Radeon RX480 vs GTX 970

[HyperCat]

So the RX480 just released and i took a look at some benchmarks on Youtube and got pretty dissappointed, and didnt expect GTX 980 performance but i tought i woud beat the GTX 970. Here in Sweden the Sapphire RX 480 costs 340$ compared to GTX 970 which is priced at 318$ so im wondering. should i get a GTX 970 instead for a little bit cheaper? the RX custom cards will probably cost more (~350-370$). Maybe it will be improved with newer Drivers and custom cards beat a 970 and MAYBE an OCed will have a similar performance as a 980? thanks in advance.

 

[IMTECH]

So the RX480 just released and i took a look at some benchmarks on Youtube and got pretty dissappointed, and didnt expect GTX 980 performance but i tought i woud beat the GTX 970. Here in Sweden the Sapphire RX 480 costs 340$ compared to GTX 970 which is priced at 318$ so im wondering. should i get a GTX 970 instead for a little bit cheaper? the RX custom cards will probably cost more (~350-370$). Maybe it will be improved with newer Drivers and custom cards beat a 970 and MAYBE an OCed will have a similar performance as a 980? thanks in advance.

Wait for the custom RX 480 models and new drivers. If you don't want to, then get a 970. It's still a very good card, especially if you can find it for less than the cost of a 480.

 

[delaro]

Pretty disappointing? It cost $199 for a 4gb 150W version and $225 for a 8gb. The performance bounces around a R9 290 $240+ 275 W, R9 390X $329 275W, and 970 GTX $289 170W. It hangs or surpasses cards that use more power and cost more all depending on the Title. Another thing to consider is driver optimization, it just isn't there yet and wont be for a few months so that will add 5fps or more in time.

For 1080p this is a great valued card especially when the sales start and you can pick it up for around $150. I wont be replacing my 970's but if I was to build another system I would defiantly give it Rx 480 a try. These are the Medium range cards, wouldn't you like to see the performance of the $250+ versions?

 

[geofelt]

Good point.
At anything but the top performing cards, you tend to get what you pay for at any price point.
A GTX970 may well be your safer buy.
Any new card is bound to have some issues, particularly driver issues.

Either should play most games well at 1080P resolution.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

I'd wait to published reviews from reputable sites arrive containing reviews of aftermarket cards ... Here the 970 wins more than it loses:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10446/the-amd-radeon-rx-480-preview/4

On the other hand, TPU has the 480 bettering the 970 by 6% (1440p) in their test suite. Nothing new here, the R9 x80 has essentially been the only AMD horse in the race for the last 2 generations.
https://tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/RX_480/images/perfrel_2560_1440.png

Remember though, since the introduction of the 2xx series, AMds cards have consistently had limited OC ability, resulting in just single digit FPS increases. The 9xx series sees OC'd fps increases from 17% to 31% ... the 3xx series 5 to 8%

TPU tested the 970s overclocking ability at 17%
TPU tested the 480s overclocking ability at 5%

Doing the math....

970 = 94% x 1.17 = 110%
480 = 100% x 1.05 = 105%

We'll have to see if non-reference 480 cards can improve on that.

AMD released the 480 first for a reason ... well I think multiple reasons

1. They can ill afford repeats on the 7xx and 9xx series where AMD invested in huge marketing campaigns for theirir x80 topplers only to have nVidia drop the Tis right on their heels.

2. AMD is a long way from anything that compete with the 1070 and 1080.

3. The 970 outsold all AMD 2xx and 3xx card cards combined by a factor > 2:1.


So the 970 has to be their first punch and, it would appear that they made a pretty good offering. At $199 ... say $219 - $229 for the non-reference ones, that is quite a "shot across the bow" at the 970.... however, we already saw 970s as low as $239.

If AMD can pick up another 5% OC on the non-reference cards ... and can maintain a price advantage after nVidia slashes prices, then they have a competitor on their hands.

OTOH, nVidia has slated the release of the 1060 for 3rd quarter (along with 950 and 940) ... which is 2 days away. So we can expect to see that card drop into the channel in the next 2 - 92 days. The 280 and 380 were AMDs most viable cards against nVidia competition, the problem was anyone considering a 380 vs a 960 couldn't help but be pulled by the performance price of the jumping to the 970, which arrived on the scene well below the $400 price range for the x70 series.

So yes, the 480 has the same appeal that the 280 / 380 did only now we don't know what the 1060 looks like. I'll make these forecasts:

1. The 970 will see price drops in the next week or so.
2. If the 970 is competitive , we'll see it soon.
3. This is pure conjecture but nVidia knows that the 280 and 380 were the better cards against what they had to offer in this niche. Ya gotta think that with the x70, x80 and x80Ti series being a slam dunk, they spent some time in the last 8 months figuring out how they can improve the position in the GTX x60 vs R9 x80 segment. So I think they will have a better showing here than in the last 2 generations. We'll know soon.

 

[HyperCat]

Pretty disappointing? It cost $199 for a 4gb 150W version and $225 for a 8gb. The performance bounces around a R9 290 $240+ 275 W, R9 390X $329 275W, and 970 GTX $289 170W. It hangs or surpasses cards that use more power and cost more all depending on the Title. Another thing to consider is driver optimization, it just isn't there yet and wont be for a few months so that will add 5fps or more in time.

For 1080p this is a great valued card especially when the sales start and you can pick it up for around $150. I wont be replacing my 970's but if I was to build another system I would defiantly give it Rx 480 a try. These are the Medium range cards, wouldn't you like to see the performance of the $250+ versions?

READ MY post again, the rx480 costs 340$ for the 8GB version in Sweden, im not talking about US where everything is cheap compared to Europe also i dont care about how much watt it takes.

 

[HyperCat]

I'd wait to published reviews from reputable sites arrive containing reviews of aftermarket cards ... Here the 970 wins more than it loses:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10446/the-amd-radeon-rx-480-preview/4

On the other hand, TPU has the 480 bettering the 970 by 6% (1440p) in their test suite. Nothing new here, the R9 x80 has essentially been the only AMD horse in the race for the last 2 generations.
https://tpucdn.com/reviews/AMD/RX_480/images/perfrel_2560_1440.png

Remember though, since the introduction of the 2xx series, AMds cards have consistently had limited OC ability, resulting in just single digit FPS increases. The 9xx series sees OC'd fps increases from 17% to 31% ... the 3xx series 5 to 8%

TPU tested the 970s overclocking ability at 17%
TPU tested the 480s overclocking ability at 5%

Doing the math....

970 = 94% x 1.17 = 110%
480 = 100% x 1.05 = 105%

We'll have to see if non-reference 480 cards can improve on that.

AMD released the 480 first for a reason ... well I think multiple reasons

1. They can ill afford repeats on the 7xx and 9xx series where AMD invested in huge marketing campaigns for theirir x80 topplers only to have nVidia drop the Tis right on their heels.

2. AMD is a long way from anything that compete with the 1070 and 1080.

3. The 970 outsold all AMD 2xx and 3xx card cards combined by a factor > 2:1.


So the 970 has to be their first punch and, it would appear that they made a pretty good offering. At $199 ... say $219 - $229 for the non-reference ones, that is quite a "shot across the bow" at the 970.... however, we already saw 970s as low as $239.

If AMD can pick up another 5% OC on the non-reference cards ... and can maintain a price advantage after nVidia slashes prices, then they have a competitor on their hands.

OTOH, nVidia has slated the release of the 1060 for 3rd quarter (along with 950 and 940) ... which is 2 days away. So we can expect to see that card drop into the channel in the next 2 - 92 days. The 280 and 380 were AMDs most viable cards against nVidia competition, the problem was anyone considering a 380 vs a 960 couldn't help but be pulled by the performance price of the jumping to the 970, which arrived on the scene well below the $400 price range for the x70 series.

So yes, the 480 has the same appeal that the 280 / 380 did only now we don't know what the 1060 looks like. I'll make these forecasts:

1. The 970 will see price drops in the next week or so.
2. If the 970 is competitive , we'll see it soon.
3. This is pure conjecture but nVidia knows that the 280 and 380 were the better cards against what they had to offer in this niche. Ya gotta think that with the x70, x80 and x80Ti series being a slam dunk, they spent some time in the last 8 months figuring out how they can improve the position in the GTX x60 vs R9 x80 segment. So I think they will have a better showing here than in the last 2 generations. We'll know soon.

wow thanks man for taking your time and posting this, cleared up some things for me.

 

[delaro]

Pretty disappointing? It cost $199 for a 4gb 150W version and $225 for a 8gb. The performance bounces around a R9 290 $240+ 275 W, R9 390X $329 275W, and 970 GTX $289 170W. It hangs or surpasses cards that use more power and cost more all depending on the Title. Another thing to consider is driver optimization, it just isn't there yet and wont be for a few months so that will add 5fps or more in time.

For 1080p this is a great valued card especially when the sales start and you can pick it up for around $150. I wont be replacing my 970's but if I was to build another system I would defiantly give it Rx 480 a try. These are the Medium range cards, wouldn't you like to see the performance of the $250+ versions?

READ MY post again, the rx480 costs 340$ for the 8GB version in Sweden, im not talking about US where everything is cheap compared to Europe also i dont care about how much watt it takes.

Your completely oblivious to the point of the card and you could have easily answered your own question by looking at the reviews. A RX 480 is a budget $199 mid range card and a 970 was a $300+ High end card less than a year ago so what do you think is going to average better FPS? This should be common sense.

The news here is how the RX 480 compares and surpasses a R9 290, R9 390 and R9 390X when you consider Price/ Performance and Heat/ Power used especially when you look at what they cost new. This is only the mid range card by looking at these numbers when the $250+ cards launch you can get a decent estimation on how they will perform.