• The ASUS Strix is one of the most powerful custom GTX 1060 cards

The ASUS Strix is one of the most powerful custom GTX 1060 cards (Photo : YouTube / TechteamGB)

NVIDIA has recently launched the Pascal GTX 1060 3GB model instead of the GTX 1050 to take on the Radeon RX 480 from AMD's Polaris GPU.

AMD is dominating the mainstream market with their mid and low-end video cards because they can perform as well as the more expensive cards even with a cheaper price tag. NVIDIA's answer to that is the GTX 1060 but the 6GB model was still expensive at $249.

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Enter the GTX 1060 3GB model which costs $200 for the entry price. Everyone else expected it to be a GTX 1050 because the specs are downgraded from the original 1060 6GB model.

NVIDIA's GTX 1060 3GB model only has 1152 CUDA cores compared to the 6GB model's 1280 count, ExtremeTech has learned. A video card with a lower memory buffer usually still has the same specs all throughout its larger predecessor which is not the case with the GTX 1060.

Rumors of a GTX 1050 popped up after the GTX 1060 6GB model was released since it was still several dollars off of the range for the AMD Radeon RX 480. Now, people are speculating that the lower-spec GTX 1050 will be targeted towards the Radeon RX 470 which costs around $150.

NVIDIA claims that the GTX 1060 6GB model is just 5 percent faster than its 3GB counterpart, Motley Fool reported. It could be around several frames which should be barely noticeable for the average gamer but not to the sensitive enthusiast.

Several reviews even reported that there are issues when the GTX 1060 3GB model runs games more than 1440p thanks to the glitchy launch driver that NVIDIA shipped the card with. One review from Guru3D showed that the Pascal video card performed almost as well as the Radeon RX 480 8GB model in Rise of the Tomb Raider 1440p with 46 frames per second compared to 48 fps, respectively.

Interested buyers can now purchase the GTX 1060 3GB model for around $200 in most retailers. It could be the better choice for those who want to stay in Team Green while still being able to closely beat the AMD Radeon RX 480.