AMD Radeon RX 9060 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The recorded data shows a decisive advantage for the AMD Radeon RX 9060 in the two directly comparable benchmark tests. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RX 9060 scores 88,183 against the GTX 1060 3 GB’s 27,001, a delta of 69.4% in favor of the AMD card. The Geekbench Vulkan result tells a similar story: the RX 9060 posts 39,476 while the GTX 1060 3 GB manages 17,475, a 55.7% gap. These are not marginal improvements; they represent a generational leap in raw compute throughput.

The average benchmark scores place the GTX 1060 3 GB at 19,334, which sits just 0.4% below the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX (19,410) and 0.8% above the NVIDIA TITAN Xp (19,177). This suggests the older card’s average is buoyed by its Geekbench OpenCL and Vulkan results, which are its only recorded benchmarks. The RX 9060’s average of 16,014 is dragged down by its PassMark results, which include low scores like 44 in DirectX 12 and 104 in DirectX 10. Yet in the head-to-head tests that both cards share, the RX 9060 dominates.

The GTX 1060 3 GB wins zero of the two shared tests, while the RX 9060 wins both. The percentile data places the GTX 1060 3 GB at 64% versus all GPUs, while the RX 9060 sits at 59%. This inversion, where the older card has a higher percentile despite losing every direct comparison, reflects the different benchmark suites recorded for each product. The RX 9060’s PassMark G3D score of 17,631 is strong, but its PassMark DirectX 9 score of 280 and GPU compute score of 9,919 pull the average down.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different eras of GPU design. The GTX 1060 3 GB uses the GP106 chip on NVIDIA’s Pascal architecture, built on a 16 nm process at TSMC. It packs 4,400 million transistors into a 200 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 22.0 million per mm². The RX 9060 uses the Navi 44 chip on AMD’s RDNA 4.0 architecture, with a codename of Strix Point. It is built on a 4 nm process, also at TSMC, and contains 29,700 million transistors in a 199 mm² die, for a density of 149.2 million per mm². The density difference is stark: the RX 9060 crams nearly seven times more transistors into the same physical space.

Clock speeds reflect the newer process. The GTX 1060 3 GB has a base clock of 1506 MHz and a boost of 1708 MHz. The RX 9060 starts at 1700 MHz base, with a game clock of 2400 MHz and a boost of 2990 MHz. Memory clocks also differ: the GTX uses 2002 MHz with 8 Gbps effective, while the RX 9060 runs 2250 MHz with 18 Gbps effective.

Memory configuration is a major split. The GTX 1060 3 GB has 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 192.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The RX 9060 has 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 128-bit bus, delivering 288.0 GB/s. Despite the narrower bus, the faster memory type gives the RX 9060 a 50% bandwidth advantage.

Compute resources differ sharply. The GTX 1060 3 GB has 1,152 shading units, 72 texture mapping units, and 48 raster output units. The RX 9060 has 1,792 shading units, 112 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The RX 9060 also includes 28 ray tracing cores, which the GTX lacks entirely. Pixel rate jumps from 81.98 GPixel/s to 191.4 GPixel/s, and texture rate from 123.0 GTexel/s to 334.9 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput rises from 3.935 TFLOPS to 21.43 TFLOPS. FP16 is a curious comparison: the GTX 1060 3 GB lists 61.49 GFLOPS at a 1:64 ratio, while the RX 9060 matches FP32 at 21.43 TFLOPS with a 1:1 ratio.

The bus interface advances from PCIe 3.0 x16 to PCIe 5.0 x16. Display outputs change from 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a to 1x HDMI 2.1b and 2x DisplayPort 2.1a. The GTX supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RX 9060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

Where Each One Wins

The RX 9060 wins every head-to-head benchmark recorded. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 88,183 is more than triple the GTX 1060 3 GB’s 27,001. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 39,476 is more than double the older card’s 17,475. This points to clear advantages in general compute workloads and in Vulkan-based applications.

The GTX 1060 3 GB’s only claims to relevance come from its percentile ranking and nearest rival comparisons. It sits at the 64th percentile, above the RX 9060’s 59th. Its average score of 19,334 places it within 1.3% of the NVIDIA Tesla K20m and 0.9% of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780. These are close margins, but they are averages across different benchmark suites, not direct comparisons.

The RX 9060’s nearest rivals include the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti at 16,129 average score, with the RX 9060 trailing by 0.7%, and the AMD Radeon R9 370X at 15,862, where the RX 9060 leads by 1%. This suggests the RX 9060 sits in a competitive mid-range segment, slightly behind a last-generation NVIDIA card but ahead of older AMD offerings.

For gaming specifically, the RX 9060’s PassMark DirectX 11 score of 182 versus the DirectX 12 score of 44 suggests it performs better in older APIs, though the data does not include comparable scores for the GTX 1060 3 GB. The GTX 1060 3 GB’s only recorded benchmarks are Geekbench tests, so no direct gaming comparison is possible from the database.

The Verdict

The data supports a clear recommendation: the AMD Radeon RX 9060 is the superior card in every measurable head-to-head test. Its 69.4% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and 55.7% lead in Geekbench Vulkan are decisive. The 8 GB memory capacity versus 3 GB, the 288.0 GB/s bandwidth versus 192.2 GB/s, and the 21.43 TFLOPS FP32 versus 3.935 TFLOPS all point to a card that is multiple generations ahead.

However, the GTX 1060 3 GB holds a higher percentile rank at 64% versus 59%. This is an artifact of the benchmark suites, not a sign of equal performance. The older card’s average score of 19,334 is inflated by its limited benchmark set, while the RX 9060’s average of 16,014 includes many PassMark tests that may not reflect real-world gaming or compute scenarios.

For a buyer today, the RX 9060 is the only sensible choice. It is an active product with modern features like ray tracing cores, PCIe 5.0, and DisplayPort 2.1a. The GTX 1060 3 GB is end-of-life, with no successor path and a 1x 6-pin power connector versus the RX 9060’s 1x 8-pin. Both require a 300 W power supply, so system upgrades are not a differentiator.

The GTX 1060 3 GB may still appeal to collectors or those running legacy software that predates the RX 9060’s architecture, but the recorded data does not show any scenario where it wins. The RX 9060 wins both shared tests, has more memory, higher bandwidth, and a newer process node. The verdict is unambiguous.

FAQ

Q: Which card wins the Geekbench OpenCL test?

A: The AMD Radeon RX 9060 wins with a score of 88,183 against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB’s 27,001, a delta of 69.4%.

Q: How much faster is the RX 9060 in Vulkan?

A: The RX 9060 scores 39,476 in Geekbench Vulkan, while the GTX 1060 3 GB scores 17,475, making the RX 9060 55.7% faster.

Q: What is the memory capacity difference?

A: The GTX 1060 3 GB has 3 GB of GDDR5, while the RX 9060 has 8 GB of GDDR6.

Q: Does the GTX 1060 3 GB have ray tracing cores?

A: No, the GTX 1060 3 GB has no ray tracing cores. The RX 9060 has 28.

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The GTX 1060 3 GB has an average score of 19,334, while the RX 9060 has an average of 16,014. However, the RX 9060 wins all shared head-to-head tests.

Q: What is the process node for each card?

A: The GTX 1060 3 GB uses a 16 nm process, while the RX 9060 uses a 4 nm process, both from TSMC.

Specification Differences

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB | AMD Radeon RX 9060 |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Pascal | RDNA 4.0 |

| Process Node | 16 nm | 4 nm |

| Transistors | 4,400 million | 29,700 million |

| Die Size | 200 mm² | 199 mm² |

| Transistor Density | 22.0M / mm² | 149.2M / mm² |

| Base Clock | 1506 MHz | 1700 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1708 MHz | 2990 MHz |

| Game Clock | N/A | 2400 MHz |

| Memory Clock | 2002 MHz, 8 Gbps effective | 2250 MHz, 18 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 3 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus Width | 192 bit | 128 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 192.2 GB/s | 288.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1152 | 1792 |

| TMUs | 72 | 112 |

| ROPs | 48 | 64 |

| Ray Tracing Cores | N/A | 28 |

| Pixel Rate | 81.98 GPixel/s | 191.4 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 123.0 GTexel/s | 334.9 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 3.935 TFLOPS | 21.43 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 61.49 GFLOPS (1:64) | 21.43 TFLOPS (1:1) |

| TDP | 120 W | 132 W |

| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | 1x 8-pin |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 5.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x HDMI 2.1b, 2x DisplayPort 2.1a |

| DirectX Support | 12 (12_1) | 12 Ultimate (12_2) |

| Production Status | End-of-life | Active |

| Release Date | 2016-08-17 | 2025-08-04 |

| Launch MSRP | 199 USD | N/A |