NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 in 2025: Still a Relevant Choice?
Overview of Architecture, Performance, and Practical Tips
Architecture and Key Features
Turing: The Foundation for a Revolution
The GeForce RTX 2060 graphics card, released in 2019, is based on the Turing architecture — the first generation of NVIDIA GPUs with support for hardware ray tracing and tensor cores. Despite its age, the card has remained relevant by 2025 due to regular driver updates and optimizations.
- Manufacturing Process: 12 nm (TSMC FinFET).
- RT Cores and Tensor Cores: 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores enable DLSS and ray tracing capabilities.
- DLSS 3.5: Since 2024, NVIDIA has integrated an improved super sampling algorithm, boosting FPS in games that support the technology by 40-60%.
- FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR): Competing technology from AMD also works on the RTX 2060, allowing flexibility in settings.
Conclusion: Turing has proven its longevity, especially for games supporting DLSS.
Memory: Is 6 GB GDDR6 Enough?
The RTX 2060 is equipped with 6 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 192-bit bus with a bandwidth of 336 GB/s.
- For Gaming in 2025: At Full HD (1080p), 6 GB is sufficient for most titles on high settings. However, games with ultra textures (like Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty) may experience stuttering.
- 1440p and 4K: For 1440p, it's advisable to enable DLSS or FSR. 4K is only viable for less demanding games or with reduced settings.
- Professional Tasks: For editing in DaVinci Resolve or Blender, 6 GB is the minimum threshold.
Tip: If you work with 3D rendering, consider models with 8+ GB.
Gaming Performance: Numbers and Realities
Average FPS in Popular Titles (1080p, Ultra):
- Apex Legends: 110 FPS (no RT), 75 FPS (RT + DLSS).
- Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree: 60 FPS (medium settings, DLSS Quality).
- Starfield: 45 FPS (high settings, FSR 2.2).
Ray Tracing: Enabling RT reduces FPS by 30-50%, but DLSS 3.5 compensates for losses. For example, in Cyberpunk 2077 with RT Medium and DLSS, the card achieves stable 50-55 FPS.
Resolutions:
- 1080p: The ideal choice.
- 1440p: Requires compromises (DLSS/FSR).
- 4K: Only suitable for indie games or older titles.
Professional Tasks: CUDA in Action
The RTX 2060 remains popular among budget workstations thanks to its 1920 CUDA cores and support for NVIDIA Studio Drivers.
- Video Editing: Rendering in Premiere Pro is 30% faster than with the Radeon RX 6600.
- 3D Rendering: In Blender (Cycles), the card shows results in 8 minutes compared to 12 minutes for the Intel Arc A750.
- Scientific Computations: Support for OpenCL and CUDA makes it suitable for entry-level machine learning.
Limitations: The small memory size for complex scenes in Unreal Engine 5.
Power Consumption and Cooling
- TDP: 160 W.
- Recommendations:
- Power Supply: At least 500 W (real tests show peak consumption up to 180 W).
- Cooling: Dual or triple fan models (ASUS Dual, MSI Ventus) keep temperatures below 75°C.
- Case: Minimum of 2 intake fans and 1 exhaust fan.
Important: Avoid compact cases without ventilation — overheating can reduce performance.
Comparison with Competitors
In 2025, the RTX 2060 competes with:
- AMD Radeon RX 7600 ($280): Better in Vulkan games (like Red Dead Redemption 2), but weaker in rendering.
- Intel Arc A580 ($220): Performs well in DX12 but drivers are still unstable.
- NVIDIA RTX 3050 ($250): Lower performance, but supports AV1 and HDMI 2.1.
Conclusion: RTX 2060 is the sweet spot between price and functionality.
Practical Tips
1. Power Supply: 500 W with 80+ Bronze certification.
2. Compatibility:
- PCIe 3.0/4.0 (performance loss on PCIe 3.0 is less than 3%).
- Motherboards: UEFI BIOS support is mandatory.
3. Drivers: Regularly update through GeForce Experience — optimizations for new games are released monthly.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Affordable price ($230-270 for new models).
- Support for DLSS 3.5 and FSR 3.0.
- Energy efficiency.
Cons:
- 6 GB of memory is a bottleneck in 2025.
- No HDMI 2.1 (maximum 4K@60 Hz).
Final Conclusion: Who is the RTX 2060 Suitable For?
This graphics card is an ideal choice for:
- Gamers with a 1080p/144Hz monitor looking to play at high settings without upgrading their system.
- Budget content creators: Editing, simple 3D rendering.
- PC owners with limited PSU: Low power consumption and compact models.
Alternative: For future-proofing, consider the RTX 3060 (12 GB) or RX 7600 XT. However, for its price, the RTX 2060 in 2025 still hits the mark perfectly.