G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

Head-to-Head Verdict, Benchmarks, Value & Long-Term Outlook

This comparison brings together gaming FPS, raw graphics performance, VRAM, feature set, power efficiency, pricing context, and long-term value so you can see which GPU actually makes more sense.

GeForce GT 640

2012

Why buy it

✅Costs $150 less on MSRP ($99 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 180W, a 115W reduction.
✅Measures 145mm instead of 173mm, a 28mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 1060 across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2012-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 11.8 vs 40.4 G3D/$ ($99 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).

GeForce GTX 1060

2016

Why buy it

✅1013.6% more average FPS across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 242.3% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 40.4 vs 11.8 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $99 MSRP).
✅50% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (6 GB vs 4 GB).
✅Less risky long-term buy than GeForce GT 640: it remains the more sensible modern option while GeForce GT 640 is already obsolete for modern gaming.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌176.9% higher power demand at 180W vs 65W.
❌19.3% longer card at 173mm vs 145mm.

GeForce GT 640

2012

GeForce GTX 1060

2016

Why buy it

✅Costs $150 less on MSRP ($99 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).
✅Draws 65W instead of 180W, a 115W reduction.
✅Measures 145mm instead of 173mm, a 28mm shorter card that is more SFF-friendly.

Why buy it

✅1013.6% more average FPS across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data.
✅Delivers 242.3% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 40.4 vs 11.8 G3D/$ ($249 MSRP vs $99 MSRP).
✅50% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (6 GB vs 4 GB).
✅Less risky long-term buy than GeForce GT 640: it remains the more sensible modern option while GeForce GT 640 is already obsolete for modern gaming.

Trade-offs

❌Lower average FPS than GeForce GTX 1060 across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data.
❌Less VRAM, with 4 GB vs 6 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Very weak future-proofing: 2012-era hardware with 4 GB of VRAM is already obsolete for modern gaming and is hard to recommend today.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 11.8 vs 40.4 G3D/$ ($99 MSRP vs $249 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 6 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌176.9% higher power demand at 180W vs 65W.
❌19.3% longer card at 173mm vs 145mm.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 1060 better than GeForce GT 640?

Yes. GeForce GTX 1060 is clearly the better overall GPU here. GeForce GTX 1060 averages 1013.6% more FPS across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data. You are also looking at 10,064 vs 1,169 in G3D Mark. On top of that, GeForce GTX 1060 is a 2016 card with no meaningful modern upscaling stack, while GeForce GT 640 is a 2012 model from an older generation with no meaningful modern upscaling stack. So this is not really a tight same-tier comparison. It is more a modern card against an older, weaker alternative.

Which one is more future-proof for 2026 and beyond?

GeForce GTX 1060 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2016 generation instead of 2012, 760.9% more raw performance headroom, more VRAM at 6 GB instead of 4 GB, and a 16nm process instead of 28nm. That leaves it with more room for heavier textures, tougher ray tracing loads, and higher-end 1440p or 4K gaming over the next few years.

Which one is the smarter buy today, not just the cheaper card?

GeForce GTX 1060 is the smarter buy by a wide margin. GeForce GTX 1060 is about 151.5% more expensive on MSRP at $249 MSRP versus $99 MSRP, and you are getting 1013.6% more estimated average FPS across 49 tracked games in our benchmark data and 760.9% higher G3D Mark. GeForce GT 640 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

Is GeForce GT 640 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

No, not for a fresh gaming build. GeForce GT 640 is 2012 hardware with 4 GB of VRAM, 1,169 in G3D Mark, and no meaningful modern upscaling stack. That is simply too far behind to be an easy modern recommendation.

Games Benchmarks

Real-world benchmarks and performance projections based on comprehensive hardware analysis and comparative metrics. Values represent expected performance on High/Ultra settings at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. Modeled using a Ryzen 7 9800X3D reference profile to minimize specific CPU bottlenecks.

Note: Performance behavior can vary per game. Specific architectures may perform better or worse depending on game engine optimizations and API implementation.

GeForce GT 640 Benchmark Check

GeForce GTX 1060 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GT 640	GeForce GTX 1060
1080p
low	13 FPS	117 FPS
medium	9 FPS	105 FPS
high	5 FPS	91 FPS
ultra	3 FPS	77 FPS
1440p
low	9 FPS	103 FPS
medium	5 FPS	87 FPS
high	2 FPS	76 FPS
ultra	1 FPS	67 FPS
4K
low	4 FPS	55 FPS
medium	2 FPS	49 FPS
high	1 FPS	41 FPS
ultra	1 FPS	37 FPS

Open GeForce GT 640 Open GeForce GTX 1060

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GT 640	GeForce GTX 1060
1080p
low	34 FPS	216 FPS
medium	15 FPS	181 FPS
high	11 FPS	148 FPS
ultra	7 FPS	113 FPS
1440p
low	11 FPS	134 FPS
medium	5 FPS	107 FPS
high	4 FPS	87 FPS
ultra	3 FPS	68 FPS
4K
low	4 FPS	62 FPS
medium	2 FPS	51 FPS
high	1 FPS	49 FPS
ultra	1 FPS	41 FPS

Open GeForce GT 640 Open GeForce GTX 1060

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GT 640	GeForce GTX 1060
1080p
low	53 FPS	453 FPS
medium	42 FPS	362 FPS
high	35 FPS	302 FPS
ultra	26 FPS	226 FPS
1440p
low	39 FPS	340 FPS
medium	32 FPS	272 FPS
high	26 FPS	226 FPS
ultra	20 FPS	170 FPS
4K
low	26 FPS	226 FPS
medium	21 FPS	181 FPS
high	18 FPS	151 FPS
ultra	13 FPS	113 FPS

Open GeForce GT 640 Open GeForce GTX 1060

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GT 640	GeForce GTX 1060
1080p
low	53 FPS	358 FPS
medium	42 FPS	302 FPS
high	26 FPS	260 FPS
ultra	16 FPS	226 FPS
1440p
low	6 FPS	299 FPS
medium	4 FPS	254 FPS
high	3 FPS	208 FPS
ultra	2 FPS	170 FPS
4K
low	4 FPS	170 FPS
medium	2 FPS	133 FPS
high	2 FPS	123 FPS
ultra	1 FPS	102 FPS

Open GeForce GT 640 Open GeForce GTX 1060

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GT 640 and GeForce GTX 1060

GeForce GT 640

The GeForce GT 640 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 5 2012. It features the Kepler architecture. The core clock speed is 902 MHz. It has 384 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 65W. Manufactured using 28 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 1,169 points. Launch price was $99.

GeForce GTX 1060

The GeForce GTX 1060 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in May 27 2016. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1607 MHz to 1733 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 180W. Manufactured using 16 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 10,064 points. Launch price was $599.

⚡

Graphics Performance

In G3D Mark, the GeForce GT 640 scores 1,169 versus the GeForce GTX 1060's 10,064 — the GeForce GTX 1060 leads by 760.9%. The GeForce GT 640 is built on Kepler while the GeForce GTX 1060 uses Pascal, both on 28 nm vs 16 nm. Shader units: 384 (GeForce GT 640) vs 2,560 (GeForce GTX 1060). Raw compute: 0.6927 TFLOPS (GeForce GT 640) vs 8.873 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1060).

Feature	GeForce GT 640	GeForce GTX 1060
G3D Mark Score	1,169	10,064+761%
Architecture	Kepler	Pascal
Process Node	28 nm	16 nm
Shading Units	384	2560+567%
Compute (TFLOPS)	0.6927 TFLOPS	8.873 TFLOPS+1181%
ROPs	16	64+300%
TMUs	32	160+400%
L1 Cache	32 KB	960 KB+2900%
L2 Cache	0.25 MB	2 MB+700%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	GeForce GT 640	GeForce GTX 1060
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	Upscaling support
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	NVIDIA Reflex

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce GT 640 comes with 4 GB of VRAM, while the GeForce GTX 1060 has 6 GB. The GeForce GTX 1060 offers 50% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Bus width: 128-bit vs 192-bit. L2 Cache: 0.25 MB (GeForce GT 640) vs 2 MB (GeForce GTX 1060) — the GeForce GTX 1060 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GT 640	GeForce GTX 1060
VRAM Capacity	4 GB	6 GB+50%
Memory Type	GDDR5	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	Unknown	192 GB/s
Bus Width	128-bit	192-bit+50%
L2 Cache	0.25 MB	2 MB+700%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.0 (GeForce GT 640) vs 12 (GeForce GTX 1060). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.5. Maximum simultaneous displays: 3 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GT 640	GeForce GTX 1060
DirectX	11.0	12+9%
Vulkan	1.1	1.3+18%
OpenGL	4.5	4.5
Max Displays	3	4+33%

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 1.0 (GeForce GT 640) vs NVENC (Pascal) (GeForce GTX 1060). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP5 vs NVDEC (Pascal). Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP (GeForce GT 640) vs H.264,H.265/HEVC (GeForce GTX 1060).

Feature	GeForce GT 640	GeForce GTX 1060
Encoder	NVENC 1.0	NVENC (Pascal)
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP5	NVDEC (Pascal)
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,VC-1,MPEG-4 ASP	H.264,H.265/HEVC

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GT 640 draws 65W versus the GeForce GTX 1060's 180W — a 93.9% difference. The GeForce GT 640 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 300W (GeForce GT 640) vs 400W (GeForce GTX 1060). Power connectors: None vs 6-pin. Card length: 145mm vs 173mm, occupying 1 vs 2 slots.

Feature	GeForce GT 640	GeForce GTX 1060
TDP	65W-64%	180W
Recommended PSU	300W-25%	400W
Power Connector	None	6-pin
Length	145mm	173mm
Height	111mm	111mm
Slots	1-50%	2
Temp (Load)	60°C	—
Perf/Watt	18.0	55.9+211%

💰

Value Analysis

The GeForce GT 640 launched at $99 MSRP, while the GeForce GTX 1060 launched at $249. The GeForce GT 640 costs 60.2% less ($150 savings) on MSRP. Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 11.8 (GeForce GT 640) vs 40.4 (GeForce GTX 1060) — the GeForce GTX 1060 offers 242.4% better value. The GeForce GTX 1060 is the newer GPU (2016 vs 2012).