Gainward GTX 1060 Phoenix GS Review

👤by David Mitchelson Comments 📅27-07-16
Closer Look (With Cooler)


The basis for GTX 1060 Phoenix GS is their dual-fan cooling solution. This cooler surrounds the PCB and internal components and is the first thing which takes the attention.

Overall the design with its metal shroud looks stylish and is very distinct; rather than opting for a neutral theme Gainward has chosen to differentiate with a red/gold design which certainly stands out from the spate lineup of black/silver aesthetics we see from other vendors.

The actual size of this graphics card is: 248 x 123 mm, which is smaller than other GTX 1060s – meaning this card is likely to comfortably fit inside most computer cases.


Flipping the card over, on the reverse we have a large steel backplate which protects the components on our graphics card and also prevents it from flexing or bending. Having such a feature on a graphics card is encouraging as it provides rigidity and prevents potential damage.

Gainward also provide a cut-out towards the top of this backplate where they have placed a dual-BIOS switch. This switch allows the user to choose between two different BIOS – so if a manual overclock goes pear shaped there is still an option to recover.

Note: removing the cooler will void the warranty – stickers cover the screws.



Phoenix GS arrive with a large LED strip which provides lighting to add some ambience to your system. This strip (which features the Gainward logo) have its colour modified via the ExperTool app. Different effects can be applied and if desired the LED can be disabled.

As the GTX 1060 has no SLI functionality our Phoenix GS also lacks this feature, so it isn’t possible to pair up with other GTX 1060s.


Taking a look at the rear IO section of our graphics card, there are a nice selection of ports to choose from. They are as follows:

• 1x DVI-I port (Up to 2K)
• 3x DisplayPort 1.4 (8K @ 60Hz)
• 1x HDMI 2.0 port (4K @ 60 Hz)



In a similar vein to the reference NVIDIA GTX 1060 FE, the Phoenix GS requires a single 6-pin connection and just 400W for the minimum specification on the PSU. This is great news for those with lower powered power supplies that still want to take advantage of mid-range graphics delivery.

Over the page we’ll take a closer look at the cooling solution and PCB.

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