GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q vs GTX 1060 3 GB

Place in the ranking	220	136
Place by popularity	23	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	22.35	no data
Power efficiency	14.34	31.17
Architecture	Pascal (2016−2021)	Turing (2018−2022)
GPU code name	GP106	TU104B
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	18 August 2016 (8 years ago)	29 January 2019 (5 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$199	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

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	735 MHz
Boost clock speed	1708 MHz	1095 MHz
Number of transistors	4,400 million	13,600 million
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm	12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	80 Watt
Texture fill rate	123.0	201.5
Floating-point processing power	3.935 TFLOPS	6.447 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).

Laptop size	no data	large
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	250 mm	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	no data

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	1500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	192.2 GB/s	384.0 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	No outputs
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 24.94

RTX 2080 Max-Q 36.14
+44.9%

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 Max-Q 13894
+44.9%

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	75−80 −53.3%	115 +53.3%
1440p	50−55 −54%	77 +54%
4K	35−40 −51.4%	53 +51.4%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	2.65	no data
1440p	3.98	no data
4K	5.69	no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	70−75 +0%	70−75 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	75−80 +0%	75−80 +0%
Elden Ring	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	78 +0%	78 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	70−75 +0%	70−75 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	75−80 +0%	75−80 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	170−180 +0%	170−180 +0%
Metro Exodus	95 +0%	95 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	95 +0%	95 +0%
Valorant	140 +0%	140 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	132 +0%	132 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	70−75 +0%	70−75 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	75−80 +0%	75−80 +0%
Dota 2	109 +0%	109 +0%
Elden Ring	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Far Cry 5	71 +0%	71 +0%
Fortnite	160−170 +0%	160−170 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	170−180 +0%	170−180 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	100 +0%	100 +0%
Metro Exodus	75 +0%	75 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	241 +0%	241 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	59 +0%	59 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Valorant	121 +0%	121 +0%
World of Tanks	270−280 +0%	270−280 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	68 +0%	68 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	70−75 +0%	70−75 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	75−80 +0%	75−80 +0%
Dota 2	120 +0%	120 +0%
Far Cry 5	90−95 +0%	90−95 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	170−180 +0%	170−180 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	104 +0%	104 +0%
Valorant	134 +0%	134 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%
Elden Ring	70−75 +0%	70−75 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	170−180 +0%	170−180 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
World of Tanks	230−240 +0%	230−240 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	66 +0%	66 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Far Cry 5	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%
Metro Exodus	75−80 +0%	75−80 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%
Valorant	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Dota 2	74 +0%	74 +0%
Elden Ring	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	74 +0%	74 +0%
Metro Exodus	21 +0%	21 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	118 +0%	118 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	74 +0%	74 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	38 +0%	38 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Dota 2	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%
Far Cry 5	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Fortnite	51 +0%	51 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
Valorant	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%

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

RTX 2080 Max-Q is 53% faster in 1080p
RTX 2080 Max-Q is 54% faster in 1440p
RTX 2080 Max-Q is 51% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	24.94	36.14
Recency	18 August 2016	29 January 2019
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	8 GB
Chip lithography	16 nm	12 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	80 Watt

RTX 2080 Max-Q has a 44.9% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 2 years, a 166.7% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 33.3% more advanced lithography process, and 50% lower power consumption.

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

Be aware that GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is a desktop card while GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q is a notebook one.

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