GeForce GTX 1060 3GB vs GeForce GTX 970

Intro

Compare that to the GeForce GTX 970, which features GPU core speed of 1050 MHz, and 4096 MB of GDDR5 memory set to run at 1750 MHz through a 256-bit bus. It also features 1664 Stream Processors, 104 TAUs, and 64 Raster Operation Units.

Display Graphs

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Benchmarks

These are real-world performance benchmarks that were submitted by Hardware Compare users. The scores seen here are the average of all benchmarks submitted for each respective test and hardware.

Zcash Mining Hash Rate

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB		290 Sol/s
GeForce GTX 970		262 Sol/s
	Difference: 28 (11%)

Ethereum Mining Hash Rate

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB		19 Mh/s
GeForce GTX 970		19 Mh/s
	Difference: 0 (0%)

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics Score

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB		12185 points
GeForce GTX 970		10867 points
	Difference: 1318 (12%)

Power Usage and Theoretical Benchmarks

Power Consumption (Max TDP)

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB		120 Watts
GeForce GTX 970		145 Watts
	Difference: 25 Watts (21%)

Memory Bandwidth

In theory, the GeForce GTX 970 is 14% faster than the GeForce GTX 1060 3GB overall, due to its greater data rate. (explain)

GeForce GTX 970		224000 MB/sec
GeForce GTX 1060 3GB		196608 MB/sec
	Difference: 27392 (14%)

Texel Rate

The GeForce GTX 970 is a little bit (more or less 1%) faster with regards to AF than the GeForce GTX 1060 3GB. (explain)

GeForce GTX 970		109200 Mtexels/sec
GeForce GTX 1060 3GB		108432 Mtexels/sec
	Difference: 768 (1%)

Pixel Rate

The GeForce GTX 1060 3GB will be a little bit (more or less 8%) better at anti-aliasing than the GeForce GTX 970, and will be capable of handling higher resolutions without losing too much performance. (explain)

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB		72288 Mpixels/sec
GeForce GTX 970		67200 Mpixels/sec
	Difference: 5088 (8%)

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 (in units of megabytes per second) that can be transferred past the external memory interface in a second. It's worked out by multiplying the card's bus width by its memory speed. If it uses DDR type RAM, it should be multiplied by 2 once again. If DDR5, multiply by 4 instead. The higher the memory bandwidth, the faster the card will be in general. It especially helps with anti-aliasing, High Dynamic Range and high resolutions.

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

Pixel Rate: Pixel rate is the maximum amount of pixels the video card can possibly record to its local memory in one second - measured in millions of pixels per second. The number is worked out by multiplying the number of Render Output Units 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 quite a few other factors, most notably the memory bandwidth - the lower the memory bandwidth is, the lower the ability to reach the maximum fill rate.