AMD RX 480 vs GTX 970/1070

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bp1696

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Oct 27, 2016
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Ok so here's my dilemma. I decided to get a 144hz monitor. I did tons of research to make sure the one I got was quality, but didn't do my research on what Free Sync and G Sync are. I have an i5 4460 with a GTX 970 currently, and the monitor I bought was a ViewSonic XG2401 which is Free Sync, so my Nvidia card isn't compatible. So, what should I do exactly? Most G Sync monitors are either out of stock or just way too expensive.

I thought maybe I should sell my 970 and get an AMD RX 480. I currently game at 1080p and now at 144hz and don't plan on changing that anytime soon. What could I sell the 970 for these days? The RX 480 is a significant jump from the 970, right? Or is this a bad option and I should do something else? I hate when I do all this research and then miss the most important thing :/

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: I guess I should say I currently mostly play Heroes of the Storm and Overwatch. Overwatch I can get a solid 140-144 fps if my settings are around medium to high. Heroes on the other hand is poorly optimized, so even at full low settings I max out at like 100fps when I'm lucky. Just figured I'd mention what my main gaming concerns are
 
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Multipack
I didn't say it was nonsense, that was the name of the person I was quoting lol.. and freesync/gsync are less relevant with high-end GPU's and monitors combined - only mismatches cause severe tear and sync issues - especially because of the new FastSync technology https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/597427-so-what-is-nvidias-fast-sync-introduced-with-pascal-gpus/
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n0ns3ns3

n0ns3ns3

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May 25, 2016
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Why would you need FreeSync ? it somewhat helps to avoid screen tearing without lag - you can achieve the same with Fast Sync (on pascal).
Anyway, screen tearing is more of a problem on low Hz displays with High FPS outputs from computer.
To your question.
To get beyond 100-120FPS, quite a few games will need an i7 regardless of the graphics settings. To draw a frame, CPU needs to do some work, and i5 is not always able to do it fast enough to keep the GPU busy. That's probably the case with Heroes of the Storm.
Bottom line, to have 144FPS gaming with maxed out settings on 1080p monitor you need i7 + GTX 1070 (AMD do not have any card powerful enough for that right now).
For specific games, you can do few tests to determine if your CPU/GPU is enough.
 
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Multipack

Multipack

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Sep 5, 2016
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A GTX970 is pretty much the same as a RX 480 4GB. The 970 has higher clock speeds than any 480, but obviously the 8GB version has double the RAM of a GTX 970 (which only has 3.5GB anyways). You wont see any real increase switching to a 480, and as nons3sn3 said freesync isn't all that important.

Your CPU would be the limiting factor in framerate and you arent going to get Ultra 1080p 144Hz settings with an i5 4460.
 
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bp1696

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Oct 27, 2016
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Huh. Everything I've researched says that Free Sync or G Sync are absolutely game changing. Now I'm just confused
 
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bp1696

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Oct 27, 2016
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That's more along the lines of what I've heard. So are there any good 144hz, G Sync, 1920x1080 24" monitors that aren't crazy expensive? $250-300 is sort of my price range, and the only ones I see in that range are Free Sync. I'd like to stick with Nvidia if possible
 
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Multipack

Multipack

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Sep 5, 2016
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I didn't say it was nonsense, that was the name of the person I was quoting lol.. and freesync/gsync are less relevant with high-end GPU's and monitors combined - only mismatches cause severe tear and sync issues - especially because of the new FastSync technology https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/597427-so-what-is-nvidias-fast-sync-introduced-with-pascal-gpus/
 
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bp1696

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Oct 27, 2016
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OK so I read that thread Multipack. Basically, Fast Sync does what G Sync does when your frames are above the refresh rate, but not below. So your comment about having a high end system means G Sync is almost rendered ineffective, because you never drop below the refresh rate, so Fast Sync basically does what G Sync would only ever do for my monitor right? Lol I think what I just said makes sense.

So if I did upgrade my CPU and GPU in the future, I could stick with Nvidia (say the 1070) and wouldn't really miss G Sync at all, right? Thanks everyone for the answers so far
 
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