NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile Comparison

FAQ

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in raw compute performance?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile produces 10.94 TFLOPS of FP32 compute versus 3.935 TFLOPS for the GTX 1060 3 GB. That is a 2.78x advantage for the mobile Ampere part. In FP16, the gap is even larger: 10.94 TFLOPS versus 61.49 GFLOPS, a 178x difference, because the Pascal card runs FP16 at a 1:64 ratio while Ampere runs it at 1:1.

Q: Which GPU wins in the shared Geekbench tests?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile wins both. In Geekbench OpenCL, it scores 79,483 versus 27,001 (a 66% delta in favor of the mobile card). In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 80,344 versus 17,475 (a 78.2% delta). The GTX 1060 3 GB has zero head-to-head wins in the available data.

Q: How does memory capacity and bandwidth differ?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile has 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s. The GTX 1060 3 GB has 3 GB of GDDR5 on the same 192-bit bus, delivering 192.2 GB/s. The mobile card offers double the capacity and roughly 75% more bandwidth.

Q: What is the process node and transistor situation?

A: The GTX 1060 3 GB uses TSMC's 16 nm process with 4,400 million transistors on a 200 mm² die (22.0M transistors per mm²). The RTX 3060 Mobile uses Samsung's 8 nm process with 12,000 million transistors on a 276 mm² die (43.5M per mm²). The Ampere chip has 2.73x more transistors at 2.1x the transistor density.

Q: Do these cards support ray tracing and tensor cores?

A: The RTX 3060 Mobile includes 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores. The GTX 1060 3 GB has none — its RT and tensor core fields are null. This is a fundamental architectural difference: Pascal lacks the dedicated hardware for ray tracing and DLSS-style tensor operations that Ampere includes.

Q: What is the thermal design power of each?

A: The GTX 1060 3 GB is rated at 120 W TDP and requires a 300 W suggested PSU with a 1x 6-pin power connector. The RTX 3060 Mobile is rated at 80 W TDP with no power connectors listed, consistent with its mobile form factor. The desktop card draws 50% more power.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear winner for compute-heavy workloads: the RTX 3060 Mobile outperforms the GTX 1060 3 GB in every shared benchmark. In Geekbench OpenCL, the mobile card scores 79,483 versus 27,001 — a 66% advantage. In Geekbench Vulkan, it scores 80,344 versus 17,475 — a 78.2% lead. The RTX 3060 Mobile also offers double the VRAM (6 GB vs 3 GB), 3.33x the shading units (3840 vs 1152), and dedicated RT and tensor cores.

However, the GTX 1060 3 GB is not without its own profile. It has a higher boost clock (1708 MHz vs 1425 MHz), a higher pixel rate (81.98 GPixel/s vs 68.40 GPixel/s), and a lower TDP relative to its desktop positioning (120 W vs 80 W for the mobile part — though the mobile chip is more power-efficient per FLOP). The GTX 1060 3 GB also carries a launch MSRP of 199 USD, while the RTX 3060 Mobile has no listed launch MSRP.

For users selecting a GPU, the choice hinges on workload. If the task involves modern APIs, ray tracing, tensor operations, or large textures that exceed 3 GB, the RTX 3060 Mobile is the only viable option from this data. If the task is legacy DirectX 9/10/11 or simple 2D rendering, the GTX 1060 3 GB may still suffice, but it will be outperformed in any compute-heavy or modern graphics workload. The data shows zero benchmark wins for the GTX 1060 3 GB in head-to-head testing.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head section of the FACT PACK contains two direct comparisons, both won by the RTX 3060 Mobile. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 3060 Mobile scores 79,483 against the GTX 1060 3 GB's 27,001. The delta is 66% — that is, the mobile card is 66% faster in this test. This is the smaller of the two gaps, yet it still represents a massive performance chasm.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX 3060 Mobile scores 80,344 against 17,475 for the GTX 1060 3 GB. The delta here is 78.2%, meaning the mobile card is 78.2% faster. This is the single largest performance differential in the entire comparison. The Vulkan result is notable because both cards support Vulkan 1.4, yet the architectural efficiency of Ampere shows through overwhelmingly.

Looking at the broader benchmark context, the RTX 3060 Mobile also has a passmark_g3d score of 13,230, a passmark_gpu_compute score of 5,718, and a 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,821 — none of which the GTX 1060 3 GB has comparable data for. The GTX 1060 3 GB, for its part, has a Geekbench Metal score of 13,527, which the RTX 3060 Mobile lacks. These non-overlapping tests further illustrate that the two cards are from different eras with different test suites available.

The average benchmark score tells a similar story: the GTX 1060 3 GB averages 19,334 across its three tests, while the RTX 3060 Mobile averages 18,159 across ten tests. The averages are close, but the RTX 3060 Mobile's average is dragged down by low passmark scores (90 for DirectX 10, 58 for DirectX 12) and a high G2D score (588). The compute-heavy tests — OpenCL, Vulkan, and 3DMark — all favor the mobile card by wide margins.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every measurable specification. The GTX 1060 3 GB uses a GP106 chip on TSMC's 16 nm process, while the RTX 3060 Mobile uses a GA106 chip on Samsung's 8 nm process. Transistor counts are 4,400 million versus 12,000 million. Die sizes are 200 mm² versus 276 mm², and transistor density is 22.0M per mm² versus 43.5M per mm².

Clock speeds favor the desktop card: the GTX 1060 3 GB runs at 1506 MHz base and 1708 MHz boost, while the RTX 3060 Mobile runs at 900 MHz base and 1425 MHz boost. Memory clocks also differ: 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) for the GTX 1060 3 GB versus 1750 MHz (14 Gbps effective) for the RTX 3060 Mobile.

Memory capacity is 3 GB GDDR5 versus 6 GB GDDR6, with bandwidth at 192.2 GB/s versus 336.0 GB/s. Both use a 192-bit bus, but the memory type and speed differ. Shading units are 1152 versus 3840, TMUs are 72 versus 120, and ROPs are identical at 48.

Pixel rate is higher on the GTX 1060 3 GB at 81.98 GPixel/s versus 68.40 GPixel/s. Texture rate is higher on the RTX 3060 Mobile at 171.0 GTexel/s versus 123.0 GTexel/s. FP32 compute is 3.935 TFLOPS versus 10.94 TFLOPS, and FP16 is 61.49 GFLOPS (1:64) versus 10.94 TFLOPS (1:1).

The GTX 1060 3 GB is a dual-slot desktop card with a 250 mm length (9.8 inches), a 1x 6-pin power connector, a 300 W suggested PSU, and PCIe 3.0 x16. The RTX 3060 Mobile has no slot width, dimensions, power connector, or suggested PSU listed — it is a mobile part with PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a for the desktop card, versus "Portable Device Dependent" for the mobile card.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental architectural divide is Pascal versus Ampere. The GTX 1060 3 GB is built on Pascal, NVIDIA's 2016 architecture, while the RTX 3060 Mobile uses Ampere, NVIDIA's 2021 architecture. This spans two full generations — the GTX 1060 3 GB's successor is GeForce 20, and the RTX 3060 Mobile's predecessor is GeForce 20 Mobile.

The RTX 3060 Mobile includes 30 RT cores and 120 tensor cores; the GTX 1060 3 GB has none. This is the defining feature gap. Ray tracing and tensor operations are simply absent from the Pascal part. The RTX 3060 Mobile also supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 1060 3 GB is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

The process node difference — 16 nm TSMC versus 8 nm Samsung — explains the transistor density advantage of Ampere. At 43.5M transistors per mm², the GA106 chip packs more than double the density of GP106's 22.0M per mm². This density allows 12,000 million transistors in a die that is only 38% larger by area.

Memory architecture also differs: the GTX 1060 3 GB uses GDDR5 with an 8 Gbps effective rate, while the RTX 3060 Mobile uses GDDR6 with a 14 Gbps effective rate. Despite a lower memory clock (1750 MHz vs 2002 MHz), the GDDR6 interface delivers 336.0 GB/s versus 192.2 GB/s. The bus width is identical at 192 bits, but the memory technology is a full generation apart.

Power behavior differs as well. The GTX 1060 3 GB is a 120 W desktop card with an external power connector. The RTX 3060 Mobile is an 80 W mobile part with no connector listed. The mobile card delivers nearly 2.8x the FP32 throughput at 33% lower TDP, a direct result of the architectural and process improvements.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 3060 Mobile wins in every direct head-to-head benchmark, and its wins map to modern workloads. In Geekbench OpenCL, the 66% lead suggests massive advantages in general-purpose compute. In Geekbench Vulkan, the 78.2% lead indicates strong performance in modern graphics APIs. The mobile card's 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score of 1,821, its passmark_g3d score of 13,230, and its passmark_gpu_compute score of 5,718 further cement its position for DX12 and compute tasks.

The GTX 1060 3 GB has wins in non-overlapping areas. Its Geekbench Metal score of 13,527 is a data point the RTX 3060 Mobile cannot match because the mobile card has no Metal score listed. Its higher pixel rate (81.98 GPixel/s vs 68.40 GPixel/s) suggests a potential edge in fill-rate-bound scenarios, though no benchmark directly tests this. Its higher boost clock (1708 MHz vs 1425 MHz) may help in lightly-threaded or latency-sensitive tasks, but again, no head-to-head data confirms this.

For use cases, the split is clear. The RTX 3060 Mobile is the pick for any workload involving ray tracing, tensor operations, DX12 Ultimate features, large textures (6 GB VRAM), or compute-heavy tasks like OpenCL and Vulkan development. The GTX 1060 3 GB remains relevant only for legacy DirectX 9/10/11 workloads (passmark scores of 146, 90, and 110 respectively for the mobile card suggest the GTX 1060 3 GB may not even be tested there) or for users who specifically need a desktop PCIe 3.0 card with DVI output. The GTX 1060 3 GB's 64th percentile versus the RTX 3060 Mobile's 62nd percentile suggests they rank similarly across all GPUs, but the head-to-head data leaves no ambiguity about which is faster in shared tests.