GTX 1660 Super vs RX 580 in 2026: The Ultimate £60–£80 Budget GPU Shootout
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Building a complete 1080p gaming PC in the UK for under £250 is still one of the most rewarding challenges in hardware. At this price tier, every ten-pound note matters. In 2026, two legendary second-hand champions dominate sub-£80 budgets: the AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6GB.
The RX 580 boasts a larger 8GB VRAM frame buffer and costs just £45 to £60, while the Turing-powered GTX 1660 Super commands £70 to £85. Is NVIDIA's architecture worth the £25 premium, or does Polaris's extra VRAM keep AMD in the game?
Technical Specifications & Realities
| Specification | AMD Radeon RX 580 8GB | NVIDIA GTX 1660 Super 6GB |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture & Node | Polaris 20 (14nm GloFo) | Turing TU116 (12nm TSMC) |
| VRAM Capacity & Type | 8GB GDDR5 (256-bit) | 6GB GDDR6 (192-bit) |
| Memory Bandwidth | 256.0 GB/s | 336.0 GB/s (+31%) |
| Typical Board Power (TDP) | 185W – 210W (High heat) | 125W (Cool & quiet) |
| Power Connector Needed | 1x 8-pin or 8+6 pin | 1x 8-pin (often single 6-pin OEM) |
| UK Second-Hand Price | £45 – £60 | £70 – £85 |
Real-World 1080p Gaming Benchmarks
Tested on a budget Core i3-12100F system with 16GB DDR4-3200 memory under Windows 11:
| Game & Resolution | RX 580 8GB | GTX 1660 Super 6GB | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fortnite (1080p Performance / Low DX12) | 110 FPS | 155 FPS | +41% (NVIDIA) |
| Counter-Strike 2 (1080p Medium) | 95 FPS | 142 FPS | +49% (NVIDIA) |
| Apex Legends (1080p Low/Medium) | 78 FPS | 104 FPS | +33% (NVIDIA) |
| Grand Theft Auto V (1080p Very High) | 72 FPS | 98 FPS | +36% (NVIDIA) |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 (1080p Balanced FSR) | 48 FPS | 62 FPS | +29% (NVIDIA) |
| Cyberpunk 2077 (1080p Low FSR Balanced) | 38 FPS | 52 FPS | +37% (NVIDIA) |
In competitive multiplayer games like Counter-Strike 2 and Fortnite, the 1660 Super dominates, comfortably pushing past 144Hz monitor refresh rates. The RX 580 stumbles due to older GCN vertex processing pipelines and lack of low-level driver updates.
The Driver Status Trap: GCN vs Turing
In late 2023, AMD moved the Polaris architecture (RX 400 and RX 500 series) into legacy maintenance mode. This means Polaris no longer receives official day-one game optimizations or anti-cheat driver fixes for new 2025/2026 releases. While community drivers like Amernime Zone (NimeZ) exist, they require manual tinkering.
By contrast, NVIDIA's Turing architecture continues to receive full mainline Game Ready drivers alongside modern RTX 40 and 50-series cards, ensuring plug-and-play stability for new releases.
Power Supply Demands & Mining Wear
Furthermore, the RX 580 requires a legitimate 500W+ power supply with an 8-pin connector. The GTX 1660 Super draws only 125W, allowing it to run safely on budget 400W–450W power supplies commonly found in upgraded pre-built Dell or HP office rigs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 6GB VRAM enough on the GTX 1660 Super in 2026?
For 1080p esports and competitive games, 6GB is plenty. In heavy AAA titles like Cyberpunk 2077 or Hogwarts Legacy, 6GB requires Medium texture settings, but the card maintains smooth 50–60 FPS frame rates with FSR/XeSS upscaling.
What is the difference between GTX 1660, 1660 Ti, and 1660 Super?
The GTX 1660 uses slower GDDR5 memory (192 GB/s). The 1660 Super uses blazing 14Gbps GDDR6 (336 GB/s), making it nearly identical in gaming performance to the more expensive 1660 Ti while costing less on the used market.
Can the GTX 1660 Super run on an OEM Dell OptiPlex power supply?
Standard OptiPlex power supplies (180W–260W) lack 8-pin PCIe auxiliary power. You will need either a 500W PSU upgrade or a SATA-to-8pin adapter only if your unit is a 290W gold model.
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