Jump to content

"like new" GTX 970 or a new GTX 1060?

Hey guys so I'm seeing "like new" GTX 970's for around $170-$240. Some haven't even been unboxed and some have been used a couple of times, is it better buying this or buying a new gtx 1060 for ~20 bucks more? 
I'd like your opinions, thanks! 

Vulcan (Main): Intel Xeon E3-1241 V3 | MSI GTX 1060 Armor OC | G. Skill Sniper 16GB + 4GB @1600  | Crucial BX100 120GB, 1TB WD Caviar Blue, 2TB Seagate Barracuda, 1TB External Seagate Portable | EVGA 650 GQ | Cryorig H7 | NZXT Source 210 Elite

Carbon (Laptop): Lenovo ThinkPad x230 | Core i7 3520m | 8GB Memory (2x4GB)  | 180GB SSD, Sandisk Ultra 128GB SD Card

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

The best one on the price range is the RX 480, but between GTX 1060 and GTX 970, you really should get the GTX 1060.

Spoiler

Main PC: CPU Xeon E3-1231 V3 - MB Asrock B85M Pro3 - RAM 16GB Kingston - GPU GTX 1070 Gainward Phoenix - PSU Corsair AX760i - Monitor  LG 22EA63 - Keyboard Corsair Strafe - Mouse Logitech G402 - Storage 2x3TB WD Green - 240GB OCZ SSD

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1060, it's performance is around that of a 980. I would also take a look at the rx 480 though.

Current LTT F@H Rank: 90    Score: 2,503,680,659    Stats

Yes, I have 9 monitors.

My main PC (Hybrid Windows 10/Arch Linux):

OS: Arch Linux w/ XFCE DE (VFIO-Patched Kernel) as host OS, windows 10 as guest

CPU: Ryzen 9 3900X w/PBO on (6c 12t for host, 6c 12t for guest)

Cooler: Noctua NH-D15

Mobo: Asus X470-F Gaming

RAM: 32GB G-Skill Ripjaws V @ 3200MHz (12GB for host, 20GB for guest)

GPU: Guest: EVGA RTX 3070 FTW3 ULTRA Host: 2x Radeon HD 8470

PSU: EVGA G2 650W

SSDs: Guest: Samsung 850 evo 120 GB, Samsung 860 evo 1TB Host: Samsung 970 evo 500GB NVME

HDD: Guest: WD Caviar Blue 1 TB

Case: Fractal Design Define R5 Black w/ Tempered Glass Side Panel Upgrade

Other: White LED strip to illuminate the interior. Extra fractal intake fan for positive pressure.

 

unRAID server (Plex, Windows 10 VM, NAS, Duplicati, game servers):

OS: unRAID 6.11.2

CPU: Ryzen R7 2700x @ Stock

Cooler: Noctua NH-U9S

Mobo: Asus Prime X470-Pro

RAM: 16GB G-Skill Ripjaws V + 16GB Hyperx Fury Black @ stock

GPU: EVGA GTX 1080 FTW2

PSU: EVGA G3 850W

SSD: Samsung 970 evo NVME 250GB, Samsung 860 evo SATA 1TB 

HDDs: 4x HGST Dekstar NAS 4TB @ 7200RPM (3 data, 1 parity)

Case: Sillverstone GD08B

Other: Added 3x Noctua NF-F12 intake, 2x Noctua NF-A8 exhaust, Inatek 5 port USB 3.0 expansion card with usb 3.0 front panel header

Details: 12GB ram, GTX 1080, USB card passed through to windows 10 VM. VM's OS drive is the SATA SSD. Rest of resources are for Plex, Duplicati, Spaghettidetective, Nextcloud, and game servers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

If you think you will be using more than 3.5gb of vram dont buy the GTX 970 
1060 is the safe option

 

unless youre on a tight budget with no room to play

Photography / Finance / Gaming

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, J/C said:

Hey guys so I'm seeing "like new" GTX 970's for around $170-$240. Some haven't even been unboxed and some have been used a couple of times, is it better buying this or buying a new gtx 1060 for ~20 bucks more? 
I'd like your opinions, thanks! 

Out of those two, the GTX 1060.

Project White Lightning (My ITX Gaming PC): Core i5-4690K | CRYORIG H5 Ultimate | ASUS Maximus VII Impact | HyperX Savage 2x8GB DDR3 | Samsung 850 EVO 250GB | WD Black 1TB | Sapphire RX 480 8GB NITRO+ OC | Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ITX | Corsair AX760 | LG 29UM67 | CM Storm Quickfire Ultimate | Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum | HyperX Cloud II | Logitech Z333

Benchmark Results: 3DMark Firestrike: 10,528 | SteamVR VR Ready (avg. quality 7.1) | VRMark 7,004 (VR Ready)

 

Other systems I've built:

Core i3-6100 | CM Hyper 212 EVO | MSI H110M ECO | Corsair Vengeance LPX 1x8GB DDR4  | ADATA SP550 120GB | Seagate 500GB | EVGA ACX 2.0 GTX 1050 Ti | Fractal Design Core 1500 | Corsair CX450M

Core i5-4590 | Intel Stock Cooler | Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI | HyperX Savage 2x4GB DDR3 | Seagate 500GB | Intel Integrated HD Graphics | Fractal Design Arc Mini R2 | be quiet! Pure Power L8 350W

 

I am not a professional. I am not an expert. I am just a smartass. Don't try and blame me if you break something when acting upon my advice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...why are you still reading this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1060 if you play mostly DX11
480 if you play mostly DX12/Vulkan or if it's 50$ or less.

Archangel (Desktop) CPU: i5 4590 GPU:Asus R9 280  3GB RAM:HyperX Beast 2x4GBPSU:SeaSonic S12G 750W Mobo:GA-H97m-HD3 Case:CM Silencio 650 Storage:1 TB WD Red
Celestial (Laptop 1) CPU:i7 4720HQ GPU:GTX 860M 4GB RAM:2x4GB SK Hynix DDR3Storage: 250GB 850 EVO Model:Lenovo Y50-70
Seraph (Laptop 2) CPU:i7 6700HQ GPU:GTX 970M 3GB RAM:2x8GB DDR4Storage: 256GB Samsung 951 + 1TB Toshiba HDD Model:Asus GL502VT

Windows 10 is now MSX! - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/440190-can-we-start-calling-windows-10/page-6

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks guys for the opinions, I do have the RX480 in mind but I am willing to get a 1060 as its within my budget. 
Thanks again! :)

Vulcan (Main): Intel Xeon E3-1241 V3 | MSI GTX 1060 Armor OC | G. Skill Sniper 16GB + 4GB @1600  | Crucial BX100 120GB, 1TB WD Caviar Blue, 2TB Seagate Barracuda, 1TB External Seagate Portable | EVGA 650 GQ | Cryorig H7 | NZXT Source 210 Elite

Carbon (Laptop): Lenovo ThinkPad x230 | Core i7 3520m | 8GB Memory (2x4GB)  | 180GB SSD, Sandisk Ultra 128GB SD Card

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, J/C said:

Thanks guys for the opinions, I do have the RX480 in mind but I am willing to get a 1060 as its within my budget. 
Thanks again! :)

If you can, get it. Assuming the 480 is not much cheaper as if the 480 is 50$ less you can spend that money on a 120GB Samsung SSD.

Archangel (Desktop) CPU: i5 4590 GPU:Asus R9 280  3GB RAM:HyperX Beast 2x4GBPSU:SeaSonic S12G 750W Mobo:GA-H97m-HD3 Case:CM Silencio 650 Storage:1 TB WD Red
Celestial (Laptop 1) CPU:i7 4720HQ GPU:GTX 860M 4GB RAM:2x4GB SK Hynix DDR3Storage: 250GB 850 EVO Model:Lenovo Y50-70
Seraph (Laptop 2) CPU:i7 6700HQ GPU:GTX 970M 3GB RAM:2x8GB DDR4Storage: 256GB Samsung 951 + 1TB Toshiba HDD Model:Asus GL502VT

Windows 10 is now MSX! - http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/440190-can-we-start-calling-windows-10/page-6

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

A GTX 970 for $170 is actually a decent way to go, but for 240 for sure go for the Rx 480 or 1060

CPU: I5 4590 Motherboard: ASROCK H97 Pro4 Ram: XPG 16gb v2.0 4x4 kit  GPU: Gigabyte GTX 970 PSU: EVGA 550w Supernova G2 Storage: 128 gb Sandisk SSD + 525gb Mx300 SSD Cooling: Be Quiet! Shadow Rock LP Case: Zalman T2 Sound: Logitech Z506 5.1 Mouse: Razer Deathadder Chroma Keyboard: DBPower LED

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×