GTX 1060 3GB or RX 470 4GB or RX 480 4GB

[realism51]

I've been looking at GPU's the last few days and need some opinions on what I should get based on my setup and my gaming needs.

Current Specs:
Intel i5-4670k OC @ 4.0GHz
16GB corsair vengeance (something or other) 1600Mhz
SSD for my main and game installs
MSI z87-GD 65 Mobo
650W Corsair PSU

I've been using a Gigabyte 7870 OC version for GPU and so far its played the things I have thrown at it rather nicely.

My Gaming needs:
I do like to turn the settings as high as they go or at least near enough, some things I will tone down like shadows and other superfluous things. I am not an avid gamer and don't break for the latest and greatest, hardly play FPS shooter games. My current favorite is still Dying Light the following and I dont have issues there. I would like to be able to play Witcher 3 without any hiccups though and my 7870 isnt going to be able to handle it.
I am not into the 4k resolution, VR, etc stuff. I play at 1080p and likely will not change that. As for DX 12: Since I run Windows 7 and enjoy it I am limited to DX 11 since I have zero desire to upgrade to Windows 10.
Basically the types of games I play currently, dying light, Skyrim, 7 days to die, etc, nothing too intensive out there. I just like that smooth frame rate play without sacrificing too much candy.

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With the whole "how much VRAM do I need debate" I don't know for sure if it is just an upsell point right now since most of the games I am looking at have recommended specs that dont ask more than 2GB. Personally I feel that 8GB is stretching it too far for what games call for now. Which is why I am sticking with the 3-4GB range.

based on all that I have read, I have settled with looking more at the GTX 1060 3GB; Radeon RX 470 4GB; and the Radeon RX 480 4GB.

I see on benchmarking that the GTX 1060 outperforms the 470 and 480 in DX 11 and only suffers a little in DX 12 (which is a moot point for me).
From a price point (U.S. Market) the 470 is the cheaper of the three, but for an extra $10-$20 I can pick up a 480. The GTX 1060 is right around the same price as the 480's.
I've never used a GTX card before so if i get one, it will be my first experience.

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The questions that I have are:
Which of the three would serve me best given my current set up and needs?
Is the 3GB limit of the GTX 1060 sufficient given that I don't ever plan on playing any higher than 1080p?
What brands are the better choices? I've heard that XFX has fan issues with the AMD models; ASUS having a high DOA on AMD,

 

[Ali Tauseef]

I am sure you mean the RX 4xx series and not R9. Right now, 1060 is the best in all of these, regardless of the Vram. You can max out almost any game on 3 gigs and recent benchmarks show that 1060 even outperforms in DX12 games.
About the resolution, all the cards are basically made for 1080 and you should honestly not expect more from them, but you can go 1440P in some cases, though I don't think it'd be a nice experience.
Go with MSI, my recommendation.

 

[RCFProd]

Looks like you're interested in slightly older DX11 titles, those use CPU overhead most of the time. The GTX 1060 3GB is your best choice.

I've heard that XFX has fan issues with the AMD models; ASUS having a high DOA on AMD,

Those seem like outdated claims. Sure, the cheaper XFX RS model has loud fans but that's just basically that particular model has a small heatsink and runs at higher temperatures. However It's higher-end brother, the ''XFX GTR'' is currently the best RX 480 model on the market.

Same for Asus. The ASUS ROG Strix, along with the XFX GTR, is one of the best for AMD Polaris.

Is the 3GB limit of the GTX 1060 sufficient given that I don't ever plan on playing any higher than 1080p?

You'd say that 4GB is the sweet spot even though It's 1080p, however I still think the GTX 1060 3GB is solid and all you need for that resolution. It performs better in games than a GTX 970 4GB usually.

Most brands are fine for the GTX 1060. EVGA however seems to have a higher failure ratio than others at the moment, due to use of weaker capacitors for their ACX 3.0 cards.

 

[realism51]

I am sure you mean the RX 4xx series and not R9. Right now, 1060 is the best in all of these, regardless of the Vram. You can max out almost any game on 3 gigs and recent benchmarks show that 1060 even outperforms in DX12 games.
About the resolution, all the cards are basically made for 1080 and you should honestly not expect more from them, but you can go 1440P in some cases, though I don't think it'd be a nice experience.
Go with MSI, my recommendation.

haha Thanks Ali for pointing out my oversight. Yeah RX is what I meant. Edited now.

 

[kansaw]

Here's a sample of OC comparisons of several midrange cards mentioned:http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2016/11/18/asus-radeon-rx-480-strix-oc-8gb-review/3

When purchasing a new graphics card there's more than fps. The 480 has freesync, more shader units, and great native dx12 support to future proof your investment. Without these additional resources your future gaming may be adversely affected. Some new games already support mGPU using dual GPUs. The 480/470 supports dual GPU thru Crossfire as an upgrade path when you need it.

 

[realism51]

Those seem like outdated claims. Sure, the cheaper XFX RS model has loud fans but that's just basically that particular model has a small heatsink and runs at higher temperatures. However It's higher-end brother, the ''XFX GTR'' is currently the best RX 480 model on the market.

Same for Asus. The ASUS ROG Strix, along with the XFX GTR, is one of the best for AMD Polaris.

Yeah I was just watching some coverage of the the XFX GTR (Jayztwocents) on youtube. He wasnt impressed with the RS model either, but the GTR looked really solid according to him. Only GTR I could find was an 8GB one, so I'm assuming there is no 4GB version of it.

looking just in the 3-4GB range, No interest in laying down a good chunk for an 8GB model. I don't game that often and most are not new titles, so it would really just be a waste for me.
_____________________________

Kansaw -
Thanks for the added input, sadly though, most of all that went over my head some. I vaguely know what freesync is, mGPU ? I would not be one to put two cards in one system if that is anything like SLI

 

[RCFProd]

No Freesync is about your monitor, It's Nvidia's equilavent of G-Sync. No matter how much your FPS fluctuates in games your frames are always in sync with your monitor's refresh rate to prevent tearing and making FPS fluctuations less noticable. It's adaptive sync technology. You have freesync compatible monitors and you have G-Sync ones. AMD is Freesync and Nvidia is G-Sync.

http://www.amd.com/en-us/innovations/software-technologies/technologies-gaming/freesync?utm_campaign=www.amd.com_freesync&utm_medium=redirect&utm_source=301

 

[realism51]

No Freesync is about your monitor, It's Nvidia's equilavent of G-Sync. No matter how much your FPS fluctuates in games your frames are always in sync with your monitor's refresh rate to prevent tearing and making FPS fluctuations less noticable. It's adaptive sync technology. You have freesync compatible monitors and you have G-Sync ones. AMD is Freesync and Nvidia is G-Sync.

http://www.amd.com/en-us/innovations/software-technologies/technologies-gaming/freesync?utm_campaign=www.amd.com_freesync&utm_medium=redirect&utm_source=301

Yeah I knew that about Freesync, the G-sync was new info for me. It was the mGPU that I didnt quite get, is it just like SLI of old?

It looks like I've eliminated the 470 from the possibilities; just seems too weak by comparison to the others and its only a few $$$ less.

I keep seeing the GTX card between $200-$230, Gigabyte, Asus, and MSI
MSI 1060 Gaming X 3G (I like the twin frozer fans) http://
MSI 1060 Armor 3GB OCV1 or the 3GT OC http://
ASUS 1060 Dual 3GB http://
GIGABYTE 1060 G1 Gaming 3GB http://

When going through the reviews it sounds like most of the complaints are over the 6GB models for each brand.

For the RX 480 its about the same pricing, I can't find much for the Gigabyte reviews, but I seem to be leaning towards MSI or XFX

XFX RX 480 GTR 8GB (it is 8GB which im going meh, but it rated highly and it is the GTR version mentioned above, rebated the price is $230) highest card in list, rebate good till 11/30 purchase
http://

XFX 480 RS 4GB
http://

MSI 480 Armor 4G OC
http://

ASUS Dual 4GB
http://
The ROG STRIX is way above what I am willing to pay.

Thank you all for your input and such.

 

[pete_101]

I think you're over analysing it all and confusing yourself. There is very little difference between any of the cards, I know you want to be sure you're getting the right one, but I would suggest going for the one you feel is right for the price.

As for the whole 1060 vs 480, again they both have their positive and negatives. Only thing I will point out, which you may already know, the 3GB version of the 1060 is slightly cut down from the 6GB so doesn't perform quite as well, where as the 4GB version of the 480 is the same GPU as the 8GB version so performs the same.

 

[realism51]

Yes, you're probably correct, I am likely over analysing the decision.
Hmmm you do give rise to the question of if the 4GB and 8GB GPU's are the same, why are on earth would they stuff an extra 4GB into the card since it obviously wont equate to better performance as of current? Makes me think the larger VRAM sizing is just a market grab for now.

 

[pete_101]

Yes, you're probably correct, I am likely over analysing the decision.
Hmmm you do give rise to the question of if the 4GB and 8GB GPU's are the same, why are on earth would they stuff an extra 4GB into the card since it obviously wont equate to better performance as of current? Makes me think the larger VRAM sizing is just a market grab for now.

Yes it mostly is marketing, gamers like to feel like they have the best card out there. If you were trying to use the card for 4K gaming, then the extra VRAM may do something, but given it's not powerful enough for 4K, the extra 4GB is mostly wasted....plus it uses more power having all that VRAM.

 

[RCFProd]

With 4GB graphics cards Forza Motorsport 6 was stuttering for me, since I moved to 8GB my experience has been a lot more fluid. That's at 1080p gameplay. I don't think I'll get anything below 8GB ever again personally. Plenty of recent games exceed 4GB or even up to 6GB of VRAM lately, those will be stutter-free with an RX 480 8GB or GTX 1060 6GB. I'm playing Forza 6 and Forza Horizon 3 quite a lot and I'll be playing Forza 7 even more, all of these use more than 4GB VRAM comfortably.

But I've already made the recommendation for, but you seem to have changed your mind about the games you'll be playing I guess? Your first post made it look like you'd be just fine with a GTX 1060 3GB.

 

[realism51]

Decided to go with the MSI GTX 1060 X 3G 3GB
The higher clock speeds, frozer fan, and the zero frozr so the fans dont kick on till hits above 60c (and cuz its red, my mobo is fiery red as well, not like anyone can see, but the thought that counts) has me sold on it. Plus it seems to be better reviewed than the other 1060 cards.

When i get it in and test it out for a bit, I will post what my thoughts are about it here.

Thank you all.

 

[RCFProd]

Decided to go with the MSI GTX 1060 X 3G 3GB
The higher clock speeds, frozer fan, and the zero frozr so the fans dont kick on till hits above 60c (and cuz its red, my mobo is fiery red as well, not like anyone can see, but the thought that counts) has me sold on it. Plus it seems to be better reviewed than the other 1060 cards.

When i get it in and test it out for a bit, I will post what my thoughts are about it here.

Thank you all.

Great choice. the MSI Gaming X is one of the best models for the price for the GTX 1060.

 

[realism51]

Alright guys, so I received the GTX 1060 on the 6th and have been playing around and testing it. I will try some other things, but overall I am rather impressed.

Firstly, the size: I have had it held in my mind that nvidia cards were generally smaller than their AMD counterpart, but I must have been mistaken this entire time or the size change was recent. When compared next to my Gigabyte 7870 GHz edition, the GTX 1060 is larger and nearly twice as heavy. Length wise it is maybe a cm or two longer, but the width is where this massive brute takes over. I would say it’s about 20% wider – almost had to remove the exhaust fan I have on the side of my case. Any bigger and I would have had to upgrade my case just to fit it.
I’m not big on ascetics, but the card looks very nice and is well put together, including the back plate which was a nice change. Yeah it had the LED’s but I haven't messed around much with them since its in the case and well don’t particularly care.

Sound: The zero Frozr fans stay off while I’m doing stuff on the desktop, but in game they finally kicked on. They are so quite that I had to check to make sure they were actually running.
The heat dispersion is excellent because before my room would stay a little warm when I would be running my 7870, now I have to turn up the heat because this card does not heat up all that much even when pressed hard.

I tested three games I had on hand and used afterburner and hdwmonitor to view the stats. Keep in mind I am running that at 1080p with no overclock applied to the GPU and no special software to enhance it.

SKyrim with HD textures and several heavy mods were met with butter smooth fps, no hitching, greatly improved graphic quality from what I was used too. I guess there is something to be said about nvidia shader technology.

Dying Light: the following enhanced edition.
I had some issues with this game even with the 7870 I was running previously. The GPU use highest hit was 90% without vsync and CPU was running about 60%, vsync on the GPU dropped to about 60% and cpu didn’t hit over 40%. Still got a bit of tearing and things didn’t look much different than before, maybe a bit smoother than the AMD card. I honestly think this comes down to how the game was designed, as I’ve heard of others with powerful cards (like titans and other flagships) having issues with running it regardless of what they did. So not sure how much weight I should even give this one.

The Witcher 3: the main reason for this card upgrade

I am not a fanboy of any particular model or brand, but I was impressed by what I was seeing.
I played it safe in the beginning waiting till I hit the open world before cranking everything to Max setting at 1080p (no hairworks). The game looked like lots of eye candy in reviews and videos, but once I set everything to ultra, my jaw just about dropped. The level of detail that the GTX 1060 brought out was amazing without sacrificing performance. Throughout the game I kept a steady 60fps that did not fluctuate beyond +-1 fps. Max Gpu power was 65 and averaged about 50 while playing. The GPU temps reached as high as 64c, but averaged 50c throughout the gameplay session. GPU usage hit 91% at its highest, which was to be expected. Averaged 75% use. Frequencies were all good. This card does run exceptionally cool as the fan only kicked in about halfway through the session and hit a high of 35%.
It plays rather well with my i5-4670k OC at 4.0GHz. The CPU use I was seeing was max at 73% with averages around 50%. H80i fans running at 1,100 RPMS kept my avg temps at 46c.

A buddy of mine purchased the XFX 480 RS 4GB I mentioned above, so we decided to try that in my system and see how it handled compared to the GTX 1060.
It did run hotter than the GTX averaging 64c and a max of 79c; GPU power use was about 65 during the gameplay and hit upwards of 76. GPU usage average was 78% and max was 94%. Fan speed max was 48%. The fans were rather loud even compared with the 7870 Ghz. Fps fluctuated a bit, it was hitting that 60fps mark but would fluctuate as low as 51, not a whole lot of difference but you could tell every now and then. At a few points during cut scenes the framerate dropped out at near 30fps. It didn’t seem like it could handle the Ultra setting with the same amount of finess as the GTX 1060.

Now for the bad:
While the card itself is great, the software and drivers from MSI are not. I grabbed the nvidia 376.09 driver from MSI website and the latest gaming app 6 of theirs. The MSI drivers gave some problems with butter smooth gameplay and I noticed I had interrupts going on at fairly pushy levels until I removed and installed that latest drivers from Nvidia website. The gaming app doesn’t work all that well, tends to crash and not do much of performance changes if you can even get it to run in the first place. Most of them time it would refuse to even open. The other bundled options with it I wasn’t going to be using anyways so I didn’t bother trying those out.
Now I have been working down on the interrupts and they have been put down to 0.10 at idle. I do not know for sure if the left over interrupts are caused by the card’s presence or if something else is still there that I need to hunt around for, but for me the low interrupts are just a nit picking part for me, doesn’t detract from anything that I can tell.
I am quite happy with the MSI GTX 1060 3X 3GB card and have tested the waters of nvidia for the first time, what I have experienced has been rather positive.

 

[RCFProd]

When you have driver issues, always uninstall using DDU in safe mode:
http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html

And install the latest one from Nvidia here, don't use any of the MSI ones. You don't need them.

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us