GeForce RTX 2080 vs GTX 1060 3 GB

Place in the ranking	221	65
Place by popularity	23	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	22.70	26.92
Power efficiency	14.34	15.67
Architecture	Pascal (2016−2021)	Turing (2018−2022)
GPU code name	GP106	TU104
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	18 August 2016 (8 years ago)	20 September 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$199	$699

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX 2080 has 19% better value for money than GTX 1060 3 GB.

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 cores	1152	2944
Core clock speed	1506 MHz	1515 MHz
Boost clock speed	1708 MHz	1710 MHz
Number of transistors	4,400 million	13,600 million
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm	12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	215 Watt
Texture fill rate	123.0	314.6
Floating-point processing power	3.935 TFLOPS	10.07 TFLOPS
ROPs	48	64
TMUs	72	184
Tensor Cores	no data	368
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	46

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).

Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	250 mm	267 mm
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin

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 type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	8 GB
Memory bus width	192 Bit	256 Bit
Memory clock speed	2002 MHz	1750 MHz
Memory bandwidth	192.2 GB/s	448.0 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 Connectors	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort, 1x USB Type-C
HDMI	+	+
G-SYNC support	-	+

Supported technologies

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

VR Ready

no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 Ultimate (12_1)
Shader Model	6.4	6.5
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	+	1.2.131
CUDA	6.1	7.5

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. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 1060 3 GB 24.95

RTX 2080 48.84
+95.8%

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

RTX 2080 18773
+95.8%

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 HD	70−75 −106%	144 +106%
1440p	50−55 −102%	101 +102%
4K	35−40 −106%	72 +106%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	2.84 +70.7%	4.85 −70.7%
1440p	3.98 +73.9%	6.92 −73.9%
4K	5.69 +70.7%	9.71 −70.7%

GTX 1060 3 GB has 71% lower cost per frame in 1080p
GTX 1060 3 GB has 74% lower cost per frame in 1440p
GTX 1060 3 GB has 71% lower cost per frame in 4K

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	90 +0%	90 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	50 +0%	50 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	250−260 +0%	250−260 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Metro Exodus	105 +0%	105 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	109 +0%	109 +0%
Valorant	249 +0%	249 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	188 +0%	188 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	43 +0%	43 +0%
Dota 2	87 +0%	87 +0%
Far Cry 5	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%
Fortnite	193 +0%	193 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	250−260 +0%	250−260 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	131 +0%	131 +0%
Metro Exodus	88 +0%	88 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	245 +0%	245 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	80 +0%	80 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	170−180 +0%	170−180 +0%
Valorant	145 +0%	145 +0%
World of Tanks	270−280 +0%	270−280 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	79 +0%	79 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	38 +0%	38 +0%
Dota 2	140−150 +0%	140−150 +0%
Far Cry 5	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	250−260 +0%	250−260 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	160 +0%	160 +0%
Valorant	223 +0%	223 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	90−95 +0%	90−95 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	90−95 +0%	90−95 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	170−180 +0%	170−180 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	52 +0%	52 +0%
World of Tanks	300−350 +0%	300−350 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	80 +0%	80 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	25 +0%	25 +0%
Far Cry 5	150−160 +0%	150−160 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	150−160 +0%	150−160 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	80−85 +0%	80−85 +0%
Metro Exodus	89 +0%	89 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	90−95 +0%	90−95 +0%
Valorant	161 +0%	161 +0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Dota 2	107 +0%	107 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	107 +0%	107 +0%
Metro Exodus	39 +0%	39 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	146 +0%	146 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	34 +0%	34 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	107 +0%	107 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	60 +0%	60 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	12 +0%	12 +0%
Dota 2	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%
Far Cry 5	80−85 +0%	80−85 +0%
Fortnite	75−80 +0%	75−80 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	85−90 +0%	85−90 +0%
Forza Horizon 5	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Valorant	88 +0%	88 +0%

This is how GTX 1060 3 GB and RTX 2080 compete in popular games:

RTX 2080 is 106% faster in 1080p
RTX 2080 is 102% faster in 1440p
RTX 2080 is 106% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 64 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	24.95	48.84
Recency	18 August 2016	20 September 2018
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	8 GB
Chip lithography	16 nm	12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	215 Watt

GTX 1060 3 GB has 79.2% lower power consumption.

RTX 2080, on the other hand, has a 95.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 166.7% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 33.3% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 2080 is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB in performance tests.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.