GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon 880M

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 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon 880M 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 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon 880M: 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 with Max-Q Design

2017

Why buy it

✅84.3% 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).

Trade-offs

❌2017 hardware with 6 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
❌433.3% higher power demand at 80W vs 15W.

Radeon 880M

2024

Why buy it

✅Better long-term bet: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
✅Draws 15W instead of 80W, a 65W reduction.
✅More future proof: RDNA 3.5 (2024−2025) on 4nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?

GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design is the faster gaming card right now. In our data, it leads by 84.3% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data and by 1.6% in PassMark G3D (7,853 vs 7,729), so the answer here is pretty clean.

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

Radeon 880M is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond. The case is simple: the newer upscaling stack, FSR Upscaling / FSR 4 (2025) instead of no meaningful modern upscaling stack, a 4nm process instead of 16nm, 12 vs 0 ray-tracing units, and a newer 2024 generation instead of 2017. That gives it the more rounded hardware package for newer games.

Which GPU is the better buy today?

GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, Radeon 880M has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon 880M Technical Specifications

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

GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design

The GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 27 2017. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1063 MHz to 1480 MHz. It has 1280 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 80W. Manufactured using 16 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 7,853 points.

Radeon 880M

The Radeon 880M is manufactured by AMD. It was released in July 15 2024. It features the RDNA 3.5 architecture. The core clock ranges from 400 MHz to 2900 MHz. It has 768 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 15W. Manufactured using 4 nm process technology. It features 12 dedicated ray tracing cores for enhanced lighting effects. G3D Mark benchmark score: 7,729 points.

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Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design scores 7,853 and the Radeon 880M reaches 7,729 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design is built on Pascal while the Radeon 880M uses RDNA 3.5, both on 16 nm vs 4 nm. Shader units: 1,280 (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs 768 (Radeon 880M). Raw compute: 3.789 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs 4.454 TFLOPS (Radeon 880M). Boost clocks: 1480 MHz vs 2900 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design	Radeon 880M
G3D Mark Score	7,853+2%	7,729
Architecture	Pascal	RDNA 3.5
Process Node	16 nm	4 nm
Shading Units	1280+67%	768
Compute (TFLOPS)	3.789 TFLOPS	4.454 TFLOPS+18%
Boost Clock	1480 MHz	2900 MHz+96%
ROPs	48+200%	16
TMUs	80+67%	48
L1 Cache	480 KB+275%	128 KB
L2 Cache	1.5 MB	2 MB+33%

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Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Radeon 880M leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design	Radeon 880M
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

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Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design has 6 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon 880M carries 4 GB. GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design gives you 50% more memory capacity, which matters more once you move into heavier textures, mods, or higher resolutions. Memory bus width is 128-bit on the GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design and System on the Radeon 880M. L2 Cache: 1.5 MB (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs 2 MB (Radeon 880M) — the Radeon 880M has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design	Radeon 880M
VRAM Capacity	6 GB+50%	4 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5	Shared
Memory Bandwidth	128 GB/s	System
Bus Width	128-bit	System
L2 Cache	1.5 MB	2 MB+33%

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Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs 12.2 (Radeon 880M). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.4. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design	Radeon 880M
DirectX	12.1	12.2
Vulkan	1.3	1.4+8%
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	4

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Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 6.0 (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs VCN 4.5 (Radeon 880M). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP8 vs VCN 4.5. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9 (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1 (Radeon 880M).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design	Radeon 880M
Encoder	NVENC 6.0	VCN 4.5
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP8	VCN 4.5
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9,AV1

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Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design draws 80W versus the Radeon 880M's 15W — a 136.8% difference. The Radeon 880M is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs 350W (Radeon 880M). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 0mm vs 0mm, occupying 0 vs 0 slots.