plyr0ne

So far, I've noticed that the an overclocked rx480 performs better then a stock gtx 970 when I had an i3 4360 installed in my computer. When I overclocked the gtx 970, the rx480 gave higher high frame rates, but also lower lows (most likely CPU bottleneck), while the overclocked gtx 970 gave more consistent frame rates. I've recently swapped in an i5 4690k (currently at stock +turbo) and my gtx 970 and rx480 overclocks both became unstable with the presence of the upgraded CPU (not sure why, maybe since they got to work harder they couldn't handle them). I've seen a slight bump in frame rates for both. The gtx 970 gives me a better score and higher fps using the heaven benchmark, but lower fps when using the Division benchmark. The rx480 gives me higher fps in game in the Division and with the new CPU, and the frame rates are more stable. I was debating on which one to use in the main rig. When nothing graphically intensive it going on the gtx970 exhibits more stable behavior (the clock speed stays more consistent), and the rx480 sometimes seems like its clocks are all over the place for no reason (crappy AMD drivers..?). I really like the gtx 970, but since it sports a newer architecture and I recently got a freesync monitor, I will be sticking with the rx480. I do have to mention though, I kind of hate AMD's drivers.

Interesting twist to a seemingly dead topic. So even though I already picked up an RX 480 (4gb sapphire nitro +), I also got my hands on a GTX 970 (evga SC) for super cheap, so I will attempt to do some comparisons and give my opinion, in hopes that it might help anyone else out. So far I'm impressed with the amd drivers.

I appreciate all of the advice. I was deciding which gtx 1060 3gb model to go with... but the opportunity to pick up an 4gb Sapphire Nitro + rx 480 for an outstanding price fell into my lap and I took it. It's one that has the 4gb sticker over 8gb on the box, so if I get ballsy enough, I might try a bios update to see if I'm lucky enough to get those 4 extra gigs of vram.

Which card do you think is better @ the $200 (give or take a few bucks) and under price range. Where I am located a lot of used gtx 970's have been dropping to the $200 and under mark, so all 3 are around the same price for me. Please share your opinion about which card you think is the best option and why. Thanks.

It looks like the concusses is that I should upgrade both the CPU and GPU. Thanks everyone for sharing your opinions and helping me out.

You're advice is the path I will probably ultimately take. I still want to hear what other people think though.

Just as a side not, I mentioned before that I wanted a evga GTX 1060 or 1050. I like a lot of the Nvidia features, but that Sapphire Nitro RX480 is a sexy looking card...

Any suggestions of a CPU to upgrade to? Thanks for the opinion.

I put this in the Graphics card section because the entire thing revolves around upgrading a graphics card. Recently I've been lured over to the dark side from console to PC gaming. The main computer that I currently use has... core i3 4360 ASUS Z97i mini itx mother board 16gb 1600 mhz corsair ram WD Black 2 hybrid drive (120GB ssd + 1TB mechanical) corsair cx750 psu Thermaltake V1 core mini-itx case (so there is plenty of room and space for a bigger GPU) and recently the addition of a evga gtx 750 ti sc to that was had for $60 as something I could get my feet wet in terms of overclocking/just having a video card at the moment. This card will eventually go into my wife's system to drive multiple monitors. I built this unit march 14th 2015 (same day I asked my wife to marry me, Pi day was a really good day for me) Either way a new video card is going to happen some. I was personally thinking that I would get a gtx 1050 if they are any good, and if not pick up a 1060. Most likely evga and hopefully an acx cooler model if they release one. I feel these would be adequate to run 2560x1080 on the LG 25" ultrawide I'm currently using. Now what I'm looking to see is should I... option 1: Just get a new GPU and be happy that my games look better then they would on console... option 2: upgrade my i3 to an i5 (if so what model) along with the GPU... or option 3: invest in a new build around the new GPU... New build would also be mini-itx (it's just my thing for some reason) Basically I'm looking for a good balance between being cost effective and having an adequate experience. Remember that I'm coming from a console background, and have been satisfied with what I've experienced, so I don't need a gianormass leap in performance. As far as games go, the only game I don't already have on console (sorry not trying to buy them again, except for GTA V) is the Division, and Overwatch has also peeked my interest. I also have a g27 and a t300, so Grand Tourism will most likely happen as well.

Trying to make the transition from console to PC gaming, but man are things expensive on this side. My Screen and PC is adequate, just need to eventually upgrade my video card. As far as my peripherals go, I'm rocking a wireless logitech k360 keyboard (that works when it feels that the keyboard activities I'm involved in are worthy), an m570 trackball (love it for casual use, but obviously can't game with it), and creative A50 speakers. In game I can tell that something's happening in front of me, oh wait... that's just because my speakers are sitting in front of me... oh and apparently I just became subscriber 2,885,600 on YouTube. I love nice round numbers.