GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB vs Radeon R9 280

In this comparison between GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB and Radeon R9 280 you will find out which graphics card performs better in today's games. Bear in mind that third-party versions may have more efficient cooling and higher clock speeds. This will increase cards' performance, though not by much. In addition to raw power you should also take into account the dimensions. Thicker models simply will not fit into a small mini-ITX case. The resolution of your monitor also affects the choice, since 4K gameplay requires a more powerful GPU. And don't overspend on the graphics card. Other parts of your build may also need to be upgraded, save some money for the CPU or power supply. For some people GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB will be the best choice, for others Radeon R9 280 will be their preference. Study the comparison tables below and make your choice.
GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB

Main Specs

  GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB Radeon R9 280
Power consumption (TDP) 120 Watt 200 Watt
Interface PCIe 3.0 x16 PCIe 3.0 x16
Supplementary power connectors 1x 6-pin 1 x 6-pin + 1 x 8-pin
Memory type GDDR5 GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount 5 GB 3 GB
Display Connectors 1x DVI, 1x HDMI, 3x DisplayPort 2x DVI, 1x HDMI, 2x mini-DisplayPort
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  • Radeon R9 280 has 66% more power consumption, than GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB.
  • Both video cards are using PCIe 3.0 x16 interface connection to a motherboard.
  • GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB has 2 GB more memory, than Radeon R9 280.
  • Both cards are used in Desktops.
  • GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB is build with Pascal architecture, and Radeon R9 280 - with GCN 1.0.
  • GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB is manufactured by 16 nm process technology, and Radeon R9 280 - by 28 nm process technology.
  • Radeon R9 280 is 25 mm longer, than GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB.
  • Memory clock speed of GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB is 6758 MHz higher, than Radeon R9 280.

Game benchmarks

high / 1080p 21−24 35−40
ultra / 1080p 12−14 21−24
QHD / 1440p 7−8 16−18
4K / 2160p 5−6 10−11
low / 720p 40−45 60−65
medium / 1080p 27−30 40−45
The average gaming FPS of Radeon R9 280 in Assassin's Creed Odyssey is 68% more, than GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB.

Full Specs

  GeForce GTX 1060 5 GB Radeon R9 280
Architecture Pascal GCN 1.0
Code name GP106 Tahiti
Type Desktop Desktop
Release date 26 December 2017 4 March 2014
Pipelines 1280 1792
Core clock speed 1506 MHz
Boost Clock 1709 MHz 933 MHz
Transistor count 4,400 million 4,313 million
Manufacturing process technology 16 nm 28 nm
Texture fill rate 136.7 104.5
Floating-point performance 4,375 gflops 3,344 gflops
Length 250 mm 275 mm
Memory bus width 160 Bit 384 Bit
Memory clock speed 8008 MHz 1250 MHz
Memory bandwidth 160.2 GB/s 240 GB/s
DirectX 12 (12_1)
Shader Model 6.4 5.1
OpenGL 4.6 4.6
OpenCL 1.2 1.2
Vulkan 1.2.131 +
CUDA 6.1
FreeSync +
Bus support PCIe 3.0
HDMI +
Bitcoin / BTC (SHA256) 408 Mh/s
Eyefinity +
HD3D +
TrueAudio +
Design reference
CrossFire +
DDMA audio +
Ethereum / ETH (DaggerHashimoto) 21.5 Mh/s
LiquidVR +
TressFX +
UVD +
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