Refurbished GTX 970 Reference for $179?

[Nicolas4474]

Would it be better to get the GTX 970, for $179 or invest in a GTX 1060 or RX 480 for about $220+?

 

[SlyNinja]

RX 480 is better if you're not going to upgrade anytime soon. Otherwise go with the GTX 1060. I don't see a reason in getting a 970 that you'll have to replace soon anyway.

 

[Calculagator]

The GTX 970 is still a good card with a lot of life left, but for the price, I do think you would be better off aiming for a new card. Of course, if the 970 comes with a good warranty and all of the features you need it could still be a good deal.

 

[timeconsumer]

Are you doing a new build or dropping a card into a current rig? Is this for 1080p or 1440p?

Here's how I like to think of it:
GTX 1060 6gb average 83 FPS in 1080p
RX 480 average 77 FPS in 1080p
GTX 970 average 69 FPS in 1080p (all numbers using PCGamer's sixteen game average, it isn't perfect but suitable for this analysis)

At $179 for the 970 you get .38 FPS/$
At $229 for a 1060 you get .36 FPS/$
At $209 for an RX 480 you get .37 FPS/$

Based upon those numbers the better value play is the GTX 970. However there are other factors, so bear with me. If playing in 1440p, the numbers are different (I won't do another analysis).

Also, if you are doing a new build you really are best factoring the performance/$ for the entire machine as opposed to just the GPU. Because if we're talking about an $800 rig, an extra $50 is 7% of the total cost yet nets you a 20% increase over the GTX 970. Making the 1060 6gb a better value play if you find it at $229.

Finally, consider what games are most important to you. If you play a lot of DX12 or Vulcan games, get the RX 480 for a huge performance boost. If you play a lot of blizzard games like Overwatch, I would definitely opt for one of the Nvidia cards.

 

[killerchickens]

I would go with a rx 480 over a gtx 1060.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEw3CaNSbUo

 

[renz496]

RX 480 is better if you're not going to upgrade anytime soon. Otherwise go with the GTX 1060. I don't see a reason in getting a 970 that you'll have to replace soon anyway.

970 is only slightly behind 1060 6GB. with OC they probably dead even

 

[renz496]

I would go with a rx 480 over a gtx 1060.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEw3CaNSbUo

different reviewer with different game suite will come up with different conclusion. TPU for example still put 1060 6GB ahead RX480 with their relative performance chart (similar to hardware canucks total average for all games combined) on their latest test that include both card (done in mid november). i see some people making wrong impression from the numbers shown by hardware canucks. they take is as if now RX480 will now perform just as fast as 1060 in all DX11 titles and even more faster than DX12. the difference on the average score going to AMD favor because they introduce a few more games that favoring AMD cards more regardless of API being use.