[Ars] Nvidia or AMD: Who makes the best budget graphics card?

[NTMBK]

If you can't afford a GTX 1060 or RX 480, there's a clear winner at under $200.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/01/best-budget-graphics-card/

Not really a surprise to anyone here.

 

[IEC]

RX470 between $120-$140 after rebate is about as good as it gets.

Examples here (4 different RX 470 cards in that range in the past two weeks):
https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/search?q=RX+470&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all

 

[happy medium]

under $200?
I seen a Nitro rx 470 8gb with a factory 1260 core ,and stock 8000 ram (same as 480) for $190 and a free Hitman game..
That's like 97% of the speed of a 8gb 480.

 

[crisium]

They didn't even mention the 1060 3GB, which is a completely different card from the 6GB version in shaders as well. I wonder if they don't consider it viable, or they overlooked it accidentally.

 

[daxzy]

They are using EU prices, and those are totally different than US. Like seriously, who would even consider (in the US) a RX 460 4GB @ $130?

They didn't even mention the 1060 3GB, which is a completely different card from the 6GB version in shaders as well. I wonder if they don't consider it viable, or they overlooked it accidentally.

Probably overlooked or just negligence. The data point would be helpful, though.

 

[whm1974]

They are using EU prices, and those are totally different than US. Like seriously, who would even consider (in the US) a RX 460 4GB @ $130?



Probably overlooked or just negligence. The data point would be helpful, though.

I wonder why they are using EU prices instead of US anyway?

 

[Bacon1]

I wonder why they are using EU prices instead of US anyway?

This post originated on Ars Technica UK

 

[antihelten]

They didn't even mention the 1060 3GB, which is a completely different card from the 6GB version in shaders as well. I wonder if they don't consider it viable, or they overlooked it accidentally.

Probably overlooked it accidentally. After all, if they don't consider it to be viable, they should still have included it in the review, so people can see exactly why it is not a viable alternative.

 

[Hazar]

In my opinion AMD and RX 470 8 GB best budget card it's just 190$ 1260 stream core 8 GB vRAM it will going to long time..

 

[Sonikku]

This is the best deal Sonikku sees for budget PC gaming.

https://www.fatwallet.com/deals/msi...ideo-card-rx-470-armor-4g-hitman-pcdd-3260135

And if you're a budget gamer and you don't buy this, your machine is probably bad and you should feel bad.

 

[IllogicalGlory]

This is the best deal Sonikku sees for budget PC gaming.

https://www.fatwallet.com/deals/msi...ideo-card-rx-470-armor-4g-hitman-pcdd-3260135

And if you're a budget gamer and you don't buy this, your machine is probably bad and you should feel bad.

Yeah, that's definitely the card to have for a $500-$600 gaming rig. Pair that with a hyperthreaded Pentium, or (hopefully) a $120-$130 4-core Ryzen for maximum value.

 

[RussianSensation]

RX470 4GB for $130 USD is the best budget gaming card, and it makes the GTX1050Ti 2-4GB for $125-130
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/01/best-budget-graphics-card/

Not really a surprise to anyone here.

The best part is RX 470 4GB for $130 comes with a Hitman is faster than the $700 November 2013 GTX780Ti. The game can be sold for at least $15, making the RX 470 4GB a $115 videocard. That means an 84% depreciation in just over 3 years for flagship level of NV Kepler gaming performance. That's why buying flagship $600-700 is a total waste of time and money for 95% of PC gamers; and yet these videocards get the most marketing hype and attention. $600-700 Flagship GPUs is one of the biggest marketing scams in all of PC hardware. By the time next generation games come out to take advantage of these cards, this level of performance costs $300-350. These cards are literally suitable for only 4 purposes: (1) 4K or greater gaming, (2) 1080p 144Hz / 1440 100Hz gaming, (3) multi-monitor gaming, (4) bragging rights/showing-off/online e-peen.

RX 470 4GB and RX 480 4GB have no real competition in the DIY desktop market right now for objective PC gamers. GTX1050 may make some sense in a cutting edge small HTPC case, but that's about it.

MSI RX 480 4GB is $154, another amazing deal in the budget dGPU space right now, and isn't much more than the RX 470 4GB.

RX 470 4GB is 34% faster on average than the $125 GTX1050Ti 4GB according to Computerbase, while RX 480 4GB will be 40-50% faster at a minimum. Despite such dramatic advantage for AMD cards in performance and price/performance, the average Joe drones will continue to buy the inferior GTX1050/1050Ti and GTX1060 3GB in ratios 5-10 NV: 1 AMD, while complain online about $3-4 of extra electricity costs a year on the AMD cards. Time and time again, the dGPU market proves with market share and sales number what I've been saying for more than a decade now -- most dGPU hardware purchases are based on brand name, perception (flagship card is fastest so the rest of the stack "must" be superior too), what "your friend told you to buy", not actual performance or price/performance or what the best product is. Also, most gamers do little to no purchase for their GPU purchases -- they go into a store with a fixed budget of say $100, $150, $200, $250, etc. and just blindly buy NV. Too bad since once again generation after generation AMD has the better budget gaming cards.

In the $200-250 segment, RX 480 8GB is again a better value. It's easy to find an AIB 480 8GB for $200-210, while most GTX1060 6GB cards sell for $240-250. Despite this, the AIB GTX1060 6GB is only 5% faster than an AIB RX 480 8GB per the same charts.

In conclusion, in the U.S., for most consumers that aren't PCB length constrained, AMD offers better purchases in the $130-$250 desktop dGPU market segments, a huge part of the market, and yet market share doesn't reflect this at all.

"Man I Really wish I had some of the stuff Nvidia sheep are smoking."
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/916373-pc/74215879?page=0

 

[tential]

Come on man with the inflammatory link.
Yes, Nvidia has poor value at the low end, but we already know they trickle down their brand recognition from the high end to the low end.
Also, Nvidia has gotten better at the low end. Now, it's really just the ULTRA low. So the 470 is better than the 1050ti? Ideally, consumers would NOT cross shop the to. Obviously, they do, but they're 2 cards that server DIFFERENT choices.
The 1060 3GB vs the 470/480 4GB is the real story. And with the 1060, Nvidia has delivered the best value they've delivered in this bracket.

For all the complaining, it's ONLY gotten more competitive.

I mean, you can't go wrong with ANY gpu choice above $200.....

 

[ElFenix]

there was a 480 4GB at newegg for $160AR today. i don't know how you can pick any other card. to get significantly better performance from a new-gen card you'd have to step all the way up to a 1070 for $330. that's double!

 

[tential]

there was a 480 4GB at newegg for $160AR today. i don't know how you can pick any other card. to get significantly better performance from a new-gen card you'd have to step all the way up to a 1070 for $330. that's double!

Make a thread and see. I'm sure tons of people will pick a different card than that. The best value product doesn't always win out.
At least you'll see the explanations people give as to why they don't want your choice.

 

[ElFenix]

Make a thread and see. I'm sure tons of people will pick a different card than that. The best value product doesn't always win out.
At least you'll see the explanations people give as to why they don't want your choice.

I thought that's what we were discussing.

 

[tential]

I thought that's what we were discussing.

I mean your specific scenario.
"Why would you pick a different Budget GPU than the 480 4GB off newegg right now for $160? You can't find a better deal. I'm the best ever!!!!"
Edit: Otherwise, we'll never know why they don't want that specific deal. Which is insane. But I would actually be curious in seeing the EXACT reasoning people give to why they would pick something different.


We're discussing the best budget GPU.
Which isn't much of a discussion in my opinion as Nvidia has zero incentive to provide a good at this range given their past performance sales wise.
They sell the GPUs already, why lower the price? It's up to the consumer to switch GPU brands, until Nvidia isn't able to profit maximize at their current prices and are forced to offer better value.

The only reason Nvidia GPUs are attractive to me at the low end is because I don't configure my GPUs with wattman or have a killawatt, so without any configuration, Nvidia does better for a pure power consumption outlook for games like LoL or CS Source or Dota 2. Otherwise....
That's my stretch situation for the low end. But one I do like, as if I bought my little brother a new rig, I'd probably put a GTX 1060 in it.

 

[caswow]

are there any tests with cs:s, dota 2 or lol with power consumption?

 

[ElFenix]

I mean your specific scenario.
"Why would you pick a different Budget GPU than the 480 4GB off newegg right now for $160? You can't find a better deal. I'm the best ever!!!!"

well, i am the best ever, but i didn't say that here. please don't put things in quotes that aren't quotes. i'm perfectly capable of adding my own hyperbole myself (which i did), thank you very much. and it's actually $155 AR, i misremembered. so even better deal.

Edit: Otherwise, we'll never know why they don't want that specific deal. Which is insane. But I would actually be curious in seeing the EXACT reasoning people give to why they would pick something different.


We're discussing the best budget GPU.
Which isn't much of a discussion in my opinion as Nvidia has zero incentive to provide a good at this range given their past performance sales wise.
They sell the GPUs already, why lower the price? It's up to the consumer to switch GPU brands, until Nvidia isn't able to profit maximize at their current prices and are forced to offer better value.

so, i think you generally agree with me. but you're kind of all over the place.

and of course this is deal specific (and limited to US customers blah blah). so the question comes down to repeatablity. to me, this is a continuation of the drop in price that polaris 10 has been going through. so, i see it as part of a broader trend that includes 470s for $140 on a somewhat regular basis nowadays (maybe the 470 for $140 is a slightly better deal, dunno). just poking around on slickdeals it seems like the best 1060 deal that didn't involve VCO or a big amex single use coupon (which are applicable to anything on the egg or amazon or wherever) has been a 3GB model for $190 (and, really, nvidia should have named it the 1060 and 1060Ti if they were consistent, but that's another discussion). so, about the same performance, maybe half a tick better, but $35 more. 8GB 480s and 1060Tis are right out.

The only reason Nvidia GPUs are attractive to me at the low end is because I don't configure my GPUs with wattman or have a killawatt, so without any configuration, Nvidia does better for a pure power consumption outlook for games like LoL or CS Source or Dota 2. Otherwise....
That's my stretch situation for the low end. But one I do like, as if I bought my little brother a new rig, I'd probably put a GTX 1060 in it.

if you're extremely power-constrained (say, using one of silverstone's 300watt SFX supplies) then i'd agree. but if you're not? that's spending $35 now to maybe, someday, save $35 on electricity. perhaps. i've done the math on that. the payback is years at average american electric rates. i dunno, maybe you live in hawaii and pay much higher rates.

but, as a general thing, for average americans and not commies, if 480s are going to be regularly $35 or more cheaper than 1060s, the 480s are a better buy.

 

[AtenRa]

if you're extremely power-constrained (say, using one of silverstone's 300watt SFX supplies) then i'd agree. but if you're not? that's spending $35 now to maybe, someday, save $35 on electricity. perhaps. i've done the math on that. the payback is years at average american electric rates. i dunno, maybe you live in hawaii and pay much higher rates.

but, as a general thing, for average americans and not commies, if 480s are going to be regularly $35 or more cheaper than 1060s, the 480s are a better buy.

The ONLY reason to buy a GTX1050Ti over the RX 470 is the card size not the PSU, even with the 300W SFX PSU you can use the RX 470 4GB.
The problem i currently see with AMD Polaris 10 cards is not the power consumption that much but the card length, i have no idea why we havent seen any RX 470 4GB with a small PCB design.

Its just AMD doesnt know how to promote their hardware, just create a 95W TDP SFF sub $200 RX 480 4GB and this thing will just sell by itself because everyone will talk about it.

 

[happy medium]

with the 300W SFX PSU you can use the RX 470 4GB.

So if you had a fx9530 @ 5.0 and a 470 , you would use a 300 watt PSU?
Good luck with that.

Threadcrapping is not allowed
Markfw
Anandtech Moderator

 

[AtenRa]

So if you had a fx9530 @ 5.0 and a 470 , you would use a 300 watt PSU?
Good luck with that.

Seriously ??? you would have a 5GHz FX with a 300W SFX PSU ?? or if you had a 5GHz FX you could use the GTX 1060 with a 300W SFX PSU ???

I really dont understand why you even had to mention a 5GHz CPU, any 5GHz CPU with a 300W PSU.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Yeah, that's definitely the card to have for a $500-$600 gaming rig. Pair that with a hyperthreaded Pentium, or (hopefully) a $120-$130 4-core Ryzen for maximum value.

Actually, there must be a typo. 159.99 minus 20.00 rebate is 139.99, not 129.99. Still a great deal though.

 

[nurturedhate]

So if you had a fx9530 @ 5.0 and a 470 , you would use a 300 watt PSU?
Good luck with that.

This may well be the most ridiculous argument I have seen on this forum. What on earth is the point of even typing that. You might as well question if someone could run 4 fx9350s, 2 Titans, and a 1500w space heater using only a hamster on a treadmill and a pinwheel shoved out a window. It's insane and a complete threadcrapping.

A 470 and a comparable cpu can run on a 300-400w psu.

 

[happy medium]

A 470 and a comparable cpu can run on a 300-400w psu.

Not with a overclocked AMD cpu, that's the point.