1060 3GB or 480 4GB?

[ConsoleLover]

Serious question, MSI Armor 1060 3GB for around 240 euros (year its absurd i know) and Nitro+ RX 480 4GB for 255 euros. There is 8GB version but that is just way too much at 290 euros.

There is no option for me through Amazon Germany for example, because with shipping it comes down at equal prices to where I'm at, which is not Germany.

I've looked at a lot of benches and the 1060 3gb wins in most DX11 titles, including most older titles from say 2013/14, but the RX 480 does win in some of the newer DX11 titles and wins in most DX12 titles, but considering most titles have DX11 and DX12 modes, the 1060 3GB has better performance overall if its on DX11.

I would have went with the 1060 3GB, but my huge worry is that 3GB won't cut it in 2017 and we all know what happens when Nvidia releases the refreshes and stop optimizing for this card's 3GB. Also more and more games are start to be developed in DX12 and under it most games use 4gb+.

Now I'm going to be playing at 1080p, max monitor resolution and don't plan on upgrading the monitor any time soon, but on this PC I'll be keeping the graphic card for the next 3 years, so do you think its better to get the 1060 3GB which is faster now in most games and under DX11 or get the RX 480 4GB and get better results over time as we've seen from other AMD cards like the 200 and 300 series?

Also I would love to get a 8GB RX 480 that would be ideal, but that is just not possible for me at all now, so its a choice between these two!

 

[SpaceBeer]

What about RX 470 8GB?

 

[PhonakV30]

look at this bench :

https://uk.hardware.info/reviews/70...th-23-gpus-directx-11-vs-directx-12-extensive

just check GTX 770 and R9 280X,a high quality with more texture ==> more stutter.I remembered computerbase did bench GTX1060 3Gb vs 6GB for frametimes just i can't find it.Just spend more money and go for RX480/GTX 1060 6Gb.

 

[ConsoleLover]

look at this bench :

https://uk.hardware.info/reviews/70...th-23-gpus-directx-11-vs-directx-12-extensive

just check GTX 770 and R9 280X,a high quality with more texture ==> more stutter.I remembered computerbase did bench GTX1060 3Gb vs 6GB for frametimes just i can't find it.Just spend more money and go for RX480/GTX 1060 6Gb.

Its 40 euros more and I know technically it can pay off in say 3 years, and again I don't plan on upgrading for 3 years, but again even at 255 euros I'm stretching. Optimally I'd be most happy to spend 240 euros currently since there are no other cheaper alternatives.

So essentially spending 300 euros is just too much, I'll be waiting for 3-5 more days, maybe something will pop up that is cheaper, say a cheaper RX 480 4GB or 8GB, but I'm not holding my breath for it.

That would be 60 euros over budget, at 255 euros I'm only 15 euros over budget, its something I can handle.

 

[antihelten]

I'm assuming that you're in Germany

Cheapest 1060 variant:
3GB: €208.49 including shipping
6GB: €262.52 including shipping

Cheapest RX 480 variant:
4GB: €202.49 including shipping
8GB: €250.99 including shipping (€252.52 with aftermarket cooler)

MSI Armor 1060:
3GB - €229.90 including shipping
6GB - €293.45 including shipping

Sapphire Nitro+ RX 480
4GB - €231.70 including shipping
8GB - €274.99 including shipping


Personally I would go with the 8GB RX 480 at €252.52 (and not the slightly cheaper reference version), given your stated budget, otherwise if you want to save €50 I would go with the 4GB RX 480 at €202.49. The variants you mention (MSI Armor and Sapphire Nitro+) aren't really worth the €25-30 premium imho.

 

[PhonakV30]

or you could keep your money and do more work then after 3 or 4 month , buy a card with 300 euro, Possible ? Or Can you find any used R9 290X ? does your PSU handle it ?

 

[SpaceBeer]

I was serious about RX 470 8GB. I think Nitro+ is ~240€. I would never go for 1060 3GB, even 470 4GB is better choice in my opinion. There are lot of good 4GB RX 470/480 cards in 200-230€ range, see what you like

 

[dacostafilipe]

Funny, hardware.fr released a guide comparing 1060 3GB to 470 (not 480!) 4GB ... conclusion, they go with the 470 because they think it's more future-proof.

Site: http://www.hardware.fr/articles/949...o-test-cartes-asus-evga-msi-sapphire-xfx.html

 

[AtenRa]

Currently for 1080p I would go for the RX470 4GB (from 189 Euro) if I was on low budget, otherwise RX480 8GB.

 

[ConsoleLover]

I'm assuming that you're in Germany

Cheapest 1060 variant:
3GB: €208.49 including shipping
6GB: €262.52 including shipping

Cheapest RX 480 variant:
4GB: €202.49 including shipping
8GB: €250.99 including shipping (€252.52 with aftermarket cooler)

MSI Armor 1060:
3GB - €229.90 including shipping
6GB - €293.45 including shipping

Sapphire Nitro+ RX 480
4GB - €231.70 including shipping
8GB - €274.99 including shipping


Personally I would go with the 8GB RX 480 at €252.52 (and not the slightly cheaper reference version), given your stated budget, otherwise if you want to save €50 I would go with the 4GB RX 480 at €202.49. The variants you mention (MSI Armor and Sapphire Nitro+) aren't really worth the €25-30 premium imho.

Thing is I'm not in Germany and therefore can't ship to where I am without a bigger fee, usually at least 15 euros, up to 25 euros for shipping. So essentially Amazon.ge prices round up to be equal to here.

Currently for 1080p I would go for the RX470 4GB (from 189 Euro) if I was on low budget, otherwise RX480 8GB.

Not to sound ungrateful for your reply here, but did you even read a single word I wrote? There is one 190 euros RX 470 4GB which is the Sapphire with the reference design, but that only has 6pin, so limited OC possibility and it has no DVI-D slot, and I've had issues with convertors in the past from other ports to DVI, so essentially its a NO go.

I have a 5 euros cheaper Asus Strix at 235 euros, but from the reviews on newegg there is some hard cap at that card and the cooling is also garbage, that it literally runs on 1100mhz for most of the time and never reaches its Asus set defaults.

And again the Nitro+ RX 480 8GB the cheapest is 190 euros, which is 60 euros over my budget. So its a no go, and I'd need to save up for another month to be able to gain that, which is now mid of February and talk of refresh and new gpu's in the summer, then I wait some more to hear more for that and see how thing shape up and all of a sudden its March and I'm yet to buy a GPU.

I was serious about RX 470 8GB. I think Nitro+ is ~240€. I would never go for 1060 3GB, even 470 4GB is better choice in my opinion. There are lot of good 4GB RX 470/480 cards in 200-230€ range, see what you like

But the 1060 3GB wins in pretty much 95% DX11 benches compared to the RX 470 8GB, it even wins in 80% of the benches against the 4GB 480. While memory is important, wouldn't it be a bit redundant at 1080p?

Would a faster card like 480 with 4GB be better, especially since I'm going to play on 1080p and as I said I don't plan on changing my monitor any time soon, at the earliest towards the end of 2017. So for 1080p would 4GB be enough and would 3GB be that terrible considering 95% games so far have zero issues with 3GB?

 

[cfenton]

Since they're so close in performance, I'd get the RX480 since it has more VRAM. Though, I'm not sure either of those cards will be much good in three years unless you're comfortable turning down settings quite a bit.

 

[AtenRa]

Not to sound ungrateful for your reply here, but did you even read a single word I wrote? There is one 190 euros RX 470 4GB which is the Sapphire with the reference design, but that only has 6pin, so limited OC possibility and it has no DVI-D slot, and I've had issues with convertors in the past from other ports to DVI, so essentially its a NO go.

I have a 5 euros cheaper Asus Strix at 235 euros, but from the reviews on newegg there is some hard cap at that card and the cooling is also garbage, that it literally runs on 1100mhz for most of the time and never reaches its Asus set defaults.

And again the Nitro+ RX 480 8GB the cheapest is 190 euros, which is 60 euros over my budget. So its a no go, and I'd need to save up for another month to be able to gain that, which is now mid of February and talk of refresh and new gpu's in the summer, then I wait some more to hear more for that and see how thing shape up and all of a sudden its March and I'm yet to buy a GPU.

Someone mentioned you are in Germany if im not mistaken so i had a look at prices from Germany. Are you going to buy from Germany or not ?? Because in Germany there are 3 RX 470 4GB bellow 200.00 Euro.

https://geizhals.de/?fs=rx470+4gb&in=

 

[Bacon1]

But the 1060 3GB wins in pretty much 95% DX11 benches compared to the RX 470 8GB, it even wins in 80% of the benches against the 4GB 480. While memory is important, wouldn't it be a bit redundant at 1080p?

Source? I'm guessing they are very outdated videos as the 480 is basically even with the 1060 6gb in DX11 now and the 3GB 1060 has less shaders similar to 470 vs 480.

 

[AtenRa]

Source? I'm guessing they are very outdated videos as the 480 is basically even with the 1060 6gb in DX11 now and the 3GB 1060 has less shaders similar to 470 vs 480.

From GameGPU 2016 game tests (December 2016 - January 2017), RX 480 8GB seems to be faster than GTX 1060 6GB in the majority of latest 2016 games today.
And RX 470 4GB comes very close to GTX 1060 6GB.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Currently for 1080p I would go for the RX470 4GB (from 189 Euro) if I was on low budget, otherwise RX480 8GB.

Honestly at 1080p I can't tell a huge difference between my OCed 470 4GB cards and my reference 8GB 480 card. I think the 470s are a super deal for what they are, pretty much a better GTX 970.

 

[ConsoleLover]

I was serious about RX 470 8GB. I think Nitro+ is ~240€. I would never go for 1060 3GB, even 470 4GB is better choice in my opinion. There are lot of good 4GB RX 470/480 cards in 200-230€ range, see what you like

Source? I'm guessing they are very outdated videos as the 480 is basically even with the 1060 6gb in DX11 now and the 3GB 1060 has less shaders similar to 470 vs 480.

They are outdated for a reason, watched few video reviews, with older type games to game how they would perform on older titles and 1060 3GB wins almost every time over the 470.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2R76wLCxRXY

 

[William Gaatjes]

Alternate.de has a whole range of RX480 4GB cards for more or less 240 euro.

https://www.alternate.de/html/produ...0&filter_2203=AMD+Radeon+RX+480#listingResult

For 229 euro.
https://www.alternate.de/SAPPHIRE/Radeon-RX-480-NITROplus-Grafikkarte/html/product/1305860?

edit:
Just read that you do not live in Germany.
Might be an issue when it comes to transport.

 

[Keysplayr]

Whats the return policy? Id go withe the faster cheaper 1060 3GB. If it gives you issues with older games at 1080p or newer games in dx11 mode, return it for a 6GB 1060 or 8GB 480. yes, more money, but im afraid with budgets come sacrifices.

 

[antihelten]

Thing is I'm not in Germany and therefore can't ship to where I am without a bigger fee, usually at least 15 euros, up to 25 euros for shipping. So essentially Amazon.ge prices round up to be equal to here.

Aah gotcha.

In that case I don't really think there's a perfect answer here (given the prices you have quoted). Yes the 4GB 480 might be a bit more future proof with the 1GB of extra RAM, but there's no way to really tell at this point, and given that it is more expensive, I would say that it is pretty much a wash between the cards you have mentioned.

One option would be to at least wait until the launch of Vega, and see if that puts any downwards pressure on the price of cards in your budget range. Although with the official launch window currently being H1 2017, that might end up being more time than you are willing to wait.

Also something that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet is the GSync/FreeSync scenario. If you have any particular preferences in this area, then that would probably be the deciding factor.

 

[AtenRa]

Thing is I'm not in Germany and therefore can't ship to where I am without a bigger fee, usually at least 15 euros, up to 25 euros for shipping. So essentially Amazon.ge prices round up to be equal to here.

Ok got it you are not in Germany, in that case i would go for the RX 480 4GB.

 

[daxzy]

In that case I don't really think there's a perfect answer here (given the prices you have quoted). Yes the 4GB 480 might be a bit more future proof with the 1GB of extra RAM, but there's no way to really tell at this point, and given that it is more expensive, I would say that it is pretty much a wash between the cards you have mentioned.

Historical precedence? Look how well the 2GB Kepler cards are doing compared to the 3GB GCN's. I would go for a RX 470 4GB than a GTX 1060 3GB. Of course you could lower the texture quality to compensate for the lack of VRAM in future titles, but doesn't that defeat the whole point of graphics fidelity?

 

[ConsoleLover]

So since the 480 4GB won overwhelmingly in the vote over the 1060 3GB, I'm going to go with the RX 480 4GB. I'll wait couple more days, I think new shipments may arrive now that the holidays and all the new year's stuff is over, so see if there is possibly any decrease in prices and then I'll order.

 

[Ancalagon44]

Read the HardwareCanucks review of the 480 8GB vs the 1060 6GB. Basically, in the months since the cards came out, AMD's drivers have improved their performance to the extent that the 480 is now tied with the 1060 in DX11 games and beats it in DX12 games.

Bear in mind that the difference between the 1060 3GB and 1060 6GB is not just the memory - the entire graphics card is more stripped down. The 3GB version lacks functional units that the 6GB version has, and that makes it slower than you might expect. I cannot believe it could come anywhere close to beating a 480 - would like to see benchmarks.

The 480 4GB is identical to the 8GB version apart from of course the amount of memory but also the speed of the memory. The 8GB version uses higher speed memory (8GBps vs 7GBps).

 

[NomanA]

So since the 480 4GB won overwhelmingly in the vote over the 1060 3GB, I'm going to go with the RX 480 4GB. I'll wait couple more days, I think new shipments may arrive now that the holidays and all the new year's stuff is over, so see if there is possibly any decrease in prices and then I'll order.

I'll still recommend RX 470 8GB, even over RX 480 4GB, especially Sapphire Nitro version. The Nitro version is the only RX 470 running the 8gbps VRAM (which is same as RX 480), and comes with factory overclock of 1260MHz, and goes to 1320MHz, while you can very likely *undervolt* the card. Most of the RX 470 benchmarks you see online are from 4GB, stock clock versions.

At 1320 MHz with VRAM also overclocked, RX 470 8GB is easily better than the stock RX 480 4GB. Sure you can overclock RX 480, but even when both cards are overclocked, there's very little difference.

The 8GB RAM will surely come in handy during the time you'll be using this card. It already does in few games.

 

[tential]

So since the 480 4GB won overwhelmingly in the vote over the 1060 3GB, I'm going to go with the RX 480 4GB. I'll wait couple more days, I think new shipments may arrive now that the holidays and all the new year's stuff is over, so see if there is possibly any decrease in prices and then I'll order.

The 470 4gb isn't available at a significant discount for you? Why get a 480 4gb when the 470 is a far better value? The general rule with amd is to never buy a full size chip if you care about budget. The cut down chip (470) gives almost all the performance and a price cut.