QOTW: AMD Radeon RX 480 or Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060?

[enemys]

If I had to pick one, I'd buy a Radeon. Probably the 4GB version, it's perf/price ratio is great.

But since I have an OCed R9 390 in my rig, I'll just wait at least till Vega. Or maybe I'll throw a second 390(X), they are starting to get cheaper. And they work really good in high res, which would go well with my triple screen setup.

[DevDrake]

Definetly not 1060, rather not 480. I am aiming at something for 4k, therefore i need to wait for another generation.
If i had to buy something now, i would go for 970-980 second hand.

[Ogami]

If money wasn't an issue, I'd definitely get a powercolor RX 480. I don't really think the 1060 justifies that little extra gap in price.

[cptwhite_uk]

If the GTX1060 supported SLI and I can buy at £235 as I've seen them, then I'd probably opt from the GTX1060. Since it doesn't support SLI it would have to be the RX480 4Gb for £180.

[will19565]

Definetly not 1060, rather not 480. I am aiming at something for 4k, therefore i need to wait for another generation.
If i had to buy something now, i would go for 970-980 second hand.

i don't really see the logic in that statement, according to Hexus's own review the GTX 1060 is faster than the GTX 970 and only very slightly slower than a GTX 980 OC in some games.
Asus ROG Strix GeForce GTX 1060 OC, MSI GeForce GTX 980 Gaming 4G, Gainward GeForce GTX 970 Phoenix
Hitman, 4K
Minimum/Average
GTX 970 20/27
GTX 1060 23/32
GTX 980 23/32

Fire strike Ultra
GTX 970 2822
GTX 1060 3180
GTX 980 3239

bottomline, i wouldn't consider the 480, 970, 980 or the 1060 for 4K gaming, i would PERSONALLY wait for the top end AMD graphics cards or buy a overclocked GTX 1070

[tonyd223]

Easy - the RX480 because I can at least buy another one and run in crossfire in a year...

[mikeo]

While I am toying with the idea of a graphics card upgrade...

Neither. As I'm already running a GTX 970. So little point really.

The problem for me, is the price point that the various cards are being sold at the moment. And "yes" I do appreciate that there are many factors influencing this at the moment (the £ / $ exchange rate being one of them).

I would normally be looking at the £250/300 price point and this would in the past, have given me a tier 2 card (so 1070 in this case). But the price is far too high. So it would mean dropping back to tier 3 (IE. one of these cards) and the performance increase would be negligible.

So like a lot of folks, I'll be hanging on for a while (might have to be 12 months or so I suspect), before considering a change. No great headache I suppose, as a decent 970 is more than capable at 1080 / 60 hz. Second hand 980ti might be an option I suppose.

[Iconix]

The RX 480, almost entirely because of FreeSync. The GTX 1060 is probably the slightly better card in current games but G-Sync makes it the more expensive option.

Recent history also suggests the RX 480 could gain a fair amount of ground on the GTX 1060 through driver updates.

[Primey0]

GTX 1060 obviously. Better performing card

[Bluecube]

GTX 1060 obviously. Better performing card

Is it? And if it is then it should be for the hefty price premium. I'd choose a 480 myself as its a good price and offers good performance.

[CaptainAmerica]

RX 480.

Not only because I like the card, but also because Nvidia's business practices leave me very disappointed.

[Spud1]

Easy choice - if you have the extra £30 to spend and don't want free sync, the 1060 wins hands down and is the obvious choice.

If you either want free sync or don't have the extra funds, then pick up a 480.

The 1060 has a roughly 10% performance benefit in DX11 that is well worth the extra imo, and DX12 performance is yet to be truly shaken out for either card - we need more games that support it before you can make an informed decision.

I actually think that neither card is a particularly good investment though unless it's a short term (6 month ish) stop gap or you are upgrading from a really old card - neither will have the staying power to last you a few years of gaming, and with vega out within that period and the vastly better (but £150 more expensive) 1070 already available..it's a really tough sell imo.

Unless you really, really need to upgrade now, I would be waiting to see what vega has to offer, or saving for one of the mid range cards.

[deejayburnout]

Has to be the 480.

[spolsh]

The 480. For people on 1080p, I'd imagine either card would keep them happy. I just think the 480 will age better.

[DanceswithUnix]

Unless you really, really need to upgrade now, I would be waiting to see what vega has to offer, or saving for one of the mid range cards.

If you are in the Vega market, you probably already own a 390 or 980 or similar so neither of these will be of interest.

For people on a ~£200 budget, other than waiting for stock levels and prices to stabilize, I think the info is already here.

Personally I think the 4GB 480 is the star of the show, but not enough of an upgrade from my 4GB 380 to make me part with cash.

[Myss_tree]

I have always liked Sapphire cards so that would naturally point at the 480, Nvidia cards i have had in the past have always been a bit flakey (mind, its a while since i had one).
I do though like that the 1060's do generally seem quieter and less power hungry.
I do not game so maybe i do not really need either however i am putting together a 6700K based machine and powering a Samsung 34" monitor so i do want something more than the Skylake integrated graphics.