GeForce GTX 1060 3GB vs GeForce GTX 280

Intro

Compare all of that to the GeForce GTX 280, which comes with GPU core speed of 602 MHz, and 1024 MB of GDDR3 RAM running at 1107 MHz through a 512-bit bus. It also features 240 Stream Processors, 80 Texture Address Units, and 32 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

Hide Graphs

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB		120 Watts
GeForce GTX 280		236 Watts
	Difference: 116 Watts (97%)

Memory Bandwidth

The GeForce GTX 1060 3GB should theoretically be a lot faster than the GeForce GTX 280 overall. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB		196608 MB/sec
GeForce GTX 280		141696 MB/sec
	Difference: 54912 (39%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 1060 3GB is quite a bit (about 125%) faster with regards to texture filtering than the GeForce GTX 280. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB		108432 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTX 280		48160 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 60272 (125%)

Pixel Rate

If running with lots of anti-aliasing is important to you, then the GeForce GTX 1060 3GB is the winner, by a large margin. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB		72288 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTX 280		19264 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 53024 (275%)

Please note that the above 'benchmarks' are all just theoretical - the results were calculated based on the card's specifications, and real-world performance may (and probably will) vary at least a bit.

Price Comparison

Specifications

Memory Bandwidth: Bandwidth is the maximum amount of data (counted in megabytes per second) that can be transferred over the external memory interface in one second. The number is worked out by multiplying the interface width by its memory speed. In the case of DDR type memory, it must be multiplied by 2 once again. If it uses DDR5, multiply by ANOTHER 2x. The higher the bandwidth is, the better the card will be in general. It especially helps with AA, HDR and high resolutions.

Texel Rate: Texel rate is the maximum number of texture map elements (texels) that are processed in one second. This figure is calculated by multiplying the total number of texture units of the card by the core clock speed of the chip. The higher the texel rate, the better the card will be at texture filtering (anisotropic filtering - AF). It is measured in millions of texels per second.

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of pixels that the graphics card can possibly write to its local memory per second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The figure is calculated by multiplying the number of Raster Operations Pipelines by the clock speed of the card. ROPs (Raster Operations Pipelines - sometimes also referred to as Render Output Units) are responsible for outputting the pixels (image) to the screen. The actual pixel rate is also dependant on lots of other factors, especially the memory bandwidth of the card - the lower the bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the maximum fill rate.