GPU Showdown

GeForce GTX 1060 3 GBvsGeForce RTX 5090

The GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is a budget-friendly card for casual 1080p gaming, while the GeForce RTX 5090 is a top-tier option for enthusiasts chasing max settings and ray tracing at high resolutions.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
3 GB · 120W
VS
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090
32 GB · 575W
NVIDIA

GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB

Pascal · TSMC 16 nm · 2016

24score
4/ 5
0 votes
VRAM
3 GB
TDP
120W
CUDA Cores
1,152
Boost Clock
1708 MHz

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NVIDIA

GeForce RTX 5090

Blackwell 2.0 · TSMC 5 nm · 2025

94score
3.3/ 5
0 votes
VRAM
32 GB
TDP
575W
Shaders
21,760
Boost Clock
2407 MHz

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Aggregate Performance

Overall Performance Score

A unified score from combined synthetic and real-world benchmarks. 100 represents the fastest consumer GPU available.

GTX 1060 3 GB
24
RTX 5090Winner
94
RTX 5090 leads by 291.7% in aggregate performance.
Where they rank overall
#1RTX 5090 D100
#2RTX 509094
#3RTX 409092
#99GTX 1060 6 GB24
#100GTX 1060 3 GB24
#101RX 6500 XT23
Technical Specifications

Side-by-Side Specs

Every detail compared. Highlighted cells indicate the leading value for that metric.

SpecsGTX 1060 3 GBRTX 5090
General
Process Node16 nm5 nm
Memory
VRAM3 GB32 GB
Memory TypeGDDR5GDDR7
Memory Bus192-bit512-bit
Bandwidth192.2 GB/s1790 GB/s
Compute
CUDA Cores1,15221,760
TMUs72680
ROPs48176
Boost Clock1708 MHz2407 MHz
FP323.935 TF104.8 TF
Power
TDP120575
Power Connectors1x 6-pin1x 16-pin
Display
Max Resolution7680×43207680×4320
Display Outputs1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort 2.1b
Verdict

Which should you buy?

Winner overall

The RTX 5090 wins overall, offering vastly faster gaming and creative performance than the aging GTX 1060 3 GB.

Best value

For budget buyers, the GTX 1060 3 GB is the smarter pick if you need a cheap, low-power card for older games.

When the other wins

The GTX 1060 3 GB is the right choice for a secondary PC or HTPC where power draw and cost matter more than performance.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is the GTX 1060 3 GB better than the RTX 5090?

Overall the RTX 5090 is the stronger graphics card: it ranks higher in our aggregate performance score (94 vs 24 out of 100), so it leads the GTX 1060 3 GB in most workloads.

How much faster is the RTX 5090 than the GTX 1060 3 GB?

Based on our aggregated benchmark scores the RTX 5090 is roughly 292% faster than the GTX 1060 3 GB overall. The real-world gap varies by game, resolution and settings.

Which should you buy, the GTX 1060 3 GB or the RTX 5090?

If you want the most performance, pick the RTX 5090. If the GTX 1060 3 GB is meaningfully cheaper where you shop, it can be the better value for similar real-world results — check current prices and the full spec comparison above before deciding.