GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB vs GTX 1060 3 GB

Place in the ranking	214	25
Place by popularity	26	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	22.30	40.89
Power efficiency	14.34	13.68
Architecture	Pascal (2016−2021)	Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code name	GP106	GA102
Market segment	Desktop	Desktop
Release date	18 August 2016 (8 years ago)	11 January 2022 (2 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$199	$799

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

RTX 3080 12 GB has 83% better value for money than GTX 1060 3 GB.

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	8960
Core clock speed	1506 MHz	1260 MHz
Boost clock speed	1708 MHz	1710 MHz
Number of transistors	4,400 million	28,300 million
Manufacturing process technology	16 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	350 Watt
Texture fill rate	123.0	478.8
Floating-point processing power	3.935 TFLOPS	30.64 TFLOPS
ROPs	48	96
TMUs	72	280
Tensor Cores	no data	280
Ray Tracing Cores	no data	70

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).

Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 4.0 x16
Length	250 mm	285 mm
Width	2-slot	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	1x 12-pin

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	GDDR6X
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	12 GB
Memory bus width	192 Bit	384 Bit
Memory clock speed	2002 MHz	1188 MHz
Memory bandwidth	192.2 GB/s	912.4 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	1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
HDMI	+	+

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (12_1)	12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model	6.4	6.6
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	3.0
Vulkan	+	1.3
CUDA	6.1	8.6

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 24.85

RTX 3080 12 GB 69.15
+178%

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

RTX 3080 12 GB 26683
+178%

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	65−70 −192%	190 +192%
1440p	40−45 −213%	125 +213%
4K	30−35 −180%	84 +180%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	3.06	4.21
1440p	4.98	6.39
4K	6.63	9.51

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

130−140

+0%

130−140

+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	140−150 +0%	140−150 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Battlefield 5	220−230 +0%	220−230 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	130−140 +0%	130−140 +0%
Far Cry 5	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	160−170 +0%	160−170 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	230−240 +0%	230−240 +0%
Hitman 3	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	250−260 +0%	250−260 +0%
Metro Exodus	150−160 +0%	150−160 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	290−300 +0%	290−300 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	150−160 +0%	150−160 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	140−150 +0%	140−150 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Battlefield 5	220−230 +0%	220−230 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	130−140 +0%	130−140 +0%
Far Cry 5	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	160−170 +0%	160−170 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	230−240 +0%	230−240 +0%
Hitman 3	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	250−260 +0%	250−260 +0%
Metro Exodus	150−160 +0%	150−160 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	356 +0%	356 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	140−150 +0%	140−150 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	150−160 +0%	150−160 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	140−150 +0%	140−150 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	130−140 +0%	130−140 +0%
Far Cry 5	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	230−240 +0%	230−240 +0%
Hitman 3	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	263 +0%	263 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	314 +0%	314 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	165 +0%	165 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	95 +0%	95 +0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

120−130

+0%

120−130

+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	160−170 +0%	160−170 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	80−85 +0%	80−85 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	85−90 +0%	85−90 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	80−85 +0%	80−85 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	70−75 +0%	70−75 +0%
Far Cry 5	80−85 +0%	80−85 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	270−280 +0%	270−280 +0%
Hitman 3	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	206 +0%	206 +0%
Metro Exodus	116 +0%	116 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	236 +0%	236 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	120−130 +0%	120−130 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	230−240 +0%	230−240 +0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

110−120

+0%

110−120

+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	85−90 +0%	85−90 +0%
Far Cry New Dawn	65−70 +0%	65−70 +0%
Hitman 3	78 +0%	78 +0%
Horizon Zero Dawn	220−230 +0%	220−230 +0%
Metro Exodus	100−110 +0%	100−110 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	132 +0%	132 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Far Cry 5	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	110−120 +0%	110−120 +0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	142 +0%	142 +0%
Watch Dogs: Legion	55 +0%	55 +0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

70−75

+0%

70−75

+0%

This is how GTX 1060 3 GB and RTX 3080 12 GB compete in popular games:

RTX 3080 12 GB is 192% faster in 1080p
RTX 3080 12 GB is 213% faster in 1440p
RTX 3080 12 GB is 180% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

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

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	24.85	69.15
Recency	18 August 2016	11 January 2022
Maximum RAM amount	3 GB	12 GB
Chip lithography	16 nm	8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	120 Watt	350 Watt

GTX 1060 3 GB has 191.7% lower power consumption.

RTX 3080 12 GB, on the other hand, has a 178.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, a 300% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 100% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB in performance tests.

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