GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB vs GeForce GTX 970: specs and benchmark comparison
Short verdict
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB leads in every scenario with comparable benchmarks: rendering and compute. This does not imply an advantage in tasks without benchmarks.
Compare with AIRendering and compute
A +7.4%NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB leads in this scenario (up to 7.4% in comparable benchmarks).
No comparable benchmarks yet: gaming: rasterization, gaming: ray tracing, power efficiency.
Advantages
Only measured and rated values: a noticeable benchmark gap and specs where more is better.
Where GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is better3
Blender Benchmark 4.5.0 7.4% faster274 samples/min vs 255 samples/min
Board power 28 W lower120 W (TDP) vs 148 W (TDP)
Launch price $130 lower$199 vs $329
Where GeForce GTX 970 is better3
Video memory 1 GB more4 GB vs 3 GB
Memory bus 64 bit more256 bit vs 192 bit
Memory bandwidth 32.2 GB/s more224.4 GB/s vs 192.2 GB/s
Benchmarks
Results are compared within one benchmark, one version and the same conditions.
- A ahead by 7.4%
Blender Benchmark 4.5.0
GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) · samples/min, higher is better
GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB273.7 samples/minGeForce GTX 970254.8 samples/minPosition among tested models (67, OptiX)
B · 255A · 27405,00010,00015,000Each dot is one model’s median in this benchmark. The scale starts at zero, samples/min. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB is ahead by 7.4% in this benchmark.
About the measurement and source
- A · NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB
273.7 samples/min · community measurement, sample 30 · November 14, 2026
Blender Open Data (Blender Foundation)
Median of 30 submissions (1 outliers excluded), interquartile range 261.53–284.14; submissions 2025-07-18 to 2026-01-30; OPTIX backend. Snapshot 2026-11-14.
- B · NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970
254.8 samples/min · community measurement, sample 22 · November 14, 2026
Blender Open Data (Blender Foundation)
Median of 22 submissions (0 outliers excluded), interquartile range 247.96–284.19; submissions 2025-07-22 to 2026-07-11; OPTIX backend. Snapshot 2026-11-14.
difference = |A − B| ÷ the smaller value × 100%. The 5% noticeable threshold is a UX heuristic, not statistical significance.
Cycles render in Blender Benchmark. Median of the sum of samples per minute over three scenes after removing outliers.
Reference results (99)
| Benchmark | A | B | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blender Benchmark 2.92GPU, bmw27 (CUDA) | 160.2 | 179.3 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.93.1GPU, bmw27 (CUDA) | 139.4 | 114.4 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.92GPU, bmw27 (OPTIX) | 179.7 | 162.3 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.93.1GPU, bmw27 (OPTIX) | 183.4 | 157.1 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.92GPU, classroom (CUDA) | 516.2 | 475.4 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.93.1GPU, classroom (CUDA) | 479.5 | 402.7 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.92GPU, classroom (OPTIX) | 647.7 | 667.8 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.92GPU, fishy_cat (CUDA) | 316.2 | 365.2 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.93.1GPU, fishy_cat (CUDA) | 325.3 | 365 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.92GPU, koro (CUDA) | 528.5 | 714.1 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.93.1GPU, koro (CUDA) | 553.3 | 619.8 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.92GPU, pavillon_barcelona (CUDA) | 884.3 | 927.5 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.93.1GPU, pavillon_barcelona (CUDA) | 832 | 689.5 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.92GPU, pavillon_barcelona (OPTIX) | 936.5 | — | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.93.1GPU, victor (CUDA) | 22,922 | — | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 3.4.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (CUDA) | 387.4 | 320 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 5.2.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (CUDA) | 357.4 | — | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 5.1.1GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 263.2 | 218.9 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 5.2.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 232.8 | 244 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 3.1.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 314.3 | 302.6 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 3.2.1GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 251.1 | 306.3 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 3.3.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 258.8 | 276 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 3.4.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 291.6 | 277.8 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 3.5.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 295.6 | 327.6 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 3.6.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 305.6 | 301.1 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 4.0.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 299.6 | 288.9 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 4.1.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 331.8 | 258.9 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 4.4.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 273.3 | 250.9 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 5.0.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 184.6 | — | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 5.1.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | 204 | 249 | reference |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81GPU, barbershop_interior (CUDA) | — | 1,843.1 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81aGPU, barbershop_interior (CUDA) | — | 1,839.1 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81GPU, bmw27 (CUDA) | — | 146.8 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81aGPU, bmw27 (CUDA) | — | 144.6 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.82GPU, bmw27 (CUDA) | — | 141.2 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.83GPU, bmw27 (CUDA) | — | 152.5 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90GPU, bmw27 (CUDA) | — | 149 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90.1GPU, bmw27 (CUDA) | — | 149.8 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.91.2GPU, bmw27 (CUDA) | — | 165.1 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90GPU, bmw27 (OPTIX) | — | 166.6 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.91.2GPU, bmw27 (OPTIX) | — | 167.4 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81GPU, classroom (CUDA) | — | 475.9 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81aGPU, classroom (CUDA) | — | 480 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.82GPU, classroom (CUDA) | — | 473.5 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.83GPU, classroom (CUDA) | — | 482.6 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90GPU, classroom (CUDA) | — | 482.4 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90.1GPU, classroom (CUDA) | — | 487.8 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.91.2GPU, classroom (CUDA) | — | 458.5 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90GPU, classroom (OPTIX) | — | 673.3 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.91.2GPU, classroom (OPTIX) | — | 617.5 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.93.1GPU, classroom (OPTIX) | — | 605.8 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81GPU, fishy_cat (CUDA) | — | 314.6 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81aGPU, fishy_cat (CUDA) | — | 312.1 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.82GPU, fishy_cat (CUDA) | — | 309.2 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.83GPU, fishy_cat (CUDA) | — | 310.9 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90GPU, fishy_cat (CUDA) | — | 303.2 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90.1GPU, fishy_cat (CUDA) | — | 303.8 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.91.2GPU, fishy_cat (CUDA) | — | 343.7 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90GPU, fishy_cat (OPTIX) | — | 452.8 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.91.2GPU, fishy_cat (OPTIX) | — | 348 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.93.1GPU, fishy_cat (OPTIX) | — | 392.5 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81GPU, koro (CUDA) | — | 666.3 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81aGPU, koro (CUDA) | — | 673.6 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.82GPU, koro (CUDA) | — | 645.5 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.83GPU, koro (CUDA) | — | 862.4 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90GPU, koro (CUDA) | — | 558.8 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.91.2GPU, koro (CUDA) | — | 516.5 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90GPU, koro (OPTIX) | — | 535.2 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.91.2GPU, koro (OPTIX) | — | 443.9 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.93.1GPU, koro (OPTIX) | — | 419.4 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81GPU, pavillon_barcelona (CUDA) | — | 773.7 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81aGPU, pavillon_barcelona (CUDA) | — | 782.3 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.82GPU, pavillon_barcelona (CUDA) | — | 761.3 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.83GPU, pavillon_barcelona (CUDA) | — | 803.2 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90GPU, pavillon_barcelona (CUDA) | — | 784 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.91.2GPU, pavillon_barcelona (CUDA) | — | 830 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90GPU, pavillon_barcelona (OPTIX) | — | 1,050.6 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.91.2GPU, pavillon_barcelona (OPTIX) | — | 939.8 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.93.1GPU, pavillon_barcelona (OPTIX) | — | 903.5 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81GPU, victor (CUDA) | — | 3,321.1 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.81aGPU, victor (CUDA) | — | 5,776.8 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.82GPU, victor (CUDA) | — | 3,504.1 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90GPU, victor (CUDA) | — | 9,949 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.91.2GPU, victor (CUDA) | — | 9,881.1 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.92GPU, victor (CUDA) | — | 3,277.2 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.90GPU, victor (OPTIX) | — | 3,604.7 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.91.2GPU, victor (OPTIX) | — | 2,482 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 2.93.1GPU, victor (OPTIX) | — | 2,414.8 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 3.0.1GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (CUDA) | — | 363.4 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 3.1.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (CUDA) | — | 342 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 3.2.1GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (CUDA) | — | 335.6 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 3.3.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (CUDA) | — | 333.3 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 3.6.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (CUDA) | — | 447.6 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 4.3.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (CUDA) | — | 310.5 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 5.1.1GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (CUDA) | — | 251.5 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 4.2.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | — | 268.8 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 3.0.1GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | — | 333.4 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 3.2.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | — | 286.9 | no pair |
| Blender Benchmark 4.3.0GPU, sum of scenes monster + junkshop + classroom (OptiX / HIP / oneAPI / Metal) | — | 247.1 | no pair |
Each benchmark version has its own scale: numbers are compared only within a row.
Specifications
| Specification | A · GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB | B · GeForce GTX 970 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chip | |||
| GPU chip | no data | GM204-200-A1 | no data for A |
| Architecture | Pascal | Maxwell | differs |
| Shader unitsShader unit counts are comparable only within one architecture. | 1,152 (CUDA cores) | 1,664 (CUDA cores) | not directly comparable |
| Clocks | |||
| Base clock | 1,506 MHz | 1,050 MHz | A: 456 MHz more |
| Boost clockClocks of different architectures do not reflect performance directly. For laptop chips, the clock depends on the laptop’s power limit. | 1,708 MHz | 1,178 MHz | A: 530 MHz more |
| Memory | |||
| Video memory | 3 GB | 4 GB | B: 1 GB more |
| Memory type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 | equal |
| Memory bus | 192 bit | 256 bit | B: 64 bit more |
| Memory bandwidthExcludes cache (Infinity Cache / L2), which affects effective bandwidth differently. | 192.2 GB/s | 224.4 GB/s | B: 32.2 GB/s more |
| Power and dimensions | |||
| Board powerTGP (NVIDIA) and TBP (AMD/Intel) are calculated differently; higher is not better. For laptops, the chip maker sets the range and the laptop maker picks the value, so the same chip behaves differently in different laptops. | 120 W (TDP) | 148 W (TDP) | B: 28 W higher |
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | no data | no data for B |
Chip
GPU chip
Ano data
BGM204-200-A1
no data for AArchitecture
APascal
BMaxwell
differsShader units
A1,152 (CUDA cores)
B1,664 (CUDA cores)
not directly comparableShader unit counts are comparable only within one architecture.
Clocks
Base clock
A1,506 MHz
B1,050 MHz
A: 456 MHz moreBoost clock
A1,708 MHz
B1,178 MHz
A: 530 MHz moreClocks of different architectures do not reflect performance directly. For laptop chips, the clock depends on the laptop’s power limit.
Memory
Video memory
A3 GB
B4 GB
B: 1 GB moreMemory type
AGDDR5
BGDDR5
equalMemory bus
A192 bit
B256 bit
B: 64 bit moreMemory bandwidth
A192.2 GB/s
B224.4 GB/s
B: 32.2 GB/s moreExcludes cache (Infinity Cache / L2), which affects effective bandwidth differently.
Power and dimensions
Board power
A120 W (TDP)
B148 W (TDP)
B: 28 W higherTGP (NVIDIA) and TBP (AMD/Intel) are calculated differently; higher is not better. For laptops, the chip maker sets the range and the laptop maker picks the value, so the same chip behaves differently in different laptops.
Interface
APCIe 3.0 x16
Bno data
no data for B
“More” does not always mean “better”: higher power draw or size is a system requirement, not an advantage (such bars are dimmed).
Compare with AI
An AI model reviews the specs and benchmarks of this pair and gives a plain-language verdict on who each model suits.
Questions and answers
How much video memory do NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 have?
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB: 3 GB GDDR5, 192-bit bus. NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970: 4 GB GDDR5, 256-bit bus.
Which is faster: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970?
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB leads in every scenario with comparable benchmarks: rendering and compute. This does not imply an advantage in tasks without benchmarks.
See also
Data sources (2)
- Wikipedia (English) — specifications of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB, specifications of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970, release date and launch pricechecked November 14, 2026
- Blender Open Data (Blender Foundation) — benchmark Blender Benchmark 2.81, benchmark Blender Benchmark 2.81a, benchmark Blender Benchmark 2.92, benchmark Blender Benchmark 2.93.1, benchmark Blender Benchmark 2.82, benchmark Blender Benchmark 2.83, benchmark Blender Benchmark 2.90, benchmark Blender Benchmark 2.90.1, benchmark Blender Benchmark 2.91.2, benchmark Blender Benchmark 3.4.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 5.2.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 3.0.1, benchmark Blender Benchmark 3.1.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 3.2.1, benchmark Blender Benchmark 3.3.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 3.6.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 4.3.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 5.1.1, benchmark Blender Benchmark 4.5.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 3.5.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 4.0.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 4.1.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 4.4.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 5.0.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 5.1.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 4.2.0, benchmark Blender Benchmark 3.2.0checked November 14, 2026
How we compare: methodology. Where the data comes from: sources.