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

✅Costs $3,351 less on MSRP ($249 MSRP vs $3,600 MSRP).
✅Delivers 589.3% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 40.4 vs 5.9 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $3,600 MSRP).
✅Draws 180W instead of 230W, a 50W reduction.
✅Measures 173mm instead of 267mm, a 94mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than RTX A5500 across 45 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 6 GB vs 24 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

RTX A5500

2022

Why buy it

✅96.9% more average FPS across 45 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅300% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (24 GB vs 6 GB).
✅More future proof: Ampere on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌
1345.8% HIGHER MSRP
$3,600 MSRPvs$249 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.9 vs 40.4 G3D/$ ($3,600 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
❌27.8% higher power demand at 230W vs 180W.
❌54.3% longer card at 267mm vs 173mm.

GeForce GTX 1060

2016

RTX A5500

2022

Why buy it

✅Costs $3,351 less on MSRP ($249 MSRP vs $3,600 MSRP).
✅Delivers 589.3% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 40.4 vs 5.9 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $3,600 MSRP).
✅Draws 180W instead of 230W, a 50W reduction.
✅Measures 173mm instead of 267mm, a 94mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Why buy it

✅96.9% more average FPS across 45 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅300% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (24 GB vs 6 GB).
✅More future proof: Ampere on 8nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than RTX A5500 across 45 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 6 GB vs 24 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.

Trade-offs

❌
1345.8% HIGHER MSRP
$3,600 MSRPvs$249 MSRP
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 5.9 vs 40.4 G3D/$ ($3,600 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
❌27.8% higher power demand at 230W vs 180W.
❌54.3% longer card at 267mm vs 173mm.

Quick Answers

So, is RTX A5500 better than GeForce GTX 1060?

Yes. RTX A5500 is clearly the better overall GPU here. RTX A5500 averages 96.9% more FPS across 45 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 21,108 vs 10,064 in G3D Mark. On top of that, RTX A5500 is a 2022 card with no meaningful modern upscaling stack, while GeForce GTX 1060 is a 2016 model from an older generation with no meaningful modern upscaling stack. 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?

RTX A5500 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2022 generation instead of 2016, 109.7% more raw performance headroom, more VRAM at 24 GB instead of 6 GB, and 100.0% more ray-tracing hardware. 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?

RTX A5500 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. RTX A5500 is about 1345.8% more expensive on MSRP at $3,600 MSRP versus $249 MSRP, and you are getting 96.9% more estimated average FPS across 45 tracked games in our benchmark data and 109.7% higher G3D Mark. GeForce GTX 1060 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

Is GeForce GTX 1060 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

No, not for a fresh gaming build. GeForce GTX 1060 is 2016 hardware with 6 GB of VRAM, 10,064 in G3D Mark, and no meaningful modern upscaling stack. 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.

GeForce GTX 1060 Benchmark Check

RTX A5500 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1060	RTX A5500
1080p
low	117 FPS	213 FPS
medium	105 FPS	188 FPS
high	91 FPS	157 FPS
ultra	77 FPS	110 FPS
1440p
low	103 FPS	193 FPS
medium	87 FPS	162 FPS
high	76 FPS	117 FPS
ultra	67 FPS	81 FPS
4K
low	55 FPS	98 FPS
medium	49 FPS	83 FPS
high	41 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	37 FPS	48 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1060 Open RTX A5500

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1060	RTX A5500
1080p
low	216 FPS	524 FPS
medium	181 FPS	458 FPS
high	148 FPS	358 FPS
ultra	113 FPS	314 FPS
1440p
low	134 FPS	409 FPS
medium	107 FPS	349 FPS
high	87 FPS	270 FPS
ultra	68 FPS	226 FPS
4K
low	62 FPS	213 FPS
medium	51 FPS	181 FPS
high	49 FPS	150 FPS
ultra	41 FPS	124 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1060 Open RTX A5500

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 1060	RTX A5500
1080p
low	453 FPS	894 FPS
medium	362 FPS	726 FPS
high	302 FPS	631 FPS
ultra	226 FPS	475 FPS
1440p
low	340 FPS	700 FPS
medium	272 FPS	564 FPS
high	226 FPS	475 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	356 FPS
4K
low	226 FPS	475 FPS
medium	181 FPS	380 FPS
high	151 FPS	317 FPS
ultra	113 FPS	237 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1060 Open RTX A5500

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 1060	RTX A5500
1080p
low	358 FPS	354 FPS
medium	302 FPS	316 FPS
high	260 FPS	278 FPS
ultra	226 FPS	238 FPS
1440p
low	299 FPS	270 FPS
medium	254 FPS	247 FPS
high	208 FPS	213 FPS
ultra	170 FPS	179 FPS
4K
low	170 FPS	176 FPS
medium	133 FPS	154 FPS
high	123 FPS	118 FPS
ultra	102 FPS	95 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1060 Open RTX A5500

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 1060 and RTX A5500

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.

RTX A5500

The RTX A5500 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 22 2022. It features the Ampere architecture. The core clock ranges from 1080 MHz to 1665 MHz. It has 10240 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 230W. Manufactured using 8 nm process technology. It features 80 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 21,108 points.

⚡

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce GTX 1060 scores 10,064 versus the RTX A5500's 21,108 — the RTX A5500 leads by 109.7%. The GeForce GTX 1060 is built on Pascal while the RTX A5500 uses Ampere, both on 16 nm vs 8 nm. Shader units: 2,560 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 10,240 (RTX A5500). Raw compute: 8.873 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 34.1 TFLOPS (RTX A5500). Boost clocks: 1733 MHz vs 1665 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	RTX A5500
G3D Mark Score	10,064	21,108+110%
Architecture	Pascal	Ampere
Process Node	16 nm	8 nm
Shading Units	2560	10240+300%
Compute (TFLOPS)	8.873 TFLOPS	34.1 TFLOPS+284%
Boost Clock	1733 MHz+4%	1665 MHz
ROPs	64	96+50%
TMUs	160	320+100%
L1 Cache	0.94 MB	10 MB+964%
L2 Cache	2 MB	6 MB+200%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	RTX A5500
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	Upscaling support
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	NVIDIA Reflex

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce GTX 1060 comes with 6 GB of VRAM, while the RTX A5500 has 24 GB. The RTX A5500 offers 300% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 192 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 768 GB/s (RTX A5500) — a 300% advantage for the RTX A5500. Bus width: 192-bit vs 384-bit. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 6 MB (RTX A5500) — the RTX A5500 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	RTX A5500
VRAM Capacity	6 GB	24 GB+300%
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth	192 GB/s	768 GB/s+300%
Bus Width	192-bit	384-bit+100%
L2 Cache	2 MB	6 MB+200%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 12.1 (RTX A5500). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	RTX A5500
DirectX	12	12.1
Vulkan	1.3	1.3
OpenGL	4.5	4.6+2%
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC (Pascal) (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 7th Gen NVENC (2x) (RTX A5500). Decoder: NVDEC (Pascal) vs 5th Gen NVDEC. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC (GeForce GTX 1060) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode) (RTX A5500).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	RTX A5500
Encoder	NVENC (Pascal)	7th Gen NVENC (2x)
Decoder	NVDEC (Pascal)	5th Gen NVDEC
Codecs	H.264,H.265/HEVC	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Decode)

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1060 draws 180W versus the RTX A5500's 230W — a 24.4% difference. The GeForce GTX 1060 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 400W (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 450W (RTX A5500). Power connectors: 6-pin vs 8-pin. Card length: 173mm vs 267mm, occupying 2 vs 2 slots.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060	RTX A5500
TDP	180W-22%	230W
Recommended PSU	400W-11%	450W
Power Connector	6-pin	8-pin
Length	173mm	267mm
Height	111mm	111mm
Slots	2	2
Temp (Load)	—	80°C
Perf/Watt	55.9	91.8+64%

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce GTX 1060 launched at $249 MSRP, while the RTX A5500 launched at $3600. The GeForce GTX 1060 costs 93.1% less ($3351 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 40.4 (GeForce GTX 1060) vs 5.9 (RTX A5500) — the GeForce GTX 1060 offers 584.7% better value. The RTX A5500 is the newer GPU (2022 vs 2016).