Graphics card comparison
GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB vs GeForce GTX 970
Nvidia
GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
3072 Mb GDDR5
Released 18 Aug 2016
DESKTOP
VS
Nvidia
GeForce GTX 970
4096 Mb GDDR5
Released 19 Sep 2014
DESKTOP
Summary
Synthetic performance index
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB104%
- GeForce GTX 970100%
Relative performance
Gaming performance index
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB109%
- GeForce GTX 970100%
Relative performance
Reasons to consider the GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
- 9% higher gaming performance.
- This is a much newer product, it might have better long term support.
- Supports PhysX
- Supports G-Sync
- Supports ShadowPlay (allows game streaming/recording with minimum performance penalty)
- Supports Direct3D 12 Async Compute
- Based on an outdated architecture (Nvidia Pascal), there may be no performance optimizations for current games and applications
Reasons to consider the GeForce GTX 970
- Supports PhysX
- Supports G-Sync
- Supports ShadowPlay (allows game streaming/recording with minimum performance penalty)
- Based on an outdated architecture (Nvidia Maxwell), there may be no performance optimizations for current games and applications
Our verdict
HWSpot recommends the GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
The GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is the better performing card based on the game benchmark suite used (23 combinations of games and resolutions).
Specifications
Core configuration
| GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB | GeForce GTX 970 |
|---|
| GPU Name | GP106 (GP106-300-A1) | GM204 (GM204-200-A1) |
| Fab Process | 16 nm | 28 nm |
| Die Size | 200 mm² | 398 mm² |
| Transistors | 4,400 million | 5,200 million |
| Shaders | 1152 | 1664 |
| Compute Units | 9 | 13 |
| Core clock | 1506 MHz | 1050 MHz |
| ROPs | 48 | 56 |
| TMUs | 72 | 104 |
Memory configuration
| GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB | GeForce GTX 970 |
|---|
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Bus Width | 192 bit | 256 bit |
| Memory Speed | 2002 MHz
8008 MHz effective | 1753 MHz
7012 MHz effective |
| Memory Size | 3072 Mb | 4096 Mb |
Additional details
| GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB | GeForce GTX 970 |
|---|
| TDP | 120 watts | 148 watts |
| Release Date | 18 Aug 2016 | 19 Sep 2014 |
Raw performance comparison
Pixel Rate
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB72.30 GP/s
- GeForce GTX 97058.80 GP/s
GigaPixels - higher is better
Texel Rate
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB108.40 GT/s
- GeForce GTX 970109.20 GT/s
GigaTexels - higher is better
Memory bandwidth
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB192.20 GB/s
- GeForce GTX 970224.40 GB/s
GB/s - higher is better
Single precision performance
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB3470.00 GFLOPs
- GeForce GTX 9703494.00 GFLOPs
GFLOPs - higher is better
Synthetic benchmarks
3DMark 11
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB16380
- GeForce GTX 97015750
Points (higher is better)
Game benchmarks
Ashes Of The Singularity
DX12, High Quality, 8m samples, 2xMSAA
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB50
- GeForce GTX 97041
FPS (higher is better)
Doom (2016)
OpenGL, Ultra Quality, SMAA 1tx
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB65
- GeForce GTX 97058
FPS (higher is better)
Far Cry Primal
DX11, Very High Settings
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB45
- GeForce GTX 97043
FPS (higher is better)
Hitman (2016)
DX12, Ultra Quality, MSAA, 16x AF
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB37
- GeForce GTX 97037
FPS (higher is better)
Rise Of The Tomb Raider
DX12, Very High Details, Pure Hair On, HBAO+
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB46
- GeForce GTX 97042
FPS (higher is better)
Thief 2014
DX11, Very High Details
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB49
- GeForce GTX 97044
FPS (higher is better)
Tom Clancy's The Division
DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB41
- GeForce GTX 97040
FPS (higher is better)
Total War: Warhammer
DX12, Max Detail, FXAA, 16:1 AF
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB47
- GeForce GTX 97045
FPS (higher is better)
Doom (2016)
OpenGL, Ultra Quality, SMAA 1tx
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB103
- GeForce GTX 97091
FPS (higher is better)
Far Cry Primal
DX11, Very High Settings
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB66
- GeForce GTX 97062
FPS (higher is better)
Hitman (2016)
DX12, Ultra Quality, MSAA, 16x AF
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB52
- GeForce GTX 97053
FPS (higher is better)
Rise Of The Tomb Raider
DX12, Very High Details, Pure Hair On, HBAO+
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB70
- GeForce GTX 97063
FPS (higher is better)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Highest Detail, Pure Hair On, HBAO+, DirectX 12, Windows 10 x64
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB52
- GeForce GTX 97044
FPS (higher is better)
Thief 2014
DX11, Very High Details
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB82
- GeForce GTX 97061
FPS (higher is better)
Tom Clancy's The Division
DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB58
- GeForce GTX 97057
FPS (higher is better)
Total War: Warhammer
DX12, Max Detail, FXAA, 16:1 AF
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB68
- GeForce GTX 97064
FPS (higher is better)
Doom (2016)
OpenGL, Ultra Quality, SMAA 1tx
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB33
- GeForce GTX 97029
FPS (higher is better)
Far Cry Primal
DX11, Very High Settings
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB22
- GeForce GTX 97023
FPS (higher is better)
Hitman (2016)
DX12, Ultra Quality, MSAA, 16x AF
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB22
- GeForce GTX 97019
FPS (higher is better)
Rise Of The Tomb Raider
DX12, Very High Details, Pure Hair On, HBAO+
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB17
- GeForce GTX 97019
FPS (higher is better)
Thief 2014
DX11, Very High Details
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB24
- GeForce GTX 97024
FPS (higher is better)
Tom Clancy's The Division
DX11, Max Details, 16:1 AF
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB23
- GeForce GTX 97018
FPS (higher is better)
Total War: Warhammer
DX12, Max Detail, FXAA, 16:1 AF
- GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB26
- GeForce GTX 97023
FPS (higher is better)