Gtx 970 FTW edition vs RX 480

[nohdubs]

Rn i have a custom built gaming machine, except the one thing that counts, a GPU. My friend just got the new 1070, and said that he would sell me his EVGA gtx 970 ftw edition for 160 dollars. He said that he would throw in a 1080p monitor as well for 60 bucks. It sounds like a pretty good deal, since i'm kind of scared to overclock, but if I don't get this i'll probably buy an rx 480 4gb. Don't even talk about the GTX 1060, because if i'm going to spend 250 dollars on a gpu, it should atleast last me three years. I like playing skyrim, and H1Z1. I also might try out the witcher 3. Btw i hate FPS games. Also, his monitor is a BENQ 60hz 23 inch moniter. Thanks for the help.

My specs are: Z170 platform
I5 6500
16 gb ram
500 watt psu
1280 by 1024 monitor (due for an upgrade)

 

[CTurbo]

I would probably take his 970 and 1080p monitor. Sounds like a decent deal.

 

[nohdubs]

ok thanks, but i still want good performance would this still be a good gpu say two years from now?

 

[CTurbo]

It's better than anything else in the $160 range for sure. It will still do well at 1080p 2 years from now. Yes.

 

[chemmajorp53]

ok thanks, but i still want good performance would this still be a good gpu say two years from now?

Take the 970, the 480 isn't that much faster at all and you're basically getting a free monitor. If you want a 480 I'd go for the 8GB instead just so that you don't run into VRAM issues if you add another card down the road. Both will be plenty fast enough to run AAA titles at 60fps 1080p in two years, just maybe not at ultra settings with max MSAA.

 

[Dikyashi]

ok thanks, but i still want good performance would this still be a good gpu say two years from now?

The Deal is sweet but the GPU(970) wont last long.The card has already matured quite a lot.Rx480 is a great card at the sweet spot.Its a full dx12/Vulkan card and will last for several years to come .970 is a full dx11 card and same goes with the 1060.From next year onwards we are going to be seeing more and more dx12 and vulkan games coming out.So at this point rx480 is better.Also the memory of 970 maybe an issue in near future.

 

[nohdubs]

yeah i kind of knew that when he told me about it, but i'm concerned about future use for something that i spend a lot of money on. Ex. the 1060 isn't a good option for the price.

 

[chemmajorp53]

ok thanks, but i still want good performance would this still be a good gpu say two years from now?

The Deal is sweet but the GPU(970) wont last long.The card has already matured quite a lot.Rx480 is a great card at the sweet spot.Its a full dx12/Vulkan card and will last for several years to come .970 is a full dx11 card and same goes with the 1060.From next year onwards we are going to be seeing more and more dx12 and vulkan games coming out.So at this point rx480 is better.Also the memory of 970 maybe an issue in near future.

Who said the gtx 970 doesn't have full dx12 support? And why would he spend 40% more after tax on a card with basically the same amount of VRAM (3.5GB effective vs. 4GB) and maybe an average of 10% higher average FPS? There are very few titles currently supported by vulkan and even dx12 support isn't the best. If Mantle is an indication of what's to come, who knows if Vulcan is even going to gain widespread support? I just don't think the 480 is worth it in this case unless you buy the 8GB version, which costs significantly more.

 

[Dikyashi]

yeah i kind of knew that when he told me about it, but i'm concerned about future use for something that i spend a lot of money on. Ex. the 1060 isn't a good option for the price.

The 1060 and 970 should do well in dx11 and openGL games.Nvidia is know for shorter lifecycle.AMD cards are great at dx12 and vulkan games(See benchmarks).AMD drivers mature over time and will last you many years.


970
Pros.
1>1080p card
2>Cheap
3>True dx11 card
4>Performance similar to rx 480

Cons;
1>3.5 GB Vram
2>Matured
3>Worse at dx12


rx 480
Pros
1>8GB Vram
2>1080p
3>Dx12/Vulkan support
4>Longer Life Cycle

Cons:
1>Not much room for OC
2>Bad at dx11/OpenGL games

Gtx 1060
Pros:
1>6GB Vram
2>1080p card
3>Great OC
4>Dx11 card.


Cons:
1>Shorter Lifecycle
2>Not True DX12 card.


You are down with two options
Either
1>Buy the 970 and the monitor and save for future upgrade probably next year.
2>Buy the RX 480 and buy the next card 2-4 years from now

 

[Dikyashi]

ok thanks, but i still want good performance would this still be a good gpu say two years from now?

The Deal is sweet but the GPU(970) wont last long.The card has already matured quite a lot.Rx480 is a great card at the sweet spot.Its a full dx12/Vulkan card and will last for several years to come .970 is a full dx11 card and same goes with the 1060.From next year onwards we are going to be seeing more and more dx12 and vulkan games coming out.So at this point rx480 is better.Also the memory of 970 maybe an issue in near future.

Who said the gtx 970 doesn't have full dx12 support? And why would he spend 40% more after tax on a card with basically the same amount of VRAM (3.5GB effective vs. 4GB) and maybe an average of 10% higher average FPS? There are very few titles currently supported by vulkan and even dx12 support isn't the best. If Mantle is an indication of what's to come, who knows if Vulcan is even going to gain widespread support? I just don't think the 480 is worth it in this case unless you buy the 8GB version, which costs significantly more.

970 is not a dx12 card.A driver was promised but that is far off.At this point getting a 8gb card is a lot better than getting a 4gb card.Many say 4gb will be enough for 1080p gaming but we have reached a point of time where 4gb @1080p will be insufficent.In 1-2years time 4gb will be insufficent for 1080 gaming due to Increased texture,model etc.

 

[nohdubs]

Damn I didn't think I would have have to upgrade so fast. First I'm gonna take a look at his 970 and monitor, but this kind of turned me off to the deal.

 

[jossrik]

I would go by what you're gaming on now. If you've got a 7770 or something a few generations old the 970 will be a *big* improvement in framerate and quality. As was said, the 970 and 480 are close in performance. It's been said that Nvidia doesn't do well timewise when their cards aren't the current gen as far as driver updates, you can look up that and see what you think about it, I'm not sure, I don't work for Nvidia. AMD cards continue to benefit from driver updates for years after they're released. But at the end of the day, the cards perform about the same, roughly same horsepower, ya you can make them more efficient, better fuel or whatnot, but when it comes to the all mighty dollar, all things considered, do what's best for your wallet if that's a concern. The 970 is a nice card, at that price, and knowing the original owner (in case you need warranty help) is a big deal. On the other hand, if you've got say a 290X where the performance difference isn't going to be as great, maybe save up for a slightly better card, the heirarchy chart on here (Toms) says ideally at least three tiers for a noticeable upgrade. Look up your card, and know that unless you buy both and can game one right next to the other, you won't know the difference.

 

[turbopixel]

I would take the GTX 970. Its a very nice card for 1080p monitor with gaming at 60 fps. You can play almost every current game at highest or very high quality settings. And this will not change too fast in next 1-2 years. Also, you are not stuck with that old 1280*1024 monitor and get a decent 1920*1080 monitor. Later, if you want more gpu power, you could seel the GTX 970 for around same price, as it is a good price and that means you didn't pay much for the gpu now.