The Witcher 3

The third game in CD Projekt RED’s expansive RPG series, The Witcher 3 is our RPG benchmark of choice. Utilizing the company’s in-house engine, REDengine 3, The Witcher makes use of an array of DirectX 11 features, all of which combine to make the game both stunning and surprisingly GPU-intensive. Our benchmark is based on an action-heavy in-engine cutscene early in the game, and Hairworks is disabled.

The Witcher 3 - 2560x1440 - Ultra Quality (No Hairworks)

The Witcher 3 - 1920x1080 - Ultra Quality (No Hairworks)

In terms of absolute performance, I’m a bit surprised that the GTX 1060 can’t crack 60fps at 1080p. 57.6 isn’t too far off the mark, but for what’s otherwise meant to be NVIDIA’s ultimate 1080p gaming card, it’s not quite ultimate enough to hit 60fps on a year-old game.

In any case this does put GTX 1060 a bit farther behind the GTX 980 than usual, delivering around 94% of its high-end predecessor’s performance. Or to compare the card to GTX 960, it nets a 75% performance gain. Otherwise this also happens to be a game where the GTX 1060/1070 gap is a smidge larger than usual, with GTX 1060 delivering 70% of GTX 1070’s performance.

Finally, as for the RX 480 comparison, GTX 1060 is yet again solidly in the lead. Here we see it deliver 12-15% more performance than the 8GB RX 480, depending on the resolution.

Crysis 3 The Division
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  • lilmoe - Saturday, August 6, 2016 - link

    This is becoming the next "where is Kai" thing. This is getting redundant and, frankly extremely rude. Stop. I started enjoying some of their content AFTER Anand left.

    There's quite a bit of bias, but regulars can ignore all that and focus on the important info they're looking for.

    We made it clear to them that we expect better in terms of quality and timely delivery. I'm sure they listened and took 7 Notes.
  • TallestJon96 - Friday, August 5, 2016 - link

    I think this is the best card of NVIDIAs lineup so far. Generationally, it destroys the previous card, which frankly the 960 sucked, especially compared to the 760 or the 970. The 960s only saving grace was the $200 price point. 2gb wasn't good, the 970 crushed it, the 380 was a better deal, and even the 760 beat it sometimes.

    Compared to the 960, its 80% faster, has 3x times the ram, and costs $50 more.

    Most importantly, this card will be a success vecause it is the card that can easily handle 1080p60 at a good price. Like the 970 before it, the gtx 1060 handles 1080p with ease, and will continue to do so with 15% more performance than the 970 and 2gb more ram.

    I will recommend this card to many people.
  • fanofanand - Friday, August 5, 2016 - link

    I love that people keep claiming this is a $250 card. Maybe someday, but that day isn't today.
  • bananaforscale - Friday, August 5, 2016 - link

    Maybe it is, excluding (VAT and import) taxes, margins and such.
  • HollyDOL - Saturday, August 6, 2016 - link

    Cheapest model (from Zotac) around here costs $326 :-(
  • eddman - Saturday, August 6, 2016 - link

    There are four $250 1060s on newegg, with the same specs as the FE version.
  • fanofanand - Saturday, August 6, 2016 - link

    You mean the listings titled "out of stock"? Of course there are higher priced versions available. Surprise surprise.
  • eddman - Saturday, August 6, 2016 - link

    As if 480s aren't out of stock. The point is, there ARE $250 1060s. Availability is another matter.
  • bug77 - Monday, August 8, 2016 - link

    It says "ships in 3-5 days" on most of them, so I don't see your problem.
  • Mugur - Sunday, August 7, 2016 - link

    In my country the Zotac mini 1060 is cheaper with the equivalent of 25$ than the cheapest RX 480 8 GB...

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