1060 3gb Regular vs Mini

[gizmo1990]

I'm in the market for a 1060 3gb (it's the best I can afford right now, especially with the crazy bitcoin increase) and I'm wondering about the differences between regular sized and 'mini' versions of these cards. Specifically, what are the pros and cons between the two?

From the makers site (I'll likely go with Gigabyte) there's no actual difference spec wise. Therefore I'd presume that the con with the mini version is that they run hot and that their single fan will have to run faster? Would that be it or are there other differences I'm missing?

Any advice much appreciated.

 

[tamzzy]

Therefore I'd presume that the con with the mini version is that they run hot and that their single fan will have to run faster?

correct, hotter and noiser.
therefore boost clocks may not be as high as the "regular" cards. although #siliconlottery, so YMMV.
but ofc if it's a choice between a 1050ti and a 1060 3gb mini, then obvs get the 1060 3gb mini

 

[mrbazmondo]

3 fans cool more at a lower rotation than 2 so run quieter, or can clock higher because 3 fans can keep the temp down better. Same with 2 fans being better than one.

 

[gizmo1990]

Thanks guys, good to know.

@tamzzy Aye I was considering a 1050ti but a little googling soon rectified my choice, along with some budget stretching!

 

[tamzzy]

@gizmo1990
i guessed it was a toss up between those 2 cards lol
do you not have member's market access? you could get some reasonable deals on used 1060 3gb for similar prices to a new 1050ti.

 

[HeX]

I've got the Gigabyte 1060 6GB ITX OC and even overclocked it's ridiculously quiet. I run it with a +175 on the core (~2050 boost in most things) with no voltage increase. Brilliant card. The Pascal GPUs run very cool so you don't need the mega cooling solutions to maintain good temps and noise levels. The gigabyte cards also have proper heat pipes and fins, the zotac mini cards are just alu blocks. So deffo go with a gigabyte version if you're going small.