GTX 1660 Mobile vs R9 280X
Head-to-head specifications
| Metric | GTX 1660 Mobile | R9 280X | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DMark Time Spy | 1,494 | 1,434 | +4.2% |
| Avg FPS @ 1080p | 29 | 29 | — |
| Avg FPS @ 1440p | 16 | 16 | — |
| Avg FPS @ 4K | 8 | 8 | — |
| FP32 compute (TFLOPS) | 4.3 | 4.1 | +4.1% |
| VRAM | 6 GB GDDR5 | 3 GB GDDR5 | — |
| Memory bandwidth (GB/s) | 168 | 336 | -50.0% |
| TDP (W) | 72 | 250 | — |
- GTX 1660 Mobile averages 16 fps at 1440p versus 16 fps — about 0% faster.
- GTX 1660 Mobile draws less power (72W vs 250W).
Verdict: GTX 1660 Mobile or R9 280X?
GTX 1660 Mobile advantages
- Synthetic benchmark performance (+4%)
- Video memory (+50%)
- Power efficiency (+71%)
R9 280X advantages
- Memory bandwidth (+50%)
Which should you choose?
- Choose the GTX 1660 Mobile if you want the higher benchmark performance overall.
- Choose the R9 280X if you work with high-resolution textures or memory-bound workloads.
- Choose the GTX 1660 Mobile if you play the latest titles at high textures or do GPU-accelerated work.
GTX 1660 Mobile vs R9 280X: which should you choose?
GTX 1660 Mobile — NVIDIA laptop graphics card (2019, Turing) with 6 GB of GDDR5, averaging 16 fps at 1440p.
R9 280X — AMD desktop graphics card (2013, GCN 1.0) with 3 GB of GDDR5, averaging 16 fps at 1440p; launched at $299.
GTX 1660 Mobile vs R9 280X: GTX 1660 Mobile is faster for gaming. GTX 1660 Mobile averages 16 fps at 1440p versus 16 fps — about 0% faster. GTX 1660 Mobile draws less power (72W vs 250W).
1080p, 1440p and 4K
At 1440p — the most common enthusiast resolution — the GTX 1660 Mobile averages 16 fps against 16. At 4K (8 vs 8 fps) VRAM (6GB vs 3GB) and memory bandwidth matter more.
Power and value
Board power is 72 W versus 250 W, which affects PSU headroom, case cooling and noise.
The verdict
Both are credible choices in the graphics card comparison space; the specification table above lays out every metric so you can weigh the trade-offs that matter to you. Pick the one whose strengths line up with how you will actually use it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the GTX 1660 Mobile better than the R9 280X?
GTX 1660 Mobile is the clearly stronger overall choice, winning most of the dimensions that matter. GTX 1660 Mobile averages 16 fps at 1440p versus 16 fps — about 0% faster.
What is the main difference between the GTX 1660 Mobile and the R9 280X?
GTX 1660 Mobile averages 16 fps at 1440p versus 16 fps — about 0% faster. GTX 1660 Mobile draws less power (72W vs 250W).
Which should I choose?
Choose the GTX 1660 Mobile if you want the higher benchmark performance overall. Choose the R9 280X if you work with high-resolution textures or memory-bound workloads.
Methodology
Graphics cards are compared on 3DMark Time Spy scores, average gaming frame rates at 1080p/1440p/4K, FP32 compute throughput, VRAM capacity and type, memory bandwidth, board power (TDP) and launch MSRP — plus AI workload throughput (Stable Diffusion iterations/s and local LLM tokens/s) where measured. Vintage and server GPUs without modern benchmark results are compared on specifications only, clearly labelled. Frame rates are averages across a game suite at high settings; specific titles vary.