GeForce GTX 1660 vs Radeon RX Vega 56
Performance-wise the Radeon RX Vega 56 is out front, significantly faster, roughly 20% up on the GeForce GTX 1660. It is also the stronger value pick here, so it's the easy recommendation if your budget allows.
Maximum Capacity Reached. Remove a model to add another. (2/2)
Radeon RX Vega 56 vs GeForce GTX 1660: In-Depth Breakdown
Performance: Radeon RX Vega 56 vs GeForce GTX 1660
The Radeon RX Vega 56 is significantly faster, around 20% ahead of the GeForce GTX 1660. Both cards sit in the same broad class, well suited to entry-level 1080p.
Price & Value
Right now the GeForce GTX 1660 starts at $81,557 JPY against $87,582 JPY for the Radeon RX Vega 56. Because it's both faster and competitively priced, the Radeon RX Vega 56 wins on performance-per-dollar by about 12%. The GeForce GTX 1660 still sits about $81,338 JPY above its $219 JPY MSRP. The Radeon RX Vega 56 still sits about $87,183 JPY above its $399 JPY MSRP.
Power & Efficiency
The GeForce GTX 1660 sips power at 120W next to the Radeon RX Vega 56's 210W, and still leads on performance-per-watt β quieter, cooler, and gentler on your PSU. Its more modern Turing architecture on a TSMC 12nm process is part of why it does more with each watt.
VRAM & Future-Proofing
The Radeon RX Vega 56's 8GB (vs 6GB on the GeForce GTX 1660) gives it more room for 4K textures and memory-hungry creative or AI workloads.
Generation & Longevity
The GeForce GTX 1660 is roughly 2 years newer than the Radeon RX Vega 56 (Turing vs GCN 5.0 (Vega)), so it generally benefits from a more modern architecture and longer driver-support runway.
Features & Ecosystem
Beyond raw numbers, the GeForce GTX 1660 brings NVIDIA DLSS upscaling/frame generation and stronger ray tracing, while the Radeon RX Vega 56 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 1660 or Radeon RX Vega 56?
The Radeon RX Vega 56 is the all-round winner here β it's faster and the better value, so buy it if it fits your budget. Only consider the GeForce GTX 1660 if you find it at a steep discount.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Radeon RX Vega 56 better than the GeForce GTX 1660?
Which is better for 4K gaming, the GeForce GTX 1660 or the Radeon RX Vega 56?
Is the Radeon RX Vega 56 worth the extra $6,025 JPY over the GeForce GTX 1660?
Does the Radeon RX Vega 56 have enough VRAM advantage to matter?
Which should you buy: GeForce GTX 1660 or Radeon RX Vega 56?
Technical Specifications Comparison
Architecture & Cores
| Specification | GeForce GTX 1660 | Radeon RX Vega 56 |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Turing | GCN 5.0 (Vega) |
| Process Node | TSMC 12nm | GloFo 14nm |
| CUDA Cores (CUDA Cores / Stream Processors) | 1,408 | 3,584β |
Clock Speeds
| Specification | GeForce GTX 1660 | Radeon RX Vega 56 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Clock | 1,530 MHzβ | 1,156 MHz |
| Boost Clock | 1,785 MHzβ | 1,471 MHz |
Memory
| Specification | GeForce GTX 1660 | Radeon RX Vega 56 |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM Capacity | 6 GB | 8 GBβ |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 | HBM2 |
| Memory Bus | 192-bit | 2048-bitβ |
| Memory Speed | 8 Gbpsβ | 1.6 Gbps |
| Bandwidth | 192 GB/s | 409.6 GB/sβ |
Connectivity & Power
| Specification | GeForce GTX 1660 | Radeon RX Vega 56 |
|---|---|---|
| Interface | PCIe 3.0 x16 | PCIe 3.0 x16 |
| TDP | 120 Wβ | 210 W |
| Power Connectors | 1x 8-pin | 2x 8-pin |
| Released | Mar 2019 | Aug 2017 |