GeForce GTX 1060 vs Radeon R9 270 / R7 370

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 1060

2016Core: 1607 MHzBoost: 1733 MHz

Popular choices:

VS
AMD

Radeon R9 270 / R7 370

2015Core: 925 MHzBoost: 975 MHz

Popular choices:

Performance Spectrum - GPU

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.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce GTX 1060

2016

Why buy it

  • 133.7% more average FPS across 47 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Delivers 41.4% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 40.4 vs 28.6 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $149 MSRP).
  • 200% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (6 GB vs 2 GB).
  • Less risky long-term buy than Radeon R9 270 / R7 370: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 is already obsolete for modern gaming.
  • Measures 173mm instead of 220mm, a 47mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
  • 63.6% higher power demand at 180W vs 110W.

Radeon R9 270 / R7 370

2015

Why buy it

  • Costs $100 less on MSRP ($149 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
  • Draws 110W instead of 180W, a 70W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 1060 across 47 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • Less VRAM, with 2 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • Very weak future-proofing: 2015-era hardware with 2 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 28.6 vs 40.4 G3D/$ ($149 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
  • 27.2% longer card at 220mm vs 173mm.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 1060 better than Radeon R9 270 / R7 370?
Yes. GeForce GTX 1060 is clearly the better overall GPU here. GeForce GTX 1060 averages 133.7% more FPS across 47 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 10,064 vs 4,260 in G3D Mark. On top of that, GeForce GTX 1060 is a 2016 card with no meaningful modern upscaling stack, while Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 is a 2015 model from an older generation with FSR upscaling. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.
Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GTX 1060 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2016 generation instead of 2015, 136.2% more raw performance headroom, more VRAM at 6 GB instead of 2 GB, and the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling. That leaves it with more room for heavier textures, tougher ray tracing loads, and higher-end 1440p or 4K gaming over the next few years.
Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?
GeForce GTX 1060 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. GeForce GTX 1060 is about 67.1% more expensive on MSRP at $249 MSRP versus $149 MSRP, and you are getting 133.7% more estimated average FPS across 47 tracked games in our benchmark data and 136.2% higher G3D Mark. Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.
Is Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?
No, not for a fresh gaming build. Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 is 2015 hardware with 2 GB of VRAM, 4,260 in G3D Mark, and FSR upscaling. That is simply too far behind to be an easy modern recommendation.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

PresetGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
1080p
low117 FPS77 FPS
medium105 FPS62 FPS
high91 FPS49 FPS
ultra77 FPS32 FPS
1440p
low103 FPS65 FPS
medium87 FPS53 FPS
high76 FPS37 FPS
ultra67 FPS23 FPS
4K
low55 FPS23 FPS
medium49 FPS22 FPS
high41 FPS14 FPS
ultra37 FPS12 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

PresetGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
1080p
low216 FPS111 FPS
medium181 FPS82 FPS
high148 FPS63 FPS
ultra113 FPS38 FPS
1440p
low134 FPS63 FPS
medium107 FPS42 FPS
high87 FPS31 FPS
ultra68 FPS20 FPS
4K
low62 FPS23 FPS
medium51 FPS15 FPS
high49 FPS12 FPS
ultra41 FPS8 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

PresetGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
1080p
low453 FPS192 FPS
medium362 FPS153 FPS
high302 FPS128 FPS
ultra226 FPS96 FPS
1440p
low340 FPS144 FPS
medium272 FPS115 FPS
high226 FPS96 FPS
ultra170 FPS72 FPS
4K
low226 FPS96 FPS
medium181 FPS77 FPS
high151 FPS64 FPS
ultra113 FPS48 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

PresetGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
1080p
low358 FPS135 FPS
medium302 FPS108 FPS
high260 FPS94 FPS
ultra226 FPS77 FPS
1440p
low299 FPS99 FPS
medium254 FPS81 FPS
high208 FPS71 FPS
ultra170 FPS54 FPS
4K
low170 FPS58 FPS
medium133 FPS44 FPS
high123 FPS35 FPS
ultra102 FPS25 FPS

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 1060 and Radeon R9 270 / R7 370

NVIDIA

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.

AMD

Radeon R9 270 / R7 370

The Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in May 5 2015. It features the GCN 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 925 MHz to 975 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 110W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 4,260 points.

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce GTX 1060 scores 10,064 versus the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370's 4,260 — the GeForce GTX 1060 leads by 136.2%. The GeForce GTX 1060 is built on Pascal while the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 uses GCN 1.0, both on 16 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 2,560 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 1,280 (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370). Raw compute: 8.873 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 2.496 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370). Boost clocks: 1733 MHz vs 975 MHz.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
G3D Mark Score
10,064+136%
4,260
Architecture
Pascal
GCN 1.0
Process Node
16 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
2560+100%
1280
Compute (TFLOPS)
8.873 TFLOPS+255%
2.496 TFLOPS
Boost Clock
1733 MHz+78%
975 MHz
ROPs
64+100%
32
TMUs
160+100%
80
L1 Cache
960 KB+150%
384 KB
L2 Cache
2 MB+300%
0.5 MB

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 1060 gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
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 comes with 6 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 has 2 GB. The GeForce GTX 1060 offers 200% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 192 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 179.2 GB/s (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370) — a 7.1% advantage for the GeForce GTX 1060. Bus width: 192-bit vs 256-bit. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370) — the GeForce GTX 1060 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
VRAM Capacity
6 GB+200%
2 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
192 GB/s+7%
179.2 GB/s
Bus Width
192-bit
256-bit+33%
L2 Cache
2 MB+300%
0.5 MB
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 12 (11_1) (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
DirectX
12
12 (11_1)
Vulkan
1.3+8%
1.2
OpenGL
4.5
4.6+2%
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC (Pascal) (GeForce GTX 1060) vs VCE 1.0 (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370). Decoder: NVDEC (Pascal) vs UVD 4.0. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC (GeForce GTX 1060) vs H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1 (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
Encoder
NVENC (Pascal)
VCE 1.0
Decoder
NVDEC (Pascal)
UVD 4.0
Codecs
H.264,H.265/HEVC
H.264,MPEG-2,VC-1
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1060 draws 180W versus the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370's 110W — a 48.3% difference. The Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 450W (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370). Power connectors: 6-pin vs 1x 6-pin. Card length: 173mm vs 220mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
TDP
180W
110W-39%
Recommended PSU
400W-11%
450W
Power Connector
6-pin
1x 6-pin
Length
173mm
220mm
Height
111mm
111mm
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
70
Perf/Watt
55.9+44%
38.7
💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce GTX 1060 launched at $249 MSRP, while the Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 launched at $149. The Radeon R9 270 / R7 370 costs 40.2% less ($100 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 40.4 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 28.6 (Radeon R9 270 / R7 370) — the GeForce GTX 1060 offers 41.3% better value. The GeForce GTX 1060 is the newer GPU (2016 vs 2015).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 270 / R7 370
MSRP
$249
$149-40%
Performance per Dollar
40.4+41%
28.6
Codename
GP104
Trinidad
Release
May 27 2016
May 5 2015
Ranking
#137
#456