GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 3 GB vs 660

Primary details

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

Place in performance ranking405not rated
Place by popularity69not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation2.39no data
ArchitectureKepler (2012−2018)Pascal (2016−2021)
GPU code nameGK106GP106
Market segmentDesktopLaptop
Release date6 September 2012 (11 years ago)27 June 2017 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$229 no data
Current price$172 (0.8x MSRP)$979

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

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 cores9601280
CUDA cores960no data
Core clock speed980 MHz1265 MHz
Boost clock speed1033 MHz1480 MHz
Number of transistors2,540 million4,400 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm16 nm
Power consumption (TDP)140 Watt80 Watt
Texture fill rate78.4 billion/sec118.4
Floating-point performance1,981 gflops3,789 gflops

Form factor & compatibility

Information on GeForce GTX 660 and GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 3 GB compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop video cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility). 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.

Bus supportPCI Express 3.0no data
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length9.5" (24.1 cm)no data
Height4.376" (11.1 cm)no data
Width2-slotno data
Supplementary power connectorsOne 6-pinNone
SLI options+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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount2 GB3 GB
Memory bus width192-bit GDDR5192 Bit
Memory clock speed6.0 GB/s8008 MHz
Memory bandwidth144.2 GB/s192.2 GB/s

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 ConnectorsOne Dual Link DVI-I, One Dual Link DVI-D, One HDMI, One DisplayPortno data
Multi monitor support4 displaysno data
HDMI+no data
HDCP+no data
Maximum VGA resolution2048x1536no data
Audio input for HDMIInternalno data

Supported technologies

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

3D Blu-Ray+no data
3D Gaming+no data
3D Vision+no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (11_0)12.0
Shader Model5.15.0
OpenGL4.34.5
OpenCL1.21.2
Vulkan1.1.126no data
CUDA+6.1

Pros & cons summary


Recency 6 September 2012 27 June 2017
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 3 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 16 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 140 Watt 80 Watt

We couldn't decide between GeForce GTX 660 and GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 3 GB. We've got no test results to judge.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 660 is a desktop card while GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 3 GB is a notebook one.


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

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
GeForce GTX 660
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 3 GB
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 3 GB

Comparisons with similar GPUs

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Community ratings

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3.7 3996 votes

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3.6 69 votes

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Questions & comments

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