NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER represent two distinct generations of NVIDIA’s mainstream and upper-midrange offerings. The data shows a clear performance chasm between them, but the comparison is more nuanced than a simple specification sheet suggests. The GTX 1060 3 GB, built on the Pascal architecture, was a dominant force in its era, while the RTX 2060 SUPER, based on Turing, brings a suite of modern features that the older card cannot match. This analysis will dissect the benchmark results, architectural differences, and specific workloads to determine where each card holds an advantage, based strictly on the provided data.

Where Each One Wins

The head-to-head benchmark data is unequivocal in its verdict: the RTX 2060 SUPER wins in both recorded tests, leaving the GTX 1060 3 GB with zero victories. However, the magnitude of these wins and the specific tests involved paint a detailed picture of the newer card's dominance in compute-heavy and modern API workloads.

In the Geekbench OpenCL test, which measures general-purpose compute performance, the RTX 2060 SUPER scores 76,957, a staggering 64.9% ahead of the GTX 1060 3 GB's 27,001. This is not a marginal improvement; it represents a fundamental leap in raw processing power. The RTX 2060 SUPER's advantage here is driven by its significantly higher shader count (2176 vs 1152) and its ability to perform FP16 operations at a 2:1 ratio, whereas the GTX 1060 3 GB is severely limited in this regard.

The Geekbench Vulkan test results are even more lopsided. The RTX 2060 SUPER scores 77,402, which is 77.4% higher than the GTX 1060 3 GB's 17,475. Vulkan is a low-level API that benefits from modern hardware design and parallel processing capabilities. The RTX 2060 SUPER's Turing architecture is clearly better optimized for this workload. This result indicates that in modern games that utilize Vulkan, the performance gap would be substantial, far exceeding the difference in raw clock speeds or memory bandwidth.

While the GTX 1060 3 GB does not win any tests, its average benchmark score of 19,334 is actually higher than the RTX 2060 SUPER's average of 18,093. This is a critical data point. The GTX 1060 3 GB's average is buoyed by its Geekbench scores (13,527 Metal, 27,001 OpenCL, 17,475 Vulkan), while the RTX 2060 SUPER's average is dragged down by its inclusion of multiple low-scoring Passmark tests (e.g., DirectX 10 at 111, DirectX 9 at 218). This suggests that in a broad, mixed workload, the older card can hold its own, but in the specific, modern, and compute-intensive tasks that the head-to-head tests represent, the RTX 2060 SUPER is in a different league.

Architecture Differences

The architectural divide between these two GPUs is vast, explaining the performance disparity. The GTX 1060 3 GB is built on the Pascal architecture using the GP106 chip, fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC. In contrast, the RTX 2060 SUPER uses the Turing architecture with the TU106 chip, built on a more advanced 12 nm process. This process shrink allows Turing to pack significantly more transistors: 10,800 million versus 4,400 million, on a larger die (445 mm² vs 200 mm²).

The most significant functional differences stem from the addition of dedicated hardware in the Turing chip. The RTX 2060 SUPER features 34 RT Cores and 272 Tensor Cores, which are entirely absent from the GTX 1060 3 GB. These cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI-powered features like DLSS, which the Pascal card cannot perform. This is a generational feature gap that no amount of clock speed can overcome.

Memory architecture also differs substantially. The GTX 1060 3 GB uses 3 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus, yielding a bandwidth of 192.2 GB/s. The RTX 2060 SUPER uses 8 GB of GDDR6 on a 256-bit bus, more than doubling bandwidth to 448.0 GB/s. This difference is crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy workloads. Furthermore, the GTX 1060 3 GB has a 1:64 FP16 to FP32 ratio (61.49 GFLOPS), while the RTX 2060 SUPER has a 2:1 ratio (14.36 TFLOPS), highlighting the latter's vastly superior compute capability for half-precision tasks.

Feature support also diverges. The GTX 1060 3 GB supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RTX 2060 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4, but the underlying hardware implementation is vastly different. The RTX 2060 SUPER also adds a USB Type-C display output, a feature not present on the older card. The physical requirements also differ, with the RTX 2060 SUPER requiring a 450 W power supply and a single 8-pin connector, compared to the GTX 1060 3 GB's 300 W suggestion and 6-pin connector.

The Verdict

The data leads to a straightforward conclusion for most users: the RTX 2060 SUPER is the superior GPU for modern and demanding workloads. Its 64.9% lead in OpenCL and 77.4% lead in Vulkan benchmarks, combined with its support for DirectX 12 Ultimate, RT cores, and Tensor cores, make it the clear choice for anyone looking to play current games with advanced features enabled or perform compute-heavy tasks. The extra 5 GB of VRAM and double the memory bandwidth provide a substantial buffer for future titles and higher resolution textures.

However, the GTX 1060 3 GB is not without its merits, as indicated by its higher average benchmark score. For users with a constrained power supply (300 W vs 450 W), a smaller case (250 mm vs 229 mm length, but the 1060 is dual-slot and the 2060 SUPER has defined height/width), or a focus on older DirectX 9/10/11 titles, the GTX 1060 3 GB remains a viable option. Its higher average score (19,334 vs 18,093) suggests that in a broad set of legacy benchmarks, it can outperform the newer card, which may be optimized for newer APIs.

Pick the GTX 1060 3 GB if: your primary workload consists of older games or applications that do not leverage modern APIs, and you are constrained by a 300 W power supply. Its higher average benchmark score over the RTX 2060 SUPER suggests it still holds its own in these legacy scenarios.

Pick the RTX 2060 SUPER if: you play modern Vulkan or DirectX 12 titles, need hardware ray tracing, or require the massive compute throughput for tasks like machine learning or video rendering. The head-to-head data shows it is 77.4% faster in Vulkan and 64.9% faster in OpenCL, making it a transformative upgrade for any current-generation workload.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The GTX 1060 3 GB has a higher average benchmark score of 19,334, compared to the RTX 2060 SUPER's 18,093.

Q: How much faster is the RTX 2060 SUPER in the Geekbench Vulkan test?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER is 77.4% faster, scoring 77,402 versus the GTX 1060 3 GB's 17,475.

Q: Does the GTX 1060 3 GB support hardware ray tracing?

A: No, the GTX 1060 3 GB has no RT cores. The RTX 2060 SUPER has 34 RT cores for this purpose.

Q: What is the difference in memory bandwidth between the two cards?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has a 448.0 GB/s bandwidth, while the GTX 1060 3 GB has a 192.2 GB/s bandwidth.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor density?

A: The RTX 2060 SUPER has a higher transistor density of 24.3M / mm², compared to the GTX 1060 3 GB's 22.0M / mm².

Q: What is the DirectX support difference?

A: The GTX 1060 3 GB supports DirectX 12 (12_1), while the RTX 2060 SUPER supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2).

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only two direct benchmark comparisons available show a total victory for the RTX 2060 SUPER. The first test, Geekbench OpenCL, measures raw compute performance. Here, the RTX 2060 SUPER scores 76,957, which is 49,956 points higher than the GTX 1060 3 GB's score of 27,001. This translates to a delta of -64.9% from the perspective of the GTX 1060 3 GB, meaning it is performing at roughly 35% of the newer card's level. This massive gap is attributable to the RTX 2060 SUPER's 2176 shading units, 272 tensor cores, and superior FP16 throughput (14.36 TFLOPS vs 61.49 GFLOPS).

The second test, Geekbench Vulkan, measures performance under a modern, low-overhead graphics API. The results are even more decisive. The RTX 2060 SUPER scores 77,402, a 59,927-point advantage over the GTX 1060 3 GB's 17,475. The deltaPct here is -77.4%, indicating that the older card fails to reach even a quarter of the performance of the newer one in this specific test. This result underscores how the Turing architecture's design is better suited for the parallel execution models of modern APIs, making the RTX 2060 SUPER the definitive choice for current-generation game engines.

Specification Differences

The specifications below highlight only the fields where the two cards differ, as per the data provided.

| Specification | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB | NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Architecture | Pascal | Turing |

| Process Node | 16 nm | 12 nm |

| Transistors | 4,400 million | 10,800 million |

| Die Size | 200 mm² | 445 mm² |

| Base Clock | 1506 MHz | 1470 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1708 MHz | 1650 MHz |

| Memory Size | 3 GB | 8 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR6 |

| Memory Bus | 192 bit | 256 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 192.2 GB/s | 448.0 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 1152 | 2176 |

| TMUs | 72 | 136 |

| ROPs | 48 | 64 |

| RT Cores | N/A | 34 |

| Tensor Cores | N/A | 272 |

| Pixel Rate | 81.98 GPixel/s | 105.6 GPixel/s |

| Texture Rate | 123.0 GTexel/s | 224.4 GTexel/s |

| FP32 Performance | 3.935 TFLOPS | 7.181 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 61.49 GFLOPS (1:64) | 14.36 TFLOPS (2:1) |

| TDP | 120 W | 175 W |

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

| Suggested PSU | 300 W | 450 W |

| Display Outputs | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, 1x USB Type-C |

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

| Dimensions (LxHxW) | 250 mm (9.8 in) | 229 mm (9 in) x 113 mm (4.4 in) x 35 mm (1.4 in) |

| Release Date | 2016-08-17 | 2019-07-08 |

| Launch MSRP | 199 USD | 399 USD |

| Predecessor | GeForce 900 | GeForce 10 |

| Successor | GeForce 20 | GeForce 30 |

| Percentile vs All GPUs | 64 | 62 |