We recently compared the RX 580 and GTX 1060 9Gbps across 27 PC games and although we saw similar results on both sides to make a case for either card, the RX 580 seemed slightly superior between its 2.5% performance advantage (particularly in modern titles), better low-level API numbers, and cheaper MSRP. In an effort to continue stirring the hornet's nest, we're back with even more benchmarks than before, this time pitting the Radeon RX 570 against the GeForce GTX 1060 3GB.
Assuming availability weren't an issue, the RX 570 should come in at $170, which would make it more affordable than the $200 3GB GTX 1060. Right now though, more than a month since the RX 570 was released, cards are still selling for $200+ and availability is poor at best, but that should eventually improve. As of writing, it's easier and cheaper to pick up a 3GB GTX 1060 – there are nice models selling for $180 as an example.
All things considered, which of these mid-range GPUs makes the most sense to purchase?
To help answer that question, we have the benchmark results from 29 PC games tested at 1080p and 1440p on our Intel Core i7-7700K test system (clocked at 4.9GHz). Note that our focus will be on the 1080p resolution as this is most relevant to gamers seeking this caliber of graphics card.
Standing in for the green team we have MSI's GTX 1060 Gaming X 3G, while the red team is represented by Gigabyte's Aorus brand RX 570 4G. MSI has applied a 4% factory overclock to their card while Gigabyte has gone with a 3% overclock.
Right then, on to the benchmarks...
Test System Specs & Memory
- Intel Core i7-7700K @ 4.9 GHz
- Asrock Z270 Extreme4
- 32GB DDR4-3000 RAM
- Samsung SSD 850 Evo 2TB
- MSI GTX 1060 Gaming X [3GB]
- Auros RX 570 [4GB]
- Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
- GeForce Game Ready Driver 382.33
- Crimson ReLive Edition 17.5.2
We're kicking things off with a bit of an oldie, though we did test with the updated HD client. Quite a few of you seem to enjoy playing World of Tanks so I have started including it in many of my tests. The game does appear to prefer Nvidia hardware as the 1060 was 8% faster, that said though both cards averaged over 100 fps, so not super important.
That said, for those gaming at higher resolutions the green team's advantage does become more significant.
Like World of Tanks we find that Grand Theft Auto V is another game that favors Nvidia, quite heavily I might add. The 1060 offered 22% more frames at 1080p and in fact its minimum was greater than the RX 570's average.
The Witcher 3 is the last pre-2016 title I've tested with and it's another game that favors the GTX 1060 over the RX 570, this time by a 9% margin. That said, I do test this game with HairWorks enabled.
Next up we have Rise of the Tomb Raider and at 1080p the RX 570 is a fraction faster than the 1060 when comparing the average frame rate but a country mile ahead for the minimum. Whereas the 1060 dropped down to 31 fps the Radeon bottomed out at just 41 fps, impressive stuff from the red team given that this is an Nvidia-sponsored title.
At 1080p in Ashes of the Singularity we see 53 fps on average from both GPUs, though the 1060 did manage a slightly better minimum result. Playing at 1440p weighs heavily in favor of the RX 570.