Radeon RX 6500 XT vs GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB

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GTX 1050 GTX 1050 Ti GTX 1060 3 GB GTX 1060 3 GB GP104 GTX 1060 5 GB GTX 1060 6 GB GTX 1070 GTX 1070 Ti GTX 1080 GTX 1080 Ti GTX 1650 GTX 1660 Super
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Radeon RX 6400 Radeon RX 6500 XT Radeon RX 6600 Radeon RX 6600 XT Radeon RX 6650 XT Radeon RX 6700 XT Radeon RX 6750 GRE 10 GB Radeon RX 6750 XT Radeon RX 6800 Radeon RX 6800 XT Radeon RX 6900 XT Radeon RX 6950 XT

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB and Radeon RX 6500 XT, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 1060 3 GB
2016
3 GB GDDR5, 120 Watt
24.85
+0.2%

Contents

GTX 1060 3 GB GTX 1060 3 GB
RX 6500 XT RX 6500 XT

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking216218
Place by popularity2685
Cost-effectiveness evaluation22.3058.29
Power efficiency14.3316.04
ArchitecturePascal (2016−2021)RDNA 2.0 (2020−2024)
GPU code nameGP106Navi 24
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date18 August 2016 (8 years ago)19 January 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$199 $199

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RX 6500 XT has 161% 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 cores11521024
Core clock speed1506 MHz2610 MHz
Boost clock speed1708 MHz2815 MHz
Number of transistors4,400 million5,400 million
Manufacturing process technology16 nm6 nm
Power consumption (TDP)120 Watt107 Watt
Texture fill rate123.0180.2
Floating-point processing power3.935 TFLOPS5.765 TFLOPS
ROPs4832
TMUs7264
Ray Tracing Coresno data16

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).

InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x4
Length250 mmno data
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin1x 6-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 typeGDDR5GDDR6
Maximum RAM amount3 GB8 GB
Memory bus width192 Bit64 Bit
Memory clock speed2002 MHz2248 MHz
Memory bandwidth192.2 GB/s143.9 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 DisplayPort1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4a
HDMI++

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_1)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model6.46.6
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL1.22.2
Vulkan+1.3
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. 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 24.85
+0.2%
RX 6500 XT 24.79

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
+0.3%
RX 6500 XT 9562

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 HD60−65
−5%
63
+5%
1440p30−35
+0%
30
+0%
4K16−18
−6.3%
17
+6.3%

Cost per frame, $

1080p3.323.16
1440p6.636.63
4K12.4411.71

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 72
+0%
72
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 51
+0%
51
+0%
Battlefield 5 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 54
+0%
54
+0%
Far Cry 5 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Hitman 3 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Metro Exodus 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 43
+0%
43
+0%
Battlefield 5 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 34
+0%
34
+0%
Far Cry 5 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Hitman 3 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 110−120
+0%
110−120
+0%
Metro Exodus 85−90
+0%
85−90
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 107
+0%
107
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 100−110
+0%
100−110
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 31
+0%
31
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 30
+0%
30
+0%
Far Cry 5 55−60
+0%
55−60
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Hitman 3 50−55
+0%
50−55
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 92
+0%
92
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 83
+0%
83
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 54
+0%
54
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 25
+0%
25
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 45−50
+0%
45−50
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 23
+0%
23
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 17
+0%
17
+0%
Far Cry 5 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%
Hitman 3 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 66
+0%
66
+0%
Metro Exodus 57
+0%
57
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 56
+0%
56
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−33
+0%
30−33
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 140−150
+0%
140−150
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%
Hitman 3 10
+0%
10
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 120−130
+0%
120−130
+0%
Metro Exodus 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 28
+0%
28
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 6
+0%
6
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 4
+0%
4
+0%
Far Cry 5 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 25
+0%
25
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 10
+0%
10
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%

This is how GTX 1060 3 GB and RX 6500 XT compete in popular games:

  • RX 6500 XT is 5% faster in 1080p
  • A tie in 1440p
  • RX 6500 XT is 6% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score 24.85 24.79
Recency 18 August 2016 19 January 2022
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 8 GB
Chip lithography 16 nm 6 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 120 Watt 107 Watt

GTX 1060 3 GB has a 0.2% higher aggregate performance score.

RX 6500 XT, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 5 years, a 166.7% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 166.7% more advanced lithography process, and 12.1% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB and Radeon RX 6500 XT.

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

Vote for your favorite

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
AMD Radeon RX 6500 XT
Radeon RX 6500 XT
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We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

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Community ratings

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

4.2 8572 votes

Rate GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB on a scale of 1 to 5:

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3.8 3221 vote

Rate Radeon RX 6500 XT on a scale of 1 to 5:

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.