GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB vs Radeon HD 6490M

Place in the ranking	1117	349
Place by popularity	not in top-100	not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation	0.01	no data
Power efficiency	no data	13.16
Architecture	TeraScale 2 (2009−2015)	Pascal (2016−2021)
GPU code name	Seymour	GP106
Market segment	Laptop	Laptop
Release date	4 January 2011 (14 years ago)	27 June 2017 (7 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)	$1,193.03	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	160	1280
Core clock speed	800 MHz	1063 MHz
Boost clock speed	no data	1480 MHz
Number of transistors	370 million	4,400 million
Manufacturing process technology	40 nm	16 nm
Power consumption (TDP)	no data	80 Watt
Texture fill rate	6.400	118.4
Floating-point processing power	0.256 TFLOPS	3.789 TFLOPS
ROPs	4	48
TMUs	8	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	no data	large
Interface	PCIe 2.0 x16	PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors	no data	None

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	512 MB	6 GB
Memory bus width	64 Bit	192 Bit
Memory clock speed	800 MHz	2002 MHz
Memory bandwidth	25.6 GB/s	192.2 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 outputs	No outputs
G-SYNC support	-	+

Supported technologies

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

VR Ready

no data

API compatibility

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

DirectX	11.2 (11_0)	12 (12_1)
Shader Model	5.0	6.4
OpenGL	4.4	4.6
OpenCL	1.2	1.2
Vulkan	N/A	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.

HD 6490M 0.98

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 15.32
+1463%

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.

HD 6490M 377

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 5891
+1463%

3DMark 11 Performance GPU

3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.

HD 6490M 601

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 13334
+2119%

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	18 −344%	80 +344%
1440p	0−1	15
4K	1−2 −2900%	30 +2900%

Cost per frame, $

1080p	66.28	no data
4K	1193.03	no data

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Counter-Strike 2	7−8 −271%	24−27 +271%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −650%	30−33 +650%
Elden Ring	1−2 −4600%	45−50 +4600%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Counter-Strike 2	7−8 −271%	24−27 +271%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −650%	30−33 +650%
Forza Horizon 4	8−9 −688%	60−65 +688%
Red Dead Redemption 2	6−7 −517%	35−40 +517%

Full HD
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	7−8 −271%	24−27 +271%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −650%	30−33 +650%
Elden Ring	1−2 −4600%	45−50 +4600%
Far Cry 5	9−10 −522%	55−60 +522%
Fortnite	3−4 −2967%	92 +2967%
Forza Horizon 4	8−9 −688%	60−65 +688%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	12−14 −1358%	175 +1358%
Red Dead Redemption 2	6−7 −517%	35−40 +517%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	6−7 −683%	45−50 +683%
World of Tanks	21−24 −757%	190−200 +757%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2	7−8 −271%	24−27 +271%
Cyberpunk 2077	4−5 −650%	30−33 +650%
Far Cry 5	9−10 −522%	55−60 +522%
Forza Horizon 4	8−9 −688%	60−65 +688%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	12−14 −300%	48 +300%

1440p
High Preset

PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	5−6 −2680%	130−140 +2680%
World of Tanks	5−6 −2040%	100−110 +2040%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Cyberpunk 2077	3−4 −300%	12−14 +300%
Far Cry 5	5−6 −640%	35−40 +640%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	4−5 −425%	21−24 +425%
Valorant	6−7 −533%	35−40 +533%

4K
High Preset

Dota 2	14−16 −260%	54 +260%
Grand Theft Auto V	14−16 −260%	54 +260%
PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS	3−4 −1800%	57 +1800%
Red Dead Redemption 2	0−1	10−11
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt	14−16 −260%	54 +260%

4K
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	1−2 −1300%	14−16 +1300%
Cyberpunk 2077	2−3 −100%	4−5 +100%
Dota 2	14−16 −80%	27−30 +80%
Far Cry 5	0−1	18−20
Valorant	1−2 −1600%	16−18 +1600%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Battlefield 5	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Metro Exodus	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Valorant	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%

Full HD
High Preset

Battlefield 5	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Dota 2	56 +0%	56 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	84 +0%	84 +0%
Metro Exodus	40−45 +0%	40−45 +0%
Valorant	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	50−55 +0%	50−55 +0%
Dota 2	55−60 +0%	55−60 +0%
Valorant	60−65 +0%	60−65 +0%

1440p
High Preset

Dota 2	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Elden Ring	24−27 +0%	24−27 +0%
Grand Theft Auto V	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%
Red Dead Redemption 2	12−14 +0%	12−14 +0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Battlefield 5	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	35−40 +0%	35−40 +0%
Metro Exodus	30−35 +0%	30−35 +0%

4K
High Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Elden Ring	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%
Metro Exodus	10−11 +0%	10−11 +0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Counter-Strike 2	10−12 +0%	10−12 +0%
Fortnite	24 +0%	24 +0%
Forza Horizon 4	21−24 +0%	21−24 +0%

This is how HD 6490M and GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB compete in popular games:

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is 344% faster in 1080p
GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is 2900% faster in 4K

Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:

in Elden Ring, with 1080p resolution and the Low Preset, the GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is 4600% faster.

All in all, in popular games:

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is ahead in 36 tests (59%)
there's a draw in 25 tests (41%)

Pros & cons summary

Performance score	0.98	15.32
Recency	4 January 2011	27 June 2017
Maximum RAM amount	512 MB	6 GB
Chip lithography	40 nm	16 nm

GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB has a 1463.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 6 years, a 1100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and a 150% more advanced lithography process.

The GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon HD 6490M in performance tests.

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