GeForce GTX 1060 vs Radeon R9 390X
The GeForce GTX 1060 is a massive performance leap — leading the Radeon R9 390X by roughly 40% in our performance index. It also comes out ahead on value, making it the straightforward pick if the price fits your budget.
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GeForce GTX 1060 vs Radeon R9 390X: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: GeForce GTX 1060 vs Radeon R9 390X
The GeForce GTX 1060 is dramatically faster, around 40% ahead of the Radeon R9 390X. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
On price, expect to pay $36 EUR for the GeForce GTX 1060 versus $364 EUR for the Radeon R9 390X. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the GeForce GTX 1060 wins on performance-per-dollar by about 1313%. The GeForce GTX 1060 is trading below its $299 EUR MSRP — a genuine deal. The Radeon R9 390X is trading below its $429 EUR MSRP — a genuine deal.
Power & Efficiency
The GeForce GTX 1060 draws just 120W versus 275W for the Radeon R9 390X, and it also delivers more performance per watt — so it runs cooler and quieter and needs less PSU headroom. Its more modern Pascal architecture on a TSMC 16nm process is part of why it does more with each watt.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
With 8GB against 6GB, the Radeon R9 390X has more headroom for 4K textures and memory-hungry creative/AI tasks where the GeForce GTX 1060's 6GB can fall short.
Features & Ecosystem
Beyond raw numbers, the GeForce GTX 1060 brings NVIDIA DLSS upscaling/frame generation and stronger ray tracing, while the Radeon R9 390X offers AMD FSR upscaling and strong rasterization value. If you lean on upscaling or ray tracing, that ecosystem difference can matter as much as the frame-rate gap.
Which should you buy: GeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon R9 390X?
The GeForce GTX 1060 is the all-round winner here — it's faster and the better value, so buy it if it fits your budget. Only consider the Radeon R9 390X if you find it at a steep discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the GeForce GTX 1060 better than the Radeon R9 390X?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce GTX 1060 or the Radeon R9 390X?
Is the Radeon R9 390X worth the extra $328 EUR over the GeForce GTX 1060?
Does the Radeon R9 390X have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: GeForce GTX 1060 or Radeon R9 390X?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | GeForce GTX 1060 | Radeon R9 390X |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Pascal | GCN 2.0 |
| Process Node | TSMC 16nm | TSMC 28nm |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors) | 1,280 | 2,816✓ |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | GeForce GTX 1060 | Radeon R9 390X |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,506 MHz✓ | 1,050 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1,708 MHz✓ | 1,050 MHz |
Memory
| Specification | GeForce GTX 1060 | Radeon R9 390X |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 6 GB | 8 GB✓ |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | GDDR5 |
| Memory Bus | 192-bit | 512-bit✓ |
| Memory Speed | 8 Gbps✓ | 6 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 192 GB/s | 384 GB/s✓ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | GeForce GTX 1060 | Radeon R9 390X |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 120 W✓ | 275 W |
| Power Connectors | 1x 6-pin | 1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin |
| Released | Jul 2016 | Jun 2015 |