GeForce GTX 1060 vs Radeon Instinct MI60

CPU

GPU

GeForce GTX 1060

2016Core: 1607 MHzBoost: 1733 MHz

GTX family

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Radeon Instinct MI60

2018Core: 1200 MHzBoost: 1800 MHz

Similar parts

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GeForce GTX 1060 vs Radeon Instinct MI60 Performance Spectrum

GeForce GTX 1060

6 GB 180

10,064

0.0%

GeForce GTX 680

GeForce GTX 970XM FORCE

GeForce RTX 2050 Mobile

GeForce GTX TITAN Z

GeForce GTX 980 Ti

GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile

GeForce RTX 2080 Ti

GeForce RTX 4080 Mobile

Radeon Instinct MI60

8 GB 300

11,638

+15.6%

Radeon RX 6750 GRE 10GB

Radeon RX 6800

Radeon RX 6900 XT

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 vs Radeon Instinct MI60 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.

GeForce GTX 1060 vs Radeon Instinct MI60: 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

2016

Why buy it

✅Costs $5,751 less on MSRP ($249 MSRP vs $6,000 MSRP).
✅Delivers 1983.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 40.4 vs 1.9 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $6,000 MSRP).
✅Draws 180W instead of 300W, a 120W reduction.
✅Measures 173mm instead of 267mm, a 94mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than Radeon Instinct MI60 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 6 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌2016 hardware with 6 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.

Radeon Instinct MI60

2018

Why buy it

✅16.5% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 6 GB).
✅GeForce GTX 1060 is already legacy-tier future-proofing, so Radeon Instinct MI60 is the less risky modern option long term.

Trade-offs

❌Older hardware, 8 GB of VRAM, and weaker feature support mean it will age faster in newer AAA releases.
❌
2309.6% HIGHER MSRP
$6,000 MSRPvs$249 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 1.9 vs 40.4 G3D/$ ($6,000 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
❌66.7% higher power demand at 300W vs 180W.
❌54.3% longer card at 267mm vs 173mm.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

Radeon Instinct MI60 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 16.5% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 15.6% in PassMark G3D (11,638 vs 10,064), so the answer here is pretty clean.

Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?

Radeon Instinct MI60 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 8 GB vs 6 GB of VRAM, the newer upscaling stack, FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, a 7nm process instead of 16nm, and a newer 2018 generation instead of 2016. That gives it more room for heavier textures and higher settings over time.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce GTX 1060 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $5,751 cheaper on MSRP at $249 vs $6,000, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 1983.7% (40.4 vs 1.9), which is enough to swing the recommendation its way. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, GeForce GTX 1060 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon Instinct MI60 has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX 1060 vs Radeon Instinct MI60 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

GeForce GTX 1060

The GeForce GTX 1060 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in May 27 2016. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1607 MHz to 1733 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 180W. Manufactured using 16 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 10,064 points. Launch price was $599.

Radeon Instinct MI60

The Radeon Instinct MI60 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in November 18 2018. It features the GCN 5.1 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1200 MHz to 1800 MHz. It has 4096 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 300W. Manufactured using 7 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 11,638 points.

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Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce GTX 1060 scores 10,064 versus the Radeon Instinct MI60's 11,638 — the Radeon Instinct MI60 leads by 15.6%. The GeForce GTX 1060 is built on Pascal while the Radeon Instinct MI60 uses GCN 5.1, both on 16 nm vs 7 nm. Shader units: 2,560 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 4,096 (Radeon Instinct MI60). Raw compute: 8.873 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 14.75 TFLOPS (Radeon Instinct MI60). Boost clocks: 1733 MHz vs 1800 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon Instinct MI60
G3D Mark Score	10,064	11,638+16%
Architecture	Pascal	GCN 5.1
Process Node	16 nm	7 nm
Shading Units	2560	4096+60%
Compute (TFLOPS)	8.873 TFLOPS	14.75 TFLOPS+66%
Boost Clock	1733 MHz	1800 MHz+4%
ROPs	64	64
TMUs	160	256+60%
L1 Cache	0.94 MB	1 MB+6%
L2 Cache	2 MB	4 MB+100%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 1060 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon Instinct MI60 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon Instinct MI60
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 has 6 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon Instinct MI60 carries 8 GB. Radeon Instinct MI60 gives you 33.3% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 192-bit on the GeForce GTX 1060 and 128-bit on the Radeon Instinct MI60. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 4 MB (Radeon Instinct MI60) — the Radeon Instinct MI60 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon Instinct MI60
VRAM Capacity	6 GB	8 GB+33%
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Bus Width	192-bit+50%	128-bit
L2 Cache	2 MB	4 MB+100%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 12.1 (Radeon Instinct MI60). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.5. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 1.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon Instinct MI60
DirectX	12	12.1
Vulkan	1.3	1.3
OpenGL	4.5	4.5
Max Displays	4+300%	1

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC (Pascal) (GeForce GTX 1060) vs VCE 4.1 (Radeon Instinct MI60). Decoder: NVDEC (Pascal) vs UVD 7.2. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC (GeForce GTX 1060) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9 (Radeon Instinct MI60).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon Instinct MI60
Encoder	NVENC (Pascal)	VCE 4.1
Decoder	NVDEC (Pascal)	UVD 7.2
Codecs	H.264,H.265/HEVC	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1060 draws 180W versus the Radeon Instinct MI60's 300W — a 50% difference. The GeForce GTX 1060 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 500W (Radeon Instinct MI60). Power connectors: 6-pin vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 173mm vs 267mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon Instinct MI60
TDP	180W-40%	300W
Recommended PSU	400W-20%	500W
Power Connector	6-pin	PCIe-powered
Length	173mm	267mm
Height	111mm	111mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	—	85°C
Perf/Watt	55.9+44%	38.8

💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX 1060 came in at $249, while the Radeon Instinct MI60 launched at $6000. On MSRP, GeForce GTX 1060 was 95.9% cheaper ($5751 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 40.4 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 1.9 (Radeon Instinct MI60) — the GeForce GTX 1060 offers 2026.3% better value. The newer card here is Radeon Instinct MI60 (2018 vs 2016).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	Radeon Instinct MI60
MSRP	$249-96%	$6000
Performance per Dollar	40.4+2026%	1.9
Codename	GP104	Vega 20
Release	May 27 2016	November 18 2018
Ranking	#137	#232

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