GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile)
Radeon R9 290 / 390
GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) vs Radeon R9 290 / 390 Performance Spectrum
About G3D Mark
G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.
GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) vs Radeon R9 290 / 390 FPS Benchmarks
Predicted gaming performance across popular games. Tested paired with Ryzen 7 9800X3D to isolate GPU performance.
Search any supported game below to compare 1080p FPS for both components.
Path of Exile 2
Counter-Strike 2
League of Legends
Valorant
Among Us
Apex Legends
ARC Raiders
Baldur's Gate 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) vs Radeon R9 290 / 390: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict
See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.
GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile)
2023Why buy it
- ✅44.3% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ✅50% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (6 GB vs 4 GB).
- ✅Better long-term bet: Ada Lovelace (2022−2024) on 5nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
- ✅Draws 115W instead of 300W, a 185W reduction.
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 24.8 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $329 MSRP).
Radeon R9 290 / 390
2015Why buy it
- ✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 24.8 vs 0 G3D/$ ($329 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
Trade-offs
- ❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
- ❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
- ❌2015 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
- ❌160.9% higher power demand at 300W vs 115W.
Quick Answers
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GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) vs Radeon R9 290 / 390 Technical Specifications
Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.
GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile)
The GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in January 3 2023. It features the Ada Lovelace architecture. The core clock ranges from 1545 MHz to 1890 MHz. It has 3072 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 115W. Manufactured using 5 nm process technology. It features 24 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,160 points.
Radeon R9 290 / 390
The Radeon R9 290 / 390 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 18 2015. It features the GCN 2.0 architecture. The boost clock speed is 1000 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,150 points. Launch price was $329.
Graphics Performance
The GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) scores 8,160 and the Radeon R9 290 / 390 reaches 8,150 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.1% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) is built on Ada Lovelace while the Radeon R9 290 / 390 uses GCN 2.0, both on 5 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 3,072 (GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile)) vs 2,560 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Raw compute: 11.61 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile)) vs 5.12 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Boost clocks: 1890 MHz vs 1000 MHz.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) | Radeon R9 290 / 390 |
|---|---|---|
| G3D Mark Score | 8,160 | 8,150 |
| Architecture | Ada Lovelace | GCN 2.0 |
| Process Node | 5 nm | 28 nm |
| Shading Units | 3072+20% | 2560 |
| Compute (TFLOPS) | 11.61 TFLOPS+127% | 5.12 TFLOPS |
| Boost Clock | 1890 MHz+89% | 1000 MHz |
| ROPs | 48 | 64+33% |
| TMUs | 96 | 160+67% |
| L1 Cache | 3 MB+376% | 0.63 MB |
| L2 Cache | 32 MB+3100% | 1 MB |
Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)
The GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon R9 290 / 390 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) | Radeon R9 290 / 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Upscaling Tech | Upscaling support | FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 |
| Frame Generation | Not Supported | Not Supported |
| Ray Reconstruction | No | No |
| Low Latency | NVIDIA Reflex | AMD Anti-Lag |
Video Memory (VRAM)
The GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) has 6 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 290 / 390 carries 4 GB. GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) gives you 50% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bandwidth: 192 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile)) vs 320 GB/s (Radeon R9 290 / 390) — a 66.7% advantage for the Radeon R9 290 / 390. Memory bus width is 192-bit on the GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) and 512-bit on the Radeon R9 290 / 390. L2 Cache: 32 MB (GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile)) vs 1 MB (Radeon R9 290 / 390) — the GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) | Radeon R9 290 / 390 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 6 GB+50% | 4 GB |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bandwidth | 192 GB/s | 320 GB/s+67% |
| Bus Width | 192-bit | 512-bit+167% |
| L2 Cache | 32 MB+3100% | 1 MB |
Display & API Support
DirectX support: 12 (GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile)) vs 12.0 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 6.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) | Radeon R9 290 / 390 |
|---|---|---|
| DirectX | 12 | 12.0 |
| Vulkan | 1.3+8% | 1.2 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Max Displays | 4 | 6+50% |
Media & Encoding
Hardware encoder: NVENC 6th Gen (GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile)) vs VCE 2.0 (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Decoder: NVDEC 3rd Gen vs UVD 4.2. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265 (GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile)) vs MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 (Radeon R9 290 / 390).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) | Radeon R9 290 / 390 |
|---|---|---|
| Encoder | NVENC 6th Gen | VCE 2.0 |
| Decoder | NVDEC 3rd Gen | UVD 4.2 |
| Codecs | H.264,H.265 | MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1 |
Power & Dimensions
The GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) draws 115W versus the Radeon R9 290 / 390's 300W — a 89.2% difference. The GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile)) vs 750W (Radeon R9 290 / 390). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 6-pin + 8-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 275mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 70 vs 95°C.
| Feature | GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) | Radeon R9 290 / 390 |
|---|---|---|
| TDP | 115W-62% | 300W |
| Recommended PSU | 500W-33% | 750W |
| Power Connector | PCIe-powered | 6-pin + 8-pin |
| Length | 0mm | 275mm |
| Height | 0mm | 109mm |
| Slots | 0-100% | 2 |
| Temp (Load) | 70-26% | 95°C |
| Perf/Watt | 71.0+161% | 27.2 |
Value Analysis
The newer card here is GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) (2023 vs 2015).
| Feature | GeForce GTX 1060 (Mobile) | Radeon R9 290 / 390 |
|---|---|---|
| MSRP | — | $329 |
| Codename | AD107 | Grenada |
| Release | January 3 2023 | June 18 2015 |
| Ranking | #102 | #296 |
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