What does the 1060 or 480 in GPUs mean?

[_blue_]

I am looking to buy a PC but I am having trouble picking a GPU. I know that 3gb or 6gb or even 8gb stands for VRAM but what does the 1060 and 480 mean, I know you are probably shaking your head right now but it is my first time building a CUSTOM PC. So please help if you can.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

They are the current series of GPU'S for Nvidia and AMD , 1000 series for Nvidia and 400 series for AMD.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_10_series
Nvidia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_Radeon_400_series
AMD

 

[Sarofendor]

They are the name of the specific version of the GPU they use, so all 1060's have the same GPU with the same performance no matter whether it is an EVGA, Asus or even Founders edition. What they change is the layout of the PCB and things like power delivery and, most importantly, cooling.

 

[elbert]

Those are latest gen video cards from Nvidia and AMD. The 6 in 1060 used to determine different levels of performance within the Nvidia line. The 1060 being a mid level card faster than the 1050's but slower than the 1070 and 1080's. Same goes for the 480 were the 8 determines difference in performance of the latest AMD line. The 480 is the fastest current gen GPU from AMD but only is about same performance as the 1060. AMD does have faster cards such as the 390X and the Fury models but they are last gen as the 300 represents.