When AMD announced its RX 480 would launch in late June, it was virtually inevitable that Nvidia would follow suit with a midrange challenger of its own. Until now, the two companies have pursued different strategies with their 14nm refreshes — Nvidia chose to do a standard top-down refresh cycle, while AMD rolled out a midrange competitor first. The RX 480 proved to be potent competition for Nvidia’s previous-generation Maxwell products with competitive power consumption, more VRAM, and better overall performance. The GeForce GTX 1060 graphics card is loaded with innovative new gaming technologies that make it the perfect choice for the latest high-definition games. Powered by NVIDIA Pascal™—the most advanced GPU architecture ever created—the GeForce GTX 1060 delivers brilliant performance that opens the door to virtual reality and beyond. #GameReady.
NVIDIA PASCAL
THE WORLD'S MOST ADVANCED GPU ARCHITECTUREGeForce GTX 10-series graphics cards are powered by Pascal to deliver twice the performance of previous-generation graphics cards, plus innovative new gaming technologies and breakthrough VR experiences.
FOUNDERS EDITION GRAPHICS
The GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB Founders Edition graphics card is crafted by NVIDIA engineers with premium materials and components. Plus, it features brilliant thermals that keep the GPU cool under even the most intense gaming conditions.
THE POWER OF GEFORCE GTX 1060
GPU Architecture: Pascal
Frame Buffer: 6GB GDDR5
Memory Speed: 8 Gbps
Boost Clock Actual: 1708 MHz
OPINIONS
The general opinion on the GTX 1060 is that it’s a very good GPU with lots of overclocking headroom and excellent power consumption characteristics. Reviewers are split on whether or not it qualifies as “better” than the RX 480. TechSpot declares AMD the overall winner thanks to superior performance-per-dollar and ongoing availability concerns about the GTX 1060, while TechPowerUp thinks the GTX 1060 will be the superior solution in the long term. Hot Hardware gave the overall nod to the GTX 1060 as well, as well as an Editor’s Choice award.Critically, no one seems to think the Founder’s Edition of the card is a good buy; THG calls the $50 premium on the 1060 a “killer in any discussion of value.” If you care about maximum power efficiency and minimal noise, the GTX 1060 is a clear winner over the RX 480. If you’re more concerned with performance in DX12/Vulkan or care about maximizing your game performance per dollar, the situation is murkier and the RX 480 is still quite compelling. Multiple reviewers recommend waiting for less expensive partner boards and evaluating the card on their characteristics before making a final decision.