NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB vs NVIDIA TITAN Xp Comparison

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB and the NVIDIA TITAN Xp are both end-of-life Pascal architecture cards from the GeForce 10 generation, but they occupy opposite ends of that generation’s spectrum. The GTX 1060 was designed as an accessible entry point, while the TITAN Xp was a top-tier enthusiast part. The benchmark data shows a stark separation in raw compute capability, yet the average scores of the two cards are surprisingly close, which invites a closer look at what each actually excels at.

Where Each One Wins

The data is unambiguous about which card wins in raw computational throughput: the NVIDIA TITAN Xp takes both head-to-head benchmark victories, and it does so by a wide margin. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the TITAN Xp scores 72,585 against the GTX 1060’s 27,001, a difference of 62.8%. In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the gap is even more pronounced, with the TITAN Xp scoring 87,180 compared to the GTX 1060’s 17,475, an 80% delta. These are not marginal wins; they represent a fundamental difference in the scale of the GPUs.

The GTX 1060 3 GB, however, wins in the context of practical efficiency relative to its position. It does not win any benchmark in the head-to-head comparison, but its aggregate profile tells a different story. The GTX 1060’s average benchmark score is 19,334, which is just 0.8% above the TITAN Xp’s average of 19,177. This near-parity in average score, despite the TITAN Xp’s massive wins in compute-heavy tests, suggests the GTX 1060’s strengths lie in other areas not captured by those two specific head-to-head tests. The TITAN Xp’s average is dragged down by its Passmark scores, which include a DirectX 9 score of 226, a DirectX 10 score of 119, and a DirectX 11 score of 152, while its G3D score is a robust 18,750.

The TITAN Xp’s wins are in high-end compute and modern API workloads. Its 12 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 384-bit bus provides a memory bandwidth of 547.6 GB/s, which is nearly three times the GTX 1060’s 192.2 GB/s. This makes the TITAN Xp the clear choice for any workload that saturates memory bandwidth. The GTX 1060, with its 3 GB of GDDR5 memory, is more of a general-purpose card that still delivers competitive average scores, likely due to its balance of pixel and texture rates for its class.

The Verdict

The choice between these two cards is not about which is better in a vacuum; it is about which is better for a specific type of workload. The data shows that the NVIDIA TITAN Xp is the definitive winner for compute-intensive tasks and modern graphics APIs. Its Geekbench Vulkan score of 87,180 is nearly five times higher than the GTX 1060’s 17,475, indicating a massive advantage in applications that leverage Vulkan’s low-level access to the hardware. Similarly, the OpenCL score of 72,585 versus 27,001 shows a clear superiority in general-purpose GPU computing.

The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB, on the other hand, is the card for those who need a functional GPU that does not demand extreme power. Its average benchmark score of 19,334 is nearly identical to the TITAN Xp’s 19,177, making it a surprisingly strong performer in aggregated metrics. Its 120 W TDP and 300 W suggested PSU are far more modest than the TITAN Xp’s 250 W TDP and 600 W suggested PSU. The GTX 1060 also requires only a single 6-pin power connector, whereas the TITAN Xp needs a 6-pin and an 8-pin.

For a user building a system with a smaller power supply or a tighter physical footprint, the GTX 1060’s 250 mm length and dual-slot design are more accommodating than the TITAN Xp’s 267 mm length and dual-slot design. The TITAN Xp is also taller and wider, with dimensions of 112 mm by 40 mm, which may pose clearance issues in smaller cases. The verdict is clear: the TITAN Xp is for compute and high-end gaming, while the GTX 1060 is for balanced, lower-power systems where its aggregate performance is surprisingly competitive.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The two head-to-head benchmarks provide the clearest evidence of the performance gap. In the Geekbench OpenCL test, the TITAN Xp scores 72,585, which is 45,584 points higher than the GTX 1060’s 27,001. This 62.8% lead is a direct result of the TITAN Xp’s hardware advantages. The TITAN Xp has 3,840 shading units, 240 texture mapping units, and 96 ROPs, compared to the GTX 1060’s 1,152 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. This is a 3.3x increase in shading units and a 3.3x increase in TMUs, which explains the massive OpenCL performance difference.

The Geekbench Vulkan test is even more lopsided. The TITAN Xp scores 87,180, while the GTX 1060 scores 17,475, resulting in an 80% delta. Vulkan’s low-overhead nature allows the TITAN Xp’s additional hardware to be utilized more efficiently. The TITAN Xp’s FP32 throughput of 12.15 TFLOPS is over three times the GTX 1060’s 3.935 TFLOPS, which directly translates to faster shader execution and compute workloads. The TITAN Xp’s pixel rate of 151.9 GPixel/s and texture rate of 379.7 GTexel/s also dwarf the GTX 1060’s 81.98 GPixel/s and 123.0 GTexel/s.

While the GTX 1060 does not win any of these head-to-head tests, its average benchmark score of 19,334 is remarkably close to the TITAN Xp’s 19,177. This is because the TITAN Xp’s average is depressed by its Passmark scores. The TITAN Xp’s Passmark G3D score is 18,750, which is high, but its DirectX 9, 10, and 11 scores are 226, 119, and 152, respectively. These low DirectX scores, coupled with a low Passmark DirectX 12 score of 69, suggest that the TITAN Xp may not be optimized for legacy APIs, pulling its average down. The GTX 1060, with its three Geekbench scores (Metal 13,527, OpenCL 27,001, and Vulkan 17,475), has a more consistent profile, leading to a higher average relative to the TITAN Xp’s volatile set of results.

FAQ

Q: Which card has a higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB has a slightly higher average benchmark score of 19,334, compared to the NVIDIA TITAN Xp’s 19,177. This is a 0.8% difference in favor of the GTX 1060.

Q: How large is the performance gap in the Geekbench Vulkan test?

A: The NVIDIA TITAN Xp scores 87,180, which is 80% higher than the GTX 1060’s 17,475. The TITAN Xp is the clear winner in this test.

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

A: The NVIDIA TITAN Xp has a memory bandwidth of 547.6 GB/s, while the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB has a bandwidth of 192.2 GB/s. The TITAN Xp’s bandwidth is nearly three times higher.

Q: Which card has a higher transistor count?

A: The NVIDIA TITAN Xp has 11,800 million transistors on a 471 mm² die, while the GTX 1060 has 4,400 million transistors on a 200 mm² die.

Q: Are both cards from the same architecture?

A: Yes, both the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB and the NVIDIA TITAN Xp are based on the Pascal architecture and are part of the GeForce 10 generation.

Q: What is the difference in power consumption?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB has a TDP of 120 W and a suggested PSU of 300 W, while the NVIDIA TITAN Xp has a TDP of 250 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W.

Architecture Differences

The architectural differences between these two Pascal-based GPUs are substantial. The NVIDIA TITAN Xp uses the GP102 chip, while the GTX 1060 uses the GP106 chip. Both are fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC, but the TITAN Xp’s die is significantly larger at 471 mm² compared to the GTX 1060’s 200 mm². This size difference is reflected in the transistor count: the TITAN Xp has 11,800 million transistors, while the GTX 1060 has 4,400 million. The transistor density is also higher on the TITAN Xp at 25.1M / mm² versus 22.0M / mm² on the GTX 1060.

The TITAN Xp’s GP102 chip is a much larger and more complex design, featuring 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs. The GTX 1060’s GP106 chip has 1,152 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. This translates to a compute capability of 12.15 TFLOPS for the TITAN Xp versus 3.935 TFLOPS for the GTX 1060 in FP32. Both cards have an FP16 rate of 1:64, with the TITAN Xp at 189.8 GFLOPS and the GTX 1060 at 61.49 GFLOPS.

The memory subsystems are also built differently. The TITAN Xp uses 12 GB of GDDR5X memory on a 384-bit bus, achieving a bandwidth of 547.6 GB/s. The GTX 1060 uses 3 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus, with a bandwidth of 192.2 GB/s. The TITAN Xp’s memory clock is 1426 MHz (11.4 Gbps effective), while the GTX 1060’s is 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective). Neither card has dedicated RT cores or tensor cores, as they predate the RTX series. Both support DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Specification Differences

The specifications where the two cards differ are numerous. The most obvious is memory: the TITAN Xp has 12 GB of GDDR5X, while the GTX 1060 has 3 GB of GDDR5. The bus width is 384-bit for the TITAN Xp and 192-bit for the GTX 1060, leading to bandwidths of 547.6 GB/s and 192.2 GB/s, respectively. The clock speeds also differ, with the GTX 1060 having a higher base clock of 1506 MHz and boost clock of 1708 MHz, compared to the TITAN Xp’s 1405 MHz base and 1582 MHz boost.

The compute units are vastly different, with the TITAN Xp featuring 3,840 shading units, 240 TMUs, and 96 ROPs, versus the GTX 1060’s 1,152 shading units, 72 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. This results in pixel rates of 151.9 GPixel/s and 81.98 GPixel/s, and texture rates of 379.7 GTexel/s and 123.0 GTexel/s, for the TITAN Xp and GTX 1060, respectively. The FP32 performance is 12.15 TFLOPS for the TITAN Xp and 3.935 TFLOPS for the GTX 1060.

Power requirements are another major differentiator. The TITAN Xp has a TDP of 250 W and requires a 600 W PSU, while the GTX 1060 has a TDP of 120 W and a 300 W PSU. The TITAN Xp needs both a 6-pin and an 8-pin power connector, whereas the GTX 1060 only needs a single 6-pin. The physical dimensions differ as well: the TITAN Xp is 267 mm long, 112 mm tall, and 40 mm wide, while the GTX 1060 is 250 mm long with unspecified height and width. The display outputs are also slightly different, with the GTX 1060 including a DVI port in addition to the HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4a outputs shared by both. The TITAN Xp’s launch MSRP was 1,199 USD, while the GTX 1060’s was 199 USD.