVOCCASES]

Do either of them work with original nVidia drivers or both require custom/modded?

Both require modded drivers...