GeForce GTX 960 vs GTX 1060 3 GB

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GTX 1060 3 GB GTX 1060 3 GB GP104 GTX 1060 5 GB GTX 1060 6 GB GTX 1060 6 GB GDDR5X GTX 1060 6 GB GP104 GTX 1060 8 GB GDDR5X
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GTX 750 GM206 GTX 750 v2 GTX 950 GTX 950 Low Power GTX 960 GTX 960 OEM

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB and GeForce GTX 960, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 1060 3 GB
2016
3 GB GDDR5, 120 Watt
24.64
+57.1%

GTX 1060 3 GB outperforms GTX 960 by an impressive 57% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Contents

GTX 1060 3 GB GTX 1060 3 GB
GTX 960 GTX 960

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking229352
Place by popularity2137
Cost-effectiveness evaluation22.449.09
Power efficiency14.259.07
ArchitecturePascal (2016−2021)Maxwell 2.0 (2014−2019)
GPU code nameGP106GM206
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date18 August 2016 (8 years ago)22 January 2015 (10 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$199 $199

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

The higher the performance-to-price ratio, the better. We use the manufacturer's recommended prices for comparison.

GTX 1060 3 GB has 147% better value for money than GTX 960.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores11521024
Core clock speed1506 MHz1127 MHz
Boost clock speed1708 MHz1178 MHz
Number of transistors4,400 million2,940 million
Manufacturing process technology16 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)120 Watt120 Watt
Texture fill rate123.075.39
Floating-point processing power3.935 TFLOPS2.413 TFLOPS
ROPs4832
TMUs7264

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Bus supportno dataPCI Express 3.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length250 mm241 mm
Heightno data4.376" (11.1 cm)
Width2-slot2-slot
Recommended system power (PSU)no data400 Watt
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin1x 6-pin
SLI options-+

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount3 GB4 GB
Memory bus width192 Bit128 Bit
Memory clock speed2002 MHz7.0 GB/s
Memory bandwidth192.2 GB/s112 GB/s
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPortDual Link DVI-I, HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.2
Multi monitor supportno data4 displays
HDMI++
HDCP-+
Maximum VGA resolutionno data2048x1536
G-SYNC support-+
Audio input for HDMIno dataInternal

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

GameStream-+
GeForce ShadowPlay-+
GPU Boostno data2.0
GameWorks-+

API and SDK compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12 (12_1)12 (12_1)
Shader Model6.46.4
OpenGL4.64.4
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan++
CUDA6.1+

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score.

GTX 1060 3 GB 24.64
+57.1%
GTX 960 15.68

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GTX 1060 3 GB 9588
+57.2%
GTX 960 6100

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD100−110
+53.8%
65
−53.8%
4K45−50
+55.2%
29
−55.2%

Cost per frame, $

1080p1.99
+53.8%
3.06
−53.8%
4K4.42
+55.2%
6.86
−55.2%
  • GTX 1060 3 GB has 54% lower cost per frame in 1080p
  • GTX 1060 3 GB has 55% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Atomic Heart 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Atomic Heart 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Battlefield 5 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Far Cry 5 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Fortnite 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Valorant 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Atomic Heart 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Battlefield 5 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 190−200
+0%
190−200
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Dota 2 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Far Cry 5 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Fortnite 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 49
+0%
49
+0%
Metro Exodus 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 50
+0%
50
+0%
Valorant 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Dota 2 90−95
+0%
90−95
+0%
Far Cry 5 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 28
+0%
28
+0%
Valorant 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Fortnite 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Metro Exodus 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Valorant 150−160
+0%
150−160
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Far Cry 5 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Fortnite 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%

4K
High Preset

Atomic Heart 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Grand Theft Auto V 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Metro Exodus 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Valorant 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Counter-Strike 2 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Dota 2 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Far Cry 5 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Forza Horizon 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Fortnite 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%

This is how GTX 1060 3 GB and GTX 960 compete in popular games:

  • GTX 1060 3 GB is 54% faster in 1080p
  • GTX 1060 3 GB is 55% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 67 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score 24.64 15.68
Recency 18 August 2016 22 January 2015
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 4 GB
Chip lithography 16 nm 28 nm

GTX 1060 3 GB has a 57.1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, and a 75% more advanced lithography process.

GTX 960, on the other hand, has a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount.

The GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 960 in performance tests.

Vote for your favorite

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960
GeForce GTX 960
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Other comparisons

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GTX 1060 3 GB GTX 1060 3 GB
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GTX 1060 3 GB GTX 1060 3 GB
R9 280X AMD Radeon R9 280X
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GTX 1060 3 GB GTX 1060 3 GB
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GTX 1060 3 GB 1060 3 GB
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GTX 1060 3 GB 1060 3 GB
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GTX 1060 3 GB GTX 1060 3 GB

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.

4.1 9168 votes

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Questions & comments

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