Gtx 1060 or rx480, which is best for me?

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Jlowe96

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Jun 15, 2016
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Hi, here are my specs:
-CPU: Intel Core 15-3450 3.10GHz, 4 cores, 4 logical processors
-Mother Board: Acer Predator G3620
-RAM: 8.00GB Dual Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz
-GPU: 1535MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 645
-PSU: FSP Non-modular 500W Power Supply (Bronze 80 Plus Certified)
-Shipped with Windows 7 64bit (just upgraded to Windows 10)
-2x 1tb hdd

So I'm torn between the two new budget GPu's and looking for advice, I'm looking to play AAA titles at 1080p. Please give me some direction as to which to choose, I have no preference on brand. Also I don't know how much ram I'd need, was looking at the 8gb rx480, but maybe thats overkill? Anyway thanks for any advice.
 
Solution
photonboy
1) 4GB is not overkill. Some games benefit, and games will only continue to use more video memory in the future.

2) GTX1060 if price is similar to RX-480 8GB (after market comparison such as Asus Strix versions... don't get reference models)

3) may need to WAIT for prices to drop and stabilize

Other:
The RX-480 fluctuates a lot in performance. They tweaked the GCN GPU which averages the R9-390 over a large number of games but it also ranges between 80% and 120% of the R9-390 due to some changes. Basically with certain settings the performance can DROP quite a bit relative to other GPU's, though at other times it can benefit.

At this time if price is similar I'd have to go with the GTX1060 but you can look up a bunch of reviews. You...
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Rabmac

Rabmac

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Nov 29, 2015
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From the benchmarks I have looked at the GTX 1060 is slightly better than the RX 480. So if you want the best card from these two get the GTX 1060.

That being said, there are other factors to consider.

1. The R9 390 is better than both these cards and I have seen it selling for £50 less than the GTX 1060.
2. The RX 480, 4GB version is selling for £75 less than the GTX 1060 and it is not that far behind in performance at 1080p.
3. The GTX 970 has similar performance to RX 480 and is £50 cheaper than the GTX 1060.

I am currently in the same boat as you and I will be buying one of these cards. If I were to make the decision today then I would get the R9 390 as it is best value and also best performance at this price bracket.

However, I am going to hold off for a while and see more benchmarks for the new cards before I decide. I may also wait for Black Friday and hopefully grab a bargain before Xmas as I am not in dire need of a new card just yet.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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I am always suspicious of the quality of power supply included in a pre built pc.
They are usually only sufficient to power the initial configuration.

Recent reviews show the GTX1060 to be slightly better than the RX-480 in most titles.
But, you may want to wait a bit for the aftermarket cards which should sell for less than the initial founder's edition.
As a plus, it looks like the GTX1060 will need a bit less power.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm

As to Vram, ignore that as a selection criteria.

VRAM has become a marketing issue.
My understanding is that vram is more of a performance issue than a functional issue.
A game needs to have most of the data in vram that it uses most of the time.
Somewhat like real ram.
If a game needs something not in vram, it needs to get it across the pcie boundary
hopefully from real ram and hopefully not from a hard drive.
It is not informative to know to what level the available vram is filled.
Possibly much of what is there is not needed.
What is not known is the rate of vram exchange.
Vram is managed by the Graphics card driver, and by the game. There may be differences in effectiveness between amd and nvidia cards.
And differences between games.
Here is an older performance test comparing 2gb with 4gb vram.
http://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Video-Card-Performance-2GB-vs-4GB-Memory-154/
Spoiler... not a significant difference.
A more current set of tests shows the same results:
http://www.techspot.com/review/1114-vram-comparison-test/page5.html

And... no game maker wants to limit their market by
requiring huge amounts of vram. The vram you see will be appropriate to the particular card.
 
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17seconds

17seconds

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Jul 27, 2010
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If you can afford to push your budget up to the GTX 1060, then that would be a clear choice. It is better than the RX480 in every metric:. heat, noise, power consumption, efficiency, features, and of course performance.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_1060_Gaming_X/24.html
perfrel_1920_1080.png
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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1) 4GB is not overkill. Some games benefit, and games will only continue to use more video memory in the future.

2) GTX1060 if price is similar to RX-480 8GB (after market comparison such as Asus Strix versions... don't get reference models)

3) may need to WAIT for prices to drop and stabilize

Other:
The RX-480 fluctuates a lot in performance. They tweaked the GCN GPU which averages the R9-390 over a large number of games but it also ranges between 80% and 120% of the R9-390 due to some changes. Basically with certain settings the performance can DROP quite a bit relative to other GPU's, though at other times it can benefit.

At this time if price is similar I'd have to go with the GTX1060 but you can look up a bunch of reviews. You invest not in just the card but the software ecosystem and NVidia has been better at support. AMD is improving though.

DX12 is interesting and people point to AMD as being better but it's not going to be much difference on average (a few percent), and of course most games are not DX12 nor will they be for quite a while.
 
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Solution
XiPH3R

XiPH3R

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Dec 9, 2014
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A 4gb rx 480 would be enough for 1080p 60fps gaming. Its around 50$ cheaper and performs just slightly worse. It also has the best price/perf ratio, i would definitely recommend the rx 480, if you want to save some money
 
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photonboy

photonboy

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Jun 20, 2006
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I mentioned DX12 but at the time the post came out we had limited information on performance.

The RX-480 is going to definitely improve relative to the GTX1060 in future titles, but whether it's better overall is uncertain (I mean GTX1060 6GB to be clear, not 3GB).

VR Support is another issue that's still confusing comparing Polaris to Pascal. Pascal has SMP to boost the FPS, but Polaris may have a better async time warp method. I'm not trying to explain it, just to say things aren't clear still.

I'm recommending the GTX1060 6GB at this point if the price isn't too different.

Update:
I've also seen some information suggesting that some of the FPS benefits in DX12/Vulkan for AMD may be partial frames, not full frames. If you understand Frame Time Analysis, then when you see a high FPS but a lot of stutter it's common to see "runt" or partial frames produced.

Basically FRAPS records that a frame was drawn, but that's at the request stage not a confirmation it was drawn. You can have for example a supposedly 60FPS average where only 30 of those are full frames (it's pretty confusing).

I'm trying to keep an eye on that as well and see if those are atypical results or not. In other words, what is the TRUE benefit of Polaris vs Pascal in an ideal situation of smooth gaming?
 
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