GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB vs RTX 3050 4GB Mobile

Place in the ranking	222	234
Place by popularity	60	not in top-100
Power efficiency	28.23	13.60
Architecture	Ampere (2020−2024)	Pascal (2016−2021)
GPU code name	GN20-P0	GP106
Market segment	Laptop	Desktop
Release date	11 May 2021 (3 years ago)	26 December 2017 (6 years ago)

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	2048	1280
Core clock speed	1238 MHz	1506 MHz
Boost clock speed	1500 MHz	1709 MHz
Number of transistors	no data	4,400 million
Manufacturing process technology	8 nm	16 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	60 Watt (35 - 80 Watt TGP)	120 Watt
Texture fill rate	no data	136.7
Floating-point processing power	no data	4.375 TFLOPS
ROPs	no data	40
TMUs	no data	80

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	large	no data
Interface	no data	PCIe 3.0 x16
Length	no data	250 mm
Width	no data	2-slot
Supplementary power connectors	no data	1x 6-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	GDDR6	GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	5 GB
Memory bus width	128 Bit	160 Bit
Memory clock speed	12000 MHz	2002 MHz
Memory bandwidth	no data	160.2 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	no data	1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort
HDMI	-	+

API compatibility

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

DirectX	12_2	12 (12_1)
Shader Model	no data	6.4
OpenGL	no data	4.6
OpenCL	no data	1.2
Vulkan	-	1.2.131
CUDA	-	6.1

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	63 +5%	60−65 −5%
1440p	43 +7.5%	40−45 −7.5%
4K	28 +16.7%	24−27 −16.7%

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077

66
+10%

60−65

−10%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	55−60 +10%	50−55 −10%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	58 +5.5%	55−60 −5.5%
Battlefield 5	80−85 +9.3%	75−80 −9.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 +13.3%	45−50 −13.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	52 +4%	50−55 −4%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +14%	50−55 −14%
Far Cry New Dawn	65−70 +8.3%	60−65 −8.3%
Forza Horizon 4	140−150 +11.5%	130−140 −11.5%
Hitman 3	57 +14%	50−55 −14%
Horizon Zero Dawn	110−120 +4.5%	110−120 −4.5%
Metro Exodus	126 +5%	120−130 −5%
Red Dead Redemption 2	87 +8.8%	80−85 −8.8%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	80−85 +5%	80−85 −5%
Watch Dogs: Legion	186 +9.4%	170−180 −9.4%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	55−60 +10%	50−55 −10%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	32 +6.7%	30−33 −6.7%
Battlefield 5	80−85 +9.3%	75−80 −9.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 +13.3%	45−50 −13.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	41 +17.1%	35−40 −17.1%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +14%	50−55 −14%
Far Cry New Dawn	65−70 +8.3%	60−65 −8.3%
Forza Horizon 4	140−150 +11.5%	130−140 −11.5%
Hitman 3	55 +10%	50−55 −10%
Horizon Zero Dawn	110−120 +4.5%	110−120 −4.5%
Metro Exodus	95 +5.6%	90−95 −5.6%
Red Dead Redemption 2	63 +5%	60−65 −5%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	94 +4.4%	90−95 −4.4%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	50−55 +8%	50−55 −8%
Watch Dogs: Legion	180 +5.9%	170−180 −5.9%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	55−60 +10%	50−55 −10%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	24 +14.3%	21−24 −14.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	50−55 +13.3%	45−50 −13.3%
Cyberpunk 2077	34 +13.3%	30−33 −13.3%
Far Cry 5	55−60 +14%	50−55 −14%
Forza Horizon 4	140−150 +11.5%	130−140 −11.5%
Hitman 3	51 +13.3%	45−50 −13.3%
Horizon Zero Dawn	74 +5.7%	70−75 −5.7%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	81 +8%	75−80 −8%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	46 +15%	40−45 −15%
Watch Dogs: Legion	26 +8.3%	24−27 −8.3%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

72
+10.8%

65−70

−10.8%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5	45−50 +4.4%	45−50 −4.4%
Far Cry New Dawn	35−40 +8.6%	35−40 −8.6%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	24−27 +8.3%	24−27 −8.3%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	22 +4.8%	21−24 −4.8%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	27−30 +16.7%	24−27 −16.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	18 +12.5%	16−18 −12.5%
Far Cry 5	27−30 +7.4%	27−30 −7.4%
Forza Horizon 4	140−150 +10%	130−140 −10%
Hitman 3	37 +5.7%	35−40 −5.7%
Horizon Zero Dawn	59 +7.3%	55−60 −7.3%
Metro Exodus	52 +4%	50−55 −4%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	56 +12%	50−55 −12%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	30−35 +14.8%	27−30 −14.8%
Watch Dogs: Legion	166 +10.7%	150−160 −10.7%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

53
+6%

50−55

−6%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5	24−27 +4.2%	24−27 −4.2%
Far Cry New Dawn	18−20 +5.6%	18−20 −5.6%
Hitman 3	15 +7.1%	14−16 −7.1%
Horizon Zero Dawn	120−130 +6.7%	120−130 −6.7%
Metro Exodus	37 +5.7%	35−40 −5.7%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	29 +7.4%	27−30 −7.4%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey	14−16 +7.1%	14−16 −7.1%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla	12−14 +8.3%	12−14 −8.3%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare	14−16 +16.7%	12−14 −16.7%
Cyberpunk 2077	6 +20%	5−6 −20%
Far Cry 5	14−16 +16.7%	12−14 −16.7%
Forza Horizon 4	30−35 +13.3%	30−33 −13.3%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider	34 +13.3%	30−33 −13.3%
Watch Dogs: Legion	10−12 +10%	10−11 −10%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2

25
+4.2%

24−27

−4.2%

This is how RTX 3050 4GB Mobile and GTX 1060 5 GB compete in popular games:

RTX 3050 4GB Mobile is 5% faster in 1080p
RTX 3050 4GB Mobile is 8% faster in 1440p
RTX 3050 4GB Mobile is 17% faster in 4K

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	24.46	23.57
Recency	11 May 2021	26 December 2017
Maximum RAM amount	4 GB	5 GB
Chip lithography	8 nm	16 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	60 Watt	120 Watt

RTX 3050 4GB Mobile has a 3.8% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 3 years, a 100% more advanced lithography process, and 100% lower power consumption.

GTX 1060 5 GB, on the other hand, has a 25% higher maximum VRAM amount.

Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Mobile and GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB.

Be aware that GeForce RTX 3050 4GB Mobile is a notebook card while GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB is a desktop one.

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