GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB vs GTX 1060 3 GB

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB and GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 1060 3 GB
2016
3 GB GDDR5, 120 Watt
24.85

RTX 3080 12 GB outperforms GTX 1060 3 GB by a whopping 178% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking21425
Place by popularity26not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation22.3040.89
Power efficiency14.3413.68
ArchitecturePascal (2016−2021)Ampere (2020−2024)
GPU code nameGP106GA102
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date18 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 cores11528960
Core clock speed1506 MHz1260 MHz
Boost clock speed1708 MHz1710 MHz
Number of transistors4,400 million28,300 million
Manufacturing process technology16 nm8 nm
Power consumption (TDP)120 Watt350 Watt
Texture fill rate123.0478.8
Floating-point processing power3.935 TFLOPS30.64 TFLOPS
ROPs4896
TMUs72280
Tensor Coresno data280
Ray Tracing Coresno data70

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).

InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 4.0 x16
Length250 mm285 mm
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pin1x 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 typeGDDR5GDDR6X
Maximum RAM amount3 GB12 GB
Memory bus width192 Bit384 Bit
Memory clock speed2002 MHz1188 MHz
Memory bandwidth192.2 GB/s912.4 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 Connectors1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort1x HDMI 2.1, 3x DisplayPort 1.4a
HDMI++

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_1)12 Ultimate (12_2)
Shader Model6.46.6
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL1.23.0
Vulkan+1.3
CUDA6.18.6

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 HD65−70
−192%
190
+192%
1440p40−45
−213%
125
+213%
4K30−35
−180%
84
+180%

Cost per frame, $

1080p3.064.21
1440p4.986.39
4K6.639.51

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.

Vote for your favorite

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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB
GeForce RTX 3080 12 GB

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


4.2 8536 votes

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.