NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB vs NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile Comparison

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB and NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile represent two very different eras of GPU design, separated by nearly five years of architectural evolution. The GTX 1060 is a desktop Pascal part from 2016, while the RTX A4000 Mobile is a laptop Ampere professional GPU from 2021. Benchmark data shows the RTX A4000 Mobile is dramatically faster in compute workloads, but the GTX 1060 holds its own in the overall percentile rankings. This analysis compares their specifications, benchmark results, and practical use cases based strictly on the provided data.

FAQ

Q: Which GPU has the higher average benchmark score?

A: The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB has an average benchmark score of 21856, while the NVIDIA RTX A4000 Mobile scores 21379. The GTX 1060 is 2.2% ahead of the RTX A4000 Mobile in this metric, according to the nearestRivals data.

Q: How do the two GPUs compare in Geekbench OpenCL performance?

A: The RTX A4000 Mobile scores 97178 in Geekbench OpenCL, which is 66.7% higher than the GTX 1060's 32322. This is the largest performance gap in the head-to-head benchmarks.

Q: What is the memory configuration difference?

A: The GTX 1060 has 6 GB of GDDR5 memory on a 192-bit bus with 192.2 GB/s bandwidth. The RTX A4000 Mobile has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 256-bit bus with 384.0 GB/s bandwidth, which is double the bandwidth.

Q: Which GPU has more shading units?

A: The RTX A4000 Mobile has 5120 shading units, while the GTX 1060 has 1280. The RTX A4000 Mobile also has 160 texture mapping units and 80 ROPs, compared to 80 TMUs and 48 ROPs on the GTX 1060.

Q: What are the FP32 compute capabilities?

A: The RTX A4000 Mobile delivers 17.20 TFLOPS of FP32 performance, which is nearly four times the 4.375 TFLOPS of the GTX 1060. The RTX A4000 Mobile also has 1:1 FP16 performance at 17.20 TFLOPS, while the GTX 1060's FP16 is severely limited at 68.36 GFLOPS.

Q: Do both GPUs support modern APIs?

A: Both support DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. However, the RTX A4000 Mobile supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 1060 is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Only the RTX A4000 Mobile has dedicated ray tracing cores and tensor cores.

Architecture Differences

The fundamental architectural split is Pascal versus Ampere. The GTX 1060 uses the GP106 chip built on TSMC's 16 nm process, containing 4,400 million transistors on a 200 mm² die. The RTX A4000 Mobile uses the GA104 chip on Samsung's 8 nm process, packing 17,400 million transistors into a 392 mm² die. This represents a transistor density increase from 22.0M per mm² to 44.4M per mm².

The compute resources differ enormously. The GTX 1060 has 1280 shading units, 80 TMUs, and 48 ROPs. The RTX A4000 Mobile has 5120 shading units, 160 TMUs, and 80 ROPs — exactly four times the shaders and double the TMUs and ROPs. Additionally, the RTX A4000 Mobile introduces 40 ray tracing cores and 160 tensor cores, features completely absent from the GTX 1060.

Memory architecture is another major divergence. The GTX 1060 uses 6 GB of GDDR5 at 2002 MHz with 8 Gbps effective speed, yielding 192.2 GB/s over a 192-bit bus. The RTX A4000 Mobile uses 8 GB of GDDR6 at 1500 MHz with 12 Gbps effective speed, delivering 384.0 GB/s over a 256-bit bus. The bandwidth advantage is exactly 2x.

Clock speeds tell a nuanced story. The GTX 1060 has a higher base clock at 1506 MHz versus 1140 MHz, but the boost clocks are closer: 1709 MHz versus 1680 MHz. Despite lower clocks, the RTX A4000 Mobile achieves vastly higher throughput due to its wider architecture. Pixel rate is 82.03 GPixel/s for the GTX 1060 versus 134.4 GPixel/s for the RTX A4000 Mobile. Texture rate is 136.7 GTexel/s versus 268.8 GTexel/s, respectively.

Power and physical specifications also differ. The GTX 1060 has a 120 W TDP, requires a dual-slot cooler with a 1x 6-pin power connector, and needs a 300 W suggested PSU. The RTX A4000 Mobile has a 115 W TDP, no power connectors (portable device dependent), and no suggested PSU. The GTX 1060 is a 250 mm long, 111 mm tall desktop card with 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a outputs. The RTX A4000 Mobile has no fixed dimensions and its display outputs are portable device dependent.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data contains only two benchmark tests, both favoring the RTX A4000 Mobile decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX A4000 Mobile scores 97178 against the GTX 1060's 32322, a delta of -66.7% from the GTX 1060's perspective. This means the RTX A4000 Mobile is roughly three times faster in OpenCL compute.

In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX A4000 Mobile scores 73002 against 18659 for the GTX 1060, a delta of -74.4%. The gap is even wider in Vulkan, with the RTX A4000 Mobile achieving nearly four times the score. These results reflect the massive shading unit advantage and the modern memory subsystem of the Ampere architecture.

The wins tally is 0 for the GTX 1060 and 2 for the RTX A4000 Mobile. However, the overall average benchmark scores tell a different story. The GTX 1060 averages 21856 across all its benchmarks, while the RTX A4000 Mobile averages 21379. This discrepancy arises because the GTX 1060's benchmark suite includes Geekbench Metal (14587), OpenCL (32322), and Vulkan (18659), while the RTX A4000 Mobile's suite includes additional Passmark tests that pull its average down.

Looking at the percentile rankings, the GTX 1060 sits at the 67th percentile versus all GPUs, while the RTX A4000 Mobile sits at the 66th percentile. They are effectively adjacent in overall standing, despite the RTX A4000 Mobile's overwhelming compute advantage in the head-to-head tests. The GTX 1060's nearest rivals include the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 (1% slower), AMD Radeon RX 6700S (1.3% faster), and AMD Radeon RX 5700 (1.4% faster). The RTX A4000 Mobile's nearest rivals include the AMD Radeon HD 8970M (0.7% slower) and AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL (1.1% slower).

The Verdict

The data presents a clear split: the RTX A4000 Mobile is the superior compute performer by a wide margin, while the GTX 1060 holds a slight edge in average benchmark score. For workloads that stress OpenCL or Vulkan compute, the RTX A4000 Mobile is the obvious choice — it delivers 200% to 300% higher scores. The RTX A4000 Mobile also brings modern features like ray tracing cores, tensor cores, and DirectX 12 Ultimate support that the GTX 1060 simply cannot offer.

However, the GTX 1060 is no slouch. Its average benchmark score of 21856 is higher than the RTX A4000 Mobile's 21379, and it ranks one percentile point higher in the global GPU hierarchy. This suggests that in mixed or older workloads, the GTX 1060's higher clocks and mature driver optimizations keep it competitive. The GTX 1060 also has a defined launch MSRP of 299 USD, while the RTX A4000 Mobile has no listed launch MSRP.

For a builder choosing between these two, the decision hinges on workload. If the task involves modern compute APIs, ray tracing, or AI workloads, the RTX A4000 Mobile is unequivocally the better choice. If the task is legacy DirectX or OpenGL gaming, the GTX 1060's comparable average score and established desktop form factor may be sufficient. The RTX A4000 Mobile is a laptop part, so it cannot be installed in a desktop system without significant modification.

Specification Differences

The two GPUs differ in nearly every specification category. The chip is GP106 versus GA104, the architecture is Pascal versus Ampere, and the process node is 16 nm versus 8 nm. Transistor count jumps from 4,400 million to 17,400 million, and die size from 200 mm² to 392 mm².

Clock speeds: base clock is 1506 MHz on the GTX 1060 versus 1140 MHz on the RTX A4000 Mobile, but boost clock is 1709 MHz versus 1680 MHz. Memory clock is 2002 MHz (8 Gbps effective) versus 1500 MHz (12 Gbps effective). Memory size is 6 GB GDDR5 versus 8 GB GDDR6. Bus width is 192-bit versus 256-bit, and bandwidth is 192.2 GB/s versus 384.0 GB/s.

Compute units: shading units are 1280 versus 5120, TMUs are 80 versus 160, and ROPs are 48 versus 80. The RTX A4000 Mobile adds 40 RT cores and 160 tensor cores. Pixel rate is 82.03 GPixel/s versus 134.4 GPixel/s, texture rate is 136.7 GTexel/s versus 268.8 GTexel/s, and FP32 is 4.375 TFLOPS versus 17.20 TFLOPS.

Power and physical: TDP is 120 W versus 115 W. The GTX 1060 is dual-slot with a 1x 6-pin connector and 300 W suggested PSU; the RTX A4000 Mobile has no connectors and no suggested PSU. Bus interface is PCIe 3.0 x16 versus PCIe 4.0 x16. Display outputs are 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a versus portable device dependent. DirectX support is 12 (12_1) versus 12 Ultimate (12_2). Release dates are 2016-07-18 versus 2021-04-11.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX A4000 Mobile wins in raw compute benchmarks. It dominates Geekbench OpenCL with a 66.7% advantage and Geekbench Vulkan with a 74.4% advantage. Its 17.20 TFLOPS FP32 performance and 17.20 TFLOPS FP16 performance make it suitable for compute-heavy tasks like scientific simulation, machine learning inference, and content creation. The 384.0 GB/s memory bandwidth is double the GTX 1060's, which helps in bandwidth-bound workloads. The 8 GB VRAM capacity is also 33% larger, accommodating larger datasets and textures. Ray tracing and tensor cores enable hardware-accelerated ray tracing and AI features that the GTX 1060 cannot perform at all.

The GTX 1060 wins in average benchmark score and global percentile ranking. Its average score of 21856 beats the RTX A4000 Mobile's 21379 by 2.2%, per the nearestRivals delta. It also has a higher base clock (1506 MHz versus 1140 MHz), which may benefit lightly threaded or latency-sensitive workloads. The GTX 1060's desktop form factor with standard display outputs (DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort) makes it plug-and-play with existing desktop monitors, whereas the RTX A4000 Mobile is dependent on the host laptop's display configuration. The GTX 1060 also has a defined launch MSRP of 299 USD, giving it a concrete reference point for buyers.

For gaming specifically, the GTX 1060's 48 ROPs and 82.03 GPixel/s pixel rate are respectable for its era, and its 120 W TDP is modest. The RTX A4000 Mobile's 80 ROPs and 134.4 GPixel/s pixel rate are higher, but its 115 W TDP in a laptop chassis may be thermally constrained. The Passmark scores for the RTX A4000 Mobile show mixed results: DirectX 9 at 157, DirectX 10 at 105, DirectX 11 at 127, DirectX 12 at 66, and G3D at 14796. These suggest strong legacy DirectX 9 performance but weaker DirectX 12 scaling, which may affect modern game performance.