Radeon 540 vs GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB

#ad 
Buy on Amazon
VS

Aggregate performance score

We've compared GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB and Radeon 540, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

GTX 1060 3 GB
2016
3 GB GDDR5, 120 Watt
24.85
+594%

GTX 1060 3 GB outperforms 540 by a whopping 594% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

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

Place in the ranking214712
Place by popularity25not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation22.300.10
Power efficiency14.945.17
ArchitecturePascal (2016−2021)GCN 4.0 (2016−2020)
GPU code nameGP106Lexa
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Release date18 August 2016 (8 years ago)20 April 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$199 $79

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

GTX 1060 3 GB has 22200% better value for money than Radeon 540.

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 cores1152384
Core clock speed1506 MHz1183 MHz
Boost clock speed1708 MHz1124 MHz
Number of transistors4,400 million2,200 million
Manufacturing process technology16 nm14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)120 Watt50 Watt
Texture fill rate123.028.39
Floating-point processing power3.935 TFLOPS0.9085 TFLOPS
ROPs4816
TMUs7224

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 3.0 x8
Length250 mm145 mm
Width2-slot1-slot
Supplementary power connectors1x 6-pinNone

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 typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount3 GB1 GB
Memory bus width192 Bit32 Bit
Memory clock speed2002 MHz1500 MHz
Memory bandwidth192.2 GB/s24 GB/s

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 DisplayPort2x DisplayPort 1.4a
HDMI+-

API compatibility

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

DirectX12 (12_1)12 (12_0)
Shader Model6.46.7
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL1.22.1
Vulkan+1.3
CUDA6.1-

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 24.85
+594%
Radeon 540 3.58

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
+593%
Radeon 540 1383

Gaming performance

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

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 24.85 3.58
Recency 18 August 2016 20 April 2017
Maximum RAM amount 3 GB 1 GB
Chip lithography 16 nm 14 nm
Power consumption (TDP) 120 Watt 50 Watt

GTX 1060 3 GB has a 594.1% higher aggregate performance score, and a 200% higher maximum VRAM amount.

Radeon 540, on the other hand, has an age advantage of 8 months, a 14.3% more advanced lithography process, and 140% lower power consumption.

The GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon 540 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

Do you think we are right or mistaken in our choice? Vote by clicking "Like" button near your favorite graphics card.


NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
AMD Radeon 540
Radeon 540

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 8488 votes

Rate GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3.1 46 votes

Rate Radeon 540 on a scale of 1 to 5:

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Questions & comments

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