Gtx 1060 3gb or 6gb? I'm confused.

I can't seem to get a definitive answer for this laptop part.

Some say they're the same card with same cores etc, and others say the 6gb has more cores/rops?

Should i worry about it?

Thanks!

 

The GTX 1060 3GB is basically a nerfed GTX 1060 6GB, so it has fewer cuda cores. But the difference in gaming performance is minimal.
You will probably only see the benefit of 6gigs of VRAM in the future. For now, 3GB should be good enough for most games.

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That's disappointing..

Thanks for the reply.

 

The performance is not minimal if you go above 1080p.

However, if you do not do that, 3GB is fine.

 

There are plenty of games that use more than 3GB at 1080P. Some will even block certain settings if you don't have a minimum of 4GB.

 

But would anyone really go above 1080p if they have a GTX 1060? Even 1440p is overkill in most games.

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Not everyone understands how capable or not their laptop is.

I know loads of people who have a 1440p or 4k displays with laptops unable to play at that resolution, even though they insist on it.

I am in no way trying to undermine your comment, I am just providing an important factor to weigh in when considering the 3GB vs 6GB model.

 

This is incorrect- at least in the laptop world. (Well, Asus world)
I tested one of their 3GB cards pretty extensively and found it had the full shaders / card. I haven't seen mention of any other vendors cutting them down, either, though that's not to say it hasn't / won't happen.
I do agree with it being enough for most people- the difference between 3GB and 6GB esp. at 1080p will be pretty minimal. Some fringe games might suffer occasionally, but not the norm.

 

The MSI GP62MVR has the 3GB model as well, it performs slower than all the 6GB MSI models, but the margin is really not that big (most of the time at around 5-8%).

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For modern gaming, I'd recommend a card with 4GB or greater memory. Games like Rise of the Tomb Raider requires that at the minimum for the higher texture settings. I've recorded that game using 6GB+ on an 8GB card.

Charles

 

Digital Foundry did a comprehensive 1060 3GB vs 6GB video. It should answer all questions.

The 1060 3GB absolutely has less shaders than the 6GB model. Literally every single one.

 

Even though I agree with you, you cannot forget that sometimes Vram is used just because it is avaiable. If it's not the game code can compensate for that and use less with similar results. (sometims, dependes on the game)

 

I am utterly befuddled.

I bought a MSI GE627RF laptop with what I thought was a 1060 with 3GB Vram. It probably still is but:



Have I by chance got a 6GB "Card" with a 3GB BIOS ? (My laptop is sold with both versions....)

 

I doubt you could get a 3gb vbios to be flashed onto a 6gb card because they're not the same and it would probably cause the GPU to not boot.

 

Probably not. But my laptop calls BS on the "3GB cards are nerfed" at least in terms of laptop GPU. It would explain how they can sell the same laptop with 'different' VRAM size.

Besides, many many many years ago, I had an ATI radeon 9800 pro, which actually could run a 9800 XT modded bios as the core/chip was the same as used in a later card. Was happy to run at the higher core clocks too. Showing my age here - the 9800 XT was an ATI/AMD card.

 

Desktop 1060 3gb cards are nerfed compared to desktop 6gb cards.

 

Desktop GTX 1060 3GB: 1152 CUDA cores
Desktop GTX 1060 6GB: 1280 CUDA cores

Laptop GTX 1060 3GB & 6GB: 1280 CUDA cores

 

IOW they weren't cheated.

 

Maybe desktop GTX 1070 users should feel cheated that they have fewer CUDA cores than the 1070 notebook. :3

 

the desktop 1070 has:

• a higher default TDP of 151-170W
• a wider base/boost clock range

the notebook 1070 has:

• a lower TDP of 115W
• a narrower base/boost clock range
• 1 extra SMU cluster (128 CUDA cores)

Just modding the TDP of the notebook 1070 to 151-170W will just increase the performance thanks to the extra SMU cluster to above the desktop 1070 from my tests.

 

I know, I was being facetious like you.

 

I wasn't being facetious.

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Well, just because the DT 1060 3GB has one fewer SM than the 1060N 3GB, doesn't mean the DT users were cheated right. 'Cause the DT card still boosts at least 10% higher than either of the 1060N variants, similar to what you mentioned about DT 1070 vs. 1070N.

 

Because the desktop 1060 has a higher TDP over the notebook 1060 and TDP does factor into performance.

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Yup exactly. TDP is everything.