Answers to the numerous GTX1060 VS RX480 topics

[YongKang]

This topic will, hopefully, answer all the questions that newcomers have for the GTX1060 VS RX480 debate.

• MSRP of the NVIDIA GTX1060 is 249 USD
• MSRP of the AMD RX480 4 GB is 199 USD
• MSRP of the AMD RX480 8 GB is  239 USD

(This is for reference when you're out buying your gpu. Just convert your country currency and compare it to the MSRP to see if you're getting a good value or not. USD stands for US Dollars. If you're buying an aftermarket gpu, check for the manufacturer MSRP+ reference gpu MSRP+ your converted price. You should be able to see if it's a good value or not.)

GTX1060:

• In DX11, GTX1060 usually beats the RX480. (With some exception like Hitman.)
• Lower power draw than the RX480.
• Nvidia Ansel, Shadowplay and the features that come with it.
• GPU Boost 3.0. You will get a better boost clock if the thermals permit it. Therefore, better than the advertised performance.
• G-sync monitors are expensive. Without G-sync, you either have to cap your framerate or v-sync or fast sync to avoid screen tearing.
• Do not get the 3GB version of the GTX1060. It's simply not enough for games of today. 4GB of VRAM should be the minimum when you're shopping for a GPU today.
• Might get nerfed in the future when Nvidia release new gpus and slack off to support their older gpus. Some Maxwell users have reported that.
• The 1060 is still better in extreme CPU bound scenarios in DX11.
• Cannot SLI.

RX480:

• Can Crossfire to get "GTX1080 performance".
• 4GB is fine for today's use but if you got that extra 40 bucks or so and don't want to upgrade in awhile, I would suggest getting the 8GB version. If you're not sure about what VRAM does, there's a wonderful article on this forum that explain it extremely well. But, if you are a TL:DR person, just bear in mind that it's for textures and when you use MSAA, it use VRAM.
• If you want to get a great experience with a mix of high/ultra at 1080p 60 FPS, take a look at the RX470 4GB. It might be enough for your needs. The RX480, along with the 1060, is for high fps (144HZ) or maxed out everything at 1080p or medium/high 1440p. If all you play is LOL, DOTA, Overwatch, Warframe + occasional AAA titles, please take a look at the RX470 or the GTX1050ti. It'll be better for your wallet.
• If you're building your first pc and need a monitor with it, then, by all means, buy a RX480 and a 144HZ Freesync monitor. Freesync monitor are cheaper than Nvidia G-sync equipped monitors. Freesync also eliminate screentearing but you need to be careful of the freesync range. If you drop out of the range or goes beyong it, freesync won't work.
• RX480 has ASYNC compute which greatly helps it in DX12 and Vulkan. BUT! That is if the game developers code for it. Recent DOOM 2016 reboot Vulkan have shown great promise of it.
• By all means, the reference models are not worth a buy and the Gigabyte G1 gaming version have cheaped out components that will make the card run hotter. Rumors that the red devil version from Powercolor have been reported to have some cheaped out components.(I need someone to confirm this.)  Powercolor do use cheaper components but it's fine. 
• All the other companies like Sapphire, MSI, ASUS, XFX, HIS are good so far.
• - No one should run Furmark on the Powercolor Red Devil RX480. It's fine for average use and overclocking but running Furmark puts unrealistic stress on the gpu and before you know it, you'll be on the very road to meet the dark lord himself or getting an expensive paperweight. *watch" Actual Hardcore Overclocking" video on YouTube to learn more about this issue.

The links: 

Spoiler

 

Update by ivan134: 

PowerColor has a new RX 480 Red Devil SKU with stronger VRMs that won't blow up when running FurMark (people still shouldn't be running FurMark but whatever). People need to look for 8GBD5-3DHV2/OC when buying a Red Devil and not 8GBD5-3DH/OC.

 

New SKU with better VRMs (has 1290 MHz boost clock):

 

Spoiler

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814131697

 

 

Old SKU with bad VRMs (has 1330 MHz boost clock):

 

Spoiler

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814131694

 

RX480 aftermarket tier list:
S tier: XFX GTR, Strix and MSI GamingX

A+ tier: HIS and Nitro.

A tier: Powercolor Red Devil.

No B tier.

C tier: XFX RS.

Do not buy tier: Gigabyte G1 480 is garbage.


For both gpus, a recent I5 would do the job just fine. An I3 would bottleneck both of them.

If other fellow members have something to add to this list, please hit me up and I'll try to add/change or delete info as fast as possible.

Thanks to @ivan134 for the numerous info that have help me build this article.
@Morgan MLGman have posted an article on both GPUs 1440p performance. I highly suggest checking that guide out!

YK out.

[Sreno1]

GTX 1060 3GB is enough for almost all games nowadays and won't suffer that much compared to it's 6GB variant. The issue is with how long 3GB of VRAM will be good for, maybe a year? The 1060 3GB should have been the 1050. The RX 480 has similar if not better performance than the 1060 but it is priced the same as the 1060 and 8GB of VRAM will never be needed when using a 480 because by the time 8GB is the norm the 480 will be obsolete. 

 

Current RX 480 and 1060 prices are not even close to MSRP right now and are massively inflated.

 

Example of similar pricing.

 

MSI RX 480: @ $280 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137023&cm_re=msi_rx480-_-14-137-023-_-Product

 

MSI GTX 1060 @ $290http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127963&cm_re=MSI_1060-_-14-127-963-_-Product

[ivan134]

Powercolor components are cheaper, but they get the job done. No one should worry about getting them.They are also the cheapest AIB 480s.

 

As for XFX, if you want to overclock (and you should, most models go above 1400 MHz easily which gives a 15 - 20% performance increase) get the GTR model. The XFX RS cooler is not as good the GTR and is made for people who are sure they are going going to overclock.

 

Like I said above, overclock your AIB 480. Above 1400 MHz, it beats the 390x and competes with a Fury Nano. This puts it on par with a 2000 MHz 1060 in dx 11. The 1060 is still better in extreme CPU bound scenarios in dx 11 though.

[YongKang]

2 hours ago, Sreno1 said:

GTX 1060 3GB is enough for almost all games nowadays and won't suffer that much compared to it's 6GB variant. The issue is with how long 3GB of VRAM will be good for, maybe a year? The 1060 3GB should have been the 1050. The RX 480 has similar if not better performance than the 1060 but it is priced the same as the 1060 and 8GB of VRAM will never be needed when using a 480 because by the time 8GB is the norm the 480 will be obsolete. 

 

Current RX 480 and 1060 prices are not even close to MSRP right now and are massively inflated.

 

Example of similar pricing.

 

MSI RX 480: @ $280 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814137023&cm_re=msi_rx480-_-14-137-023-_-Product

 

MSI GTX 1060 @ $290http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127963&cm_re=MSI_1060-_-14-127-963-_-Product

That's why I forgo buying a 3GB 1060. You simply don't know when you won't have enough VRAM. One of the point why people screamed at 970 for its 3.5gb VRAM issue is that there are games that use more than that amount of ram. 4GB VRAM is the norm now. And there are games that use more than 4GB VRAM. Load up the MSAA and all the damn effects or badly optimized titles. There's your need of more VRAM. You don't suffer from more VRAM but you do when you have less.

As for the pricing, everything is AWOL this year with Nvidia messing with it marketing "Founders edition" that illegitimately give the rights to the manufacturers to bump their prices accordingly.  

[YongKang]

23 minutes ago, ivan134 said:

Powercolor components are cheaper, but they get the job done. No one should worry about getting them.They are also the cheapest AIB 480s.

 

As for XFX, if you want to overclock (and you should, most models go above 1400 MHz easily which gives a 15 - 20% performance increase) get the GTR model. The XFX RS cooler is not as good the GTR and is made for people who are sure they are going going to overclock.

 

Like I said above, overclock your AIB 480. Above 1400 MHz, it beats the 390x and competes with a Fury Nano. This puts it on par with a 2000 MHz 1060 in dx 11. The 1060 is still better in extreme CPU bound scenarios in dx 11 though.

Ok, thanks for the confirmation. I'll just take out the info for powercolor.

Also, thanks for the extras.

 

[Sreno1]

RX 480 was supposed to be $200...

[YongKang]

1 hour ago, Sreno1 said:

RX 480 was supposed to be $200...

for the 4GB reference model.

[xAcid9]

2 hours ago, Sreno1 said:

The RX 480 has similar if not better performance than the 1060 but it is priced the same as the 1060 and 8GB of VRAM will never be needed when using a 480 because by the time 8GB is the norm the 480 will be obsolete. 

Lol, i read the same shit almost every year.

 

"7970/7950 won't able to utilize 3GB properly, it won't get playable FPS when that happen. 680/670 is the better choice."

"When 290x/290 able to utilize 4GB, it's already obsolete. GTX780 is better"

"390 won't be able to utilize 8GB, GTX970 is better choice.

[ivan134]

4 minutes ago, xAcid9 said:

Lol, i read the same shit almost every year.

 

"7970/7950 won't able to utilize 3GB properly, it won't get playable FPS when that happen. 680/670 is the better choice."

"When 290x/290 able to utilize 4GB, it's already obsolete. GTX780 is better"

"390 won't be able to utilize 8GB, GTX970 is better choice.

4th time's the charm rite?

[YongKang]

21 minutes ago, xAcid9 said:

Lol, i read the same shit almost every year.

 

"7970/7950 won't able to utilize 3GB properly, it won't get playable FPS when that happen. 680/670 is the better choice."

"When 290x/290 able to utilize 4GB, it's already obsolete. GTX780 is better"

"390 won't be able to utilize 8GB, GTX970 is better choice.

I agree with you but don't blame them. They TL:DR the VRAM article at the top of the forum.

[YongKang]

19 minutes ago, ivan134 said:

4th time's the charm rite?

Hey... I thought 3rd time's a charm buddy..

[YongKang]

@ivan134, @xAcid9 I wonder if the mods will notice this topic and pin it at top. Would be helpful to newcomers.

[ivan134]

1 minute ago, YongKang said:

@ivan134, @xAcid9 I wonder if the mods will notice this topic and pin it at top. Would be helpful to newcomers.

Nope. Won't happen. Didn't happen with all the 390 vs 970 topics. Not going to happen for this one.

[YongKang]

Just now, ivan134 said:

Nope. Won't happen. Didn't happen with all the 390 vs 970 topics. Not going to happen for this one.

That's kinda a shame...  So, I worked for nothing? X(

[ivan134]

1 minute ago, YongKang said:

That's kinda a shame...  So, I worked for nothing? X(

.....Yes.

lol

Here's a smiley face for effort

[YongKang]

Just now, ivan134 said:

.....Yes.

lol

Here's a smiley face for effort

*cry in a corner* I thought I did some good to humanity but now, I must repaste it to every new 1060 vs 480 topics. *cry* would you help me brother in this crusade against ignorance?

[ivan134]

3 minutes ago, YongKang said:

*cry in a corner* I thought I did some good to humanity but now, I must repaste it to every new 1060 vs 480 topics. *cry* would you help me brother in this crusade against ignorance?

Sure, why not.

Oh, I forgot something about the Red Devil 480. While it's fine for average use, no one should run Furmark on it. That's playing with fire. I know people like to stress test their cards with it (which I personally don't understand since it just shows you very unrealistic scenarios that are never going to happen while gaming), but doing it with that card is dangerous in the sense that they could kill their card. People honestly shouldn't be running Furmark anyway.

[Deli]

1 hour ago, ivan134 said:

Sure, why not.

Oh, I forgot something about the Red Devil 480. While it's fine for average use, no one should run Furmark on it. That's playing with fire. I know people like to stress test their cards with it (which I personally don't understand since it just shows you very unrealistic scenarios that are never going to happen while gaming), but doing it with that card is dangerous in the sense that they could kill their card. People honestly shouldn't be running Furmark anyway.

I learn that after watching "Actually Hardcore Overclocking"s youtube video.

[YongKang]

17 minutes ago, Deli said:

I learn that after watching "Actually Hardcore Overclocking"s youtube video.

I actually didn't know about it. So, I putted the info in my article just in case. But thanks for giving me the source!

[ivan134]

PowerColor has a new RX 480 Red Devil SKU with stronger VRMs that won't blow up when running FurMark (people still shouldn't be running FurMark but whatever). People need to look for 8GBD5-3DHV2/OC when buying a Red Devil and not 8GBD5-3DH/OC.

 

New SKU with better VRMs (has 1290 MHz boost clock):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814131697

 

Old SKU with bad VRMs (has 1330 MHz boost clock):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814131694

[Morgan MLGman]

One thing: 8GB 480 MSRP is not 239, it's 229$.

[YongKang]

8 hours ago, Morgan MLGman said:

One thing: 8GB 480 MSRP is not 239, it's 229$.

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7756/amd-radeon-rx-480-video-card-review-starting-rebellion-199/index14.html

Are you sure 'cuz look at the pricing and tell me why a reputable site like tweaktown would get it wrong. 229 USD was the old MSRP I think. 239 is the updated official one.

[Clanscorpia]

Nitro should be S teir it's one of the best 480s

[YongKang]

Just now, Clanscorpia said:

Nitro should be S teir it's one of the best 480s

Oh hey, I'm actually waiting on Tweaktown Anthony review to make the change 'cuz every other review indicate high temperature.

[Morgan MLGman]

11 hours ago, YongKang said:

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/7756/amd-radeon-rx-480-video-card-review-starting-rebellion-199/index14.html

Are you sure 'cuz look at the pricing and tell me why a reputable site like tweaktown would get it wrong. 229 USD was the old MSRP I think. 239 is the updated official one.

I could say the same for guru3d, why would they say it's 229 if it were 239? idk

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/msi_radeon_rx_480_gaming_x_review,4.html