New video card required

[Goanna1]

Hi all,

I am in dire need of a new computer but before I start on that endeavour it seems that I am in an even more desperate need to get a GPU/video card.

 

Finances allow me about $350 AU so for that I can get either:

a 4G R9-380X

(Asus STRIX/ Sapphire NITRO Dual X OC / Gigabyte G1 Gaming)

 

or a 4g GTX 960

(Asus TURBO OC /MSI GAMING/Gainward Phantom(3422) / Asus STRIX/
Gigabyte OC/WF2OC/G1 Gaming/XTREME)

 

The Coolermaster  case has space of 26.5cm for the GPU and power supply plugs (existing use 25cm)--

 

So my question for the advice from more astute and qualified forum members  is:

Which One? is better for this simulation as these are really all I use games wise.

 

 

I am upgrading this old computer soon but the old video card being replaced is an AMD 5750 which needless to say is past overdue date but since it suicided I must move on to this component first

 

Any advice and recommendations gratefully received

Edited June 24, 2016 by Goanna1

[71st_AH_Mastiff]

buy this set up you will get your monies worth!

 

 4g GTX 960
(Asus TURBO OC /MSI GAMING/Gainward Phantom(3422) / Asus STRIX/
Gigabyte OC/WF2OC/G1 Gaming/XTREME)

[Goanna1]

buy this set up you will get your monies worth!

 

 4g GTX 960

(Asus TURBO OC /MSI GAMING/Gainward Phantom(3422) / Asus STRIX/

Gigabyte OC/WF2OC/G1 Gaming/XTREME)

Thanks!!

[=LG=Wicher]

Don't buy video card now! In few days the radeon sends out new graphic cards with good performance for only about 200$!

 

http://techreport.com/news/30222/amd-polaris-powered-radeon-rx-480-will-ring-in-at-199

[Dakpilot]

New AMD cards (if they live up to the hype) may also cause a big drop in Nvidia (GTX960) to compete.

 

This time I am expecting good things from AMD as they are concentrating on value for money/performance as the selling point and main market, having seemingly given up competing in the Titan/1080Ti range

 

I use Nvidia, but some say AMD does not perform as well in BoS, as I have no experience of this so I can only say it as hearsay, many are happy with AMD and BoS/BoM

 

Cheers Dakpilot

[Goanna1]

Thanks to all responders, I will wait for the new AMD cards to see their specs.

 

As any Aussie knows that when purchasing computer components we seem to get screwed over with the prices we see for these items aas compared to same items in the USA or elsewhere.

[Smouch]

As any Aussie knows that when purchasing computer components we seem to get screwed over with the prices we see for these items aas compared to same items in the USA or elsewhere.

The good ole excuse of taxes and population base

[71st_AH_Mastiff]

global market is BS!

[mAIOR]

So, are you getting the new 480? The 970/980s got quite the price drop. Is any within range for you?

[Albino]

Goanna check out the RX 480s on PC Case Gear

 

The 4GB model is AU $319 but out of stock at the moment. It outperforms the GTX 970 (which I have, and runs BOS/BOM beautifully)

[mAIOR]

Goanna check out the RX 480s on PC Case Gear

 

The 4GB model is AU $319 but out of stock at the moment. It outperforms the GTX 970 (which I have, and runs BOS/BOM beautifully)

Borderline outperforms. From the reviews I've seen it is tit for tat most of the time. But as drivers mature, it is the better option imho. Edited June 30, 2016 by mAIOR

[Shatter12]

Borderline outperforms. From the reviews I've seen it is tit for tat most of the time. But as drivers mature, it is the better option imho.

I thought the AMD RX 480 out performs (or is at least on par) with the 980? I think the AMD RX 480 is a solid pick up, although apparently AMD/the 480 is having issues with PCI-Es, although I think AMD will release a driver update fixing it. Full post is here (yes it's reddit, but it seems mainly correct): https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/4qfwd4/rx480_fails_pcie_specification/

[=LG=Wicher]

They told that 8GB version of RX 480 will cost 239$ ... In Poland it costs 1350zł and that is about 338$ ... Can someone explain me wtf?

[Shatter12]

They told that 8GB version of RX 480 will cost 239$ ... In Poland it costs 1350zł and that is about 338$ ... Can someone explain me wtf?

If it's anything like Australia, then the price also includes taxes, transport (had a brain snap, I mean it being produced in Australia/Poland/overseas then America, or if it's being produced here under license, etc.) and just our conversion rates at different times. The AMD Radeon RX 480 also has an issue with it's PCI-E ports, or something like that, which means it's taking to much watts, I'm not sure. I skimmed through this, which seems like a good read:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Amd/comments/4qfwd4/rx480_fails_pcie_specification/

[Albino]

Borderline outperforms. From the reviews I've seen it is tit for tat most of the time. But as drivers mature, it is the better option imho.

 

Good point. I also agree it's the better option irrespective. New technology, new fabrication process, not to mention the whole 4GB of VRAM is accessible at full bandwidth.

 

It's difficult to be sure at the moment, though it seems that AMD is shaping up to benefit most from DX12 and Vulcan titles.

 

Regards

Albino

[Goanna1]

8gb RX480 costs $439 as I see it on the MSY computers web site (they have always been competative with prices)

So this unit looks the goods especially if it approaches the 980 in performance

I will wait /save up abit longer to get the 480-8gb unit

Still we in OZ are poached upon by pricing structure -in this global market/age.

.

Thanks to all the responders as this card is beter than I thought I could obtain for my budget

Edited July 1, 2016 by Goanna1

[Shatter12]

8gb RX480 costs $439 as I see it on the MSY computers web site (they have always been competative with prices)

So this unit looks the goods especially if it approaches the 980 in performance

I will wait /save up abit longer to get the 480-8gb unit

Still we in OZ are poached upon by pricing structure -in this global market/age.

.

Thanks to all the responders as this card is beter than I thought I could obtain for my budget

What? No way a RX 480 8GB costs $439 AUD. An 8GB 480 costs $239 or something like that in America, and if we go off Americas pricing (AUD to USD now), that equals $328 USD. 

Oh wow, it really does: http://cdn.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf 

And here's me expecting prices woudln't sky rocket in Australia =/. It's a bit retarded to be honest.

EDIT: Oh wow, IJK is even more pricey: http://ijk.com.au/branch/ijk/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=156614 

EDIT 2: Oh wow, this is just getting retarded: https://www.mwave.com.au/product/msi-amd-radeon-rx-480-8gb-video-card-ab83753

Edited July 1, 2016 by Shatter12

[mAIOR]

What? No way a RX 480 8GB costs $439 AUD. An 8GB 480 costs $239 or something like that in America, and if we go off Americas pricing (AUD to USD now), that equals $328 USD.

Oh wow, it really does: http://cdn.msy.com.au/Parts/PARTS.pdf

And here's me expecting prices woudln't sky rocket in Australia =/. It's a bit retarded to be honest.

EDIT: Oh wow, IJK is even more pricey: http://ijk.com.au/branch/ijk/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=156614

EDIT 2: Oh wow, this is just getting retarded: https://www.mwave.com.au/product/msi-amd-radeon-rx-480-8gb-video-card-ab83753

Yeah, Australians have a huge tax on electronic products for some reason.

Anyway, waiting is a good idea.

[Shatter12]

Yeah, Australians have a huge tax on electronic products for some reason.

Anyway, waiting is a good idea.

A 1060 might be a good idea as well, as it is supposedly better then the 480, will cost around the same amount (if the 1070 vs. 1080 price is anything to go by in Australia), or less and will have 6GB of VRAM, the same as the 980 Ti, and a bit strange since 2GB, 4GB and 8GB is the norm.

[mAIOR]

A 1060 might be a good idea as well, as it is supposedly better then the 480, will cost around the same amount (if the 1070 vs. 1080 price is anything to go by in Australia), or less and will have 6GB of VRAM, the same as the 980 Ti, and a bit strange since 2GB, 4GB and 8GB is the norm.

That depends on theemory bus. A 256 bit can have 2, 4 and 8 GB while a 384 bit can have 3, 6 and 12. So if the memory bus of the 1060 is 192 bit (half of 384 since 1070/80 have 256 bit bus) it can have 6 GB. I would be carefully calling something better or worse until its out too. It might be better, it might not. The cards seem to be be a similar leap from maxwell as maxwell was from Kepler so the 1060 will probably be similar albeit at a lower memory bus (like the 960 to the 380). Which usually means that they will trade blows depending on the game. Shadow of Mordor likes memory bandwidth while The Witcher 3 is not ao picky.

[Shatter12]

That depends on theemory bus. A 256 bit can have 2, 4 and 8 GB while a 384 bit can have 3, 6 and 12. So if the memory bus of the 1060 is 192 bit (half of 384 since 1070/80 have 256 bit bus) it can have 6 GB. I would be carefully calling something better or worse until its out too. It might be better, it might not. The cards seem to be be a similar leap from maxwell as maxwell was from Kepler so the 1060 will probably be similar albeit at a lower memory bus (like the 960 to the 380). Which usually means that they will trade blows depending on the game. Shadow of Mordor likes memory bandwidth while The Witcher 3 is not ao picky.

I guess it also depends on how much resolutions/textures the game uses, as then a 4GB+ Video card will be excellently performing.

1060 will also come in a 3GB version, but probably not worth it however.

[Fishbed64]

I just bought Sapphire RX480 8gb as upgrade from my r9 380 ,and i play with it for few days ,and i must say it work great so far ,i dont expect to see much difference in IL2 BOS due to the CPU bottleneck in this engine,but to my suprise i see boost in FPS and it runs very smooth.I also try DCS world(1.5 DX11) where i see massive boost in FPS compared to the r9 380,and again everything runs smooth.   

[Shatter12]

I just bought Sapphire RX480 8gb as upgrade from my r9 380 ,and i play with it for few days ,and i must say it work great so far ,i dont expect to see much difference in IL2 BOS due to the CPU bottleneck in this engine,but to my suprise i see boost in FPS and it runs very smooth.I also try DCS world(1.5 DX11) where i see massive boost in FPS compared to the r9 380,and again everything runs smooth.

 

RX 480 has more VRAM (only the 380X has 8GB VRAM), and the RX 480 is comparable to somewhere in between the 390 and 390X.

It seems to be an R9 390 running 14nm. I think the GTX 1060 might perform a bit better on most games, but not to much better 15% better if the benchmarks are correct) for a supposedly similar price. It runs 192-bit VRAM however, so it only has 6GB VRAM which limits it on super large maps full of textures and details.

[Fishbed64]

Well yes RX480 is on pair with GTX970 and r9 390,but it is completely new Polaris chip ,much more advance than Hawaii in r9 390.GTX1060 is not out yet,nobody knows the price or exact performance,but it will be around rx480 thats for sure.

[Shatter12]

Well yes RX480 is on pair with GTX970 and r9 390,but it is completely new Polaris chip ,much more advance than Hawaii in r9 390.GTX1060 is not out yet,nobody knows the price or exact performance,but it will be around rx480 thats for sure.

GTX 1060 seems to perform better outside of VRAM with a few tests (search "GTX 1060 specifications" in Google). All the 480 has over the 390(X) is that it uses less heat and energy, makinf a mega PSU redundant. However, OC'ing seems slightly limited.

[mAIOR]

RX 480 has more VRAM (only the 380X has 8GB VRAM), and the RX 480 is comparable to somewhere in between the 390 and 390X.

It seems to be an R9 390 running 14nm. I think the GTX 1060 might perform a bit better on most games, but not to much better 15% better if the benchmarks are correct) for a supposedly similar price. It runs 192-bit VRAM however, so it only has 6GB VRAM which limits it on super large maps full of textures and details.

6GB is more than enough. Unless you think a 980ti is not enough

For 1080p, even 3GB is enough if you have the right card. A 780ti will still kill any game at 1080p.

In modern games, the game is most likely to be limited by computing capacity (number of cores) or number of rops. Having a lot of memory only helpa you as long as you have a card powerfull enough to access all that memory. Otherwise you will load more things in memory but you process them at a lower pace than you can fill them creating a bottleneck. Case in point, the 960. The 4GB version of the 960 was a waste ofoney since the card cpuld not use all that. It had a small memory bandwidth and low computing power leading to limitations on efficient memory usage. In benchmarks it was usually as fast as the 2GB version even in memory heavy scenarios. The 380 4GB however managed to get better results consistently due to higher memory bandwidth and more power generally. One benchmark I am keen to see is the comparison between the 480 8GB and the 4GB version when memory speeds are the same. I have a feeling that the 480 is not strong enough to use the full 8GB and I suspect that the 1060 6GB will suffer from the same.

 

Those benchmarks you speak of are based on the supposed specs of the card and not with the card itslef. It is a computation exercise. Take them with a grain of salt.

 

Unless there are others that I missed if so, please post them.

[Shatter12]

6GB is more than enough. Unless you think a 980ti is not enough

For 1080p, even 3GB is enough if you have the right card. A 780ti will still kill any game at 1080p.

In modern games, the game is most likely to be limited by computing capacity (number of cores) or number of rops. Having a lot of memory only helpa you as long as you have a card powerfull enough to access all that memory. Otherwise you will load more things in memory but you process them at a lower pace than you can fill them creating a bottleneck. Case in point, the 960. The 4GB version of the 960 was a waste ofoney since the card cpuld not use all that. It had a small memory bandwidth and low computing power leading to limitations on efficient memory usage. In benchmarks it was usually as fast as the 2GB version even in memory heavy scenarios. The 380 4GB however managed to get better results consistently due to higher memory bandwidth and more power generally. One benchmark I am keen to see is the comparison between the 480 8GB and the 4GB version when memory speeds are the same. I have a feeling that the 480 is not strong enough to use the full 8GB and I suspect that the 1060 6GB will suffer from the same.

 

Those benchmarks you speak of are based on the supposed specs of the card and not with the card itslef. It is a computation exercise. Take them with a grain of salt.

 

Unless there are others that I missed if so, please post them.

The specifications here: http://videocardz.com/nvidia/geforce-1000/geforce-gtx-1060

Show that it seems to compete easily with the RX 480, however I will wait until it is launched and more, and more accurate benchmarked have been made and announced.

[mAIOR]

The specifications here: http://videocardz.com/nvidia/geforce-1000/geforce-gtx-1060

Show that it seems to compete easily with the RX 480, however I will wait until it is launched and more, and more accurate benchmarked have been made and announced.

Interesting. If those figures are correct, the 1060 will have a higher number of rops which basically means it will be able to output more polygons whereas the AMD will be able to texture things better with more texturing units and memory bandwidth.

 

So it will be a tossup betweeiln the two again ^^. The 380 had a slight edge over the 960. Let's see if it still stands.

Interesting point, the 480 is better than the fury at polygon output... New geometry rules...

[Dakpilot]

 

LoL (but the figures are correct)

 

same or generally worse performance at 1.4 more power usage  1060 had better have a higher price point or AMD have screwed up again

 

It is easy to sacrifice a slightly cooler less power hungry and quieter spec'd card with similar performance if the alternative is much cheaper....

 

Ultimately this is no good for all of us..decent competition is important to avoid monopoly 

 

I was really hoping for AMD to come up with a 'de facto' mainstream performance bargain

 

Maybe after proper comparisons are done with released products the R480 will shine a bit better

 

 

Independant real world benchmarks are the only important ones..we shall see soon

 

Cheers Dakpilot

[mAIOR]

1060.png

 

LoL (but the figures are correct)

 

same or generally worse performance at 1.4 more power usage 1060 had better have a higher price point or AMD have screwed up again

 

It is easy to sacrifice a slightly cooler less power hungry and quieter spec'd card with similar performance if the alternative is much cheaper....

 

Ultimately this is no good for all of us..decent competition is important to avoid monopoly

 

I was really hoping for AMD to come up with a 'de facto' mainstream performance bargain

 

Maybe after proper comparisons are done with released products the R480 will shine a bit better

 

480.png

 

Independant real world benchmarks are the only important ones..we shall see soon

H

Cheers Dakpilot

The power usage from AMD has always been higher but this is their most efficient card by far.

This card already caused a stir too since nVidia will have to release a sensible priced card and not something like the rest of the 10 series.

Main point still is, we are getting 390 levels of performance for 2/3 of the price. Let's see what the big polaris (or Vega or whatever they call it) brings to the table next. Hopefully more rops since that has always been the main shortcoming for AMD.