Best GTX 1060 Graphics Card for 1080p & 1440p Gaming

GeForce GTX 1060 is a powerful mid-range graphics card from Nvidia in the GeForce 10 series. The card is built on the Pascal GPU architecture from Nvidia. GeForce GTX 1060 comes in two variants, one having 1152 CUDA Cores with 3GB GDDR5 memory and the other one having 1280 CUDA Cores with 6GB GDDR5 memory. The memory interface in both these cards is 192-bit and thus the memory bandwidth.

GeForce GTX 1060 is a pretty powerful card and you can play latest games AAA on very high settings at 1080p with 60+ frame rates. It can also run latest games and older games at 1440p but with some graphics settings lowered or turned off. The card does not support SLI multi-GPU setup which is a bit of disappointment. The main competitors of GeForce GTX 1060 are Radeon RX 580 and RX 570 which are higher mid-range graphics cards from AMD based on the Polaris GPU architecture. GTX 1060 is VR Ready card and supports DirectX 12, OpenGL 4.5, Vulkan, G-Sync and Nvidia Ansel. The maximum power consumption of a reference or normal GeForce GTX 1060 is 120W and it requires 400W PSU for its working. The power consumption may vary a bit from one manufacturer to another depending on the cooler used and overclocking. GeForce GTX 1060 is available from different brands/models having different form factors, performance, pricing, and cooling. Here I am going to list down the best GeForce GTX 1060 graphics cards based on different factors so that you can buy the best one according to your needs or requirements.

Must Read:

• GeForce GTX 1060 GDDR5 vs GDDR5X Comparison
• Best Graphics Cards under 300 dollars for Mid-range Gaming PC 

Best GTX 1060 for the Money

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 WINDFORCE OC 3G

This one of the cheapest GTX 1060 cards that you can get your hands on. This is a 3GB version of GTX 1060 and it comes with 1152 CUDA Cores. The performance is of this card is slightly behind the 6GB variant but at this price, you cannot complain. The card comes pre-overclocked and is much better than the reference GTX 1060. For cooling, the card comes with WINDFORCE 2X cooling system with twin fans that work very efficiently. The card comes with 4+1 power phases to provide better stability during overclocking.

The card has relatively lower power consumption as it requires one 6-pin PCIe power connector and a 400W PSU for its working. Connectivity options include two DVI ports, one HDMI and DisplayPort. So if you are looking for the best value GTX 1060 card then I think you won’t find anything better than this. You can also check out the best value GTX 1060 with 6GB variant with higher clock speeds from the link given below.   

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 WINDFORCE OC 3G Specifications
CUDA Cores	1152
GPU Clock	1582 / 1797 MHz (OC Mode)
Memory Clock	8008 MHz
Memory Size	3GB GDDR5
Memory Interface	192-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DVI x 2, HDMI, DisplayPort

Buy Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 WINDFORCE OC 3G

Buy Gigabyte AORUS GeForce GTX 1060 6G 9Gbps

Best GTX 1060 for Performance

ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1060

This is a monstrous GTX 1060 card that packs amazing performance. The card itself is very huge and it comes with triple fans for cooling. The card comes with 6GB GDDR5 VRAM and 1280 CUDA Cores. This is a heavily overclocked card and can beat almost all the other GTX 1060 cards from other brands.

The card comes with Asus Aura RGB LED Lighting and VR Friendly HDMI ports. This GeForce GTX 1060 has a relatively higher power consumption and requires one 8-pin PCI-E power connector and 450W power supply for its working. The card remains very stable during operation or overclocking because it comes with 6+1 power phases. So if you are looking for the fastest GTX 1060 card then don’t look any further.   

ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1060 Specifications
CUDA Cores	1280
GPU Clock	1645 / 1873 MHz (OC Mode)
Memory Clock	8208 MHz
Memory Size	6GB GDDR5
Memory Interface	192-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DVI, HDMI x 2, DP x 2

Buy ASUS ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1060

Other Recommendations

• ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 AMP Edition

Best GTX 1060 for Silent & Cool Operation

MSI GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G

If you are looking for quiet GTX 1060 with good performance then MSI GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G is one such card. The card is very silent & cool in operation, as it comes with TWIN FROZR VI cooling system with dual TORX 2.0 fans. The card comes with 1280 CUDA Cores with 6GB GDDR5 memory. This is also one of the best-looking GTX 1060 cards and it comes with RGB LED lighting that looks very cool. Also, the performance of this card is very good and it comes pre-overclocked for increased performance in games and other graphics applications. Connectivity options include three DisplayPorts and one HDMI and DVI port. Highly Recommended by me.    

MSI GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G Specifications
CUDA Cores	1280
GPU Clock	1594 / 1809 MHz (OC Mode)
Memory Clock	8108 MHz (OC Mode)
Memory Size	3GB / 6GB GDDR5
Memory Interface	192-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports

Buy MSI GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G

Best Compact GTX 1060  

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 Mini 3GB GDDR5

If you have a mini-ITX or SFF case and looking for a compact GTX 1060 then ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 Mini is the perfect choice for you. This is a 3GB variant of GTX 1060 and it comes with 1152 CUDA Cores. The card does not come overclocked and the cooling is provided by a single 90mm fan and aluminum heatsink.

The card is super compact with 174mm in length and can fit in 99% of the cases without any issues. Although it does have a dual-slot design and occupies two slots on your motherboard or PC case. Even with the limited cooling, the card still runs cools and temperature remains well under control. The power consumption of this SFF GTX 1060 card is low and it requires one 6pin PCIe power connector and 400W PSU for its working. Another compact GTX 1060 graphics card that I recommend is EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 SC GAMING which comes in both 3GB and 6GB variants.

Must Read: Best Compact Graphics Cards for SFF Gaming PC

ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 Mini Specifications
CUDA Cores	1152
GPU Clock	1506 / 1708 MHz
Memory Clock	8000 MHz
Memory Size	3GB / 6GB GDDR5
Memory Interface	192-bit
Bus Interface	PCI Express 3.0
DirectX	12
OpenGL	4.5
Output Ports	DisplayPort x 3, HDMI, DVI

Buy ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1060 Mini

See also: Best GTX 1070 Graphics Cards for 1440p Gaming

Have Queries?

If you are still confused about which GTX 1060 card you should get then you can ask me your queries and clear your doubts by leaving a comment below.