GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 3 GB vs 680

Primary details

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

Place in performance ranking	340	not rated
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	5.19	no data
Architecture	Kepler (2012−2018)	Pascal (2016−2021)
GPU code name	GK104	GP106
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	22 March 2012 (12 years ago)	27 June 2017 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$499	no data
Current price	$156 (0.3x MSRP)	$979

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

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 cores	1536	1280
CUDA cores	1536	no data
Core clock speed	1006 MHz	1265 MHz
Boost clock speed	1058 MHz	1480 MHz
Number of transistors	3,540 million	4,400 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	16 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	195 Watt	80 Watt
Texture fill rate	128.8 billion/sec	118.4
Floating-point performance	3,090.4 gflops	3,789 gflops

Form factor & compatibility

Information on GeForce GTX 680 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 support	PCI Express 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	10.0" (25.4 cm)	no data
Height	4.376" (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	Two 6-pin	None
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 type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	2048 MB	3 GB
Memory bus width	256-bit GDDR5	192 Bit
Memory clock speed	6000 MHz	8008 MHz
Memory bandwidth	192.2 GB/s	192.2 GB/s
Shared memory	-	no data

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	One Dual Link DVI-I, One Dual Link DVI-D, One HDMI, One DisplayPort	no data
Multi monitor support	4 displays	no data
HDMI	+	no data
HDCP	+	no data
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	no data
Audio input for HDMI	Internal	no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (11_0)	12.0
Shader Model	5.1	5.0
OpenGL	4.2	4.5
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	1.1.126	no data
CUDA	+	6.1

Pros & cons summary

---

Recency	22 March 2012	27 June 2017
Maximum RAM amount	2048 MB	3 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	16 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	195 Watt	80 Watt

---

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.

---