GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB vs GeForce GTX 980M SLI

If you are going to buy a new graphics card and are choosing between GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB and GeForce GTX 980M SLI, there are a couple of things to consider. Cards with more VRAM in general perform better and allow you to play on higher graphics settings. Size also makes a difference. A model with a large heatsink can occupy up to three expansion slots on a motherboard. Be sure you have enough room in your PC case. When comparing GPUs with different architectures, more processing cores and even higher TFLOPS will not always translate to better performance. To help you decide which GPU you need, we have measured frame rates in a number of popular games. For more on how the GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB stacks up against GeForce GTX 980M SLI, check out specs charts below.

GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB and GeForce GTX 980M SLI are Laptop Graphics Cards

Note: GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB and GeForce GTX 980M SLI are only used in laptop graphics. They have lower GPU clock speed compared to the desktop variant, which results in lower power consumption, but also 10-30% lower gaming performance. Check available laptop models with GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB or GeForce GTX 980M SLI here:

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB GeForce GTX 980M SLI
Power consumption (TDP) 80 Watt 200 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors None
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 6.144 MB 2x 8 GB
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  • GeForce GTX 980M SLI has 150% more power consumption, than GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB.
  • GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB has 4 GB more memory, than GeForce GTX 980M SLI.
  • Both cards are used in Laptops.
  • GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB is build with Pascal architecture, and GeForce GTX 980M SLI - with Maxwell.
  • Core clock speed of GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB is 25 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 980M SLI.
  • GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB is manufactured by 16 nm process technology, and GeForce GTX 980M SLI - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Memory clock speed of GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB is 3000 MHz higher, than GeForce GTX 980M SLI.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 40−45 55−60
ultra / 1080p 27−30 35−40
QHD / 1440p 21−24 30−35
4K / 2160p 12−14 18−20
low / 720p 65−70 80−85
medium / 1080p 50−55 65−70
The average gaming FPS of GeForce GTX 980M SLI in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 32% more, than GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 1060 Max Q 6 GB GeForce GTX 980M SLI
Architecture Pascal Maxwell
Code name N17P-G1 Max-Q
Type Laptop Laptop
Release date 30 May 2017 7 October 2014
Pipelines 1280 3072
Core clock speed 1063 - 1265 MHz 1038 MHz
Boost Clock 1341 - 1480 MHz 1127 MHz
Transistor count 4,400 million 2x 5200 Million
Manufacturing process technology 16 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 118.4
Floating-point performance 3,789 gflops
Memory bus width 192 Bit 2x 256 Bit
Memory clock speed 8000 MHz 5000 MHz
Memory bandwidth 192.2 GB/s
Shared memory - -
G-SYNC support +
VR Ready +
DirectX 12.0 DirectX 12_1, Shader 5.0
Shader Model 5.0
OpenGL 4.5
OpenCL 1.2
Vulkan + +
CUDA 6.1 +
SLI options +
Laptop size large large
Optimus +
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