NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB vs NVIDIA Tesla M60 Comparison

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The benchmark database records two compute workloads for this pairing, and the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB wins both. In Geekbench OpenCL, the GTX 1060 5 GB scores 33,397 against 29,506 for the Tesla M60, a 13.2% advantage. That is the larger margin of the two tests, and it reflects the GTX 1060's higher sustained throughput in general-purpose compute. In Geekbench Vulkan, the gap narrows: 33,991 versus 31,473, a lead of 8%. The Tesla M60 still trails, but the margin is smaller, suggesting that the Vulkan workload does not penalize the older architecture as severely as OpenCL does.

Looking at the broader database context, the GTX 1060 5 GB sits at the 78th percentile of all GPUs with an average benchmark score of 33,694. Its nearest rivals bracket it tightly: the NVIDIA RTX A5000 averages 33,622, which is 0.2% behind, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700S averages 33,849, which is 0.5% ahead. The GTX 1060 5 GB also sits just ahead of the AMD Radeon HD 7950 by 0.8% and the AMD Radeon RX 480 by 0.9%. This is a tightly clustered region of the performance curve, meaning the GTX 1060 5 GB is not an outlier; it lands squarely within a competitive pack.

The Tesla M60, by contrast, records a 75th percentile position with an average score of 30,490. Its nearest rival is the NVIDIA CMP 70HX at 30,476, a negligible 0% difference. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 averages 30,433, 0.2% behind, while the AMD Radeon RX 6800 averages 30,095, 1.3% behind. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti averages 29,945, 1.8% behind. The M60 is therefore at the top of its own cluster, but that cluster sits roughly 3,200 points below the GTX 1060 5 GB's cluster. The 13.2% OpenCL and 8% Vulkan deltas are consistent with the gap between these two percentile bands.

The data shows that the GTX 1060 5 GB wins both head-to-head tests, giving it a 2-0 record. The Tesla M60 has no wins in this comparison. The pattern is clear: the GTX 1060 5 GB is faster in both recorded workloads, and the margin is meaningful rather than marginal.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU wins in Geekbench OpenCL, and by how much?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB wins with a score of 33,397 against the Tesla M60's 29,506, a 13.2% advantage.

Q: How much faster is the GTX 1060 5 GB in Geekbench Vulkan?

A: The GTX 1060 5 GB scores 33,991 versus 31,473 for the Tesla M60, which is an 8% lead.

Q: What are the average benchmark scores for each GPU?

A: The GTX 1060 5 GB averages 33,694 across its recorded benchmarks, while the Tesla M60 averages 30,490.

Q: How do these GPUs rank against all other GPUs in the database?

A: The GTX 1060 5 GB sits at the 78th percentile, and the Tesla M60 sits at the 75th percentile.

Q: What are the closest rivals to the GTX 1060 5 GB in terms of average score?

A: The NVIDIA RTX A5000 is 0.2% behind at 33,622, and the AMD Radeon RX 7700S is 0.5% ahead at 33,849.

Q: What are the closest rivals to the Tesla M60?

A: The NVIDIA CMP 70HX is essentially tied at 30,476, and the AMD Radeon RX 6700 is 0.2% behind at 30,433.

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous. The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB is the faster GPU in both recorded benchmark tests. It wins OpenCL by 13.2% and Vulkan by 8%. Its average benchmark score of 33,694 places it at the 78th percentile, compared to the Tesla M60's 30,490 at the 75th percentile. The GTX 1060 5 GB also benefits from a much more recent release date, coming in December 2017 versus August 2015 for the Tesla M60, and it uses a newer architecture.

For general compute workloads, the GTX 1060 5 GB is the clear pick. Its 13.2% OpenCL advantage is substantial, and its Vulkan lead of 8% reinforces the trend. The Tesla M60 does have advantages in raw specifications, including more shading units, more texture mapping units, more ROPs, and a larger memory bus, but those do not translate into higher benchmark scores in the recorded data.

The Tesla M60 is a dual-slot card with no display outputs, which marks it as a compute-oriented product. The GTX 1060 5 GB has display outputs, making it more flexible. However, the benchmark data shows the GTX 1060 5 GB outperforming the Tesla M60 in every recorded test, so the choice for performance is straightforward.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every core specification. The GTX 1060 5 GB has 1,280 shading units, 80 texture mapping units, and 40 ROPs. The Tesla M60 has 2,048 shading units, 128 TMUs, and 64 ROPs. The Tesla M60 has more of each, yet it delivers lower benchmark scores. Clock speeds tell part of the story: the GTX 1060 5 GB runs at a 1506 MHz base and 1709 MHz boost, while the Tesla M60 runs at a 557 MHz base and 1178 MHz boost. The GTX 1060's much higher boost clock helps offset its fewer cores.

Memory configurations also differ. The GTX 1060 5 GB has 5 GB of GDDR5 on a 160-bit bus, delivering 160.2 GB/s of bandwidth. The Tesla M60 has 8 GB of GDDR5 on a 256-bit bus, delivering 160.4 GB/s. The bandwidth is nearly identical, but the Tesla M60 has more capacity and a wider bus. Memory clock rates differ: the GTX 1060 5 GB runs at 2002 MHz with 8 Gbps effective, while the Tesla M60 runs at 1253 MHz with 5 Gbps effective.

Power requirements are dramatically different. The GTX 1060 5 GB has a 120 W TDP, uses a single 6-pin power connector, and recommends a 300 W power supply. The Tesla M60 has a 300 W TDP, uses a single 8-pin connector, and recommends a 700 W power supply. Physical dimensions differ as well: the GTX 1060 5 GB is 250 mm (9.8 inches) long, while the Tesla M60 is 267 mm (10.5 inches) long. Both are dual-slot cards with a PCIe 3.0 x16 interface.

The GTX 1060 5 GB has display outputs: 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The Tesla M60 has no display outputs, reflecting its compute-focused design. The two GPUs share the same API support: DirectX 12 (12_1), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4.

Architecture Differences

The GTX 1060 5 GB uses the GP106 chip built on NVIDIA's Pascal architecture, fabricated on a 16 nm process at TSMC. It contains 4,400 million transistors on a 200 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 22.0 million per square millimeter. Its FP32 compute is rated at 4.375 TFLOPS, and FP16 is rated at 68.36 GFLOPS with a 1:64 ratio. Pixel rate is 68.36 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 136.7 GTexel/s.

The Tesla M60 uses the GM204 chip based on Maxwell 2.0 architecture, fabricated on a 28 nm process at TSMC. It contains 5,200 million transistors on a 398 mm² die, giving a transistor density of 13.1 million per square millimeter. Its FP32 compute is rated at 4.825 TFLOPS, which is higher than the GTX 1060 5 GB, and it has no listed FP16 rate. Pixel rate is 75.39 GPixel/s, and texture rate is 150.8 GTexel/s.

The architectural gap is significant. Pascal is a newer generation than Maxwell 2.0, and the 16 nm process is denser than the 28 nm process. The GTX 1060 5 GB achieves its higher benchmark scores despite lower raw compute ratings, fewer cores, and lower pixel and texture rates. The Tesla M60 has the higher FP32 rating, more transistors, a larger die, and better texture and pixel throughput, yet it loses both head-to-head tests. The recorded benchmark data shows that the newer architecture and higher clocks of the GTX 1060 5 GB translate into better real-world performance, despite the Tesla M60's superior theoretical specifications.

The Tesla M60 belongs to the Tesla Maxwell generation, with the Tesla Kepler as its predecessor and Tesla Pascal as its successor. The GTX 1060 5 GB is part of the GeForce 10-series, following the GeForce 900 and preceding the GeForce 20. Both are end-of-life products, but the GTX 1060 5 GB was released over two years later. The production status is the same, but the architectural maturity differs by one full generation.