GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q vs GTX 660

Place in the ranking	438	436
Place by popularity	81	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	3.40	no data
Power efficiency	5.13	9.66
Architecture	Kepler (2012−2018)	Pascal (2016−2021)
GPU code name	GK106	GP107
Market segment	Desktop	Laptop
Release date	6 September 2012 (12 years ago)	3 January 2018 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$229	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	960	640
Core clock speed	980 MHz	1190 MHz
Boost clock speed	1033 MHz	1328 MHz
Number of transistors	2,540 million	3,300 million
Manufacturing process technology	28 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	140 Watt	75 Watt
Texture fill rate	82.56	53.12
Floating-point processing power	1.981 TFLOPS	1.7 TFLOPS
ROPs	24	16
TMUs	80	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
Bus support	PCI Express 3.0	no data
Interface	PCIe 3.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	241 mm	no data
Height	4.376" (11.1 cm)	no data
Width	2-slot	no data
Supplementary power connectors	1x 6-pin	None
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	2 GB	4 GB
Memory bus width	192-bit GDDR5	128 Bit
Memory clock speed	6.0 GB/s	1752 MHz
Memory bandwidth	144.2 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	One Dual Link DVI-I, One Dual Link DVI-D, One HDMI, One DisplayPort	No outputs
Multi monitor support	4 displays	no data
HDMI	+	-
HDCP	+	-
Maximum VGA resolution	2048x1536	no data
Audio input for HDMI	Internal	no data

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

3D Blu-Ray	+	-
3D Gaming	+	-
3D Vision	+	-

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12 (11_0)	12 (12_1)
Shader Model	5.1	6.4
OpenGL	4.3	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	1.1.126	1.2.131
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.

GTX 660 10.43

GTX 1050 Max-Q 10.53
+1%

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 660 4011

GTX 1050 Max-Q 4047
+0.9%

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

GTX 660 5040

GTX 1050 Max-Q 5650
+12.1%

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	47 +4.4%	45 −4.4%
1440p	24−27 −12.5%	27 +12.5%
4K	14−16 −7.1%	15 +7.1%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	4.87	no data
1440p	9.54	no data
4K	16.36	no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Elden Ring	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Metro Exodus	39 +0%	39 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	44 +0%	44 +0%
Valorant	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Dota 2	68 +0%	68 +0%
Elden Ring	30−33 +0%	30−33 +0%
Far Cry 5	65 +0%	65 +0%
Fortnite	47 +0%	47 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	45 +0%	45 +0%
Metro Exodus	26 +0%	26 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	127 +0%	127 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	13 +0%	13 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Valorant	26 +0%	26 +0%
World of Tanks	144 +0%	144 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	18−20 +0%	18−20 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Dota 2	104 +0%	104 +0%
Far Cry 5	51 +0%	51 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	26 +0%	26 +0%
Valorant	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Elden Ring	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	14−16 +0%	14−16 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
World of Tanks	94 +0%	94 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	20−22 +0%	20−22 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	8−9 +0%	8−9 +0%
Far Cry 5	33 +0%	33 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Metro Exodus	24 +0%	24 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Valorant	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Dota 2	28 +0%	28 +0%
Elden Ring	6−7 +0%	6−7 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	28 +0%	28 +0%
Metro Exodus	7 +0%	7 +0%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	37 +0%	37 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	7−8 +0%	7−8 +0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	28 +0%	28 +0%
World of Tanks	53 +0%	53 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	9−10 +0%	9−10 +0%
Counter-Strike 2	5−6 +0%	5−6 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 +0%	3−4 +0%
Dota 2	37 +0%	37 +0%
Far Cry 5	16 +0%	16 +0%
Fortnite	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%
Valorant	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%

This is how GTX 660 and GTX 1050 Max-Q compete in popular games:

GTX 660 is 4% faster in 1080p
GTX 1050 Max-Q is 13% faster in 1440p
GTX 1050 Max-Q is 7% faster in 4K

All in all, in popular games:

there's a draw in 64 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	10.43	10.53
Recency	6 September 2012	3 January 2018
Maximum RAM amount	2 GB	4 GB
Chip lithography	28 nm	14 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	140 Watt	75 Watt

GTX 1050 Max-Q has a 1% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 5 years, a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 86.7% lower power consumption.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between GeForce GTX 660 and GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q.

Be aware that GeForce GTX 660 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.