NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB vs NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q Comparison

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB and NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q represent two very different interpretations of the same underlying GPU lineage, separated by architecture generation, market focus, and a significant gap in benchmark results. The GTX 1060 5 GB, a consumer Pascal part, outperforms the professional Maxwell 2.0-based GRID M60-1Q in the single shared workload, with the data indicating a clear hierarchy between the two.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The only common benchmark between the two cards is the Geekbench Vulkan test, where the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB posts a score of 33991 against the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q's 31220. This yields a delta of 8.9% in favor of the GTX 1060 5 GB, marking a decisive victory for the consumer card in this compute-oriented API test. To put that margin into perspective, the GRID M60-1Q's average benchmark score of 31220 places it within 0.4% of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER (31087) and 1.4% behind the NVIDIA TITAN RTX (31676), suggesting that while the GRID card is not slow, it operates in a lower performance tier than the GTX 1060 5 GB.

The GTX 1060 5 GB also holds a second benchmark result, a Geekbench OpenCL score of 33397, which contributes to its average benchmark score of 33694. That average places the GTX 1060 5 GB in a tight cluster of competitors: it is 0.2% ahead of the NVIDIA RTX A5000 (33622), 0.5% behind the AMD Radeon RX 7700S (33849), 0.8% behind the AMD Radeon HD 7950 (33951), and 0.9% behind the AMD Radeon RX 480 (33997). This clustering indicates that the GTX 1060 5 GB's performance is highly competitive with a range of modern and older cards, whereas the GRID M60-1Q's single Vulkan score of 31220 places it in a different, lower band, as evidenced by its nearest rivals including the NVIDIA Quadro M5000 (31206) and NVIDIA RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell (31532).

The 8.9% Vulkan delta is the single head-to-head data point, and it is unambiguous. In raw compute throughput, the GRID M60-1Q actually holds a theoretical advantage: its FP32 rating of 4.825 TFLOPS exceeds the GTX 1060 5 GB's 4.375 TFLOPS, and its texture rate of 150.8 GTexel/s is higher than the GTX 1060 5 GB's 136.7 GTexel/s. Yet in the Vulkan workload, the GTX 1060 5 GB wins by a wide margin. This suggests that the GTX 1060 5 GB's architectural efficiency, higher clock speeds, and driver optimizations for consumer APIs outweigh the GRID M60-1Q's raw shader count and theoretical throughput. The GRID M60-1Q's base clock of 557 MHz is dramatically lower than the GTX 1060 5 GB's 1506 MHz, and even its boost clock of 1178 MHz falls well short of the GTX 1060 5 GB's 1709 MHz boost. This clock deficit likely explains why the GRID M60-1Q, despite having 2048 shading units versus 1280, cannot translate its hardware advantage into a benchmark win.

Where Each One Wins

The benchmark data gives the GTX 1060 5 GB a clear win in the Vulkan API test, which is the only common workload. This makes it the superior choice for any application that relies on Vulkan for rendering or compute. Its Geekbench OpenCL score of 33397, while not directly comparable to the GRID M60-1Q, further underscores its strength in general-purpose GPU compute workloads. The GTX 1060 5 GB's higher boost clock of 1709 MHz and its 16 nm process node, compared to the GRID M60-1Q's 28 nm node, contribute to its efficiency and explain why it can outperform a card with more shading units.

The GRID M60-1Q, despite losing the benchmark comparison, holds advantages in specific areas that are not captured by the Vulkan test. Its FP32 performance of 4.825 TFLOPS is 10.3% higher than the GTX 1060 5 GB's 4.375 TFLOPS, and its texture rate of 150.8 GTexel/s is 10.3% higher as well. Its pixel rate of 75.39 GPixel/s also exceeds the GTX 1060 5 GB's 68.36 GPixel/s. These figures suggest that in theoretical peak throughput scenarios, particularly those that are not clock-bound or API-bound, the GRID M60-1Q could potentially deliver higher performance. However, the data shows that in the real-world Vulkan benchmark, this theoretical advantage does not materialize into a win. The GRID M60-1Q's 256-bit memory bus provides a bandwidth of 160.4 GB/s, which is nearly identical to the GTX 1060 5 GB's 160.2 GB/s, but the GTX 1060 5 GB's memory clock of 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) is much faster than the GRID M60-1Q's 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective), suggesting that the GTX 1060 5 GB's memory subsystem is more efficient despite the narrower bus.

FAQ

Q: Which card has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB has an average benchmark score of 33694, while the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q has an average benchmark score of 31220.

Q: What is the performance difference in the Vulkan benchmark?

A: In the Geekbench Vulkan test, the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB scores 33991, which is 8.9% higher than the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q's score of 31220.

Q: Does the GRID M60-1Q have any theoretical performance advantage over the GTX 1060 5 GB?

A: Yes. The GRID M60-1Q boasts higher theoretical peak rates, with an FP32 performance of 4.825 TFLOPS, a texture rate of 150.8 GTexel/s, and a pixel rate of 75.39 GPixel/s, all of which exceed the GTX 1060 5 GB's respective figures of 4.375 TFLOPS, 136.7 GTexel/s, and 68.36 GPixel/s.

Q: How do the two cards compare in terms of memory bandwidth?

A: The memory bandwidths are nearly identical. The GTX 1060 5 GB provides 160.2 GB/s over a 160-bit bus, while the GRID M60-1Q provides 160.4 GB/s over a 256-bit bus. However, the GTX 1060 5 GB uses faster GDDR5 memory rated at 8 Gbps effective, compared to the GRID M60-1Q's 5 Gbps effective.

Q: What is the percentile ranking for each card among all GPUs?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB is in the 78th percentile, while the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q is in the 76th percentile.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock speed?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB has a boost clock of 1709 MHz, which is significantly higher than the NVIDIA GRID M60-1Q's boost clock of 1178 MHz.

Specification Differences

The most immediate difference is memory capacity: the GTX 1060 5 GB comes with 5 GB of GDDR5, while the GRID M60-1Q has just 1024 MB. This is a substantial gap that affects the ability to handle large textures or datasets. The memory bus width also differs, with the GTX 1060 5 GB using a 160-bit interface and the GRID M60-1Q using a 256-bit interface, yet both achieve nearly identical bandwidth (160.2 GB/s vs 160.4 GB/s). The memory clocks differ as well, with the GTX 1060 5 GB running at 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) versus the GRID M60-1Q's 1253 MHz (5 Gbps effective).

The GPU core configurations are also distinct. The GTX 1060 5 GB has 1280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units (TMUs), and 40 render output units (ROPs). In contrast, the GRID M60-1Q has 2048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The GRID M60-1Q thus has a higher count of every execution unit, but the GTX 1060 5 GB compensates with much higher clock speeds. The base clock of the GTX 1060 5 GB is 1506 MHz versus 557 MHz for the GRID M60-1Q, and the boost clock is 1709 MHz versus 1178 MHz.

Power and physical specifications also diverge. The GTX 1060 5 GB has a TDP of 120 W and requires a single 6-pin power connector with a suggested PSU of 300 W. The GRID M60-1Q has a TDP of 225 W, needs a single 8-pin connector, and requires a 550 W PSU. Both cards are dual-slot, but the GTX 1060 5 GB is shorter at 250 mm (9.8 inches) compared to the GRID M60-1Q's 267 mm (10.5 inches). The GTX 1060 5 GB has display outputs (1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a), while the GRID M60-1Q has no display outputs, reflecting its server/virtualization purpose.

Architecture Differences

The two cards are built on different architectures and process nodes. The GTX 1060 5 GB uses the Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC, with the GP106 chip. The GRID M60-1Q uses the older Maxwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC, with the GM204 chip. This generational gap explains many of the performance differences, as Pascal introduced significant efficiency improvements over Maxwell.

The transistor counts and die sizes reflect the architectural shift. The GTX 1060 5 GB has 4,400 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 22.0M / mm². The GRID M60-1Q has 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die, giving a much lower density of 13.1M / mm². The larger, denser chip on a smaller process node gives the GTX 1060 5 GB a clear efficiency advantage, which is evident in its lower TDP (120 W versus 225 W) despite its higher clock speeds.

The FP16 capabilities differ as well. The GTX 1060 5 GB supports FP16 compute at a rate of 68.36 GFLOPS (1:64 ratio to FP32), while the GRID M60-1Q has no listed FP16 performance. This indicates that the Pascal card has at least some support for reduced-precision compute, which can be useful in certain AI or graphics workloads. The API support is identical for both cards, with DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, but the underlying hardware implementations differ. The GTX 1060 5 GB was released in December 2017, while the GRID M60-1Q was released in August 2015, and the GTX 1060 5 GB belongs to the GeForce 10 generation with a predecessor in the GeForce 900 series and a successor in the GeForce 20 series, whereas the GRID M60-1Q has no listed predecessor or successor, marking it as a standalone product in the GRID (Mx) generation.