General performance parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. These parameters indirectly speak of performance, but for precise assessment you have to consider their benchmark and gaming test results. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
Pipelines / CUDA cores6401280CUDA cores640no dataCore clock speed914 MHz1063 - 1265 MHzBoost clock speed1124 MHz1341 - 1480 MHzNumber of transistors1,870 million4,400 millionManufacturing process technology28 nm16 nmPower consumption [TDP]75 Watt60 - 70 WattTexture fill rate44.96118.4Floating-point performance1,439 gflops3,789 gflops
Size and compatibility
Information on GeForce GTX 950M and GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For notebook video cards it's notebook size, connection slot and bus, if the video card is inserted into a slot instead of being soldered to the notebook motherboard.
Laptop sizemedium sizedlargeBus supportPCI Express 3.0no dataInterfacePCIe 3.0 x8PCIe 3.0 x16Supplementary power connectorsno dataNoneSLI options+no data
Memory
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
Memory typeDDR3 or GDDR5GDDR5Maximum RAM amount4 GB6.144 MBMemory bus width128 Bit192 BitMemory clock speed1000 or 2500 MHz8000 MHzMemory bandwidth32 or 80 GB/s192.2 GB/sShared memory--
Video outputs and ports
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones [so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips]. OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
Display ConnectorsNo outputsNo outputsVGA аnalog display support+no dataDisplayPort Multimode [DP++] support+no dataHDMI+no dataG-SYNC supportno data+
Technologies
Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.
GameStream+no dataGeForce ShadowPlay+no dataGPU Boost2.0no dataGameWorks+no dataH.264, VC1, MPEG2 1080p video decoder+no dataOptimus+no dataBatteryBoost+no dataVR Readyno data+Ansel+no data
API support
List of supported graphics and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
DirectX12 [11_0]12.0Shader Model5.15.0OpenGL4.54.5OpenCL1.21.2Vulkan1.1.126+CUDA+6.1
Synthetic benchmark performance
Non-gaming benchmark performance comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.
GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB
15.19
+128%
1060 Max-Q 6 GB outperforms 950M by 128% in our combined benchmark results.
3DMark 11 Performance GPU
3DMark 11 is an obsolete DirectX 11 benchmark by Futuremark. It used four tests based on two scenes, one being few submarines exploring the submerged wreck of a sunken ship, the other is an abandoned temple deep in the jungle. All the tests are heavy with volumetric lighting and tessellation, and despite being done in 1280x720 resolution, are relatively taxing. Discontinued in January 2020, 3DMark 11 is now superseded by Time Spy.
Benchmark coverage: 17%
GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 13334
+205%
1060 Max-Q 6 GB outperforms 950M by 205% in 3DMark 11 Performance GPU.
3DMark Fire Strike Graphics
Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.
Benchmark coverage: 14%
GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 10430
+226%
1060 Max-Q 6 GB outperforms 950M by 226% in 3DMark Fire Strike Graphics.
3DMark Cloud Gate GPU
Cloud Gate is an outdated DirectX 11 feature level 10 benchmark that was used for home PCs and basic notebooks. It displays a few scenes of some weird space teleportation device launching spaceships into unknown, using fixed resolution of 1280x720. Just like Ice Storm benchmark, it has been discontinued in January 2020 and replaced by 3DMark Night Raid.
Benchmark coverage: 14%
GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 74101
+247%
1060 Max-Q 6 GB outperforms 950M by 247% in 3DMark Cloud Gate GPU.
3DMark Ice Storm GPU
Ice Storm Graphics is an obsolete benchmark, part of 3DMark suite. Ice Storm was used to measure entry level laptops and Windows-based tablets performance. It utilizes DirectX 11 feature level 9 to display a battle between two space fleets near a frozen planet in 1280x720 resolution. Discontinued in January 2020, it is now superseded by 3DMark Night Raid.
Benchmark coverage: 8%
GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB 367999
+85%
1060 Max-Q 6 GB outperforms 950M by 85% in 3DMark Ice Storm GPU.
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Average FPS across all PC games
Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:
Full HD30 82 1440p21 45−50 4K16 28
Performance in popular games
Full HD Low Preset
Cyberpunk 207710−12 24−27
Full HD Medium Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey23
−39.1%
30−35
+39.1%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla7−8
−271%
24−27
+271%
Battlefield 531
−67.7%
50−55
+67.7%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare18−20
−105%
35−40
+105%
Cyberpunk 207710−12
−118%
24−27
+118%
Far Cry 523
−204%
70
+204%
Far Cry New Dawn22
−86.4%
40−45
+86.4%
Forza Horizon 421−24
−126%
50−55
+126%
Hitman 316−18
−163%
40−45
+163%
Horizon Zero Dawn12−14
−146%
30−35
+146%
Red Dead Redemption 212−14
−108%
24−27
+108%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider19
−68.4%
30−35
+68.4%
Watch Dogs: Legion10−11
−190%
27−30
+190%
Full HD High Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey19
−68.4%
30−35
+68.4%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla7−8
−271%
24−27
+271%
Battlefield 526
−100%
50−55
+100%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare18−20
−105%
35−40
+105%
Cyberpunk 207710−12
−118%
24−27
+118%
Far Cry 521
−210%
65
+210%
Far Cry New Dawn20
−105%
40−45
+105%
Forza Horizon 421−24
−126%
50−55
+126%
Hitman 316−18
−163%
40−45
+163%
Horizon Zero Dawn12−14
−146%
30−35
+146%
Metro Exodus5
−380%
24−27
+380%
Red Dead Redemption 212−14
−108%
24−27
+108%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider15
−113%
30−35
+113%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt19
−247%
66
+247%
Watch Dogs: Legion10−11
−190%
27−30
+190%
Full HD Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey11
−191%
30−35
+191%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla7−8
−271%
24−27
+271%
Battlefield 520
−160%
50−55
+160%
Cyberpunk 207710−12
−118%
24−27
+118%
Far Cry 519
−153%
48
+153%
Far Cry New Dawn19
−116%
40−45
+116%
Forza Horizon 421−24
−126%
50−55
+126%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt11
−218%
35
+218%
Watch Dogs: Legion10−11
−190%
27−30
+190%
1440p High Preset
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare10−11
−120%
21−24
+120%
Hitman 310−12
−118%
24−27
+118%
Horizon Zero Dawn12−14
−75%
21−24
+75%
Metro Exodus4−5
−250%
14−16
+250%
Red Dead Redemption 24−5
−175%
10−12
+175%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider9−10
−111%
18−20
+111%
1440p Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey4−5
−300%
16−18
+300%
Battlefield 56−7
−433%
30−35
+433%
Cyberpunk 20773−4
−167%
8−9
+167%
Far Cry 512
−108%
24−27
+108%
Far Cry New Dawn8−9
−250%
27−30
+250%
Forza Horizon 410−11
−180%
27−30
+180%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt5−6
−260%
18−20
+260%
Watch Dogs: Legion2−3
−350%
9−10
+350%
4K High Preset
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare4−5
−175%
10−12
+175%
Hitman 36−7
−133%
14−16
+133%
Horizon Zero Dawn7−8
−57.1%
10−12
+57.1%
Metro Exodus1−2
−700%
8−9
+700%
Red Dead Redemption 23−4
−167%
8−9
+167%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider2−3
−350%
9−10
+350%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt3−4
−700%
24
+700%
4K Ultra Preset
Assassin's Creed Odyssey3−4
−200%
9−10
+200%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla2−3
−250%
7−8
+250%
Battlefield 53−4
−433%
16−18
+433%
Cyberpunk 20770−1 3−4 Far Cry 56
−233%
20
+233%
Far Cry New Dawn8−9
−87.5%
14−16
+87.5%
Forza Horizon 48−9
−138%
18−20
+138%
Watch Dogs: Legion1−2
−500%
6−7
+500%
This is how GTX 950M and GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB compete in popular games:
1080p resolution:
- GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is 173% faster than GTX 950M
1440p resolution:
- GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is 114% faster than GTX 950M
4K resolution:
- GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is 75% faster than GTX 950M
Here's the range of performance differences observed across popular games:
- in Metro Exodus, with 4K resolution and the High Preset, the GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is 700% faster than the GTX 950M.
All in all, in popular games:
- Without exception, GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB surpassed GTX 950M in all 66 of our tests.
Advantages and disadvantages
Performance score 6.66 15.19 Recency 12 March 2015 30 May 2017 Maximum RAM amount 4 GB 6.144 MB Memory bus width 128 192 Pipelines / CUDA cores 640 1280 Memory bandwidth 32 192.2 Chip lithography 28 nm 16 nm Power consumption [TDP] 75 Watt 60 Watt
The GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB is our recommended choice as it beats the GeForce GTX 950M in performance tests.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
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GeForce GTX 950M
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q 6 GB
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User ratings: view and submit
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Questions and comments
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