Gtx 1060 3gb 2022: Reddit — Dive into anything

After more than 5 years, Nvidia’s GTX 1060 is no longer Steam’s most-used GPU

a long time coming —

Andrew Cunningham
— Dec 5, 2022 8:43 pm UTC

Enlarge / Nvidia’s GTX 1060 is still one of the most-used GPUs on Steam, but its star continues to fade slowly.

Mark Walton

Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 1060 was exceptionally well-reviewed when it was released in 2016—offering performance a bit better than previous-generation flagships for a downright reasonable price of $250. PC gamers responded accordingly. Within a year of its release, the 1060 became the most-used GPU in Steam’s Hardware and Software Survey, a position it occupied from June 2017 until October 2022.

The 1060 owes its longevity to a unique combination of factors—its original value, plus a years-long GPU shortage and inflated pricing for newer models like the RTX 3050 and 3060. But its long reign finally ended in November’s data, where the midrange GeForce GTX 1650 finally unseated the 1060. (The same shortage and pricing issues that kept the 1060 on top for so long have also contributed to the 1650’s continued availability and viability four years after its release.)

The nature of Steam’s stat gathering makes its data inherently noisy; it can only capture data volunteered by users who happen to open and use Steam while the data is being collected. This makes it useful for identifying broad trends over time—CPU and GPU market share, the number of CPU cores in most systems, the rough adoption rate of new Windows versions—but not quite as good at measuring data points as specific as «which individual GPU is the most popular?» The GTX 1060 actually gained share in the Steam data for September and October, which strikes us as not particularly likely given the age of the 1060 and steadily improving availability and pricing for newer models.

Even so, it has been so many years since any GPU other than the 1060 topped the charts that we thought we’d run down some of the things that have changed in PC gaming over the last five years. If you bought a GTX 1060 when it first took over the Steam leaderboard and then hibernated until 2022, here’s just a bit of what you’d notice (strictly PC gaming-wise):

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• All new GPUs support some kind of hardware-accelerated ray tracing, though performance still varies.
• The amount of graphics RAM has gone up. The 1060 came in both 3GB and 6GB versions, and high-end GTX 1080 and Titan GPUs from that generation shipped with between 8GB and 12GB. Current GPUs ship with as much as 24GB, and 8GB or 12GB is closer to the floor.
• AMD’s Ryzen CPUs have returned AMD to competitiveness in gaming PCs; AMD’s CPU market share in the Steam data rose from 19.01 percent in June 2017 to 32.87 percent in November 2022. That success didn’t rub off on AMD’s GPU hardware, which saw its share drop from 20 to 15 percent over the same period.
• A majority of PCs use processors with six or more CPU cores. In mid-2017, nearly all PCs in Steam’s data used either two or four CPU cores.
• Fancy upscaling technologies like Nvidia’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR 2.0 have made games look nicer when your GPU can’t quite play them at your monitor’s native resolution. DLSS doesn’t support the GTX 1060, but FSR 2.0 does, and if you’re still getting by with a 1060, it’s one option to make newer games run well on it.
• Monitors have gotten more advanced, with technologies like adaptive sync, high refresh rates, and 4K becoming much more common in new displays. In Steam’s data, 1080p is still overwhelmingly the most popular resolution for primary displays, though 1440p and 4K screens have gotten more popular since 2017.
• Fast SSDs are becoming more important for game load times, partly thanks to a new console generation that comes standard with speedy PCIe SSDs. It’s also cheaper than ever to pick up a decent 1TB or 2TB drive! This is good because game installs are bigger than ever.
• There’s a third competitor in the GPU market for the first time in a couple decades—Intel’s Arc GPUs are actually decent, despite bumpy development and launch periods.

Will we ever see another individual GPU become as popular as the GTX 1060 was at its peak? Never say never. But re-creating the conditions of its success—starting with Nvidia launching an RTX 4060 that outruns an RTX 3080 for just $250—doesn’t seem especially likely right this minute.

3 Best CPUs for GTX 1060 in 2022 (3GB & 6GB)

Jacob Tuwiner

• 3 Best CPUs for 1060 Graphics Card
• Best CPU for GTX 1060 3GB vs 6GB Models?
• How to Choose the Right CPU for You
• GTX 1060 3GB vs GTX 1060 6GB: Which is Best?
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Compare CPUs
• Liked the guide?

Here’s the deal:

You’re looking for the best CPU for the GTX 1060, and I’m here to give you the answer.

I own a GTX 1060 3GB myself, and I’ve got it paired with a Ryzen 3 1200 — while great for most games, it’s certainly not ideal.

Without further adieu, let’s talk about the top 3 CPUs for the GTX 1060:

3 Best CPUs for 1060 Graphics Card

CPU	Image	Benefit	See Price
AMD Ryzen 5 1600 AF		Top Pick	View on eBay
Intel Core i5 8400		Runner Up	View on Amazon
AMD Ryzen 5 3600		Performance Pick	View on Amazon

Best CPU for GTX 1060 3GB vs 6GB Models?

A lot of people ask me what the best CPU is for the GTX 1060 3GB, and others ask what the best CPU for the GTX 1060 6GB.

The truth is, the cards are so similar in performance, the same CPU will be fine for either one.

That’s not to say the GTX 1060 3GB and the 6GB are the same card though — fundamentally they’re different cards, so I don’t know why NVIDIA decided to confuse their buyers with the weird naming. More on that below.

Anyway, I’d almost always recommend going for the GTX 1060 6GB and pairing it with a Ryzen 5 1600 AF — that’s probably the best price to performance CPU/GPU combo for 1080p gaming in 2022.

You’ll consistently achieve 60+ FPS in AAA titles at 1080p, using medium/high settings and sometimes ultra settings, depending on the game’s hardware optimization.

But to answer the question in short, the best CPU for the 1060 3GB is pretty much the same as the 1060 6GB.

Clock

3.2GHz

Boost

3.6GHz

Cores

6

TDP

65W

Type

Zen+

Cooler

Yes

Despite its name, the Ryzen 5 1600 AF is actually a Ryzen 2000 series processor based on the Zen+ 12nm architecture.

What does that mean in layman’s terms?

Ther Ryzen 5 1600 AF is basically a Ryzen 5 2600, but for a much cheaper price tag. Many in the PC building community regard the Ryzen 5 1600 AF as the best value CPU on the market today, and for good reason.

If you’re buying a GTX 1060 for your gaming PC and want a great AMD CPU that gets the job done at an unbeatable price, look no further than the 1600 AF. Just like the GTX 1060 it’s budget friendly, and for an insanely low price of less than $100 USD, the GTX 1060 rivals the Ryzen 5 2600 in performance.

Source: Hardware Unboxed

The Ryzen 5 1600 released in 2017 for $220 USD, based on the original Zen 14nm architecture. A year later the 1600 was replaced by the 2600, priced at $200 USD using 12nm Zen+ cores.

The following year, Zen 2 processors dropped, along with the Ryzen 5 1600 refresh. Bizarrely AMD released a cheap version of the Ryzen 5 2600, and just called it the Ryzen 5 1600. It is based on the Zen + architecture and is now commonly referred to as the Ryzen 5 1600 AF.

Using a Ryzen 5 1600 AF with a GTX 1060 6GB is a killer combo.

Here are some of the games it can play:

• PUBG: 70 FPS Average 1080p Ultra
• Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order: 40 FPS Average 1080p High
• Fortnite: 90 FPS Average 1080p Epic
• Assassin’s Creed Odyssey: 35 FPS Average 1080p High

The numbers above were tested with a GTX 1060 3GB, and in all of the games tested, GPU usage was at 99% while the CPU usage was sitting below 30% most of the time.

That means the GPU (GTX 1060 3GB) was the bottleneck in this scenario, not the Ryzen 5 1600 AF. If you want a CPU that will always allow the GPU to play at its full potential, using a Ryzen 5 1600 AF with your 1060 is your best bet, especially from a performance per dollar standpoint.

I’ve never seen a CPU with a better bang for your PC gaming buck, and I’m probably going to upgrade from my lowly Ryzen 3 1200 soon.

Still, it’s important to note that if 1080p, 60 FPS is your goal on max settings, you’ll probably need a better graphics card than the GTX 1060 6GB. I’d recommend at least opting for the GTX 1070 to ensure buttery smooth 60+ FPS gameplay in all titles with high settings in 1080p.

By the way, we have a guide on the best CPUs for the GTX 1070 as well if you want to check that out too.

As you can see in this video, the Ryzen 5 1600 AF’s performance is nearly identical to the Ryzen 5 2600, meaning you’re getting a second generation Ryzen 5 chip built on the 12nm architecture at the price of a first generation, 14nm chip.

Obviously the Ryzen 5 3600 based on the Zen 2 architecture is fastest in this video, but it’s $100 more than the 1600 AF, making the price increase not worth the added gaming performance (because the GPU will bottleneck here anyway).

I was going to make a section in this article about a cheap CPU for the 1060, but it didn’t make sense because the R5 1600 (12nm variant) is already so darn cheap.

Sure, you could save $20 and get a Pentium G4560, but that would bottleneck a 1060, and for an extra $20 you’re getting an insane amount of added performance with the 1600 AF.

View on eBay

Clock

2.8GHz

Boost

4GHz

Cores

6

TDP

65W

Type

Coffee Lake

Cooler

Yes

But I’d like to start by saying the Ryzen 5 1600 AF is better in practically every regard than the Core i5 8400 in terms of performance, except gaming where the i5 8400 pulls ahead ever so slightly.

For the purposes of this guide I’m going to use the Ryzen 5 2600 as a comparison processor since the Core 8400 and the R5 2600 are rivals — however, you can expect the 1600 AF’s performance to be nearly identical to the results shown with the Ryzen 5 2600 in the tests below.

Anyway, let’s talk specs. The Core i5 8400 is rocking 6 cores and, unlike its Ryzen counterpart, the i5 8400 only has 6 threads (as opposed to the Ryzen’s 12 threads).

In terms of clock speeds, the i5 8400 comes in at 2.8 GHz base with a turbo up to 4 GHz. Comparatively, the R5 2600 has a base/boost clock of 3.4 — 3.9GHz. However, the R5 2600 can overclock to a comfortable 4.1 — 4.2 GHz without issue, whereas the i5 8400 is locked, meaning you can’t overclock the CPU.

The Ryzen 5 2600 has a clear lead over the Core 8400 when it comes to multi-threaded performance, as shown in the chart below:

Source: Optimum Tech

It’s also important to note that the R5 2600 at 4.1GHz OC is closing in on the stock i7 8700K performance, which is pretty insane.

And in terms of single-threaded performance, the i5 8400 does have a slight lead over the R5 2600, but normally Intel CPUs are known to knock AMD out of the park in single threaded applications, which is not the case here.

Source: Optimum Tech

However, the i5 8400 is around 7-15% faster than the Ryzen 5 2600 in gaming performance, depending on whether or not the R5 2600 is overclocked or stock.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for the best gaming experience, I’d recommend the i5 8400 as a good CPU to pair with the GTX 1060.

However, if you’re going to be gaming and doing any other kind of workstation task, from video editing to rendering, the Ryzen 5 2600 (and the 1600 AF) is a better all around option.

Read Reviews on Amazon

Clock

3.6GHz

Boost

4.2GHz

Cores

6

TDP

65W

Type

Zen 2

Cooler

Yes

The R5 3600 is more or less superior in every way to competing Intel i5 parts — technically the i5 9600K does perform a bit better on average in gaming scenarios, and overclocks a bit better too.

So if you count overclock to overclock performance, technically the i5 9600K wins in that regard.

However, the i5 CPUs have a problem — they’re much harder to defend than say an i9 or an i7 CPU because threads are artificially turned off on the 9600K, meaning frametime consistency isn’t as reliable as it used to be.

Interestingly, back in the day people used to say “an i5 is enough for gaming”.

We’re now in a day and age where an i5 is not necessarily enough for gaming, but a Ryzen 5 from AMD is enough for gaming.

It’s important to note that while the 9600K beats the R5 3600 in gaming performance, that’s in a testing environment when paired with a graphics card like the GTX 1080 Ti, in which case the CPU is the bottleneck.

When you pair either the 9600K or the R5 3600 with a 1060, the GPU will be the bottleneck, meaning gaming performance will be more or less the same with either one.

That being said, your decision should come down to performance per dollar, and considering the R5 3600 outperforms the 9600K in most other aspects, and it’s cheaper, I have to go with the 3600 every time.

The R5 3600 is genuinely good, and versatile. If you’re building a budget gaming PC and you’re trying to get the cheapest CPU that gets the job done, opting for the Ryzen 5 1600 AF is still your best bet.

But if you have some extra cash to spend (around $100 more) and you want an all around CPU that can tackle any task, the Ryzen 5 3600 is a terrific all around performance pick.

For those that want to game and stream, and edit videos, and render videos (you get the picture) you can’t beat the Ryzen 5 3600.

Read Reviews on Amazon

CPU	Image	Benefit	See Price
Ryzen 5 1600 AF		Top Pick	View on Amazon
Ryzen 5 2600		Runner Up	View on Amazon
AMD Ryzen 5 3600		Performance Pick	View on Amazon

How to Choose the Right CPU for You

As we’ve already mentioned, the “best CPU” is specific to you and your needs.

If you’re purely concerned with gaming, the Ryzen 5 1600 AF is your best bet.

But if you want to stream those games and maybe edit some videos, using a beefier model like the Ryzen 5 3600 is a better option.

Consider what kind of tasks you’ll be doing, and what kind of performance you’re expecting.

Then you can determine what your budget looks like to meet your needs, and purchase a CPU accordingly.

For more information on choosing the best CPU for your PC, View on Amazon out our guide by clicking that link.

GTX 1060 3GB vs GTX 1060 6GB: Which is Best?

The difference between the GTX 1060 3GB and 6GB models is (almost) negligible.

In nearly all gaming scenarios, the GTX 1060 3GB performs roughly 5-7% worse than its 6GB counterpart (at clock speeds). This is according to the awesome review from Gamers Nexus.

At the end of the day it really depends on whether or not you feel the ~$50 saved is worth losing ~5% of your gaming performance.

I would like to note that the 1060 3GB model is more than just a 1060 6GB with less RAM. It’s a different card altogether.

The 3GB model has an entire SM disabled including 1/10 of the card’s processors and half of the VRAM capacity.

Naming the 1060 3GB as a GTX 1060 will confuse buyers into thinking it’s just a 1060 6GB with half the VRAM, but that’s not the case.

In my opinion the 1060 3GB should not be called a GTX 1060, but of course, component manufacturers messed it up again. Oh well.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions I get about this topic:

Can You Use GTX 1060 with AMD?

Yes, you ccan pair Nvidia GPUs with AMD CPUs, without any compatibility problems.

Which CPU is Best for GTX 1060?

There is no single ‘best’ CPU for a graphics card, it depends on your needs. But you can’t go wrong with the Ryzen 5 1600 AF (12nm).

What is the Radeon equivalent of GTX 1060?

Most people agree that the RX 480 is the Radeon equivalent of the GTX 1060 6GB model.

Is RX 480 Better than GTX 1060?

The RX 480 and GTX 1060 are practically neck and neck when it comes to performance. In some situations, the 1060 wins, such as DX11. But in DX12, the RX 480 wins.

Compare CPUs

If you want to compare different CPUs to help you decide which is best for your 1060, here are some awesome resources for you:

• UserBenchmark
• CPUBoss
• CPU Benchmarks

Those links should help!

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specs and tests in 13 games and 1 benchmark

NVIDIA started selling the GeForce GTX 1060 3GB on August 18, 2016 for a suggested price of $199. This is a desktop video card based on Pascal architecture with a 16 nm process technology. It has 3 GB of GDDR5 memory with a frequency of 2002 MHz, a 192-bit bus, which provides a throughput of 8 Gb / s.

The card occupies 2 slots, connected via PCIe 3.0 x16 interface. The length of the reference version is 250 mm. The card requires one 6-pin auxiliary power cable, the declared maximum power consumption is 120 watts.

Specifications

GPU

GPU Name

GP106

GPU option

GP106-300-A1

Architecture

Pascal

Manufacturer

TSMC

Process

16 nm

Number of transistors

4400 million

Crystal area

200 mm²

Graphic card

Release date

August 18, 2016

Generation

GeForce 10

Predecessor

GeForce 900

Descendant

GeForce 20

Launch price

$199

Market price

$170

Data bus interface

PCIe 3. 0 x16

Frequencies

Base frequency

1506 MHz

Boost frequency

1708 MHz

Memory frequency

2002 MHz

Memory

Memory capacity

3 GB

Memory type

GDDR5

Memory bus

192 bit

Memory speed

8 Gb/s

Memory bandwidth

192.2 GB/s

Render configuration

Shader units

1152

Texture blocks

72

Screen blocks

48

Streaming Multiprocessors

9

L1 cache

48 KB

L2 cache

1. 5 MB

Rated output

Pixel fill rate

81.98 HP/s

Texture Fill Rate

123 GT/s

Performance FP16

61.49 GFlops

Performance FP32

3.935 Tflops

Performance FP64

123 GFlops

Graphics

DirectX

12 (12_1)

OpenGL

4.6

OpenCL

1.2

Vulcan

1.2

CUDA

6.1

Shader model

6. 4

Video card design

Occupied slots

2

Length

250 mm

Heat dissipation requirements

120 W

Recommended PSU power

300 W

Outputs

1x DVI 1x HDMI 3x DisplayPort

Power supply

1x 6-pin

Board number

PG410 SKU 20

Maximum temperature

63 °C

Maximum noise

42.2 dB

Game FPS

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

(2020)

Better than AMD Radeon HD 7990, but worse than AMD Radeon RX 480.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 28.1

2560×1440 / Ultra / 24.4

3840×2160 / Ultra / 16.5

Valorant

(2020)

Better than AMD Radeon RX 480, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 123.4

2560×1440 / Ultra / 100.9

3840×2160 / Ultra / 87. 8

Death Stranding

(2020)

Better than AMD Radeon RX 480, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 55.9

2560×1440 / Ultra / 43.4

3840×2160 / Ultra / 26.3

Cyberpunk 2077

(2020)

Better than AMD Radeon HD 7990, but worse than AMD Radeon RX 480.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 28.1

2560×1440 / Ultra / 26. 3

3840×2160 / Ultra / 17.2

Apex Legends

(2019)

Better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q, but worse than NVIDIA Quadro T1000.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 59.8

2560×1440 / Ultra / 44.5

3840×2160 / Ultra / 26.6

Metro Exodus

(2019)

Better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 33.3

2560×1440 / Ultra / 25.9

3840×2160 / Ultra / 16.3

Red Dead Redemption 2

(2019)

Better than AMD Radeon HD 7990, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 28.9

2560×1440 / Ultra / 23.6

3840×2160 / Ultra / 15. 0

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds

(2017)

Better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M, but worse than AMD Radeon RX Vega 56 Mobile.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 49.6

2560×1440 / Ultra / 37.6

3840×2160 / Ultra / 21.4

Overwatch

(2016)

Better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, but worse than NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti Max-Q.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 104. 1

2560×1440 / Ultra / 71.8

3840×2160 / Ultra / 37.1

Grand Theft Auto V

(2015)

Better than AMD Radeon R9 390X, but worse than NVIDIA Quadro RTX 3000 Max-Q.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 58.3

2560×1440 / Ultra / 38.5

3840×2160 / Ultra / 29.9

The Witcher 3

(2015)

Better than AMD Radeon R9 290, but worse than AMD Radeon R9 390.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 50.0

2560×1440 / Ultra / 37.2

3840×2160 / Ultra / 21.4

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

(2012)

Better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK, but worse than AMD Radeon RX 580.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 187.8

2560×1440 / Ultra / 156.5

3840×2160 / Ultra / 140. 8

League of Legends

(2019)

Better than NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN BLACK, but worse than AMD Radeon RX 580.

1920×1080 / Ultra / 352.0

2560×1440 / Ultra / 195.6

3840×2160 / Ultra / 78.2

Benchmark tests

Passmark: 9588 Better than AMD Radeon R9 390X but worse than AMD Radeon RX 590.

Comparison with other graphics cards

Map 1:

Map 2:

Video reviews and tests

HOW DOES GTX 1060 3 GB PLAY IN 2023? (REVIEW + TESTS) (REVIEW + TESTS)

Gtx 1060 3gb GDDR5 in 2020 The best budget video card! Still dragging? Tests in games + overclocking!

Gtx 1060 3gb What is it capable of in 2023?! Tests

GTX 1060 3GB In Of 2022 — 25 Games Tested | #gtx1060

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB in 20 games in Full HD and Quad HD in 2021: Miners are not interested in it, but gamers?

GTX 1060 3GB + i3-10105F Test in 30 Games in 2022

GTX 1060 — WHICH IS BETTER 3GB or 6GB | Gaming test

GTX 1060 3GB | Has Time been Kind to the cut-down 1060?

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB [Tests in games for 2022] The most popular gaming card!!!

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB: Gameplay and Comparison 3GB vs 6GB — 33 Reality Games of 2018

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