NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN vs NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Comparison

The Verdict

The data is unambiguous: the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the superior card in every benchmark where the two overlap. Across the two common tests, the RTX 2060 wins both, with a commanding 161.4% lead in Geekbench OpenCL and a staggering 556.7% lead in Geekbench Vulkan. For anyone choosing between these two, the RTX 2060 is the only rational pick if performance is the criterion. The GTX TITAN, despite its higher launch MSRP of 999 USD, trails badly in raw compute and API-level tests. The RTX 2060 also edges the TITAN in the overall percentile ranking, sitting at the 58th percentile versus the TITAN’s 56th. The RTX 2060’s average benchmark score of 15290 also surpasses the TITAN’s 14373. The GTX TITAN’s only consolation is that it remains a functional card for legacy workloads, but the data shows no scenario where it outpaces its younger rival in shared tests. If you are building a system today and these are the two options, the RTX 2060 is the decisive choice.

Architecture Differences

The two cards come from different architectural eras, and that difference is stark in the specifications. The RTX 2060 uses the TU106 chip on the Turing architecture, built on a 12 nm process at TSMC. It packs 10,800 million transistors into a 445 mm² die, yielding a transistor density of 24.3M per mm². The GTX TITAN uses the GK110 chip on the older Kepler architecture, also from TSMC but on a 28 nm process. It contains 7,080 million transistors on a larger 561 mm² die, with a much lower density of 12.6M per mm². The RTX 2060’s newer process allows it to achieve higher clocks: a base of 1365 MHz and a boost of 1680 MHz, versus the TITAN’s 836 MHz base and 876 MHz boost. Memory configurations differ as well: the RTX 2060 uses 6 GB of GDDR6 on a 192-bit bus, delivering 336.0 GB/s of bandwidth, while the TITAN uses 6 GB of GDDR5 on a wider 384-bit bus, but with only 288.4 GB/s of bandwidth. The RTX 2060 also brings hardware features the TITAN lacks entirely: 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores, enabling real-time ray tracing and AI acceleration. The TITAN has no such units. In terms of raw compute resources, the TITAN actually has more shading units (2688 versus 1920) and more TMUs (224 versus 120), but the RTX 2060’s higher clocks and architectural efficiency flip the performance equation. The RTX 2060’s pixel rate is 80.64 GPixel/s versus the TITAN’s 49.06 GPixel/s, and its texture rate is 201.6 GTexel/s versus 196.2 GTexel/s. FP32 throughput is also higher on the RTX 2060 at 6.451 TFLOPS versus 4.709 TFLOPS. The RTX 2060 also supports FP16 at 12.90 TFLOPS (2:1), while the TITAN has no FP16 capability listed. Power draw differs significantly: the RTX 2060 is rated at 160 W with a suggested PSU of 450 W, while the TITAN draws 250 W and needs a 600 W PSU. The RTX 2060 uses a single 8-pin connector; the TITAN requires a 6-pin and an 8-pin. Display outputs also diverge: the RTX 2060 offers 1x DVI, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort 1.4a, and 1x USB Type-C, while the TITAN has 2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, and 1x DisplayPort 1.2. API support is another generational gap: the RTX 2060 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4, whereas the TITAN only reaches DirectX 12 (11_0), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.2.175. Physically, the RTX 2060 is shorter at 229 mm versus the TITAN’s 267 mm, and slightly thinner at 35 mm versus 38 mm.

Head-to-Head Benchmarks

The head-to-head data covers only two tests, but both tell the same story with extreme margins. In Geekbench OpenCL, the RTX 2060 scores 65014 against the TITAN’s 24873. That is a 161.4% advantage for the RTX 2060, meaning it more than doubles the TITAN’s compute output in this workload. The gap is even more pronounced in Geekbench Vulkan, where the RTX 2060 posts 65846 versus the TITAN’s 10027. The delta here is 556.7%, a massive gulf that reflects both the architectural age of the TITAN and its lack of modern API optimization. The TITAN does have one benchmark the RTX 2060 does not: Geekbench Metal, where it scores 8218. However, this is a macOS-specific API test, and the RTX 2060 has no corresponding result in the data, so it cannot be compared directly. Looking at the broader benchmark suite, the RTX 2060 also has results in 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 (1242), Passmark DirectX 10 (98), DirectX 11 (110), DirectX 12 (53), DirectX 9 (190), G2D (745), G3D (14111), and GPU Compute (5488). The TITAN has no entries for these tests in the data, so the head-to-head comparison remains limited to the two Geekbench tests. The RTX 2060’s average benchmark score of 15290 versus the TITAN’s 14373 reinforces the pattern, as does the percentile gap: 58th versus 56th among all GPUs. The RTX 2060’s nearest rivals include the GeForce GTX 580 (avg score 15283, delta 0%), AMD Radeon 680M (15270, delta 0.1%), GeForce RTX 3050 OEM (15199, delta 0.6%), and AMD Radeon RX 7600 (15171, delta 0.8%). The TITAN’s nearest rivals are much weaker: AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 (14385, delta -0.1%), AMD Radeon Vega 11 (14352, delta 0.1%), GeForce GTX 965M (14404, delta -0.2%), and Intel Iris Xe MAX Graphics (14315, delta 0.4%). This shows the TITAN is clustering with integrated and low-end mobile graphics, while the RTX 2060 sits near modern discrete GPUs.

FAQ

Q: Which card has more shading units?

A: The GTX TITAN has 2688 shading units, while the RTX 2060 has 1920. Despite this, the RTX 2060 still wins in every shared benchmark.

Q: Does the GTX TITAN support ray tracing?

A: No. The GTX TITAN has no RT cores listed in its specifications. The RTX 2060 includes 30 RT cores and 240 tensor cores.

Q: What is the memory bandwidth difference?

A: The RTX 2060 delivers 336.0 GB/s over a 192-bit GDDR6 bus, while the GTX TITAN provides 288.4 GB/s over a 384-bit GDDR5 bus. The RTX 2060 wins despite the narrower bus.

Q: Which card has a higher boost clock?

A: The RTX 2060 boosts to 1680 MHz, whereas the GTX TITAN boosts to only 876 MHz. The RTX 2060’s base clock of 1365 MHz is also higher than the TITAN’s boost clock.

Q: How much power does each card require?

A: The RTX 2060 has a TDP of 160 W and a suggested PSU of 450 W. The GTX TITAN has a TDP of 250 W and a suggested PSU of 600 W.

Q: In the Geekbench Vulkan test, how large is the RTX 2060’s lead?

A: The RTX 2060 scores 65846 versus the GTX TITAN’s 10027, a delta of 556.7% in favor of the RTX 2060.

Where Each One Wins

The RTX 2060 wins in every category where the data allows a direct comparison. In Geekbench OpenCL, it is 161.4% faster, which is a decisive win for any compute-heavy workload such as rendering, physics simulation, or general GPU compute tasks. In Geekbench Vulkan, the 556.7% lead makes it the clear choice for modern games and applications that leverage Vulkan for low-overhead graphics and compute. The RTX 2060 also wins on efficiency: it draws 160 W versus the TITAN’s 250 W, and requires a smaller PSU (450 W versus 600 W). It is also physically smaller, at 229 mm versus 267 mm, making it easier to fit in compact cases. The RTX 2060’s support for DirectX 12 Ultimate and Vulkan 1.4 means it is ready for current and future titles, while the TITAN’s DirectX 12 (11_0) and Vulkan 1.2.175 support is outdated. The RTX 2060’s display outputs include modern HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4a, plus a USB Type-C port for VR headsets or other peripherals; the TITAN is limited to older HDMI 1.4a and DisplayPort 1.2. The GTX TITAN’s only unique benchmark result is Geekbench Metal with a score of 8218, which is irrelevant for Windows-based workloads and cannot be compared to the RTX 2060 since the latter has no Metal score. The TITAN’s wider 384-bit memory bus and higher shading unit count are its only theoretical advantages, but they do not translate into any actual benchmark win. In short, the RTX 2060 is the winner for gaming, compute, efficiency, and future-proofing. The GTX TITAN is a relic that only matters for legacy DirectX 9 or Metal-specific environments, and even then, the data does not show it beating the RTX 2060 in any shared test.