RX 480 4GB, Is it a good choice, and do brands matter?

[Guest]

Im currently saving up for a GPU and it took me probably too long to decide on one. I finally decided on a budget (Sub £200 so around $230) and I was looking at benchmarks on the GTX 1060 3GB and RX 480 4GB. The differences are miniscule, probably unnoticable in gameplay, so I thought I'd go with the RX 480. I'm planning to play 720p-1080p with one monitor so I dont think I need 6 or 8gb of VRAM. I was looking at current pricings and I noticed an MSI ARMOR 480 only costing £170 from 3 different sellers. I thought this was odd since the ASUS Dual fan 480 costs £25 more, but so far I could not find a disadvantage with going for the ARMOR despite the low price. Its about the same price of a Sapphire 470. Do brands really affect performance? Am I making the right decision or should I go for the 1060 3gb, or should I get the Dual Fan 480? I am planning on buying a Ryzen CPU and 8gb RAM. I'm not a hardcore gamer and I dont see myself playing any "New" games, nor do I mind lowering a setting here and there. I just want to know if the RX 480 is in fact a better option over the 1060, and if it is, is there a disadvantage to buying the suspiciously cheap model. Thanks.
All replies are highly appreciated

 

[laviniuc]

it's probably cheaper just because it's on sale. manufacturers matter but not so much. you're correct, the rx480 is about the same performance as the 1060, probably a bit better. for 1080p any of them will be plenty.

 

[dontlistentome]

Manufacturers often sell different models of the same GPU. For instance, it looks like MSI currently offers the 480 in a reference design with a blower, a "Gaming X" model, and an "Armor" model. Some things may be different, such as the heatsink/fan used and the clockspeeds, but they are all 480s and will perform as such. At any given time one or more models might be on sale. Some manufacturers are well regarded, enough that they can charge a premium for their products. Asus products will typically cost more than Powercolor for example.

I've seen some really good sales on 480s so it doesn't surprise me you are finding some now. In terms of choices, if I used the Geforce Experience for things like streaming and recording gameplay, I'd probably choose a 1060 3gb over an RX 480 4gb. If all I wanted was performance, I'd choose the 480 4gb over the 1060 3gb. If you are only gaming at 1080p or less and aren't a 'hardcore' gamer AND you could save a substantial(to you) amount of money, the 470 4gb will do nicely. If the 480 on sale is anywhere near the 470 price though then get the 480.