NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB vs NVIDIA RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell Comparison

FAQ

Q: How much faster is the NVIDIA RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell than the GTX 1060 6 GB in OpenCL compute?

A: The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell scores 106,087 in Geekbench OpenCL versus 32,322 for the GTX 1060 6 GB, a 228.2% advantage. This is the smaller of the two benchmark gaps between these cards.

Q: What is the largest performance gap between these two GPUs?

A: In Geekbench Vulkan, the RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell scores 113,865 while the GTX 1060 6 GB manages 18,659. That represents a 510.2% difference, making Vulkan the more decisive win for the newer card.

Q: Which GPU has better overall standing among all GPUs in the database?

A: The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell sits at the 70th percentile overall, while the GTX 1060 6 GB is at the 67th percentile. The RTX PRO also has a higher average benchmark score of 25,269 compared to 21,856 for the GTX 1060.

Q: Do both cards support the same DirectX version?

A: No. The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), while the GTX 1060 6 GB is limited to DirectX 12 (12_1). Both support OpenGL 4.6 and Vulkan 1.4.

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

A: The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell features 16 GB of GDDR7 on a 128-bit bus with 288.0 GB/s bandwidth. The GTX 1060 6 GB has 6 GB of GDDR5 on a 192-bit bus with 192.2 GB/s bandwidth. The newer card has more capacity but a narrower bus.

Q: How does the RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell compare to its closest rivals in average score?

A: The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell's average score of 25,269 is 1.4% below the AMD Radeon RX 6700M, 1.8% below the AMD Radeon Pro W5700, 1.8% below the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Mobile, and 2% above the NVIDIA RTX A5000 Mobile.

Architecture Differences

The architectural gap between these two NVIDIA GPUs spans nearly a decade of development. The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell is built on the GB206 chip using Blackwell 2.0 architecture, manufactured on a 5 nm process at TSMC. The GTX 1060 6 GB uses the GP106 chip with Pascal architecture on a 16 nm process, also from TSMC. The transistor counts tell a dramatic story: the RTX PRO packs 21,900 million transistors on a 181 mm² die (121.0M per mm²), while the GTX 1060 has 4,400 million on a 200 mm² die (22.0M per mm²). Despite being physically smaller, the RTX PRO crams nearly five times more transistors into less space.

The feature set diverges sharply. The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell includes 34 RT cores for hardware ray tracing and 136 tensor cores for AI acceleration, neither of which exists on the GTX 1060. Shader resources also differ massively: 4,352 shading units and 136 TMUs on the RTX PRO versus 1,280 shading units and 80 TMUs on the GTX 1060. Both cards have 48 ROPs, a rare point of parity.

Memory technology highlights the generational leap. The RTX PRO uses GDDR7 at 18 Gbps effective, delivering 288.0 GB/s over a 128-bit interface. The GTX 1060 uses GDDR5 at 8 Gbps effective, providing 192.2 GB/s over a wider 192-bit bus. The RTX PRO's higher bandwidth comes despite the narrower bus, thanks to the newer memory standard. The RTX PRO also supports PCIe 5.0 x8, while the GTX 1060 is limited to PCIe 3.0 x16.

Compute throughput shows the scale of the difference. The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell achieves 17.03 TFLOPS FP32 and matches that with 17.03 TFLOPS FP16 (1:1 ratio). The GTX 1060 manages 4.375 TFLOPS FP32 but only 68.36 GFLOPS FP16 (1:64 ratio), meaning its FP16 capability is essentially vestigial. Pixel rate favors the RTX PRO at 93.94 GPixel/s versus 82.03 GPixel/s, while texture rate is 266.2 GTexel/s against 136.7 GTexel/s.

Power characteristics are counterintuitive. The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell draws a 70 W TDP with no power connectors required and a 250 W suggested PSU. The GTX 1060 needs 120 W, a 6-pin connector, and a 300 W suggested PSU. The newer card delivers roughly four times the compute performance while consuming nearly half the power. The RTX PRO is also much shorter at 167 mm versus 250 mm for the GTX 1060, and lower in height at 69 mm versus 111 mm.

The display outputs reflect modern standards. The RTX PRO offers 4x mini-DisplayPort 2.1b, while the GTX 1060 has 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, and 3x DisplayPort 1.4a. The production status also differs: the RTX PRO is Active, while the GTX 1060 is End-of-life. The RTX PRO was released in August 2025, succeeding Workstation Ada, while the GTX 1060 launched in July 2016 as part of the GeForce 10 generation, succeeding GeForce 900 and preceding GeForce 20.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The direct comparison data between these two cards covers two benchmark tests, both of which the RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell wins decisively. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX PRO scores 106,087 against the GTX 1060's 32,322, producing a 228.2% delta. This result aligns with the raw compute advantage: the RTX PRO's 17.03 TFLOPS FP32 is nearly four times the GTX 1060's 4.375 TFLOPS, though the benchmark gap is smaller than the theoretical peak might suggest, likely due to memory bandwidth constraints and driver overhead.

The Geekbench Vulkan test shows an even more lopsided result. The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell posts 113,865, while the GTX 1060 6 GB manages only 18,659. The 510.2% delta reflects not just raw compute but also architectural maturity in API utilization. Vulkan 1.4 support exists on both cards, but the RTX PRO's Blackwell architecture handles modern graphics workloads with far greater efficiency. The presence of RT and tensor cores on the RTX PRO may also influence Vulkan performance in compute-heavy workloads, even if those cores are not directly benchmarked in this specific test.

The GTX 1060 has no benchmark wins in this head-to-head comparison. The wins tally stands at 2 for the RTX PRO and 0 for the GTX 1060. While the GTX 1060 has additional benchmark entries in the database (Geekbench Metal at 14,587), those are not part of the direct comparison because the RTX PRO does not have a corresponding Metal score. The absence of a Metal test for the RTX PRO is notable, but the available data still provides a clear performance hierarchy.

Context from the nearest rivals helps frame these results. The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell's average score of 25,269 places it within 2% of cards like the Radeon RX 6700M (25,633), Radeon Pro W5700 (25,726), and RTX 3080 Ti Mobile (25,740), while sitting 2% above the RTX A5000 Mobile (24,763). The GTX 1060 6 GB's average of 21,856 puts it in range of the Quadro RTX 5000 (21,629), Radeon RX 6700S (22,154), and Radeon RX 5700 (22,170), with a 2.2% edge over the RTX A4000 Mobile (21,379). The RTX PRO sits in a higher performance tier overall, and the head-to-head deltas confirm that the gap is substantial rather than marginal.

The Verdict

The data points to a clear conclusion: the RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell is the superior GPU by a wide margin in every measured benchmark, and it does so while consuming less power and occupying less physical space. The 228.2% OpenCL lead and 510.2% Vulkan lead are not incremental improvements; they represent a generational leap in compute capability. The RTX PRO's 70th percentile standing versus the GTX 1060's 67th percentile understates the head-to-head difference, because the average score comparison (25,269 versus 21,856) shows a 15.6% gap that the percentile rankings compress.

The GTX 1060 6 GB remains a functional card for legacy workloads, but its End-of-life status and lack of RT and tensor cores limit its relevance. The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell's active production status, modern feature set, and superior benchmark results make it the rational choice for anyone building a system today. The GTX 1060's launch MSRP was 299 USD, but the database shows no comparable pricing information for the RTX PRO, so any cost comparison would be speculative.

For users holding onto a GTX 1060, the benchmark results indicate that upgrading to the RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell would deliver massive compute gains, particularly in Vulkan applications where the newer architecture excels. For users choosing between these two cards today, the RTX PRO is the only sensible pick based on performance data alone. The GTX 1060's lower power draw of 120 W compared to the RTX PRO's 70 W is actually a point against the older card, not in its favor.

Specification Differences

| Specification | RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell | GTX 1060 6 GB |

|---|---|---|

| Architecture | Blackwell 2.0 | Pascal |

| Process Node | 5 nm | 16 nm |

| Transistors | 21,900 million | 4,400 million |

| Die Size | 181 mm² | 200 mm² |

| Base Clock | 982 MHz | 1506 MHz |

| Boost Clock | 1957 MHz | 1709 MHz |

| Memory Speed | 1125 MHz 18 Gbps effective | 2002 MHz 8 Gbps effective |

| Memory Size | 16 GB | 6 GB |

| Memory Type | GDDR7 | GDDR5 |

| Memory Bus | 128 bit | 192 bit |

| Memory Bandwidth | 288.0 GB/s | 192.2 GB/s |

| Shading Units | 4352 | 1280 |

| TMUs | 136 | 80 |

| ROPs | 48 | 48 |

| RT Cores | 34 | None |

| Tensor Cores | 136 | None |

| FP32 Performance | 17.03 TFLOPS | 4.375 TFLOPS |

| FP16 Performance | 17.03 TFLOPS (1:1) | 68.36 GFLOPS (1:64) |

| TDP | 70 W | 120 W |

| Power Connectors | None | 1x 6-pin |

| Suggested PSU | 250 W | 300 W |

| Bus Interface | PCIe 5.0 x8 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |

| Display Outputs | 4x mini-DisplayPort 2.1b | 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a |

| DirectX | 12 Ultimate (12_2) | 12 (12_1) |

| Length | 167 mm | 250 mm |

| Height | 69 mm | 111 mm |

| Width | 20 mm | Not specified |

| Production Status | Active | End-of-life |

Where Each One Wins

The RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell wins everywhere the head-to-head data measures. In OpenCL compute, its 228.2% lead makes it the clear choice for general-purpose GPU compute, scientific workloads, and any application that leverages OpenCL for acceleration. The 17.03 TFLOPS FP32 and matching FP16 throughput mean it can handle mixed-precision workloads without the severe FP16 penalty that cripples the GTX 1060, which offers only 68.36 GFLOPS FP16.

In Vulkan, the 510.2% advantage positions the RTX PRO as the dominant card for modern graphics APIs. The RTX PRO's 34 RT cores and 136 tensor cores enable hardware ray tracing and AI features that the GTX 1060 cannot access at all, making the newer card essential for any workload that uses these features. The GTX 1060's Pascal architecture predates these technologies entirely.

The GTX 1060 6 GB retains one narrow niche: legacy software that expects older display interfaces. Its DVI output and HDMI 2.0 port may be useful for connecting to older monitors or projectors that lack DisplayPort or mini-DisplayPort inputs. The RTX PRO's exclusive use of 4x mini-DisplayPort 2.1b requires adapters for DVI or HDMI connections, which could be a practical consideration in mixed hardware environments.

For power-constrained builds, the RTX PRO 2000 Blackwell is surprisingly the better choice. Its 70 W TDP and lack of power connectors make it easier to install in small form factor systems, while the GTX 1060's 120 W TDP and 6-pin connector require more substantial power delivery. The RTX PRO's shorter 167 mm length also fits in cases that cannot accommodate the GTX 1060's 250 mm length.

For pure legacy compatibility, the GTX 1060's PCIe 3.0 x16 interface works in older motherboards without issue, though the RTX PRO's PCIe 5.0 x8 interface remains backward compatible. The GTX 1060's DirectX 12 (12_1) support covers earlier DX12 titles, but the RTX PRO's DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2) adds mesh shaders, variable rate shading, and other modern features. The recorded data shows no scenario where the GTX 1060 outperforms the RTX PRO in measurable performance, so the older card's advantages are limited to interface compatibility rather than speed.