The Platform

Nvidia’s Pascal architecture brought a number of performance improvements to the GeForce line, but that wasn’t the biggest change. The move to 16-nanometer construction means a huge boost to power efficiency. A GTX 1060 can skate by with just 120 watts of total power, the same draw as the GTX 960.

　　There are other under-the-hood changes too, like increased support for DirectX 12 (feature level 12_1, to be exact), compatibility with virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, support for the new Vulkan API, and Nvidia’s in-game photography engine, Ansel.

　　

The youngest sibling

As the current budget-friendly card in the 10 Series, there are a few key difference between the GTX 1060 and the 1070/1080 above it. It’s a different GPU, in fact, called the GP106 — as opposed to the GP104 found in the higher-end cards. However, both are based on the same underlying “Pascal” architecture.

　　There are two different versions of the GTX 1060, a 3GB and 6GB model. The version with less graphical memory also features 1,152 CUDA cores, instead of the full 1,280 CUDA cores found in the larger model, but the GPUs are otherwise identical. They both have a 1,506MHz base clock and 1,708MHz boost clock, with GDDR5 memory running at 8Gbps over a 192-bit interface.

　　Design-wise, the GTX 1060’s PCB is a bit shorter than the GTX 1070 and GTX 1080. On the reference model, the blower fan adds the extra length back to the end, and moves the PCIe power connections out further.

　　On our Zotac AMP! review model, the whole card is just eight and a half inches long, two inches and change shorter than the GTX 960, and an inch shorter than the GTX 1060 Founder’s Edition. That’s a nice reduction in size, and provides one immediate reason why you’d buy the Zotac model over the reference design.

　　It’s worth noting the GTX 1060 doesn’t have any SLI connections. That’s probably for the best, as we’ve never been fans of multi-card setups. While they can certainly run impressively in some conditions, the driver issues and power draw are rarely worth the effort. Certainly, there are some who will bemoan the choice, but Nvidia is right. If you want better performance, you should shell out for a better card.

　　

Performance

Now that the technical information is out of the way, we can get down to actual testing. Zotac’s GTX 1060 AMP! is packed with 6GB of GDDR5 memory, and features a modest overclock to a 1,556MHz base clock and 1,771MHZ boost clock.

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　　Image used with permission by copyright holder

　　Image used with permission by copyright holder

　　Our synthetic benchmark provides us with a general idea of where performance testing is headed. Without any of the anomalies caused by specific drivers and games, or by human error, we can draw consistent lines across the performance level of all the cards.

　　The Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 AMP! comes in just a tad ahead of the Radeon RX 480 8GB, but not by much. Also illustrative is the GTX 960 result, which is about 40 percent lower. The 1060 provides a strong generational leap.

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　　Image used with permission by copyright holder

　　Image used with permission by copyright holder

　　Image used with permission by copyright holder

　　Image used with permission by copyright holder

　　Image used with permission by copyright holder

　　Image used with permission by copyright holder

　　Things look a bit different in our real-world testing. While the GTX 1060 runs all of the games in our test suite smoothly at 1,920 x 1,080, so does the RX 480.

　　The two cards trade blows across several games, and mostly stay over our 60 frame per second goal until the settings climb at 2,560 x 1,440. The GTX 960 and 950 fall well behind both cards, but they’re also well under $200.

　　So does the previous generation’s GTX 970, which falls into a slightly higher, but comparable price range. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a better choice, though, especially considering the new features and improved power draw, but it’s definitely worth noting.

　　

Our Take

The GTX 1060 AMP! we tested is on the high end, selling for $280 at most retailers.

　　Which is a problem. The GTX 970 is still a reasonable performer, and can be had for under $300 (in fact, there’s currently a Zotac model currently at $240 on Newegg). It still supports VR headsets, and offers impressive performance at the price point, despite coming from Nvidia’s previous generation.

　　Is there a better alternative?

　　The particulars of this card’s value depend on the price you pay. The entry-level GTX 1060, which sells at $200, looks like a great value that beats even the RX 480.

　　Our more expensive Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 AMP! model, though, skews the equation because its price tag is $80 higher than a stock GTX 1060.

　　In this price range, you have your pick of the litter, and you may be able to find a better deal with other factory-overclocked GTX 1060 models.

　　How long will it last?

　　There’s no such thing as “future proof” in the realm of PC graphics. Video cards are still improving at a rapid pace, so no card will be cutting-edge for more than a year or two. The GTX 1060, being a mid-range card, will soon be replaced by quicker hardware.

　　This particular model from Zotac will survive better than most GTX 1060s, though, due to its faster-than-stock speeds and its huge memory capacity.

　　Should you buy it?

　　At $280, the Zotac GTX 1060 AMP! Edition sits at an awkward price point. It’s too expensive to attract people who were looking at barebones, $200 GTX 1060 models, but also flies closer to the GTX 1070’s $400 price than we’d like. Ultimately, the Zotac’s current price pushes it just outside of earning our recommendation.