GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB GP104 vs GTX 870M

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Primary details

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

Place in the ranking481not rated
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
ArchitectureKepler (2012−2018)Pascal (2016−2021)
GPU code nameN15P-GTGP104
Market segmentLaptopDesktop
Release date12 March 2014 (10 years ago)25 December 2016 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)no data$199

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 cores13441152
CUDA cores1344no data
Core clock speed941 MHz1506 MHz
Boost clock speed967 MHz1708 MHz
Number of transistors3,540 million7,200 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm16 nm
Power consumption (TDP)100 Watt120 Watt
Texture fill rate108.3123.0
Floating-point processing power2.599 TFLOPS3.935 TFLOPS
ROPs2448
TMUs11272

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 sizelargeno data
Bus supportPCI Express 2.0, PCI Express 3.0no data
InterfaceMXM-B (3.0)PCIe 3.0 x16
Lengthno data250 mm
Widthno data2-slot
Supplementary power connectorsNone1x 6-pin
SLI options+-

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 amount6 GB3 GB
Standard memory configurationGDDR5no data
Memory bus width192 Bit192 Bit
Memory clock speedUp to 2500 MHz8008 MHz
Memory bandwidth120.0 GB/s192.2 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 ConnectorsNo outputs1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
eDP 1.2 signal supportUp to 3840x2160no data
LVDS signal supportUp to 1920x1200no data
VGA аnalog display supportUp to 2048x1536no data
DisplayPort Multimode (DP++) supportUp to 3840x2160no data
HDMI++
HDCP content protection+-
7.1 channel HD audio on HDMI+-
TrueHD and DTS-HD audio bitstreaming+-

Supported technologies

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

H.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder+-
Optimus+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (11_0)12 (12_1)
Shader Model5.16.4
OpenGL4.54.6
OpenCL1.11.2
Vulkan1.1.1261.2.131
CUDA+6.1

Pros & cons summary


Recency 12 March 2014 25 December 2016
Maximum RAM amount 6 GB 3 GB
Chip lithography 28 nm 16 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 100 Watt 120 Watt

GTX 870M has a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and 20% lower power consumption.

GTX 1060 3 GB GP104, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 2 years, and a 75% more advanced lithography process.

We couldn't decide between GeForce GTX 870M and GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB GP104. We've got no test results to judge.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 870M is a notebook card while GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB GP104 is a desktop 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 870M
GeForce GTX 870M
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB GP104
GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB GP104

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

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3.9 106 votes

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3.6 105 votes

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Questions & comments

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