[INFO] RX 480 VS GTX 1060

[RadiatingLight]

This topic mainly concerns gaming. if you are looking for video editing, rendering, etc. performance, look at online benchmarks, not here.

 

 

This is a thread intended to clear up controversy and dispel rumors about which video card is better between the AMD RX 480 and the NVidia GTX 1060.

Feel free to correct me on anything I get wrong, and to put this thread in your sig.

 

 

GTX 1060 3GB

Spoiler

The GTX 1060 comes in two models. one with 6GB of VRAM, and one with 3GB of VRAM.

The 3GB model differs from the 'normal' GTX 1060 in more than just VRAM. The GTX 1060 3GB has slightly less CUDA cores, which means it will preform worse in games regardless of VRAM limits

In modern day titles, 3GB of VRAM is really pushing the limits, and in next-gen titles, 3GB may not be enough. look at this scene in rise of the tomb raider, where the 3GB of VRAM isn't enough, and the GTX 1060 3GB Stutters, and falls behind even the RX 470.

.

 

The 3GB GTX 1060 is not a GPU i would recommend picking up due to it's low VRAM, and uncompetitive pricing.

currently, the lowest price GTX 1060 3GB i can find is 170USD including rebates, which puts it at about the same price tier as the RX 480 4GB, which has more VRAM, and is more powerful.

 

Also note that the RX 470 is a great alternative to the GTX 1060 3GB if you're on a budget.

it can be found for as low as $140 and although it is weaker than the RX 480, is still an amazing card for an amazing value.

 

to be clear, the GTX 1060 3GB is not a bad card, but there are simply better cards at the same price point.

if you already have a GTX 1060 3GB, don't feel bad. you still have a great 1080p gaming card. but for prospective purchasers, get the RX 480 4GB. (or if you really want to save money, the RX470)

TL;DR: GTX 1060 3GB is not a good buy because it doesn't have enough VRAM, and isn't priced low enough.

 

RX 480 VS GTX 1060

 

At launch, the GTX 1060 beat the RX480 (both 8GB and 4GB) in almost every DX11 game

but with a few months to optimize their respective drivers, the RX 480 now breaks even with the GTX 1060 in DX11 games, and obviously pulls ahead in DX12.

 

(Due to recent driver updates, this video is now wrong. check the TL;DR at the bottom of the page)

this video shows that in many games, the RX480 and GTX 1060 trade blows, but in DX12, the RX480 pulls ahead.

 

Specifically, the RX 480 is 6% faster in DX12, and is 1% slower at DX11 (2% in 1080p, 0% in 1440p)

 

(Due to recent driver updates, these charts are now wrong. check the TL;DR at the bottom of the page)

 

 

Exclusive Features:

Both AMD and NVidia have some exclusive features which may influence which card you end up buying.

the most important of the two, are IMO, Freesync and G-sync, so you may want to look into those before buying your GPU. in almost all cases, free sync is better.

 

NVidia:

• G-Sync (Rivalled by AMD's arguably better Free sync)
• NVidia SMP (No AMD Equivalent)
• NVidia Ansel (No AMD Equivalent)
• PhysX (No AMD Equivalent)
• Shadow play (Rivalled by AMD Relive)

AMD:

• Free sync (Rivalled by NVidia G-Sync)
• AMD Relive (Rivalled by NVidia's arguably better Shadow play)
• Vulkan performance is significantly better
• DX12 performance is noticeably better.

 

RX 480 4GB vs 8GB:

The 4GB of VRAM on the RX480 4GB should be enough for all modern games, and in benchmarks (like this one: https://youtu.be/JjTUtUF6gxg)

there is usually only a 2-3% drop in FPS between the cards. however, a large portion of that slight dip may be due to the slower memory speed used on the 4GB model, and it's up to you to decide if you want to spend much more money, for only a bit more performance. keep in mind you're paying about 15% more money for a 4% performance boost. although this performance boost could get better as time goes on and games use more VRAM.

 

Conclusion (Now Wrong -- Check the TL;DR at the bottom):

The GTX 1060 3GB is a very bad value, and if you're considering getting it, you should get the RX 480 4GB instead.

The GTX 1060 6GB and RX 480 are very close in terms of performance, with the 8GB model being slightly better than the 1060 6GB. If both cards were priced the same, it wouldn't really matter which one you bought, but at the moment (and for the foreseeable future) the RX480 is quite a bit cheaper. at the time of writing, the cheapest RX480 is at an astounding 165USD on Newegg, not including the 20$ Mail-in-Rebate. this is the ideal budget card for great gaming at 1080p. if you want the best of the best, there are RX480 8GB models on the market for 220USD, with an additional 20$ MIR, which is cheaper than the cheapest GTX 1060 6GB.

Basically, the RX 480 beats the GTX 1060 in almost every category, and is almost always a better buy.

 

NOTE: If the GTX 1060 is cheaper in your region, then get it. this proves that both cards are at approximately the same level of gaming performance, and so people should get the cheaper card, (which is usually the RX480). although if they are at the same price, get the RX 480 due to freesync, Vulkan, and FineWine^tm Tech

 

Sources:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2016-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1060-3gb-vs-6gb-review

 

 

READ:

 

@deXxterlab97 made a very informative chart, linked here, showing the prices of various cards.

 

EDIT 2:

 

As of late march, NVIDIA has released a driver update for the 1060, which actually puts it slightly ahead of the RX 480 8GB in older DX 11 titles, and close to equal in modern DX11

Still recommend the RX 480 because of AMD finewine

Shown in this vid ↓

 

 

because of this change, if the GTX 1060 6GB is the same price than an RX 480 8GB, I would have to recommend the 1060 from a pure performance perspective in today's titles, but not the AAA games of the future. so, RX 480 is still better (recurring theme). although some people may still be willing to give up a few dollars for free sync, but that's up to you.

 

Now, I'm forced to make a new TL;DR because the old one is invalid.

 

 

 

TL;DR:

 

the 1060 3GB is still garbage. get the RX 480 4GB or even the RX 470 instead.

the 1060 6GB is very good, and performance wise, falls between a 4GB and 8GB model of the RX 480.

RX 480 4GB is perfect for a less-expensive option that doesn't cost much more. way cheaper than the 8GB model, but only slightly worse performance. however, the 1060 beats this card in modern games (not DX12/Vulkan obviously)

the RX 480 8GB is the best IMO. it might not always have more FPS than a 1060 6GB, but it offers things like freesync, which is very important to some people. also, it is usually much cheaper, so there's still a very compelling reason to get the 480 8GB. I'd recommend an RX480 or RX580 to anyone who asks for a midrange GPU.

 

For RX 580, just add a few % to the RX 480. it's not enough to cleanly beat the 1060 in all games, but it's definitely enough to push you even further to get it, and it's the same price as the 480, so... it just makes the card a better value.

[Megah3rtz]

please sticky or something, this is overdue 

[Droidbot]

god tier, but mention the 470 as a lower priced option to the 3gb 1060

[JoostinOnline]

34 minutes ago, RadiatingLight said:

The GTX 1060 3GB is a very bad value, and if you're considering getting it, you should get the RX 480 4GB instead.

Compared to the 6GB one, it's an amazing value.  There's like a 5% performance increase at most (unless you play Mirror's Edge Catalyst at Hyper settings for some strange reason), and but a 25% cost increase.

 

20 minutes ago, Megah3rtz said:

please sticky or something, this is overdue 

I just recommended that.  They immediately said no and locked the topic.

[RadiatingLight]

6 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

Compared to the 6GB one, it's an amazing value.  There's like a 5% performance increase at most (unless you play Mirror's Edge Catalyst at Hyper settings for some strange reason), and but a 25% cost increase.

Sure, but like I said, the RX 480 4GB is an even better value.

[Megah3rtz]

6 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

They immediately said no and locked the topic.

? its not locked 

[RadiatingLight]

1 minute ago, Megah3rtz said:

? its not locked 

Yes it is.

 

they said they're not going to sticky something which isn't objective. some people think the 1060 is better, some people say the 480 is better.

[Megah3rtz]

1 minute ago, RadiatingLight said:

Yes it is.

 

they said they're not going to sticky something which isn't objective. some people think the 1060 is better, some people say the 480 is better.

Oh, I thought he meant this thread. 

[RadiatingLight]

12 minutes ago, Droidbot said:

god tier, but mention the 470 as a lower priced option to the 3gb 1060

Thanks!

I will edit my post to include the RX 470 as an alternative to the 3GB gtx 1060

[JoostinOnline]

1 minute ago, RadiatingLight said:

Sure, but like I said, the RX 480 4GB is an even better value.

But the card alone is a great value.  You literally tried to sum up a cards entire performance with a single frame.  Just saying, don't tell people who have the card that it was a bad choice.  Overall, it's pretty good.

1 minute ago, Megah3rtz said:

? its not locked 

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/734836-a-pinned-1060-vs-480-topic/

 

[JoostinOnline]

3 minutes ago, RadiatingLight said:

Yes it is.

 

they said they're not going to sticky something which isn't objective. some people think the 1060 is better, some people say the 480 is better.

They could have just had a single stickied discussion thread though.  A single thread for everyone to ask questions and discuss price/driver changes.   Their decision doesn't make any sense to me, but what's done is done.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

Compared to the 6GB one, it's an amazing value.  There's like a 5% performance increase at most (unless you play Mirror's Edge Catalyst at Hyper settings for some strange reason), and but a 25% cost increase.

 

I just recommended that.  They immediately said no and locked the topic.

MEC at hyper has lots of issues. I encountered them with my RX 480 4GB and one of the LTT user got stutter with his 1070 too

[JoostinOnline]

1 minute ago, deXxterlab97 said:

MEC at hyper has lots of issues. I encountered them with my RX 480 4GB and one of the LTT user got stutter with his 1070 too

Yeah, I don't understand why anyone would even bother playing at that level (unless you've got like a 3 way GTX 1080 SLI or something), which is why I don't think it should affect your decision.

[RadiatingLight]

6 minutes ago, JoostinOnline said:

But the card alone is a great value.  You literally tried to sum up a cards entire performance with a single frame.  Just saying, don't tell people who have the card that it was a bad choice.  Overall, it's pretty good.

Sure, but this is mostly for people looking to buy a new card, and the RX480's better.

i will update the post to say that the performance isn't bad, but is simply less compared to what other cards at the same price can provide.

 

[NTDaws]

I think this post was already made.

[RadiatingLight]

1 minute ago, Dawson Wehage said:

I think this post was already made.

where? can you link it?

[NTDaws]

1 minute ago, RadiatingLight said:

where? can you link it?

I can't remember, it was like 2 months ago. lol.

[RadiatingLight]

2 minutes ago, Dawson Wehage said:

I can't remember, it was like 2 months ago. lol.

BTW your sig in unreadable in daytime mode. you might want to lower the brightness of that yellow and pink text

[NTDaws]

1 minute ago, RadiatingLight said:

BTW your sig in unreadable in daytime mode. you might want to lower the brightness of that yellow and pink text

what yellow and pink?

[xAcid9]

Can someone make a chart or excel sheet where you can input the price of these card and it will output the price/performance of it? =p

[Guest]

1 minute ago, xAcid9 said:

Can someone make a chart or excel sheet where you can input the price of these card and it will output the price/performance of it? =p

Prece fluctuates a lot. And performance is really small difference between same card. It's all about temps, noise

[RadiatingLight]

1 minute ago, xAcid9 said:

Can someone make a chart or excel sheet where you can input the price of these card and it will output the price/performance of it? =p

it's quite hard to do as many cards have factory overclocks, and different amounts of Vram, different amounts of power, and different turbo boost speeds all matter.

[RadiatingLight]

4 minutes ago, xAcid9 said:

Can someone make a chart or excel sheet where you can input the price of these card and it will output the price/performance of it? =p

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

[Guest]

1 minute ago, RadiatingLight said:

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_value.html

It compares between different generation of cards, it doesn't really compare price/performance let's say FE and Asus Strix

[RadiatingLight]

1 minute ago, deXxterlab97 said:

It compares between different generation of cards, it doesn't really compare price/performance let's say FE and Asus Strix

No, it just shows the best cards in terms of price/performance.