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 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design

2019

Why buy it

✅Less risky long-term buy than Radeon RX 480: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon RX 480 is already legacy-tier future-proofing.
✅Draws 60W instead of 150W, a 90W reduction.
✅More future proof: Turing (2018−2022) on 12nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

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.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 37.3 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $229 MSRP).

Radeon RX 480

2016

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 37.3 vs 0 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 6 GB).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌150% higher power demand at 150W vs 60W.

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design

2019

Radeon RX 480

2016

Why buy it

✅Less risky long-term buy than Radeon RX 480: it remains the more sensible modern option while Radeon RX 480 is already legacy-tier future-proofing.
✅Draws 60W instead of 150W, a 90W reduction.
✅More future proof: Turing (2018−2022) on 12nm with a newer platform for upcoming games.

Why buy it

✅Delivers 100+% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 37.3 vs 0 G3D/$ ($229 MSRP vs Unknown MSRP).
✅33.3% more VRAM for high-resolution textures and newer games (8 GB vs 6 GB).

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.
❌Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0 vs 37.3 G3D/$ (Unknown MSRP vs $229 MSRP).

Trade-offs

❌Poor future-proofing: 2016-era hardware with 8 GB of VRAM is already a legacy-tier option for modern games.
❌150% higher power demand at 150W vs 60W.

Quick Answers

So, is GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design better than Radeon RX 480?

Yes, but this is not really about a huge raw performance gap. The broader synthetic picture is also very close at 8,589 vs 8,546 in G3D Mark. The bigger reason to prefer GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design is the overall package: you are getting a newer generation, no meaningful modern upscaling stack, plus much lower power draw (60W vs 150W).

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

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design is the more future-proof choice for 2026 and beyond. You are getting a newer 2019 generation instead of 2016, the stronger feature stack with no meaningful modern upscaling stack instead of FSR upscaling, and a 12nm process instead of 14nm. That broader feature stack should age better as more games lean on modern upscaling and frame-generation support.

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

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design is the smarter buy by a wide margin. GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design is priced in an unclear MSRP range at an unclear MSRP versus $229 MSRP, and you are getting 0.5% higher G3D Mark. Radeon RX 480 really only makes sense now as a very cheap stopgap or a used-market placeholder.

Is Radeon RX 480 still worth buying for gaming in 2026?

No, not for a fresh gaming build. Radeon RX 480 is 2016 hardware with 8 GB of VRAM, 8,546 in G3D Mark, and FSR upscaling. 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 GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design Benchmark Check

Radeon RX 480 Benchmark Check

Path of Exile 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	80 FPS	134 FPS
medium	69 FPS	113 FPS
high	59 FPS	97 FPS
ultra	39 FPS	58 FPS
1440p
low	70 FPS	114 FPS
medium	62 FPS	96 FPS
high	46 FPS	72 FPS
ultra	30 FPS	42 FPS
4K
low	26 FPS	39 FPS
medium	25 FPS	36 FPS
high	17 FPS	23 FPS
ultra	14 FPS	19 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design Open Radeon RX 480

Path of Exile 2

Path of Exile 2

Counter-Strike 2

Preset	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	219 FPS	156 FPS
medium	192 FPS	135 FPS
high	145 FPS	115 FPS
ultra	117 FPS	89 FPS
1440p
low	166 FPS	91 FPS
medium	141 FPS	71 FPS
high	112 FPS	56 FPS
ultra	89 FPS	44 FPS
4K
low	98 FPS	37 FPS
medium	82 FPS	29 FPS
high	66 FPS	23 FPS
ultra	51 FPS	18 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design Open Radeon RX 480

Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

League of Legends

Preset	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	387 FPS	385 FPS
medium	309 FPS	308 FPS
high	258 FPS	256 FPS
ultra	193 FPS	192 FPS
1440p
low	290 FPS	288 FPS
medium	232 FPS	231 FPS
high	193 FPS	192 FPS
ultra	145 FPS	144 FPS
4K
low	193 FPS	192 FPS
medium	155 FPS	154 FPS
high	129 FPS	128 FPS
ultra	97 FPS	96 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design Open Radeon RX 480

League of Legends

League of Legends

Valorant

Preset	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 480
1080p
low	235 FPS	290 FPS
medium	197 FPS	252 FPS
high	160 FPS	210 FPS
ultra	135 FPS	166 FPS
1440p
low	178 FPS	213 FPS
medium	153 FPS	190 FPS
high	120 FPS	153 FPS
ultra	97 FPS	118 FPS
4K
low	96 FPS	120 FPS
medium	76 FPS	98 FPS
high	60 FPS	80 FPS
ultra	45 FPS	62 FPS

Open GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design Open Radeon RX 480

Valorant

Valorant

Check FPS for your specific build

Technical Specifications

Side-by-side comparison of GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design and Radeon RX 480

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in April 23 2019. It features the Turing architecture. The core clock ranges from 1140 MHz to 1335 MHz. It has 1536 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 60W. Manufactured using 12 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,589 points. Launch price was $229.

Radeon RX 480

The Radeon RX 480 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in June 29 2016. It features the GCN 4.0 architecture. The core clock ranges from 1120 MHz to 1266 MHz. It has 2304 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 14 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 8,546 points. Launch price was $229.

⚡

Graphics Performance

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design scores 8,589 and the Radeon RX 480 reaches 8,546 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 0.5% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design is built on Turing while the Radeon RX 480 uses GCN 4.0, both on 12 nm vs 14 nm. Shader units: 1,536 (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs 2,304 (Radeon RX 480). Raw compute: 4.101 TFLOPS (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs 5.834 TFLOPS (Radeon RX 480). Boost clocks: 1335 MHz vs 1266 MHz.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 480
G3D Mark Score	8,589	8,546
Architecture	Turing	GCN 4.0
Process Node	12 nm	14 nm
Shading Units	1536	2304+50%
Compute (TFLOPS)	4.101 TFLOPS	5.834 TFLOPS+42%
Boost Clock	1335 MHz+5%	1266 MHz
ROPs	48+50%	32
TMUs	96	144+50%
L1 Cache	1.5 MB+168%	0.56 MB
L2 Cache	1.5 MB	2 MB+33%

✨

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design gives access to NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling), widely regarding as the superior upscaling method for image quality. The Radeon RX 480 relies on FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution), which is capable but generally slightly noisier than DLSS in motion.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 480
Upscaling Tech	Upscaling support	FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation	Not Supported	Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction	No	No
Low Latency	NVIDIA Reflex	AMD Anti-Lag

💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design comes with 6 GB of VRAM, while the Radeon RX 480 has 8 GB. The Radeon RX 480 offers 33.3% more capacity, crucial for higher resolutions and texture-heavy games. Memory bandwidth: 288 GB/s (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs 256 GB/s (Radeon RX 480) — a 12.5% advantage for the GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design. Bus width: 192-bit vs 256-bit. L2 Cache: 1.5 MB (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs 2 MB (Radeon RX 480) — the Radeon RX 480 has significantly larger on-die cache to reduce VRAM reliance.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 480
VRAM Capacity	6 GB	8 GB+33%
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth	288 GB/s+13%	256 GB/s
Bus Width	192-bit	256-bit+33%
L2 Cache	1.5 MB	2 MB+33%

🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 12 (12_1) (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs 12.0 (Radeon RX 480). Vulkan: 1.4 vs 1.3. OpenGL: 4.6 vs 4.6. Maximum simultaneous displays: 4 vs 4.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 480
DirectX	12 (12_1)	12.0
Vulkan	1.4+8%	1.3
OpenGL	4.6	4.6
Max Displays	4	4

🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: 7th Gen NVENC (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs VCE 3.4 (Radeon RX 480). Decoder: 4th Gen NVDEC vs UVD 6.3. Supported codecs: H.264,H.265/HEVC,VP8,VP9,MPEG-2,VC-1 (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC (Radeon RX 480).

Feature	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 480
Encoder	7th Gen NVENC	VCE 3.4
Decoder	4th Gen NVDEC	UVD 6.3
Codecs	H.264,H.265/HEVC,VP8,VP9,MPEG-2,VC-1	MPEG-2,H.264,HEVC

🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design draws 60W versus the Radeon RX 480's 150W — a 85.7% difference. The GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 500W (GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design) vs 500W (Radeon RX 480). Power connectors: PCIe-powered vs 8-pin. Typical load temperature: 85°C vs 85°C.

Feature	GeForce GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q Design	Radeon RX 480
TDP	60W-60%	150W
Recommended PSU	500W	500W
Power Connector	PCIe-powered	8-pin
Length	—	240mm
Height	—	95mm
Slots	0-100%	2
Temp (Load)	85°C	85°C
Perf/Watt	143.2+151%	57.0