GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q vs GTX 1060 3 GB

Place in the ranking	217	436
Place by popularity	19	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	22.57	no data
Power efficiency	14.21	9.62
Architecture	Pascal (2016−2021)	Pascal (2016−2021)
GPU code name	GP106	GP107
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	18 August 2016 (8 years ago)	3 January 2018 (6 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$199	no data

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

no data

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores	1152	640
Core clock speed	1506 MHz	1190 MHz
Boost clock speed	1708 MHz	1328 MHz
Number of transistors	4,400 million	3,300 million
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	75 Watt
Texture fill rate	123.0	53.12
Floating-point processing power	3.935 TFLOPS	1.7 TFLOPS
ROPs	48	16
TMUs	72	40

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Laptop size	no data	large
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	250 mm	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	None

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	192 Bit	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	2002 MHz	1752 MHz
Memory bandwidth	192.2 GB/s	112.1 GB/s
Shared memory	-	-

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort	No outputs
HDMI	+	-

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 (12_1)
Shader Model	6.4	6.4
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	+	1.2.131
CUDA	6.1	6.1

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.

Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

GTX 1060 3 GB 24.88
+137%

GTX 1050 Max-Q 10.52

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

GTX 1060 3 GB 9588
+137%

GTX 1050 Max-Q 4054

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

Average FPS across all PC games

Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:

Full HD	100−110 +122%	45 −122%
1440p	60−65 +122%	27 −122%
4K	30−35 +114%	14 −114%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	1.99	no data
1440p	3.32	no data
4K	6.63	no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

16−18

+0%

16−18

+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	37 +0%	37 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Battlefield 5	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	31 +0%	31 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Far Cry 5	37 +0%	37 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 +0%	70−75 +0%
Hitman 3	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
Metro Exodus	44 +0%	44 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	44 +0%	44 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	63 +0%	63 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Battlefield 5	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	29 +0%	29 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Far Cry 5	30 +0%	30 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	97 +0%	97 +0%
Hitman 3	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
Metro Exodus	35 +0%	35 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	30 +0%	30 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	27−30 +0%	27−30 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	16 +0%	16 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	19 +0%	19 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%
Far Cry 5	22 +0%	22 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	70−75 +0%	70−75 +0%
Hitman 3	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	21 +0%	21 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	16−18 +0%	16−18 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	10 +0%	10 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	11 +0%	11 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Far Cry 5	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Hitman 3	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Metro Exodus	24 +0%	24 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Hitman 3	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	45−50 +0%	45−50 +0%
Metro Exodus	13 +0%	13 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	13 +0%	13 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	6 +0%	6 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	6 +0%	6 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	1−2 +0%	1−2 +0%
Far Cry 5	6 +0%	6 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	4−5 +0%	4−5 +0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

+0%

This is how GTX 1060 3 GB and GTX 1050 Max-Q compete in popular games:

GTX 1060 3 GB is 122% faster in 1080p
GTX 1060 3 GB is 122% faster in 1440p
GTX 1060 3 GB is 114% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	24.88	10.52
Recency	18 August 2016	3 January 2018
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	4 GB
Chip lithography	16 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	75 Watt

GTX 1060 3 GB has a 136.5% higher aggregate performance score.

GTX 1050 Max-Q, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 1 year, a 33.3% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 14.3% more advanced lithography process, and 60% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q in performance tests.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is a desktop card while GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q is a notebook one.

Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.