Which is better for a laptop, a gtx 1060 or a desktop? There are many factors to consider when deciding on the best option. The first major difference between the two is that laptops offer mobility and convenience. A laptop can be taken anywhere with you as it’s smaller and lighter than a desktop computer. On the other hand, desktops provide more space for upgrading components such as graphics cards and RAM. Another consideration is power consumption; laptops use less electricity than desktops which may make them more appealing if your goal is to save money on your electric bill or need something less intrusive in terms of noise level like if you’re working from home.
GTX 1060 laptop
A GTX1060 laptop is simply a laptop that has been fitted with a GTX1060 mobile graphics card. This card will allow you to play many games at high settings, making it a great choice for graphic designers and gamers on the go. It should be noted that some games may require you to reduce some graphics settings in order to get the best performance.
The GTX 1060 mobile version is considered to be equivalent or better than the desktop version in many cases, meaning that it should cause nothing but good gaming experiences.
Up until now, the mobile GPUs have featured reduced memory bandwidth, fewer CUDA cores and lower performance compared to their desktop counterparts. The transition of Nvidia’s Pascal technology to mobile has however changed the trend. The new Pascal GPUs for notebooks include the GeForce GTX 1080, GTX 1070 and GTX 1060 and yes, they carry no M suffix this time. That’s because they are effectively on par with the desktop versions, and that is what we call a game changer.
The GTX 1080 and GTX 1060 have CUDA core counts and memory bandwidth exactly the same as their desktop versions. Curiosly, the GTX 1070 actually gets more CUDA cores than its desktop equivalent but its boost clocks are lower so it sort of balances out.
GTX 1060 Mobile Fares Against Overclocked Desktop
The notebook I’m using for the test is the MSI GE62VR Apache Pro which boasts a full GeForce GTX 1060 inside. As we already know, the GTX 1060 is actually the least capable Pascal card Nvidia has released so far. By extension, it’s also the cheapest and it draws least power. That means it can fit into a chassis as small as the Razer Blade 14.
Unlike the other two high-end Pascal cards, the GTX 1060 is not based on the GP104 but a smaller GP106 graphics core. The 6GB memory is connected via a 192-bit bus and is clocked at 8GHz effective, delivering a total of 192GB/s bandwidth. The GPU is built using TSMC’s 16nm FinFET process and provides several new features, including support for DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0b, and improved H.265 video Decoding and Encoding (PlayReady 3.0).
Well, before we jump to the benchmarks, I want to mention that all the benchmarks are comparing 1080p gaming performance as that’s what most mobile and desktop 1060 GPUs will be shipping with as a display resolution. They can barely handle 4K gaming so that’s not entirely relevant. Also, all games are benchmarked at max detail settings.
Overclocking
Overclocking is entirely possible with the GTX 1060 however, the main thing that will likely limit you here is the cooling capabilities of the notebook. In a couple of overclocking errands, I was able to get the core clock up 100MHz extra. But the GE62VR with its thinner size isn’t really meant to dissipate a whole more heat.
Still, the results are significant showing that Nvidia isn’t trying to fluff around with the way they have implemented these mobile GPUs. The mobile GTX 1060 is going to be perfect for anyone who wants to max out their games at 1080p. It also means that MSI putting 120Hz panels on some other GTX 1060 specced notebooks is perfectly reasonable with most games being able to hit 120fps with a couple of settings dropped here and there, which is superb for competitive gaming.
