Which GPU to buy: GTX 1060 or RX 480? (in the UK)

[LeBron85]

Hi lads!

Need some of your help. Can't decide which GPU to get. It's a bloody minefield out there. Would like it to have good cooling out of the box (with VRM cooling included preferrably).

Max budget - ideally not more than £260. Will game on 1080p. Got an i5-4440 CPU and CX600M corsair PSU.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This is my summary of them:

RX480

1.)Appears to have better DX12/Vulkan performance
2.)More memory and memory bandwith
3.)History of AMD midrange cards faring better as time progresses(I had a GTX660 and GTX960 and can attest to that)
4.)FreeSync compatability

GTX1060

1.)Faster in DX11
2.)Better overclocking abilties although YMMV
3.)Less power consumption(might not be a factor unless you play a lot each week)
4.)Cards appear to be more compact currently
5.)Better Linux drivers
6.)Want to use some specific Nvidia features(Shadowplay,etc and I am not sure how good the AMD equivalents are ATM)

On the balance of things,I probably would prefer the RX480 8GB for potential longevity but again another factor is what games you intend to play.

[LeBron85]

This is my summary of them:

RX480

1.)Appears to have better DX12/Vulkan performance
2.)More memory and memory bandwith
3.)History of AMD midrange cards faring better as time progresses(I had a GTX660 and GTX960 and can attest to that)
4.)FreeSync compatability

GTX1060

1.)Faster in DX11
2.)Better overclocking abilties although YMMV
3.)Less power consumption(might not be a factor unless you play a lot each week)
4.)Cards appear to be more compact currently
5.)Better Linux drivers
6.)Want to use some specific Nvidia features(Shadowplay,etc and I am not sure how good the AMD equivalents are ATM)

On the balance of things,I probably would prefer the RX480 8GB for potential longevity but again another factor is what games you intend to play.

Interesting comparison indeed. Games that I would like to play: The Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Battlefield 1, Mass Effect Andromeda, Total War Warhammer, New Projekt Red game (can't remember the name), possibly moded Skyrim (Enderal mod, etc.), No Man's Sky (when it's finally without bugs), some older shooters.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Interesting comparison indeed. Games that I would like to play: The Witcher 3, Fallout 4, Battlefield 1, Mass Effect Andromeda, Total War Warhammer, New Projekt Red game (can't remember the name), possibly moded Skyrim (Enderal mod, etc.), No Man's Sky (when it's finally without bugs), some older shooters.

BF1 and Total War look to be DX12 titles and AMD sponsored and I assume they will be games you will sink a decent amount of hours into?? From what I have seen Total War does better on the RX480.

FO4 runs reasonably well on my GTX960 4GB at 1920X1080,so either the RX480 or GTX1060 will be fine. I know a mate who played it a lot on a R9 290 4GB fine at 1080p so both of them should be OK IMHO.

Skyrim will be fine on both.

Mass Effect:Andromeda is hard to say who will sponsor it but like BF1 and DA:I it uses Frostbite 3 so might possibly be DX12(DA:I supported Mantle as it was released before DX12 was available).

The Witcher 3 tended to do better on Nvidia cards at launch,but looking at the Digital Foundry reviews it was around 10% better on a GTX1060(but they were using a reference RX480).

Bagnaj97 is playing NMS on his RX480 fine,but I have not looked at any comparative reviews.

Cyberpunk 2077 might be out next year or the year after. I expect it might do better on Nvidia cards at launch,but again if AMD manages to sponsor it instead it might swing the other way.

[LeBron85]

BF1 and Total War look to be DX12 titles and AMD sponsored and I assume they will be games you will sink a decent amount of hours into?? From what I have seen Total War does better on the RX480.

FO4 runs reasonably well on my GTX960 4GB at 1920X1080,so either the RX480 or GTX1060 will be fine. I know a mate who played it a lot on a R9 290 4GB fine at 1080p so both of them should be OK IMHO.

Skyrim will be fine on both.

Mass Effect:Andromeda is hard to say who will sponsor it but like BF1 and DA:I it uses Frostbite 3 so might possibly be DX12(DA:I supported Mantle as it was released before DX12 was available).

The Witcher 3 tended to do better on Nvidia cards at launch,but looking at the Digital Foundry reviews it was around 10% better on a GTX1060(but they were using a reference RX480).

Bagnaj97 is playing NMS on his RX480 fine,but I have not looked at any comparative reviews.

Cyberpunk 2077 might be out next year or the year after. I expect it might do better on Nvidia cards at launch,but again if AMD manages to sponsor it instead it might swing the other way.

Thanks for pretty thorough breakdown. Sadly RX 480 8GB in the UK are overpriced imo. That is what putting me off. Plus the go to Sapphire Nitro + card has no VRM cooling and will get hotter than some other cards.

What are your thoughts on pricing in the UK (both RX 480 and GTX 1060)?

[kalniel]

Thanks for pretty thorough breakdown. Sadly RX 480 8GB in the UK are overpriced imo. That is what putting me off. Plus the go to Sapphire Nitro + card has no VRM cooling and will get hotter than some other cards.

What are your thoughts on pricing in the UK (both RX 480 and GTX 1060)?

Personally I don't think the 480 8gb are over priced compared to the 1060 at all. Both are a little pricey right now because they're selling just about all they're making, so no incentive to discount - that'll come later in the year. But otherwise, comparing a high end 480 card vs a high end 1060 the 480 is around £50 cheaper. Reviews of the Nitro don't show it getting hotter than other cards in any way to be worried about, while I think some of the £300 1060s are just complete overkill.

Cat broke down the pros and cons for different games - with your choices it's very close, possibly slightly erring towards the 480. However, with your weak CPU you might benefit from nVidia's more efficient use of CPU in DX11 (note not in DX12!).

So I think it comes down to how long you want to keep the card - if it's a short term solution then the 1060 might be worth a look (ignore the overpriced 'top end' versions). Otherwise with a look more to the future I'd recommend the 480.

[EndlessWaves]

The performance of the two is close enough that you'd struggle to notice the difference of them side by side. When you're only going to get one or another they can be considered identical unless you want the higher numbers for bragging rights.

Heat/power consumption isn't an issue. They're both monsters with twice the power consumption and heat output of your CPU and far more than any other component so neither could be called efficient or responsible. But equally a 600W PSU and any case large enough to take an ATX PSU shouldn't have any trouble dealing with those power and heat levels.

Noise might be an issue. I haven't seen a big roundup yet so I don't know what the best options are on each side, but they all seem fairly reasonable noise-wise.

It basically comes down to what card-specific technologies you're likely to take advantage of and, if that falls in nVidia's favour, whether they justify the extra price.

Although I see that the RX 480 is proving so in demand that the retailers have put the prices up to more or less match the GTX 1060. Now is the worst time of the year to buy from a pricing point of view, if you've already got a half-decent card you might want to wait a few months.

[LeBron85]

Personally I don't think the 480 8gb are over priced compared to the 1060 at all. Both are a little pricey right now because they're selling just about all they're making, so no incentive to discount - that'll come later in the year. But otherwise, comparing a high end 480 card vs a high end 1060 the 480 is around £50 cheaper. Reviews of the Nitro don't show it getting hotter than other cards in any way to be worried about, while I think some of the £300 1060s are just complete overkill.

Cat broke down the pros and cons for different games - with your choices it's very close, possibly slightly erring towards the 480. However, with your weak CPU you might benefit from nVidia's more efficient use of CPU in DX11 (note not in DX12!).

So I think it comes down to how long you want to keep the card - if it's a short term solution then the 1060 might be worth a look (ignore the overpriced 'top end' versions). Otherwise with a look more to the future I'd recommend the 480.

I would like a card for 2-3 years. AMD hasn't got the widest variety of brands available in the UK compared to Nvidia sadly and they're mostly sold out too.

In terms of a good brand, which one would you personally recommend?

[LeBron85]

The performance of the two is close enough that you'd struggle to notice the difference of them side by side. When you're only going to get one or another they can be considered identical unless you want the higher numbers for bragging rights.

Heat/power consumption isn't an issue. They're both monsters with twice the power consumption and heat output of your CPU and far more than any other component so neither could be called efficient or responsible. But equally a 600W PSU and any case large enough to take an ATX PSU shouldn't have any trouble dealing with those power and heat levels.

Noise might be an issue. I haven't seen a big roundup yet so I don't know what the best options are on each side, but they all seem fairly reasonable noise-wise.

It basically comes down to what card-specific technologies you're likely to take advantage of and, if that falls in nVidia's favour, whether they justify the extra price.

Although I see that the RX 480 is proving so in demand that the retailers have put the prices up to more or less match the GTX 1060. Now is the worst time of the year to buy from a pricing point of view, if you've already got a half-decent card you might want to wait a few months.

I would like to buy a card in the next week or so. I have Corsair 200R case so it should fit. Which brand out of GTX 1060 would you recommend?

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would like a card for 2-3 years. AMD hasn't got the widest variety of brands available in the UK compared to Nvidia sadly and they're mostly sold out too.

In terms of a good brand, which one would you personally recommend?

Well,we are located in the UK!!

If you intend to keep your card that long,I would probably err towards the RX480 TBH. Like I said my GTX660 and GTX960 started falling behind the equivalent AMD cards as time progressed(the same with the GTX760 and GTX660TI too). If the GTX1060 was a Volta card,I would be more confident,but Pascal seems more a modified Maxwell. It could be the GTX1060 might be OK,and another consideration is by late next year or early next 2018 we will probably see Volta,and Pascal will be moved to second rung status. Apparently the PS4 Neo uses the same GPU in the RX480 so it might help a bit.

Having said that I have had a look around for you and the only 8GB RX480 cards in stock seem to be the reference ones for around £230ish - it appears the backlogs for the AIB RX480 cards are still being met.

In terms of GTX1060 cards,I would probably have a look at EVGA and Gigabyte. I have a Gigabyte GTX960 which has not been too bad at all. Zotac is also worth a look too.

[LeBron85]

Well,we are located in the UK!!

If you intend to keep your card that long,I would probably err towards the RX480 TBH. Like I said my GTX660 and GTX960 started falling behind the equivalent AMD cards as time progressed(the same with the GTX760 and GTX660TI too). If the GTX1060 was a Volta card,I would be more confident,but Pascal seems more a modified Maxwell. It could be the GTX1060 might be OK,and another consideration is by late next year or early next 2018 we will probably see Volta,and Pascal will be moved to second rung status. Apparently the PS4 Neo uses the same GPU in the RX480 so it might help a bit.

Having said that I have had a look around for you and the only 8GB RX480 cards in stock seem to be the reference ones for around £230ish - it appears the backlogs for the AIB RX480 cards are still being met.

In terms of GTX1060 cards,I would probably have a look at EVGA and Gigabyte. I have a Gigabyte GTX960 which has not been too bad at all. Zotac is also worth a look too.

Thanks, are Palit cards good? I would like a card with a backplate preferrably.

[kalniel]

I would like a card for 2-3 years. AMD hasn't got the widest variety of brands available in the UK compared to Nvidia sadly and they're mostly sold out too.

In terms of a good brand, which one would you personally recommend?

Sapphire (and for 2-3 years, a 480) would be my top recommendation, if you're ignoring our recommendation for AMD then the same parent company makes nVidia cards under the Zotac brand.

Thanks, are Palit cards good? I would like a card with a backplate preferrably.

Why do you want a backplate in particular? They trap heat in the PCB and shouldn't be needed for support with these low power cards. Palit are at the budget end of things, which is still probably fine for these cards, they don't need premium cooling.

[LeBron85]

Sapphire (and for 2-3 years, a 480) would be my top recommendation, if you're ignoring our recommendation for AMD then the same parent company makes nVidia cards under the Zotac brand.

Why do you want a backplate in particular? They trap heat in the PCB and shouldn't be needed for support with these low power cards. Palit are at the budget end of things, which is still probably fine for these cards, they don't need premium cooling.

I looked at thermal pictures of GTX 1060 Palit cards under load (can't remember where now) and they compared much better to the likes of Zotac and MSI. Hence why I am liking Palit. I think backplate is always a good bonus on a card. Furthermore, if a card cooling is designed well, backplate doesn't make a difference in terms of higher temps.

To add, I had an MSI GTX 760 Twin Frozr fail badly on me just 30 days after the 2 year warranty ran out. Hence I am reluctant to get MSI and they are expensive.

I would like to get RX 480 if only they were in stock. In some reviews Sapphire cards run hotter than say MSI or Gigabyte as they don't have VRM cooling I believe.

[scaryjim]

... In some reviews Sapphire cards run hotter than say MSI or Gigabyte as they don't have VRM cooling I believe.

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphi...ro-4gb-8gb-oc/

According to that both 4GB and 8GB Sapphire cards have VRM cooling (looks like each set of mosfets has its own small heatsink). Sapphire are generally very careful about the build quality of their cards - it'd be very unusual for them to lack something as basic as VRM cooling.

[kalniel]

Apparently the Nitro does have VRM cooling - http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphi...ro-4gb-8gb-oc/

But yes as you say, limited stock at the moment as they really are in demand. Expect more will be available in a few weeks.

EVGA have a good reputation as well.

[kompukare]

I would like to get RX 480 if only they were in stock. In some reviews Sapphire cards run hotter than say MSI or Gigabyte as they don't have VRM cooling I believe.

Hardware.fr took thermal photos of the Nitro and there were no hotspots:
http://www.hardware.fr/focus/118/rx-...match-280.html