Nvidia has created a lot of graphics cards in the past years, but some users cannot get enough of the Maxwell GPU architecture in the GTX 970. Although it’s not as powerful as the high-end GTX 980, the 970 packs a lot of power. But are you ready to make the jump from Maxwell to Pascal? We’re talking about the GTX 1060 which resembles the GTX 980 and is an improvement over the GTX 970.
If you own a GTX 970 and want to get the 1060, you are in the right place.
How well will gtx 970 vs 1060 do in gaming performance, and should you choose the latter? Let us check out several tests and see the results.
Looking at what Nvidia claims about the GTX 1060, as being 15% faster and 75% more efficient than a competing card at stock speed, we will see how well it competes with an older graphics card and if the difference is worth for users to switch to a newer card.
Performance GTX 1060 vs GTX 970
In tests on different games at 1080 pixels (1920×1080 resolution), we have the following results:
Assassin’s Creed Unity, Ultra High, FXAA – 58.2 (GTX 1060), 51.3 (GTX 970)
Ashes of the Singularity, Extreme, 0x MSAA, DX12 – 45.9 (GTX 1060), 40.5 (GTX 970)
Hitman, Ultra, SMAA, DX12 – 65.8 (GTX 1060), 59.0 (GTX 970)
The Witcher 3, Ultra, Post AA, No HairWorks – 68.4 (GTX 1060), 60.7 (GTX 970)
This test shows that the GTX 1060 is faster than the GTX 970, but next to the second test, the difference is the same. On 1440 pixels (2560×1440), the GTX 1060 is slightly better than the GTX 970:
Assassin’s Creed Unity, Ultra High, FXAA – 37.4 (GTX 1060), 32.7 (GTX 970)
Ashes of the Singularity, Extreme, 0x MSAA, DX12 – 41.2 (GTX 1060), 35.9 (GTX 970)
Hitman, Ultra, SMAA, DX12 – 48.1 (GTX 1060), 41.5 (GTX 970)
The Witcher 3, Ultra, Post AA, No HairWorks – 48.2 (GTX 1060), 43.0 (GTX 970)
These tests shows that the GTX 1060 offers a better performance than the GTX 970, but the latter has an excellent overclocking capability thanks to the Maxwell architecture, making the GTX 970 a monster compared to the stock GTX 1060. However, compared to the OC-ed 1060, the 970 still lags behind a little in the 1920×1080 (1080p) test:
Assassin’s Creed Unity. Ultra High, FXAA – 58.2 (GTX 1060), 65.2 (1060 OC); 51.3 (GTX 970), 59.5 (970 OC)
Hitman, Ultra, SMAA, DX12 – 65.8 (GTX 1060), 73.3 (1060 OC); 59.0 (GTX 970), 63.0 (970 OC)
The Witcher 3, Ultra, Post AA, No HairWorks – 68.4 (GTX 1060), 75.8 (1060 OC); 60.7 (GTX 970), 69.1 (970 OC).
In the end, the classic GTX 970 offers good performance, it is efficient, but not as good as the GTX 1060, which also comes with multiprojection for VR support and consumes 65W less than the GTX 970.
As a passionate gamer since the 1990s, Vadim has kept his passion alive since then, and he is here to cover video games news, as well as to share with you all the novelties out there regarding gadgets or games-related tech.
