Because each card has pros and cons - For example, the 1060 has much better performance per watt but is more expensive, the RX 480 currently provides much better performance in Doom with the Vulkan API and has a lower entry price. If you're building an entry level gaming system, the £40-50 difference between the lowest priced RX and GTX could translate into a faster CPU, a doubling of RAM, an SSD + HDD rather than an HDD alone or a couple of decent games. Basically, the midrange is all about balancing the requirements to get the best bang for your buck.

Yes let's hold a vote on a possible NVIDexit

Your posts are so Nvidia biased that you lack any real credibility, which is a shame.

Every PC gamer should be rejoicing that we again have good choice and for reasonable cost. Competition benefits every one of us!

I'm sticking with Red as I can't be bothered changing up my monitor to utilize G-Sync. Whether I elect for an AIB 480 (seemingly +20% performance on reference card) and eventually CF it, or wait for the Fury to reduce further I'm unsure.

Either way, the trolling and fanboyism you see from a select few here and across the internet is reminiscent of playground bickering.

Be objective.

Value + Freesync = AMD, particularly for new tech, CF and async.

Power + G-Sync = Nvidia, particularly for current gen.

I'd probably also state (pre-Aib) that for DX11 titles 1080p gamers are better served by the RX 480, and 1440p gamers by the 1060.

We don't need that kind of logic in here :wink:

Yes, I have a shield TV and use the game streaming a LOT. Mind you it isn't taxed all that heavily as it is mostly just Stardew Valley that gets streamed, a IMO brilliant, but not even slightly graphically intensive, game.

I used to get occasional issues where the Shield TV couldn't 'see' the PC and vice versa, which I managed to solve by just logging out and back in on the Shield but touch wood it's been rock solid for the last month so updates might have cleared this up. As mentioned the game I use it for isn't intensive but it generally seems very smooth and lets me use the full 1080P my TV supports no problem.

You don't strictly have to have a Nvidia card to stream games though as there is an alternative app for amd cards though I haven’t tried it myself. You can find out about it in the shield tv owners thread: http://www.hotukdeals.com/misc/nvidia-shield-tv-owners-club-2337013? That said as Nvidia and AMD are pretty well matched in terms of VFM this generation, I would personally always favour Nvidia for the native shield tv game streaming without any extra apps or set up.

I was dead set on getting a decent RX 480 AIB as it would meet my needs at the cheapest price point; then I remembered that I have two Nvidia Shield TVs to stream to and it seems silly to miss out on the option to game in another couple of rooms. Does anyone else stream to STVs? Does it work OK? I have wired connections to all rooms, so bandwidth won't be an issue.

Back in stock at ebuyers but it's now 245, but with quidco, this would bring it down to 240ish

Got a link where we can buy a Nitro 480, 4GB, for 200? Yet to see one that isn't "pre-order until the end of the century". Does anyone actually believe Sapphire are doing something more than a paper UK launch for their 4GB card? Is it really 50 quid cheaper for 4 gig of GDDR5?

OC UK has the 8gig card for 250, and the 4gig card for 200.

Also, a 1266->1342 clock is no where near 10-15% increase. And looking at your review, it shows that it's not 10-15%, but much more like 7-8%. Which matches the clock change. Sure enough, 1342/1266=1.06. And that's only when you compare the reference card to the sapphire card.

If you compare the stock Sapphire to the OC sapphire, it's even smaller.

Overclockers have a short review of the Sapphire RX 480 Nitro+ OC
seems to preform 10%-15% in games out of the box at a clock at 1342mhz. Mem kept to the same speed of 8Gbps

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTFDJODCSCc

The nitro 4GB is priced at £200, is the one to go for though which is cloked slightly lower. But should have the same overclocking potential.

Only Asus have reviewed cards at this point, on 2 websites, one of which proved inaccurate.

Premature to write off cards that don't exist. Everyone just needs to wait.

Until we see an AIB card from the 480 family perform well, I think it's pretty safe to say that they don't actually perform very well. If you can't find a beaming review on WCCFTECH.com, it doesn't exist. They are a huge AMD leaning website.

Open GL performance for this card is as good as you'll get at this price range.

Looking to understand as neither review is that clear to me as not that up on GPU over-clocking.
So are you saying that the Strix profiles are limited even in O/C Mode so there is more to come if an OEM changes those?
How much freedom do the OEMs have these days with OC profiles?
I read somewhere that with the 1060 and possibly all the 10xx cards Nvidia has strict control over what can be achieved so the OEMs don't have free reign.
Is that the case and am wondering what AMD are doing?
Looking at how much more complex OCing is when you have the GPU analysing so many parameters and setting limits plus the 1x nm processes probably being more sensitive to voltage it's not easy for a newcomer to contemporary GPU over-clocking to grasp things in full from a few brief reviews.

I'm about due a graphics upgrade, anybody know how well this runs under Linux?

Stop looking for holes lol.

If you read the review you'll notice that the target speed and actual speeds differ significantly across various different modes of the Asus card, and also the stock card.

In the TPU review he used the default gaming mode, which despite the OC on the card throttles down to the 12XXmhz range negating the actual OC on the GPU. Setting it to OC in the CBase review he notes the target mhz remains higher, and raising the target power in the supplied tool can have it pinned to stop it throttling under load.

It seems the Asus profiles are mostly at fault, GPU running very cool.

Also, again if you read the review the GPU OC is small (but isn't even being operated correctly) but the majority of the OC ability derives from memory clocking. They called it 3% and 6% (mem) I think.

It's all in there.

The figures don’t add up to me if you look at the GPU/RAM clocks versus the performance:

1266/2000 Stock
1355/2250 O/C TechpowerUp
1370/2200 O/C Computerbase

TechpowerUp - "Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 3.0%."
Computerbase - "Depending on the game, the performance increases by four to six percent."

But if you look at the graphs for Computerbase the gains are 10-11% for over-clock Mode so it’s not a very clearly written review.
That’s more like it although it’s not surprising that the GPU needs more voltage to get that high based on how the reference card was released which suggested it was close to the limit.
The downside of that is the power consumption rises to 270W versus 194W for what is seemingly a stock 1060 for a 3% average increase in average FPS. I estimate that a 1060 OC is about 12% faster but without such a big jump in power consumption.

TPU is usually pretty good for reviews but he's really dropped the ball with this review and doesn't seem to understand the card - possibly because he wanted to get his review out first (I'm sure the advertising has paid well!).

Here's a better more thorough review.

https://www.computerbase.de/2016-07/asus-radeon-rx-480-strix-test/

Use Chrome to translate.

1,400 is only 3.3% more than he managed which is within the margin you would expect when OCing.

Are they pushing the voltage beyond stock? If so that's a different ball game but one that many will want to play. :smiley:
This Strix card doesn't impress and they are often solid albeit expensive cards.
It's just round one and only tested at stock voltage so early days yet.
That's why I wait for reviews with IT stuff and wait a few months for the bugs to be ironed out. :smiley:
I am hoping for more from the 480 even at stock voltage.

It's pretty weird as there are people running 1400+mhz on youtube with ref boards and after market coolers.

I noticed that after I posted but not sure if the linked images in HUKD are static or will auto-update! I will check tomorrow.
I think he uses stock settings as a level playing field for all cards!
Clearly for cards that allow you to increase voltage in the BIOS that isn’t helpful but if it’s the same principle for all cards and doesn’t unintentionally favour either AMD or Nvidia then I see no bias. Be good to make that clearer in the review if it wasn’t.
He responded to that in the forum thread you mentioned.
“BF3 is included for OC stability testing, best and most reliable stability test for me. I have to get numbers for all cards anyway so I can show them in the OC gains chart”

So it’s the only game he tests when over-clocking and is only there as a reference to show how much the card gains in actual FPS as a result of an OC. So you just compare the % gain of the card against itself at stock not against other cards.
The real question for me is whether the behaviour of that one game is really indicative of how well all the games behave on average with that same level of OC.

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/asus-rx-480-strix-8-gb.224311/page-3

His scoring is wonky, the card was also running in gaming mode, not OC mode, he didn't adjust any voltage to a card that is off the shelf OC'd - it's no wonder the OC was small.

Also quoting the BF3 bench, look down the games at Batman/Hitman/Witcher, they're pretty tightly pegged with the Asus leading a number of them. The conclusion is fairly clear, he likes it.

I've preordered a Sapphire Nitro+ OC now, pending reviews...

Here's a review of the Asus Strix which is high end custom board - LINK.

“Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 3.0%.”



Same website with a custom 1060 - LINK.

“Actual 3D performance gained from overclocking is 15.1%.”



They only benchmark one game when over-clocked so can’t extrapolate much from that but here is the average across a large range of games with factory settings:



Early days but a bad start.

Yep, I agree with what you're saying.

In terms of adoption, I mean a better optimised API can lead to the same quality experience with less brute force to achieve it - take games like DOTA 2 (another Vulkan game) and CSGO, hugely popular, in part due to the low cost of entry which has always been a benefit.

A more recent example, Doom, plays really well on my aging R9 290. I actually purchased it after reading the Vulkan announcement, so achieved a sale where I probably would have waited to my next GPU.

More sales, more support.

In terms of cross-platform, I wasn't suggesting games would be cross-platform, but merely the development community know-how, devs are clique and an open platform is of benefit for sharing that knowledge.

As for purchasing, it really depends what you want. For me as a 1080P gamer, I don't care if I get 150fps or 40fps, provided freesync does it's thing it doesn't impact my experience. That goes for all DX11 titles really. With DX12 and Vulkan I'm expecting bigger things and more optimisation to allow me to run it satisfactorily - look at the Time Spy particle/triangle counts for what's technically possible!

Also with the new API crossfire and SLI support should be vastly improved, CF in a year would be sweet, hopefully £150 by then with 490 and Vega.

I'm waiting for the reviews.

Wow, 20% would be excellent and changes the game dramatically. Bummer for the early birds that bought the lame 8GB reference cards for near £250 though. That always seemed a dubious choice for the impatient or desperate only.
Not completely clear what you are implying there!
I referred to the cross-platform advantage but it’s not clear how games developers used to developing monolithic and expensive to purchase games can also make them available for other platforms in ways that make financial sense?
I sense it will take time for that to shakeout which is why I suggested that for the next two years on the Windows platform I don’t see Vulkan being significant enough to impact today’s hardware buying decisions.
DX12 has been out since last July and still has a very small share of the market. OpenGL and Mantle are marginalized for Windows gaming but I agree that Vulkan might be the one to gain more traction.
It’s a new world out there so hard to see how it will pan out.

Early reports on Reddit (which need confirming, reviews expected Monday) suggest there's a 20-30% increase across some titles by boosting memory clocks, lowering voltage and OC on the GPU for the Saphire Nitro+ 480. Asus have also said there's a 20% out of the box performance increase over the reference board.

I think come in two weeks we'll have a much clearer picture over the value and overclock capabiliy of both offerings, but the 480 looks to be a good OC solution, like the 290 range. We wait and see I guess.

Vulkan wise, I wouldn't be so sure on timeframes. I think it will penetrate the development community swiftly as it provides maximum sales for product with the lowest conceivable specs. It's also a pure technology focused around its only purpose unlike DX12 which is by comparison a huge toolbox with a multitude of interfaces.

EA have already announced plans for Battlefield 1 support in Frostbite.

It can also be implemented across mobile devices, which is an interesting thought for mobile gaming. I for one hope it succeeds, DX stranglehold on games deserves to be challenged, and OpenGL just isn't the tech to do it.

Prices going up at all ranges.

I don’t think Vulkan matters when choosing a card to play Windows games for the next 2 years or so. Mainly because it’s really a replacement for OpenGL which is not a big deal for Windows games. Eventually Vulkan may be important for Windows due to cross platform support but that’s a maybe and years down the line.
There is currently only one Windows game supporting Vulcan and even DX12 has less than 20 games supporting it last time I checked. But DX12 is the future and DX11 will still be very important for a long time so I’d focus on DX1x support.
As it stands if you are going to buy this week and you will over-clock the 1060 seems the clear winner over the 480 as the reference cards don’t over-clock much.
The 1060 OC will be almost 20% faster than a 480 OC which even mitigates the good DX12 performance of the 480.
The only thing that will change that is if the custom 480 boards offer a lot more OC headroom which is possible.
But even then I think the 1060 is a better design with lower power so can offer quieter cards more easily.

The Vulkan API was developed by the team that AMD gave the Mantle API to, so I guess the bias is bound to exist, which is fair in a unfair fashion.

​There are two arguments here, is it that AMD have a lot better implementation of Vulkan than Nvidia, or is it that the OpenGL on Nvidia is vastly superior to the OpenGL on AMD?

True that is why I am still wondering, with the 1060 not gaining with Vulkan is the 1060 not the better all round card compared with a rx 480, or is it just a badly optimised vulkan driver for Nvidia presently, would be reassuring to read something concrete from nvidia to say Nvidia cards will see the benefits of Vulkan also.

​I wouldn't say it's worth buying a card just for Vulkan since there are only a few games using it at present, the performance aspect in everything is what you should be looking at isn't it? I don't think D3D will die a death because of Vulkan and probably over 90% of PC games use it. Also I believe I saw a 1060 benchmark that showed it didn't gain a lot from Vulkan in Doom anyway.

I pretty much had my mind made up on buying a 1060, it's just the Vulkan API that's kind of holding my purchase at bay, considering Vulkan is the new Mantle, how many games ended up using Mantle?

Plus I am unlikely to play Doom on PC as I have it on ps4.

Decision decision

​I wouldn't say the msi is a better deal as with shipping it comes to £250 but it's another option if you like the brand and design better.

​It's brilliant how fast it runs at the quality of visualisations even on older systems. It's a shame more devs don't spend time optimising the engine to be as fast as that one!

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-geforce-gtx-1060-6gt-oc-6gb-gddr5-vr-ready-graphics-card-1280-core-1544mhz-gpu-1759mhz-boost?utm_source=google+shopping&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=CJeFhuHzg84CFe4K0wodrNkKxg

I take it this would be a better deal then based on the chart I saw in previous comments? I'm about to pull the trigger on this so any advice is much appreciated!

​Have you played DOOM yet? It is AWESOME with decent frame rate and graphics :smile:

The recent advances have been geared towards power consumption. So there have been huge upgrades, just not in what we have enjoyed in the past (GHz).

Non-rhetorical answer to a clearly rhetorical question....

In seriousness, the last quantum leaps in processor technology were indeed ages ago, the leap from P4 to Core2Duo was immense and the leap from 1st to 2nd gen Core-i was fairly decent, everything else has been fairly incremental.

I know that, i do tests myself, but are these reviewers showing up these non reference oc card tests results in any chart when reviewing newly released cards? Would be nice to see all in one picture, how all new gen cards stand against factory overcloked 900 series and also when they are overcloked, instead of plain ref models with low stocks! For example if you look while back at the zotac gtx970 amp extreme, it beats ref 980 out of box with factory OC, so camparing this exact 970 model with 1060 would give a complete diferent picture wich would be more usefull as almost every singly 970, 980 and 980ti user use their cards at lot higher clocks then reference models!

That's why some websites, like techpowerup, have an OC section that uses all OC card results so you don't get that false gains feeling.

It didnt, but just to make people aware, to clear thing up, you should look up your exact gpu model review before considering an upgrade, so you know what your current gpu is capable and will the performance gap will be good enough to buy new one!

That's cleared things up then! :confused:

Reference models on charts are only for false performance claim with new generations, where some people get confused and make a bad decisions upgrading or buying new tech!

Didn't the opengl version run like crap on AMD though?

It's a reference point so you can see how the current ~£250 cards compare with the past.
A stock 980 Ti is a fixed point unlike a non reference card or one over-clocked so it's a relatively static reference.
No more than that but people like to project all kinds of stuff that was never there. Keep it simple don't over think it.

Thats why i look at these posts: Then i realise that my 290 doesn't really have any issues with any game and twice the price isn't worth the small gain.

You're not making a reasonable comparison. Why overclock one and not the other? No one would buy a stock 980 Ti now because a 1070 is a better purchase. What is you point in real terms?

Mine just shipped. The Palit/gainward model here actually looks rather super for the money. Here is a teardown of one by an enthusiast who managed to OC it to 2.2ghz with a volt mod on air with 70 deg load

https://youtu.be/s2OLQntchWA

I always get tempted to upgrade my gtx 770, then I realise I literally only play Dota 2.

I'm running Nvidia myself, not a fan-boy either way as have owned both & have pro's/cons either way.. but as an aside.. Has anyone seen the benchmarks from the Vulkhan drivers on Doom for AMD? there are some ridiculous improvements! .. For anyone who owns Doom and most definitely AMD i'd suggest you upgrade drivers and have a look..

Some information below...

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2016/07/19/nvidia_geforce_gtx_1060_founders_edition_review/4#.V4-bJrgrLcc

they release this friday 22nd

On the forums they said they've only got 30 to start off with, then they (Sapphire) will be shipping 1000-2000 units next weekend to clear the back orders. So probably a 2-3 week wait to receive one.

No date. Darn it :smile:

You can pre-order the nitro on overclockers.

I wouldn't want to, if forced to wait over a month. Time is money.

Who knows. Can you pre-order them from eBuyer?

You suggesting they won't before 31 Aug?

Did you not check to see that they used a heavily over clocked 980 Ti in that test when I specifically compared to that chip at stock!

'Right out of the box, the GTX 980 Ti base clock is ramped-up from the reference 1,000MHz to 1,152MHz, while boost clock jumps from 1,076MHz to 1,241MHz.'

Can't you follow a simple comparison and keep in context?

Custom 480's are readily available then?

Simple,

"We are expecting this item on: Wednesday, 31st August"

The Hexus link is a review of the MSI GeForce GTX 1060 Gaming X (the same one you named), not a FE card.

If you want games, then look a bit further down the same page that I linked to:





The 980 Ti is crushing the overclocked 1060... overclocking the 980 Ti will only widen that gap.

The 1060 is a pretty good mid range card, just don't compare it to a 980 Ti. I just wish all the 10 series nvidia cards were a little cheaper, more like the last generation pricing, but that is unlikely to happen when there is little/no competition and lots of people are accepting the current prices.

I doubt anyone is really expecting a 1060 OC to match a 980 Ti OC!

Let me simplify my earlier post as some seem to have missed the point.
Are there any other cards available under £250 that match a 1060 when over clocked?
The RX 480 custom boards might get close but is there anything else?
Maybe a GTX 980 but have they been this low!

You are right. I bought an aftermarket 1080 and regret it......a bit anyway.....

It's a shame there's no SLI support with the GTX 1060. If you want SLI you have to pay for the far more expensive 1070. That means if you want to upgrade later you have to replace the card rather than just bolting in a second one. Seems a bit mean when the GTX 1060 has this sort of performance.

I think more people than you'd expect play 3 hours, on average.

1 or 2 per weekday, 4-5 per weekend + Fridays.

Heck, pick your rates, it's not magic. I wasn't 'over egging' here, you just have to realize that you are literally turning on a 40 Watt lightbulb, in energy consumption, with this card.

Hoff, I'm not sure where you have got the impression I'm 'heated/passionate/embroiled' but let's quash that right away.

I'm on Overclcokers.co.uk right now. I'm on the Radeon 480 section.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/pc-components/graphics-cards/amd/radeon-rx-480

There is exactly one 480 4GB on offer, 3 in stock, for £215.99. Add on 10 for non member shipping, if you must.

But really, £215.99? The power difference between the cards (40+ Watts) is nearly 8 quid a year, so you're really in the exact same ballpark price wise, and who actually buys the 4GB card when it's only 5 quid difference?

The answer? No one. It's a paper launch card that is not actually 'for sale' at the $199 price point. You can 'pre order' a few 4 Gig cards, but that isn't happening. Plus, again, the price points are very close.

let's be realistic here. You can't buy an AMD 480, right now, for less than 215.

And amazon.. https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=s9_acss_bw_cg_GCbrand_6d1?rh=i%3Acomputers%2Cn%3A430500031&field-title=AMD%20RX%20480&ie=UTF8&pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-1&pf_rd_r=AD7D97C63AAPBDQMH66Y&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=4a6ddc22-c575-49c3-aba1-4ed1f9db061d&pf_rd_i=430500031

Doesn't have a single 4GB card for sale, and no 8GB is less than 259.

I think it's pretty safe to say the 4GB card is in very low supply, and more than likely is a marketing ploy more than a legitimate product.

That isn't good for consumers.

While the 1060, although on paper, is more expensive, in practice, its much closer.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=sr_nr_n_1?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A340831031%2Cn%3A428655031%2Cn%3A430500031%2Cn%3A430524031%2Ck%3AGeforce+1060&keywords=Geforce+1060&ie=UTF8&qid=1469024306&rnid=340832031

219.99 versus 239.99. And that's launch day pricing, which may go down.

[img]image hoster[/img]

post a picture

We all should look at these charts if you want it to campare against standart aftermarket 980ti model instead of weak ref which most poeple only use with waterblock on top, as you see diference is huge and if you look for same 980 aftermarket version the gtx1060 isnt that powerfull as poeple think!

bear in mind that all other cards on these charts are with more then year old drivers where score in todays tests would be completely different1 Shame that most reviewers dont update it and any new released cards looks like a beast against others, till you buy one and get disapointed as gap insnot as big as showed on these charts!

3DMark is just a benchmark not an actual game. People buy cards to play games you know! Isn't that a mere reference card anyway?
Best to compare like for like as this Palit is not a FE card.

We were talking specifically about over clocked performance and you linked the performance at stock. Context is important.

If you already have one of those monitors then there's no need to discuss it, as you've made the choice already. FreeSync is cheaper, GSync is better?. YOU decide :smile:

As part of the discussion on cost (and performance) of GTX 1060 vs RX480, should we also be discussing the cost of G-Sync vs Freesync, and what total investment might be?

I think they offer free shipping depending on the item.

I think you have to be a member on there forum and have posted more than 200 times,/been on there for 3 months
before they give you free shipping,

Hexus http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/graphics/94663-msi-geforce-gtx-1060-gaming-x/?page=12



Guru3D http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/geforce_gtx_1060_review,29.html

Yup agree, much better info.

Anandtech bench too: http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1771?vs=1716

No point in comparing to a 980ti when oc'd as you could oc the 980ti too.

thats only 1 game... here the summary from your liked page

below shows a combined performance summary of all the tests on previous pages, broken down by resolution. Each chart shows the tested card as 100% and every other card's performance as relative to it.

Looks like OcUK are offering free delivery on that card.

Mine's been dispatched, I hope it's constructed well! That power draw is great, it'll be next to silent in my Fractal Define Mini, I might even push my CPU further now :smile:

There you go, if you'd only thought about it a bit more Spark. When your on a budget its very much a juggling act where every pound counts. There's an RX480 on eBuyer right now for £174 that's a considerable saving over a 1060.

You should find better review sites, where are you reading those, at AMD.com? :smiley:
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_1060_Gaming_X/27.html

Yep, im probbly going to get this one but god knows how many minutes it will be available for when it goes on sale.
And would have to get it from somewhere else because Overclockers take the mick when it comes to delivery

Stutter problems? Not heard about this - haven't seen any with my Strix 1080 yet but only had it a couple of days

Yes, this MSI card is marginally cheaper and has a higher OC out the box.

Cards have only just hit the shelves, so I expect many other deals to come up over the next few days/weeks.

Nate, when he's not arguing :stuck_out_tongue:

dont deny you are a Nvidia fanboy we can all see it

this one looks to be a better buy when its out https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-geforce-gtx-1060-gt-oc-6144mb-gddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-32s-ms.html

Using 14p per kWh as a typical rate (there are cheaper rates available), 40W = 0.04kW, which costs 0.56p per hour.

0.56p x 3 hours x 365 days = £6.13 a year.

I accept your point, but you've over egged it a little.

That said, who finds time to game for 3 hours every single day of the year?!?!

​Just don't buy a reference card for the sake of saving a tenner would be my advice. I am desperate for a GPU at the moment but will not buy a reference card. I think most of the issues have been sorted yes but an aftermarket card will have better cooling, quieter operation and more than likely an 8 pin power point to address any power draw concerns.

I believe the power draw issue has been fixed via a software / driver update .....

I am in the market for a new card , as I flogged my 290 vapour x card for a new card....did okay etc , can simply buy a 4gb rx 480 and it will cost me very little based on me selling my 290.....BUT part of me thinks what will I really gain other than a 2 year warranty which is a nice little bonus , to be honest if I had seen the benchmarks of the 1060 and the 480 and did not get sucked into the pre-hype , I would more than likely of been hard pushed to buy either card and stuck with my pretty great 290 Vapour x !!!!

Reference is usually cheaper as you pay more for better cooling and custom components. Regardless of any issues with the reference 480, it's still got the price tag of a reference card. I can happily avoid talking about the FE NVIDIA.
Custom 1060 and 480 are very similar in price. Which is good.

Fair point on custom 480's... cheapest I found from a 1 minute search was £235 for a pre-order. Reference blower models can be picked up for £220.

Is the stock cooler an issue if not overclocking? Having a quick look at the HardOCP review, I found this statement:
"At the default fan profile setting, the fan is silent while gaming. Even during long sessions of gaming there is not an audible increase in fan noise or air moving while gaming with the RX 480."

And this from Anandtech:
"Finally, with load noise levels, RX 480 produces middling (but acceptable) results. Given that we have a mix of blowers and open air coolers here, the RX 480 performs similarly to other mainstream blower based cards. The $199 price tag means that AMD can’t implement any exotic cooling or noise reduction technologies, though strictly speaking it doesn’t need them."

Obviously a custom cooler is preferred for overclocking, but I do not think most buyers on this site will overclock.

However, I know there have been some concerns over power and throttling, but I've not really kept up with it.

​I know it is, honestly I'm really frustrated with it. I have been without a GPU for 6 weeks now as mine packed in. I figured I would wait for the Rx 480. Then the issues with the reference cards surfaced and the crazy noise levels and heat whole overclocking. Then the 1060 launched at competitive prices and I still don't have a GPU myself. I haven't even bit at this deal myself yet as I'm still waiting to see how well the powercolor devil 13 and Sapphire nitro perform. I may get back to gaming in a couple of months who knows lol.

The price is right. Direct competition (custom vs custom). Unless you consider a reference card worth it :smile:
The lack of custom 480's to buy right now is shocking.

​More expensive than this.

​This is already matching and beating price of the AIB Rx 480 8gb cards though. The only cards that beat the price are the horrible reference cards as far as I know.

How much are custom 480's 8GB?

From the reviews I've read, and overclocked 1060 matches a stock 980, but it doesn't come close to a 980Ti.

It is ridiculous to say that the price of last year's flagship model justifies inflating the price of mid-tier cards this year because Pascal is faster than Maxwell. This is a new architecture and a die shrink, so we should get better performance for the same money when comparing last year to this year.

That said, a launch day price of £240 is not bad, but I expect it to quickly drop to match RX480 8GB prices. Generally speaking the prices of the new nvidia cards are all high, and do not match the price expectations for non Founders Edition cards that nvidia initially put out there, especially with the 1070 cards.

Finally...A great price for a great spec NVidia card.. Looking forward to some VR benchmarks.......as soon as VR companies release a game and not a bunch of "play once" tech demos....

You get far too heated/passionate/embroiled in the comments Nate, there's no need and people would read more into them if they were weighted differently.

There's lots of debate on the value front, but as I said above the £ per frame ratio favours the 480 taking reference cards as examples.

I don't think it's relevant (the 4GB) discussion as to be honest it only benefits the consumer. Manufacturing practices like AMD have elected in their first batches is common, just look at the automotive industry.

There's a number of AIB 4GB cards listed on OCUK from Sapphire/Powercolor and I expect they will be carrying the stated amount of memory.

Like the Space Race, AMD probably caught wind that NV were launching imminiently and wanted to get to market first, corners were cut but that's business (and they don't seem to learn from their mistakes!). NV launched the 1060 earlier than they wanted too also it would seem.

In any case and however you cut the cake, we're all beneficiaries of a revival in PC Gaming and its affordable.

If you have a FreeSync monitor, then of course you've locked into AMD. Just like if you have a G-Sync monitor.

But to pretend my post was either trolling or fanboyism is not very objective of yourself.

Disagree with my points, stop attacking the person.

Also, I wouldn't give the value crown to the 480 without stabilized costs for both.

The fact that AMD launched the 4GB cards as software disabled 8GB cards, an efffective paper launch of a card, should cause for pause.

Are there any AMD 480 4GB models to buy? Or was it just a gimmick so they could advertise the card as "$199" when in fact it was $239.

I can't personally find any AMD 480s 4GBs anywhere to buy.

Comments like this one: http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/xfx-amd-radeon-rx-480-4gb-173-99-ebuyer-2472558?p=28440441

Suggest these 480 4GB cards are just there for marketing. You can see in that thread how much MaterSpryce wants a 480 at that price.

Your posts are so Nvidia biased that you lack any real credibility, which is a shame.

Every PC gamer should be rejoicing that we again have good choice and for reasonable cost. Competition benefits every one of us!

I'm sticking with Red as I can't be bothered changing up my monitor to utilize G-Sync. Whether I elect for an AIB 480 (seemingly +20% performance on reference card) and eventually CF it, or wait for the Fury to reduce further I'm unsure.

Either way, the trolling and fanboyism you see from a select few here and across the internet is reminiscent of playground bickering.

Be objective.

Value + Freesync = AMD, particularly for new tech, CF and async.

Power + G-Sync = Nvidia, particularly for current gen.

I'd probably also state (pre-Aib) that for DX11 titles 1080p gamers are better served by the RX 480, and 1440p gamers by the 1060.

That's the reference card though.

Hmmmm not really with the 4gb rx480 at around 177 or less with options of 2 percent cash back, they still have the cheapest card

​because all the others are sold out

Well well well AMD your move! They really need to cut the 480 price now.

​I didn't say why the AMD had such improvements, so I wouldn't go as far as giving them credit! I know a mate with an older AMD had a big performance drop with Vulkan compared to OpenGL though.

You are giving AMD credit for having *terrible* open GL performance.

If you look at vulkan performance for DOOM, ignoring OPEN GL, AMD are in their standard position, sitting around the 970/980 in performance.

It is a known problem with AMD that their Open GL perfomance is absolutely terrible.

So going from Open GL -> Vulkan and then saying "oh my gosh, look how great AMD is, they perform so much better compared *to themselves!*" is an absolute joke.

Hey look, AMD sucked terribly in DX11 and Open GL, but look how ok they are in DX12 and Vulkan....

Nvidia somehow get negative press for have GOOD DX11 and Open GL performance, that's a crazy thought.

It's a measurable metric, bang for buck AMD is still value king if value is what you're after.

But that is just another dimension for a pro or con. We don't consume games one frame at a time, at least, not since I tried to play the original Doom on my 16 Mhz 386sx :smiley:

AMD is false economy. I speak from experience. It always tends to be more hassle than it's worth in the end for the sake of a 40 quid saving (or less in this case unless you want an low-end brand RX480 with a cheap crappy blower on it).

Exactly right, Linus on YouTube did a good breakdown. 480 is the best value per frame.

rx480 is also the best price performance per frame , which makes it best bang for buck

It was released at the same time. You need to be on the latest drivers. It isn't as favourable to Nvidia as it is AMD though. From what the 'net says it only helps Pascal cards and it is actually slower at 4K. But at 1080P it was 20% faster or something on a 1080. I tried it on my 1080 and it was slightly slower at 4K and haven't got round to experimenting at 1080P

Apologies, I've had one too many Stellas - AMD is BRILLIANT!!! Nviduhia are RUBBISH!!!! or is it the other way around, I can never remember...

We don't need that kind of logic in here :wink:

Ordered one for my rig. Think im going to cancel my 1080 amp extreme £570 preorder as thats not due till mid august if amazon ever do get them at all and wait it out for the 1080ti or volta.

if youre paying £300 may aswell pay the other 70 and get a 1070....

Because each card has pros and cons - For example, the 1060 has much better performance per watt but is more expensive, the RX 480 currently provides much better performance in Doom with the Vulkan API and has a lower entry price. If you're building an entry level gaming system, the £40-50 difference between the lowest priced RX and GTX could translate into a faster CPU, a doubling of RAM, an SSD + HDD rather than an HDD alone or a couple of decent games. Basically, the midrange is all about balancing the requirements to get the best bang for your buck.

The guys I was replying to were focussed on perceived brand quality and don’t think they mentioned what was in stock?
Maybe Palit cards are still in stock because they aren’t in demand?
I don’t know and not knocking this deal just responding to other opinions and options.

yes

This vr ready?

Think of the children!
Without AMD the Nvidia bogeyman will come at night and whisk them away.
That makes about as much sense to me as most fanboy nonsense from either camp.

Couldn't find a single 1060 at overclockers that was this price and in stock. The cheapest card they have in stock happens to be this card but for £249.95 so if you want a 1060 now then there isn't much better around for a week or so at least.

Sorry you got me there actually- the KFA2 is the same price as is the blower asus. I dont like blower cards personally but if blower cards are your thing the asus would be fine

Completely agree. This is an amazing card and price. I will be picking up a 1060, not sure which one though.l

The power draw issues haven't been 'fixed' as you suggest. They have been moved from the PCIe slot to the PCIe 6 pin.

The 6 pin, rated 75W, is pulling high 90s now.

The stock cooler is very hot and if you don't buy the 8GB, you might as well kiss the next gen games goodbye.

Compare the 4gb and the 3gb versions, not the 6 and 8...

Also, don't forget, each year, the 40 W difference will cost 3 quid per average hour you play.

So, if you play 3 hours a day, expect about 10 dollars a year, 2 years of power draw, that's 20 quid. Not completely insignificant.

Plus, tons more heat inside your case.

Nope, as I said there are 3 full size cards with 2 having dual fans at under £240 and another 2 at £250 with dual fans.

Why anybody would even consider a 480 over this is a complete mystery to me.

​The repercussions would be felt for years to come.

obviously voiding warranty would this fit the asus g20 rog system?

The MSI is a full sized card but the others are all mini- 1 fan solutions that wont give you the same OC headroom as this card

Power draw related issues with the reference RX 480 have now been fixed with the latest driver update along with some small performance gains.

The blower style cooler lends itself more to small form factor ITX builds. So the refference cards are the best option there. The Fractal Design Node 202 is a good example of a case to use with that card (or a reference GTX 1060 for that matter).

Simply put, don't knock reference/blower style GPU's on the basis that they don't suit your own personal requirements. :smiley:

Yes let's hold a vote on a possible NVIDexit

everyone needs to calm down and not buy any Nvidia cards for a month or two. The price would skydive.

The new line up is so overpriced and the 'founders' edition is an insult. Everyone, including nvidia knows it.
but who can blame them if people are going to rush out and buy them anyway.

Everyone just chill ya beans. Make nvidia sweat it for a while.

The link works but you can't search for it on the ebuyer site find it on the GTX 1060 page. Is this likely to be pulled soon when ebuyer realises they can charge above the MSRP?

Maybe he meant these 3 full size cards under £240?
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/pc-components/graphics-cards/nvidia/geforce-gtx-1060?p=1&l=list&sSort=3

Care to give some links if they are not for the 1 fan mini versions?

I doubt it, the interface physically doesn't exist.

You'll have able to use two in DX12 games that support that kind of thing though.

No thanks, not with the with the terrible stock cooler and power circuitry.

Hmmmm 4gb xfx ebuyer 177 available 31st of July plus 2 percent quidco

Got the Gainward card (same company as Palit) today from Scan for £239. Seems OK. Fans don't spin at all until temp reaches 47oC or so. Scores over 13,000 graphics score in 3d mark firestorms. Bought it for folding in the winter to add heat to the room. Other cards are less efficient. Fans are very quiet when spinning at full load too. Case fans louder. GPU temp maxed at 73oC during fire strike. These cards hold their value nowadays so I expect it to stay around £200 for the next 2-3 years so not bad value. Hope Vulkan API works equally well for nvidia as AMD.

They respond with giving us hope in the shape of Vega... but mostly likely disappoint us again like they did with the R9 3xx and the RX 4xx.

I must be very special then because the 4 cards i've mentioned are all listed as £238.99

Hmmmm, Sapphire RX 480 Nitro+ 4GB for £200 or a GTX 1060 for £240 - the reviews seem a little disappointing for the 1060, i'll be playing at 1440p and i'm not sure the extra 2GB will make any difference. I might play Doom with the Vulkan API and it's 32% quicker on the RX 480.... decisions, decisions....

I'm waiting to see how the aftermarket variants of the 8GB 480 move at all, running a 4K monitor and thinking long-term driver maturity still factor into my thinking for AMD. I don't really care about power draw as long as temperatures aren't insane. I'm hoping for a huge black friday sale basically, which is weird as it's a sale we shouldn't logically have. Great price though, perfect for a middle budget gaming pc!

Shame no sli :disappointed:
Don't blame them though. Wonder if some clever sod will find a way of enabling it.

wiiiiilllll ttthhhiisssss sttttiiiilllll haaaavvvveeee the 10000000xxx0000 stuttttttttttter prprprprobbbleeemssss?

Two slower moving fans are often quieter than one fast one for the same cooling.

The performance of these cards is brilliant and to be fair better than I was expecting, I thought it might have gtx970 performance and it actually performs more like the GTX980. Still the price is still a touch high for a card occupying this tier as in the last gen the GTX970 was this kind of price while the 960 was a fair bit cheaper. Though it performs excellently it's price is high for the budget side of midrange, which is surely the area this should be occupying as a successor to the 960...

Ah.
Weird thing to promote; 'our HSF sux, so we made it generate twice as much noise'.

What's the 'dual' in reference to?

Didn't realise this was out, just looked at guru3d review. 134w for its performance is superb. How do AMD respond? Price cuts? This might just tempt me to upgrade my 750ti.

Why cant these just be cheaper?!?

When 1060 cards from MSI, Zotec, ASUS, EVGA versions are retailing at £238.99. Why on earth would anyone choose to buy a Palit card??

That's ignoring the fact it's £1 more haha

Was tempted to buy MSI Gaming X for £290. Not bothered about performance difference but anyone know if Palits are noisy fans?
Both stop completely when idle, so it would be on load.

must wait 2 weeks - get deal after holiday - can't cope with the stress

I need a card to play my favourite arcade game phoenix. Is this a good cars for that?

Not bad and if you use quidco you might be eligiblable for the 10.00 offer plus 2 percent cash back bringing it down to around 225 delivered, the 10.00 offer is via a opt in, oddly enough though, I'm not eligible!