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 GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design

2017

Why buy it

✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 6 GB).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2017-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 53.1 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $219 MSRP).
❌25% higher power demand at 150W vs 120W.

GeForce GTX 1660

2019

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 53.1 vs 0 G3D/$ ($219 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Less risky long-term buy than GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design: it remains the more sensible modern option while GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design is already legacy-tier future-proofing.
✅Draws 120W instead of 150W, a 30W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 6 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Limited future-proofing: older hardware, 6 GB of VRAM, and weaker feature support mean it will age faster in upcoming AAA games.

GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design

2017

GeForce GTX 1660

2019

Why buy it

✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 6 GB).

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 53.1 vs 0 G3D/$ ($219 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅Less risky long-term buy than GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design: it remains the more sensible modern option while GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design is already legacy-tier future-proofing.
✅Draws 120W instead of 150W, a 30W reduction.

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2017-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 53.1 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $219 MSRP).
❌25% higher power demand at 150W vs 120W.

Trade-offs

❌Less VRAM, with 6 GB vs 8 GB for high-resolution textures and newer games.
❌Limited future-proofing: older hardware, 6 GB of VRAM, and weaker feature support mean it will age faster in upcoming AAA games.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 1660 better than GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 11,566 vs 11,639 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer GeForce GTX 1660 is the overall package: you are getting a newer generation, no meaningful modern upscaling stack, plus much lower power draw (120W vs 150W).

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

GeForce GTX 1660 is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2019 generation instead of 2017 and a 12nm process instead of 16nm. That makes it the safer long-run choice for modern games.

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

GeForce GTX 1660 can still make sense if you find it at the right price, especially around $219 MSRP. GeForce GTX 1660 is still the smarter buy for most people, though, because the raw performance is close while the overall package is cleaner. GeForce GTX 1660 is priced in an unclear MSRP range at $219 MSRP versus an unclear MSRP, and you are getting 0.6% higher G3D Mark. Moving to $219 MSRP gets you newer hardware, lower power draw (120W vs 150W), and no meaningful modern upscaling stack.

Is GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

Yes. GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design is still a strong gaming card in 2026: it is still comfortable for 1080p and decent for 1440p, though 4K is more situational. Price is really the swing factor here. If you find it at or below an unclear MSRP, it remains a very sensible buy. GeForce GTX 1660 is still the safer recommendation for most fresh builds because it offers a cleaner overall package with newer hardware and no meaningful modern upscaling stack.

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 GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design Benchmark Check

GeForce GTX 1660 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design	GeForce GTX 1660
1080p
low	182 FPS	125 FPS
medium	166 FPS	112 FPS
high	141 FPS	96 FPS
ultra	108 FPS	72 FPS
1440p
low	155 FPS	115 FPS
medium	128 FPS	98 FPS
high	106 FPS	83 FPS
ultra	83 FPS	62 FPS
4K
low	75 FPS	51 FPS
medium	63 FPS	47 FPS
high	47 FPS	35 FPS
ultra	41 FPS	31 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design Open GeForce GTX 1660

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design	GeForce GTX 1660
1080p
low	252 FPS	206 FPS
medium	213 FPS	174 FPS
high	165 FPS	143 FPS
ultra	135 FPS	102 FPS
1440p
low	174 FPS	132 FPS
medium	144 FPS	105 FPS
high	117 FPS	85 FPS
ultra	94 FPS	64 FPS
4K
low	98 FPS	61 FPS
medium	80 FPS	49 FPS
high	67 FPS	47 FPS
ultra	52 FPS	38 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design Open GeForce GTX 1660

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design	GeForce GTX 1660
1080p
low	520 FPS	524 FPS
medium	416 FPS	419 FPS
high	347 FPS	349 FPS
ultra	260 FPS	262 FPS
1440p
low	390 FPS	393 FPS
medium	312 FPS	314 FPS
high	260 FPS	262 FPS
ultra	195 FPS	196 FPS
4K
low	260 FPS	262 FPS
medium	208 FPS	210 FPS
high	173 FPS	175 FPS
ultra	130 FPS	131 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design Open GeForce GTX 1660

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design	GeForce GTX 1660
1080p
low	368 FPS	394 FPS
medium	320 FPS	328 FPS
high	270 FPS	271 FPS
ultra	211 FPS	233 FPS
1440p
low	290 FPS	314 FPS
medium	251 FPS	261 FPS
high	198 FPS	205 FPS
ultra	148 FPS	166 FPS
4K
low	157 FPS	159 FPS
medium	122 FPS	122 FPS
high	110 FPS	110 FPS
ultra	88 FPS	88 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design Open GeForce GTX 1660

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design and GeForce GTX 1660

GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design

The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in June 27 2017. It features the Pascal architecture. The core clock ranges from 1290 MHz to 1468 MHz. It has 2560 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 16 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 11,566 points.

GeForce GTX 1660

The GeForce GTX 1660 is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in March 14 2019. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 1530 MHz to 1785 MHz. It has 1408 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 120W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 11,639 points. Launch price was $219.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design scores 11,566 and the GeForce GTX 1660 reaches 11,639 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.6% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design is built on Pascal while the GeForce GTX 1660 uses Turing, both on 16 nm vs 12 nm. Shader units: 2,560 (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 1,408 (GeForce GTX 1660). Raw compute: 7.516 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 5.027 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1660). Boost clocks: 1468 MHz vs 1785 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design	GeForce GTX 1660
G3D Mark Score	11,566	11,639
Architecture	Pascal	Turing
Process Node	16 nm	12 nm
Shading Units	2560+82%	1408
Compute (TFLOPS)	7.516 TFLOPS+50%	5.027 TFLOPS
Boost Clock	1468 MHz	1785 MHz+22%
ROPs	64+33%	48
TMUs	160+82%	88
L1 Cache	0.94 MB	1.4 MB+49%
L2 Cache	2 MB+33%	1.5 MB

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

Feature	GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design	GeForce GTX 1660
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 GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design comes with 8 GB of VRAM, while the GeForce GTX 1660 has 6 GB. The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design offers 33.3% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 256 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 192 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1660) — a 33.3% advantage for the GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design. Bus width: 256-bit vs 192-bit. L2 Cache: 2 MB (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 1.5 MB (GeForce GTX 1660) — the GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design	GeForce GTX 1660
VRAM Capacity	8 GB+33%	6 GB
Memory Type	GDDR5X	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	256 GB/s+33%	192 GB/s
Bus Width	256-bit+33%	192-bit
L2 Cache	2 MB+33%	1.5 MB

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12.1 (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 12.1 (GeForce GTX 1660). Vulkan: 1.1 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.5 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design	GeForce GTX 1660
DirectX	12.1	12.1
Vulkan	1.1	1.3+18%
OpenGL	4.5	4.6+2%
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: NVENC 4.0 (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 7th Gen NVENC (GeForce GTX 1660). Decoder: PureVideo HD VP6 vs 5th Gen NVDEC. Supported codecs: MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9 (GeForce GTX 1660).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design	GeForce GTX 1660
Encoder	NVENC 4.0	7th Gen NVENC
Decoder	PureVideo HD VP6	5th Gen NVDEC
Codecs	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC,VP9

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design draws 150W versus the GeForce GTX 1660's 120W — a 22.2% difference. The GeForce GTX 1660 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design) vs 450W (GeForce GTX 1660). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 8-pin. Card length: 0mm vs 229mm, occupying 0 vs 2 slots. Typical load temperature: 80°C vs 75°C.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1080 with Max-Q Design	GeForce GTX 1660
TDP	150W	120W-20%
Recommended PSU	500W	450W-10%
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	8-pin
Length	0mm	229mm
Height	0mm	111mm
Slots	0-100%	2
Temp (Load)	80°C	75°C-6%
Perf/Watt	77.1	97.0+26%