GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon Pro V520

NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design

2017Core: 1063 MHzBoost: 1480 MHz
GTX family
·······
VS
AMD

Radeon Pro V520

2020Core: 1000 MHzBoost: 1600 MHz

GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon Pro V520 Performance Spectrum

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 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon Pro V520 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 Pro V520: 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

  • 17.8% 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).
  • Draws 80W instead of 225W, a 145W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • 2017 hardware with 6 GB of VRAM already sits in legacy territory for modern games.
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 10.0 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $800 MSRP).

Radeon Pro V520

2020

Why buy it

  • Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 10.0 vs 0 G3D/$ ($800 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
  • Better long-term bet: RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020) on 7nm gives it a newer hardware base for upcoming games.
  • More future proof: RDNA 1.0 (2019−2020) on 7nm 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.
  • 181.3% higher power demand at 225W vs 80W.

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 17.8% in average FPS across 50 tracked games in our benchmark data. PassMark G3D leans toward Radeon Pro V520 instead at 8,000 vs 7,853, so for this question the real-game FPS result matters more than the synthetic split.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
Radeon Pro V520 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 7nm process instead of 16nm, and a newer 2020 generation instead of 2017. That makes it the less risky pick as game demands keep moving.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Radeon Pro V520 makes the most sense today based on the pricing and value data we have for this matchup. GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design still makes more sense if max raw gaming performance matters more than value.

GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design vs Radeon Pro V520 Technical Specifications

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

NVIDIA

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.

AMD

Radeon Pro V520

The Radeon Pro V520 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in December 1 2020. It features the RDNA 1.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1000 MHz to 1600 MHz. It has 2304 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 225W. Manufactured using 7 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,000 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design scores 7,853 and the Radeon Pro V520 reaches 8,000 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 1.9% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design is built on Pascal while the Radeon Pro V520 uses RDNA 1.0, both on 16 nm vs 7 nm. Shader units: 1,280 (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs 2,304 (Radeon Pro V520). Raw compute: 3.789 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs 7.373 TFLOPS (Radeon Pro V520). Boost clocks: 1480 MHz vs 1600 MHz.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon Pro V520
G3D Mark Score
7,853
8,000+2%
Architecture
Pascal
RDNA 1.0
Process Node
16 nm
7 nm
Shading Units
1280
2304+80%
Compute (TFLOPS)
3.789 TFLOPS
7.373 TFLOPS+95%
Boost Clock
1480 MHz
1600 MHz+8%
ROPs
48
64+33%
TMUs
80
144+80%
L2 Cache
1.5 MB
4 MB+167%

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 Pro V520 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon Pro V520
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 with Max-Q Design has 6 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon Pro V520 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 128-bit on the Radeon Pro V520. L2 Cache: 1.5 MB (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs 4 MB (Radeon Pro V520) — the Radeon Pro V520 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon Pro V520
VRAM Capacity
6 GB+50%
4 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR6
Bus Width
128-bit
128-bit
L2 Cache
1.5 MB
4 MB+167%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs 12.1 (Radeon Pro V520). Vulkan: 1.3 vs 1.1. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 0.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon Pro V520
DirectX
12.1
12.1
Vulkan
1.3+18%
1.1
OpenGL
4.6
4.6
Max Displays
4
0
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 6.0 (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs VCN 2.0 (Radeon Pro V520). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP8 vs VCN 2.0. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9 (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs H.264,H.265,VP9 (Radeon Pro V520).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon Pro V520
Encoder
NVENC 6.0
VCN 2.0
Decoder
PureVideo HD VP8
VCN 2.0
Codecs
MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9
H.264,H.265,VP9
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design draws 80W versus the Radeon Pro V520's 225W — a 95.1% difference. The GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q Design) vs 350W (Radeon Pro V520). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 0mm vs 267mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots.

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon Pro V520
TDP
80W-64%
225W
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
PCIe-powered
PCIe-powered
Length
0mm
267mm
Height
0mm
111mm
Slots
0-100%
2
Temp (Load)
85°C
Perf/Watt
98.2+176%
35.6
💰

Value Analysis

The newer card here is Radeon Pro V520 (2020 vs 2017).

FeatureGeForce GTX 1060 with Max-Q DesignRadeon Pro V520
MSRP
$800
Codename
GP106
Navi 12
Release
June 27 2017
December 1 2020
Ranking
#401
#218

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