Please help me choose a GPU

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Lmtl80

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Aug 9, 2016
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I'm using my music production workstation to also game on.
After becoming disalutioned with consoles I decided PC was the way to go, and that I'd use my existing PC as the specs are already decent.

It has 32gb of RAM and The processor is the Xeon W3680; a 3.3ghz six core CPU that has severed me well.
Single thread performance is getting old now, so it's not wonderful for gaming, but I have seen some benchmarks with various high end cards, and it seems to perform well.

I've never done PC gaming before, so I was wondering if anyone could advise me on which GPU to get.

I'm finding it difficult to decide for a number of reasons, including longgevity of the card or "future proofing", bang for buck, my limited technical understanding and also which cards might be overkill for my setup.

The cards I've been considering, are the GTX 970, 980ti, the RX480, the GTX 1070 and the 1060

The first question I asked myself would be weather any of the above GPU's would bottle neck the system, because I don't have a cutting edge CPU to match the very recently released 1070 and still beefy 980ti.
Secondly, I'd be worried if I got one of the older cards (say the 980ti or previous), I'd end up significantly out of luck in terms of hardware support and with the card being out of dare within a couple of years.

I'm still yet to do some research on weather the difference between 1080p and 1440p is big enough to warrent a card that could handle the higher resolution, and it's also something, I presume, I'll need to see for myself decide.


Any thoughts?

Thanks a lot.
 
Solution
Barty1884
If you follow the 1060 through to the actual page you can buy it for 230, it's a reference design:
https://www.shop.bt.com/products/asus-geforce-gtx-1060-turbo-6gb-gddr5-pcie3-0-graphics-card-turbo-gtx1060-6g-C882.html?utm_source=awin&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_content=ZA00&utm_source=awin&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_content=ZA00&awc=3043_1470850195_8e84be59c66dc15d2743d1ea5c0aab37

Provided your case has good airflow, it's unlikely the higher temps will be a hindrance, but considering the 'non-founders' MSI card is 20quid more (there may be cheaper options), I'd suggest it instead...
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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The W3680 is definitely a workstation GPU, with lesser performance in gaming - but sounds like you already know that.

From a strict gaming standpoint, the W3680 was outperformed by a 2nd gen i5 when new.

Now, that's not to say it's not going to be worthwhile, it's just not going to be as good as say an i5-2500K or greater. It's probably most comparable (consumer chip wise) to something like an i5-2320.

For that reason, I wouldn't worry about 'future proofing' your GPU.......at least not as you're intending.
There's really two options.

1. Invest in a GPU you can take with you if/when you build something new - something that won't be obsolete anytime soon. Anything from an RX480 (or RX470 being released soonish), GTX 1060, 1070 or 1080. All of the latest GPUs are likely to be bottlenecked to some degree by the W3680.

2. Buy a GPU now, that pairs nicely with the W3680, but that you don't necessarily use for a long period of time. Suggestions for that card........I don't know. Depends what you have in there at the moment. I assume you've got a workstation class card, so really any 'gaming' card would be better.

Look used for option #2. A used 670 can be had for <$100
http://www.ebay.com/itm/EVGA-NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-670-CUDA-/172300273671?hash=item281de58807:g:nlEAAOSwgZ1XqiSw

A used GTX 960 for $125 , but you can find them for $150 new.

Anything greater (a new R9 390 for example is $250 - you'd be better off just buying the RX480).

GPUs are supported for a long time. Any DX12 capable card should certainly be supported for a couple of years, minimum, so I wouldn't worry about cards being 'obsolete' in that sense.
 
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Lmtl80

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Aug 9, 2016
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1,510
Thanks for the comments.

From what you've said, I think I'll remove the two higher end cards (1070 and 980ti) from my list.
Reason being, I did plan to be gaming on here for quite a while.
I'm not really bothered about the card becoming dated if I haven't spent a lot, but the thing is, if I bought a 1070, had it in this machine for a few years and then took it out to put it in a newer machine when I build one, it's already going to be outdated by then; and I won't have seen any of the benifits I bought it for when it was one of the best on the block.
I'd have invested money into getting a very powerful, and new card, but I wouldn't really see any of those luxurys until I upgraded; by then the card being old.

Also, when I look at it, I think 1080p is the best option for me now (Did some research a few hours ago - those monitors are out of my budget at the moment) so those higher end cards would be somewhat overkill.


I looked into the GTX 960 you mentioned, barty, and you know, that does seem like a very temping power to price ratio. I'd go for the 4gb version.
So I'm thinking maybe either one of them, or if I go for a newer card the 1060.
As ocer says, I could spend the extra cash upgrading other components like adding an SSD.

initially I thought either 960 or 970, but the price difference between the 1060 and 970 is very small, so if I was going to get something more powerful than the 960, I'd probably be best doing that.

It's still confusing though, as I just don't know weather the 960 is going to be good enough even in a year or so, or if I really need the power that the 1060 offers.
I suppose longevity of a card is somewhat subjective (providing there is driver support) because it's down to how long the person is prepared to keep lowering the settings for games year by year.

For me, I know it'd be a pretty long time.
I've come from consoles, so while the prospect of having much better graphics on PC is appealing, it's certainly not something I'd consider massively important as to warrent an upgrade every two or so years.
That said, there is a limit, and I wouldn't want to find that after a year or two I could barely play any of the new games without having all the settings in rock bottom and it Looking worse than consoles.
The 1060 would solve that issue, but it's just weather it's worth an extra £120 more than the 960 - I don't know how much graphics will matter to me because I've never really been a PC gamer to be able to tell - hell, I haven't even seen a game run at even 1080p in person, so I'm very inexperienced.

Of course, there's also the point that as technology improves, it becomes cheaper.
1440p might be out of bounds for me this year, but what if next year those monitors come right down, and I would've been better off getting a more powerful card?

Thanks Again.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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The 960 will still be relevant for 1080p for a while yet, you may just have to scale back settings a little as time goes on.

That being said, there's a huge performance jump between the 960 & 970/1060's. The 960 wasn't really an attractive 'price to performance' ratio, even when new. Pick one up used in the ~$100 range, no a bad deal. Beyond that, I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending it (I own one myself and it does what I want it to, but I got a great deal on it - I wouldn't have chosen it otherwise).

Just realized you're in the UK. A new 4GB 960 is at best 162quid. The 970 is ALMOST a no-brainer at 199:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/kqqbt6/msi-video-card-gtx9704gd5toc

Except the RX480 (4GB version) is only 211.
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/f9cMnQ/sapphire-radeon-rx-480-4gb-nitro-4g-video-card-11260-02

While you might not be able to use the 'full' power necessarily, you'd likely have a minor bottleneck for either the 970 or RX480. The RX480 is the better performing card though, so it makes the most sense to pick that up instead.
 
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Lmtl80

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Aug 9, 2016
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Interesting, thanks for the reply.
I guess the 960 is out then.

How about the 970/RX480 in comparison with the 1060? Because that's a relativity small jump from the 480 of about £30 more - https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/pbL7YJ/evga-geforce-gtx-1060-6gb-gaming-video-card-06g-p4-6161-kr
I guess the bottle neck would be higher here,mso that's something to bare in mind.

Also, I notice prices very for the same card from company to company, and each have slightly different specs - is this something you think I should be concerned with or are they all more or less the same?(aside from the fact that V Ram is different on some, but if that's the same)
For example, I have seen an EVGA version of the 960 on new egg for £145, but others at nearly £170

Thanks allot.
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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The 1060 is the better card, simply put. The RX480 wins out in the odd game here & there, but overall, the 1060 is a great option.

You'd get much more life out of the 1060 or RX480 over a 970 - newer cards, better DX12 support (which will be more common in time) but, you're right, the bottleneck would be a little more evident (in some games).

The bottleneck would only really be significant in CPU intensive titles. GPU intensive (less so CPU) titles should be able to utilize the lion's share of the 1060.

As for variance in price..... there's a lot of factors at play.

Some have factory overclocks, so slightly improved clock speeds (some have substantially improved speeds), brand factors (MSI, EVGA, Gigabyte etc have greater 'brand recognition' so can command more money than say Zotac, Sapphire or Powercolour) and cooling solutions (most brands have various offerings of the same model - with different coolers, to run cooler & allow for greater overclocking).

IMO, brands like Zotac etc are fine. I wouldn't worry about models specifically at this point, as OCing the card won't really be necessary for you - the added 'boost' of a new, high-performing GPU should be all the 'boost' you need.

The only cards I would suggest to avoid would be 'reference' style (now known as 'founders edition' from nVidia's standpoint, AMD stuck with reference). Avoid blower style coolers like this:
XFX-4808BB.2_LG.JPG


Prioritize cards with dual (or triple) fan configurations (provided they'll fit your case, you'd need to measure). Something like this:
MSI-1060GX.1_LG.JPG
 
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Lmtl80

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Aug 9, 2016
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that makes allot of sense, good to know the differences between brands isn't that important. I'll just make sure I don't get the founders edition or reference.

I suppose then the 970 is out, so it's between the RX480 and the 1060. Decisions, decisions.

Both seem great. I suppose if the 1060 is better, though, the extra price isn't much.
You can get one on new egg for £255 (I've seen some mini ones cheaper than that but I presume they're not as powerful)

Cheers

 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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I may have been a bit too dismissive with 'avoid' reference/founders cards. Put it this way, avoid them if the price is similar to 'normal' cards. They work, they just run a little hotter - that might not bother you....... or it might not bother you if it saves you 50quid or something :lol:.

It's a tough call between the 1060 and 480 - both good, solid cards that'll last you a long time.

Take a look at benchmarks for both cards, with the games you actually play. You might find one has a huge performance gain over the other.

You're unlikely to find benchmarks for your CPU + GPU combo(s) though, as I couldn't find much that wasn't quite old that references the W3680 in gaming.
 
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Lmtl80

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Haha, fair enough, I'll keep that in mind, then.
Is the fact that they get hotter often an issue? Do they have a tendency to over heat?

The cheapest I found for the 1060 (couldn't seem to find it on part picker) was the White ASUS model on this page: http://www.idealo.co.uk/mscat.html?q=GTX+1060 (Providing the model I mentioned from the link isn't a mini, I don't think it is)
That makes the 480 only around £20 less at its cheapest price

There's also this one: http://www.box.co.uk/MSI_GeForce_GTX_1060_Armor_6G_OC_Graphi_1984563.html#

And this one: http://www.ebuyer.com/753852-msi-geforce-gtx-1060-oc-6gb-gddr5-dvi-hdmi-displayport-pci-e-graphics-gtx-1060-6gt-oc

As possible second and third options.

I'll have a look at the bench marks and see what I can find out.

Thanks
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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If you follow the 1060 through to the actual page you can buy it for 230, it's a reference design:
https://www.shop.bt.com/products/asus-geforce-gtx-1060-turbo-6gb-gddr5-pcie3-0-graphics-card-turbo-gtx1060-6g-C882.html?utm_source=awin&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_content=ZA00&utm_source=awin&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_content=ZA00&awc=3043_1470850195_8e84be59c66dc15d2743d1ea5c0aab37

Provided your case has good airflow, it's unlikely the higher temps will be a hindrance, but considering the 'non-founders' MSI card is 20quid more (there may be cheaper options), I'd suggest it instead:
https://www.shop.bt.com/products/msi-geforce-gtx-1060-6gt-oc-6gb-gddr5-pcie3-0-graphics-card-gtx-1060-6gt-oc-C7Z9.html?utm_source=awin&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_content=ZA00&utm_source=awin&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_content=ZA00&awc=3043_1470850356_5cb5ec54f749b768735cc0833e1ff396
 
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Solution
L

Lmtl80

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Aug 9, 2016
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1,510
The bottom one will be the one I'll go for then.
I'll go check out the bench marks between this and the RX 480.

Thanks for all the help! It's very much appreciated
 
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Barty1884

Barty1884

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The 1060 wins out more often than not, but the RX480 does have the edge in a couple of games.

You can't really go wrong with either, but whether the 1060 is worth the slight additional cost is potentially debateable - depending on what you play.
 
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Lmtl80

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Aug 9, 2016
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Just had a look at the bench marks. The 1060 wins in almost every game, the RX 480 edging it out in ashes of the singularity.

The difference seemed fairly negligible, though.
For my inexperienced eyes, I'm not sure I'd actually notice the difference in frame rate haha.

 
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Lmtl80

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Aug 9, 2016
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Well, I've done some research and prices are pretty much the same between the two, so I think I'll go with the 1060 - the MSI model you suggested, seems a good deal
 
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