GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB vs Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire

Place in performance ranking	267	325
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Value for money	no data	5.56
Architecture	GCN (2011−2017)	Pascal (2016−2021)
GPU code name	Neptune CF	N17P-G1 Max-Q
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Release date	1 March 2014 (10 years old)	30 May 2017 (6 years old)
Current price	no data	$1010

Value for money

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Technical specs

General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	2560	1280
Core clock speed	850 MHz	1063 - 1265 MHz
Boost clock speed	900 MHz	1341 - 1480 MHz
Number of transistors	2x 2800 Million	4,400 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	16 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	200 Watt	60 - 70 Watt
Texture fill rate	no data	118.4
Floating-point performance	no data	3,789 gflops

Size and compatibility

Information on Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire and GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.

Laptop size	large	large
Interface	no data	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	no data	None

Memory

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	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	2x 4 GB	6.144 MB
Memory bus width	2x 256 Bit	192 Bit
Memory clock speed	4800 MHz	8000 MHz
Memory bandwidth	no data	192.2 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Video outputs and ports

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 data	No outputs
G-SYNC support	no data	+

Technologies

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

VR Ready

no data

API support

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

DirectX	12 (FL 11_1)	12.0
Shader Model	no data	5.0
OpenGL	no data	4.5
OpenCL	no data	1.2
Vulkan	no data	+
CUDA	no data	6.1

Synthetic benchmark performance

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

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark performance 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.

R9 M290X Crossfire 19.52
+28.3%

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 15.21

Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire outperforms GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB by 28% based on our aggregated benchmark results.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 17%

R9 M290X Crossfire 14147
+6.1%

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 13334

Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire outperforms GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB by 6% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

R9 M290X Crossfire 10551
+1.2%

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 10430

Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire outperforms GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB by 1% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.

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.

Benchmark coverage: 14%

R9 M290X Crossfire 71977

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 74101
+3%

GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB outperforms Radeon R9 M290X Crossfire by 3% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.

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	62 −32.3%	82 +32.3%
4K	35−40 +25%	28 −25%

Performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

30−35
+29.2%

24−27

−29.2%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +25%	30−35 −25%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	30−35 +30.8%	24−27 −30.8%
Battlefield 5	65−70 +25%	50−55 −25%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 +30.8%	35−40 −30.8%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 +29.2%	24−27 −29.2%
Far Cry 5	50−55 −37.3%	70 +37.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	50−55 +29.3%	40−45 −29.3%
Forza Horizon 4	65−70 +24.1%	50−55 −24.1%
Hitman 3	55−60 +33.3%	40−45 −33.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 +28.1%	30−35 −28.1%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +28%	24−27 −28%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	40−45 +31.3%	30−35 −31.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	35−40 +27.6%	27−30 −27.6%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +25%	30−35 −25%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	30−35 +30.8%	24−27 −30.8%
Battlefield 5	65−70 +25%	50−55 −25%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 +30.8%	35−40 −30.8%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 +29.2%	24−27 −29.2%
Far Cry 5	50−55 −27.5%	65 +27.5%
Far Cry New Dawn	50−55 +29.3%	40−45 −29.3%
Forza Horizon 4	65−70 +24.1%	50−55 −24.1%
Hitman 3	55−60 +33.3%	40−45 −33.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	40−45 +28.1%	30−35 −28.1%
Metro Exodus	30−35 +29.2%	24−27 −29.2%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30−35 +28%	24−27 −28%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	40−45 +31.3%	30−35 −31.3%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	40−45 −57.1%	66 +57.1%
Watch Dogs: Legion	35−40 +27.6%	27−30 −27.6%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	40−45 +25%	30−35 −25%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	30−35 +30.8%	24−27 −30.8%
Battlefield 5	65−70 +25%	50−55 −25%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 +29.2%	24−27 −29.2%
Far Cry 5	50−55 +6.3%	48 −6.3%
Far Cry New Dawn	50−55 +29.3%	40−45 −29.3%
Forza Horizon 4	65−70 +24.1%	50−55 −24.1%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	40−45 +20%	35 −20%
Watch Dogs: Legion	35−40 +27.6%	27−30 −27.6%

1440p
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	27−30 +31.8%	21−24 −31.8%
Hitman 3	30−35 +29.2%	24−27 −29.2%
Horizon Zero Dawn	24−27 +23.8%	21−24 −23.8%
Metro Exodus	18−20 +35.7%	14−16 −35.7%
Red Dead Redemption 2	14−16 +36.4%	10−12 −36.4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	24−27 +31.6%	18−20 −31.6%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	21−24 +31.3%	16−18 −31.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	18−20 +50%	12−14 −50%
Battlefield 5	40−45 +34.4%	30−35 −34.4%
Cyberpunk 2077	10−12 +37.5%	8−9 −37.5%
Far Cry 5	30−35 +32%	24−27 −32%
Far Cry New Dawn	35−40 +32.1%	27−30 −32.1%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 +30%	30−33 −30%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21−24 +31.3%	16−18 −31.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	14−16 +55.6%	9−10 −55.6%

4K
High Preset

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 +27.3%	10−12 −27.3%
Hitman 3	18−20 +28.6%	14−16 −28.6%
Horizon Zero Dawn	12−14 +30%	10−11 −30%
Metro Exodus	10−12 +37.5%	8−9 −37.5%
Red Dead Redemption 2	10−11 +25%	8−9 −25%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	12−14 +44.4%	9−10 −44.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	20−22 −20%	24 +20%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	12−14 +33.3%	9−10 −33.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	10−11 +42.9%	7−8 −42.9%
Battlefield 5	21−24 +37.5%	16−18 −37.5%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 +33.3%	3−4 −33.3%
Far Cry 5	16−18 −25%	20 +25%
Far Cry New Dawn	18−20 +26.7%	14−16 −26.7%
Forza Horizon 4	27−30 +33.3%	21−24 −33.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	8−9 +33.3%	6−7 −33.3%

This is how R9 M290X Crossfire and GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB compete in popular games:

1080p resolution:

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is 32.3% faster than R9 M290X Crossfire

4K resolution:

R9 M290X Crossfire is 25% faster than GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB

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

in Watch Dogs: Legion, with 1440p resolution and the Ultra Preset, the R9 M290X Crossfire is 55.6% faster than the GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB.
in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, with 1080p resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is 57.1% faster than the R9 M290X Crossfire.

All in all, in popular games: