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GeForce GTX 1060 vs Radeon R9 285

CPUCPUGPUGPU
NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 1060

2016Core: 1607 MHzBoost: 1733 MHz
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VS
AMD

Radeon R9 285

2014Core: 918 MHz
Similar parts
·······
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GeForce GTX 1060 vs Radeon R9 285 Performance Spectrum

GeForce GTX 1060
6 GB 180
10,064
+50.7%
brand logoGeForce GTX 680
brand logoGeForce GTX 970XM FORCE
brand logoGeForce RTX 2050 Mobile
brand logoGeForce GTX TITAN Z
brand logoGeForce GTX 980 Ti
brand logoGeForce RTX 5060 Mobile
brand logoGeForce RTX 2080 Ti
brand logoGeForce RTX 4080 Mobile
Radeon R9 285
4 GB 190
6,680
0.0%
brand logoRadeon RX 560
brand logoRadeon HD 7870 XT
brand logoRadeon R9 M295X
brand logoRadeon HD 6970M Crossfire
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M
brand logoRadeon RX 7600M XT
brand logoRadeon RX 6750 GRE 10GB
brand logoRadeon RX 7700 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 R9 285 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

Path of Exile 2

1080P
GeForce GTX 1060
low117 FPS
medium105 FPS
high91 FPS
ultra77 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 285
low81 FPS
medium69 FPS
high57 FPS
ultra37 FPS
Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

1080P
GeForce GTX 1060
low216 FPS
medium181 FPS
high148 FPS
ultra113 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 285
low129 FPS
medium98 FPS
high78 FPS
ultra52 FPS
League of Legends

League of Legends

1080P
GeForce GTX 1060
low453 FPS
medium362 FPS
high302 FPS
ultra226 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 285
low301 FPS
medium240 FPS
high200 FPS
ultra150 FPS
Valorant

Valorant

1080P
GeForce GTX 1060
low358 FPS
medium302 FPS
high260 FPS
ultra226 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 285
low140 FPS
medium113 FPS
high97 FPS
ultra81 FPS
Among Us

Among Us

1080P
GeForce GTX 1060
low60 FPS
medium60 FPS
high60 FPS
ultra60 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 285
low60 FPS
medium60 FPS
high60 FPS
ultra60 FPS
Apex Legends

Apex Legends

1080P
GeForce GTX 1060
low237 FPS
medium218 FPS
high193 FPS
ultra177 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 285
low142 FPS
medium124 FPS
high100 FPS
ultra81 FPS
ARC Raiders

ARC Raiders

1080P
GeForce GTX 1060
low92 FPS
medium73 FPS
high59 FPS
ultra41 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 285
low55 FPS
medium43 FPS
high31 FPS
ultra19 FPS
Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3

1080P
GeForce GTX 1060
low128 FPS
medium104 FPS
high94 FPS
ultra70 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 285
low56 FPS
medium40 FPS
high31 FPS
ultra24 FPS
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

1080P
GeForce GTX 1060
low107 FPS
medium91 FPS
high69 FPS
ultra60 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 285
low79 FPS
medium62 FPS
high51 FPS
ultra40 FPS
Call of Duty: Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone

1080P
GeForce GTX 1060
low122 FPS
medium101 FPS
high85 FPS
ultra72 FPS
1080P
Radeon R9 285
low71 FPS
medium55 FPS
high44 FPS
ultra32 FPS
Check FPS with Custom Builds

GeForce GTX 1060 vs Radeon R9 285: 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

  • ✅70.7% more average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ✅Delivers 50.7% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 40.4 vs 26.8 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
  • ✅50% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (6 GB vs 4 GB).
  • ✅Measures 173mm instead of 221mm, a 48mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

  • ❌2016 hardware with 6 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.

Radeon R9 285

2014

Why buy it

  • ✅Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

  • ❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 1060 across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
  • ❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
  • ❌2014 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • ❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 26.8 vs 40.4 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
  • ❌27.7% longer card at 221mm vs 173mm.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
GeForce GTX 1060 is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 70.7% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 50.7% in PassMark G3D (10,064 vs 6,680), so the answer here is pretty clean.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce GTX 1060 is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: 6 GB vs 4 GB of VRAM, a 16nm process instead of 28nm, and a newer 2016 generation instead of 2014. 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 priced the same on MSRP at $249 vs $249, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 50.7% (40.4 vs 26.8), so the value case lines up with the gaming result.

GeForce GTX 1060 vs Radeon R9 285 Technical Specifications

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

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 285

The Radeon R9 285 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in September 2 2014. It features the GCN 3.0 architecture. The core clock speed is 918 MHz. It has 1792 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 190W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 6,680 points. Launch price was $249.

⚡

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce GTX 1060 scores 10,064 versus the Radeon R9 285's 6,680 — the GeForce GTX 1060 leads by 50.7%. The GeForce GTX 1060 is built on Pascal while the Radeon R9 285 uses GCN 3.0, both on 16 nm vs 28 nm. Shader units: 2,560 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 1,792 (Radeon R9 285). Raw compute: 8.873 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 3.29 TFLOPS (Radeon R9 285).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 285
G3D Mark Score
10,064+51%
6,680
Architecture
Pascal
GCN 3.0
Process Node
16 nm
28 nm
Shading Units
2560+43%
1792
Compute (TFLOPS)
8.873 TFLOPS+170%
3.29 TFLOPS
ROPs
64+100%
32
TMUs
160+43%
112
L1 Cache
960 KB+114%
448 KB
L2 Cache
2 MB+300%
0.5 MB
✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 1060 gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon R9 285 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 285
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 R9 285 carries 4 GB. GeForce GTX 1060 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) vs 176 GB/s (Radeon R9 285) — a 9.1% advantage for the GeForce GTX 1060. Memory bus width is 192-bit on the GeForce GTX 1060 and 256-bit on the Radeon R9 285. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 0.5 MB (Radeon R9 285) — the GeForce GTX 1060 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 285
VRAM Capacity
6 GB+50%
4 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
192 GB/s+9%
176 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 12.0 (Radeon R9 285). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.2. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.4. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 285
DirectX
12
12.0
Vulkan
1.3+8%
1.2
OpenGL
4.5+2%
4.4
Max Displays
4
4
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC (Pascal) (GeForce GTX 1060) vs VCE 3.0 (Radeon R9 285). Decoder: NVDEC (Pascal) vs UVD 5.0. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC (GeForce GTX 1060) vs MPEG-2,H.264 (Radeon R9 285).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 285
Encoder
NVENC (Pascal)
VCE 3.0
Decoder
NVDEC (Pascal)
UVD 5.0
Codecs
H.264,H.265/HEVC
MPEG-2,H.264
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1060 draws 180W versus the Radeon R9 285's 190W — a 5.4% difference. The GeForce GTX 1060 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 500W (Radeon R9 285). Power connectors: 6-pin vs 2x 6-pin. Card length: 173mm vs 221mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 285
TDP
180W-5%
190W
Recommended PSU
400W-20%
500W
Power Connector
6-pin
2x 6-pin
Length
173mm
221mm
Height
111mm
109mm
Slots
2
2
Temp (Load)
—
65°C
Perf/Watt
55.9+59%
35.2
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce GTX 1060 came in at $249, while the Radeon R9 285 launched at $249. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 40.4 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 26.8 (Radeon R9 285) — the GeForce GTX 1060 offers 50.7% better value. The newer card here is GeForce GTX 1060 (2016 vs 2014).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060Radeon R9 285
MSRP
$249
$249
Performance per Dollar
40.4+51%
26.8
Codename
GP104
Tonga
Release
May 27 2016
September 2 2014
Ranking
#137
#365
Search GeForce GTX 1060 on AmazonSearch Radeon R9 285 on Amazon

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