GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile vs GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB

Place in the ranking	347	236
Place by popularity	not in top-100	38
Power efficiency	13.18	21.77
Architecture	Pascal (2016−2021)	Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code name	GP106	GA107
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Release date	27 June 2017 (7 years ago)	11 May 2021 (3 years ago)

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	1280	2048
Core clock speed	1063 MHz	712 MHz
Boost clock speed	1480 MHz	1057 MHz
Number of transistors	4,400 million	no data
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	75 Watt
Texture fill rate	118.4	67.65
Floating-point processing power	3.789 TFLOPS	4.329 TFLOPS
ROPs	48	40
TMUs	80	64
Tensor Cores	no data	64
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	16

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	large	large
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	None	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	6 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	192 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	2002 MHz	1500 MHz
Memory bandwidth	192.2 GB/s	192.0 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	No outputs	No outputs
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_2)
Shader Model	6.4	6.6
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	3.0
Vulkan	1.2.131	1.2
CUDA	6.1	8.6

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 Max-Q 6 GB 15.32

RTX 3050 Mobile 23.72
+54.8%

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 Max-Q 6 GB 5891

RTX 3050 Mobile 9122
+54.8%

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 13334

RTX 3050 Mobile 21358
+60.2%

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 10430

RTX 3050 Mobile 15685
+50.4%

3DMark Cloud Gate GPU

Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 74101

RTX 3050 Mobile 90224
+21.8%

3DMark Ice Storm GPU

Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 367999

RTX 3050 Mobile 580370
+57.7%

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	80 −16.3%	93 +16.3%
1440p	15 −247%	52 +247%
4K	30 −10%	33 +10%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	27−30 −63%	40−45 +63%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−33 −253%	106 +253%
Elden Ring	45−50 −102%	95 +102%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	50−55 −46%	70−75 +46%
Counter-Strike 2	27−30 −63%	40−45 +63%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−33 −143%	73 +143%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 −152%	156 +152%
Metro Exodus	40−45 −162%	110 +162%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 −40.5%	50−55 +40.5%
Valorant	60−65 −55.7%	95−100 +55.7%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	50−55 −46%	70−75 +46%
Counter-Strike 2	27−30 −63%	40−45 +63%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−33 −86.7%	56 +86.7%
Dota 2	56 −154%	142 +154%
Elden Ring	45−50 −162%	123 +162%
Far Cry 5	55−60 −132%	130 +132%
Fortnite	92 −31.5%	120−130 +31.5%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 −98.4%	123 +98.4%
Grand Theft Auto V	84 −52.4%	128 +52.4%
Metro Exodus	40−45 −76.2%	74 +76.2%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	175 +15.1%	150−160 −15.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2	35−40 −40.5%	50−55 +40.5%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	45−50 −61.7%	75−80 +61.7%
Valorant	60−65 −55.7%	95−100 +55.7%
World of Tanks	190−200 −27.9%	250−260 +27.9%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	50−55 −46%	70−75 +46%
Counter-Strike 2	27−30 −63%	40−45 +63%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−33 −70%	51 +70%
Dota 2	55−60 −182%	155 +182%
Far Cry 5	55−60 −32.1%	70−75 +32.1%
Forza Horizon 4	60−65 −71%	106 +71%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	48 −217%	150−160 +217%
Valorant	60−65 −55.7%	95−100 +55.7%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	21−24 −159%	57 +159%
Elden Ring	24−27 −175%	66 +175%
Grand Theft Auto V	21−24 −148%	57 +148%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	130−140 −25.2%	170−180 +25.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 −69.2%	21−24 +69.2%
World of Tanks	100−110 −47.7%	150−160 +47.7%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	30−35 −54.8%	45−50 +54.8%
Counter-Strike 2	12−14 −53.8%	20−22 +53.8%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 −155%	28 +155%
Far Cry 5	35−40 −83.8%	65−70 +83.8%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 −111%	78 +111%
Metro Exodus	30−35 −103%	69 +103%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	20−22 −70%	30−35 +70%
Valorant	35−40 −65.8%	60−65 +65.8%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−12 −90.9%	21−24 +90.9%
Dota 2	54 −5.6%	57 +5.6%
Elden Ring	10−11 −230%	33 +230%
Grand Theft Auto V	54 −5.6%	57 +5.6%
Metro Exodus	10−11 −130%	23 +130%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	57 −26.3%	70−75 +26.3%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−11 −50%	14−16 +50%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	54 −5.6%	57 +5.6%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	14−16 −71.4%	24−27 +71.4%
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 −90.9%	21−24 +90.9%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −200%	12 +200%
Dota 2	27−30 −244%	93 +244%
Far Cry 5	18−20 −63.2%	30−35 +63.2%
Fortnite	24 −20.8%	27−30 +20.8%
Forza Horizon 4	21−24 −105%	45 +105%
Valorant	16−18 −76.5%	30−33 +76.5%

This is how GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB and RTX 3050 Mobile compete in popular games:

RTX 3050 Mobile is 16% faster in 1080p
RTX 3050 Mobile is 247% faster in 1440p
RTX 3050 Mobile is 10% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is 15% faster.
in Cyberpunk 2077, with 1080p resolution and the Low Preset, the RTX 3050 Mobile is 253% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is ahead in 1 test (2%)
RTX 3050 Mobile is ahead in 62 tests (98%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	15.32	23.72
Recency	27 June 2017	11 May 2021
Maximum RAM amount	6 GB	4 GB
Chip lithography	16 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	80 Watt	75 Watt

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB has a 50% higher maximum VRAM amount.

RTX 3050 Mobile, on the other hand, has a 54.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 6.7% lower power consumption.

The GeForce RTX 3050 Mobile is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB in performance tests.

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