GeForce GTX 590 vs GTX 1060 3 GB
Aggregate performance score
We've compared GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB and GeForce GTX 590, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.
GTX 1060 3 GB outperforms GTX 590 by a whopping 187% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 220 | 496 |
| Place by popularity | 23 | not in top-100 |
| Cost-effectiveness evaluation | 22.35 | 0.77 |
| Power efficiency | 14.31 | 1.64 |
| Architecture | Pascal (2016−2021) | Fermi 2.0 (2010−2014) |
| GPU code name | GP106 | GF110 |
| Market segment | Desktop | Desktop |
| Release date | 18 August 2016 (8 years ago) | 24 March 2011 (13 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | $199 | $699 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
GTX 1060 3 GB has 2803% better value for money than GTX 590.
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 | 1024 |
| Core clock speed | 1506 MHz | 607 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1708 MHz | no data |
| Number of transistors | 4,400 million | 3,000 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 16 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 120 Watt | 365 Watt |
| Maximum GPU temperature | no data | 97 °C |
| Texture fill rate | 123.0 | 38.91 |
| Floating-point processing power | 3.935 TFLOPS | 1.244 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | 48 | 48 |
| TMUs | 72 | 64 |
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).
| Bus support | no data | 16x PCI-E 2.0 |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 2.0 x16 |
| Length | 250 mm | 279 mm |
| Height | no data | 4.376" (111 mm) (11.1 cm) |
| Width | 2-slot | 2-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | 1x 6-pin | 2x 8-pin |
| SLI options | - | + |
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 | 3072 MB (1536 MB per GPU) |
| Memory bus width | 192 Bit | 768-bit (384-bit per GPU) |
| Memory clock speed | 2002 MHz | 1707 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | 192.2 GB/s | 327.7 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 | Three Dual Link DVI-IMini DisplayPort |
| Multi monitor support | no data | + |
| HDMI | + | + |
| Maximum VGA resolution | no data | 2048x1536 |
| Audio input for HDMI | no data | Internal |
API compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 12 (12_1) | 12 (11_0) |
| Shader Model | 6.4 | 5.1 |
| OpenGL | 4.6 | 4.2 |
| OpenCL | 1.2 | 1.1 |
| Vulkan | + | N/A |
| CUDA | 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.
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.
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:
| 900p | 130−140
+177%
| 47
−177%
|
| Full HD | 300−350
+178%
| 108
−178%
|
| 1200p | 300−350
+168%
| 112
−168%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | 0.66
+876%
| 6.47
−876%
|
- GTX 1060 3 GB has 876% lower cost per frame in 1080p
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Elden Ring | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Valorant | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Elden Ring | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 50−55
+0%
|
50−55
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 65−70
+0%
|
65−70
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Valorant | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| World of Tanks | 120−130
+0%
|
120−130
+0%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 27−30
+0%
|
27−30
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 35−40
+0%
|
35−40
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 65−70
+0%
|
65−70
+0%
|
| Valorant | 30−35
+0%
|
30−35
+0%
|
1440p
High Preset
| Dota 2 | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Elden Ring | 12−14
+0%
|
12−14
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 10−12
+0%
|
10−12
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 40−45
+0%
|
40−45
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 7−8
+0%
|
7−8
+0%
|
| World of Tanks | 60−65
+0%
|
60−65
+0%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 16−18
+0%
|
16−18
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 14−16
+0%
|
14−16
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Valorant | 21−24
+0%
|
21−24
+0%
|
4K
High Preset
| Counter-Strike 2 | 3−4
+0%
|
3−4
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Elden Ring | 5−6
+0%
|
5−6
+0%
|
| Grand Theft Auto V | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Metro Exodus | 4−5
+0%
|
4−5
+0%
|
| PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS | 24−27
+0%
|
24−27
+0%
|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 6−7
+0%
|
6−7
+0%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Battlefield 5 | 7−8
+0%
|
7−8
+0%
|
| Counter-Strike 2 | 3−4
+0%
|
3−4
+0%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+0%
|
2−3
+0%
|
| Dota 2 | 18−20
+0%
|
18−20
+0%
|
| Far Cry 5 | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Fortnite | 9−10
+0%
|
9−10
+0%
|
| Forza Horizon 4 | 10−11
+0%
|
10−11
+0%
|
| Valorant | 8−9
+0%
|
8−9
+0%
|
This is how GTX 1060 3 GB and GTX 590 compete in popular games:
- GTX 1060 3 GB is 177% faster in 900p
- GTX 1060 3 GB is 178% faster in 1080p
- GTX 1060 3 GB is 168% faster in 1200p
All in all, in popular games:
- there's a draw in 63 tests (100%)
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 24.94 | 8.69 |
| Recency | 18 August 2016 | 24 March 2011 |
| Chip lithography | 16 nm | 40 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | 120 Watt | 365 Watt |
GTX 1060 3 GB has a 187% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, a 150% more advanced lithography process, and 204.2% lower power consumption.
The GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 590 in performance tests.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Other comparisons
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
