RX480 died! Replace with GTX 1060 6GB or upgrade to the RTX 2060? Opinions Please!

Feb 2, 2019
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Hello, everyone.


My reference model RX 480 8gb died last week (came to that conclusion via the dozens of related threads on this forum), so knew this would be the place to ask for an opinion on this.

Fortunately my entire system is still under warranty. Having sent the card away, it was confirmed faulty and I have been offered credit towards a new card and given a list of replacements with their prices after applying said credit:




  • GTX 1060 6GB
    +£194.00

    GTX 1070ti 8GB
    + £308.00
    RTX 2060 6GB
    +£266.00

    RTX 2070 8GB
    +£404.00
    RTX 2080 8GB
    +£578.00
    RTX 2080ti 11GB
    +£920.00
    AMD RX570 8GB
    +£100.00
    AMD RX580 8GB
    +£100.00


The two AMD cards are already vetoed (although I enjoyed the RX 480) - given the opportunity though, I'd like to try nVidia.

The GTX 1060 6GB would be more than a decent replacement for the RX 480 - but at the cost of £194 inc the credit. The RX 480 was £220 when purchased in 2016. That would mean having spent around £400 overall on a 1060 which currently costs under £300 ($400ish).

There's no option of a non-ti model 1070 - otherwise I'd take that over the 1060.

Now I'm thinking the even better and logical/exciting way to go, would be to put in the extra £70ish for the new RTX 2060 6GB - at £266. These are generally retailing in the UK upwards of £350 (around $460) - so I'd effectively be breaking-even in upgrading to that (for that huge difference in performance!) from a broken RX 480.

My set up is not an all out gaming rig, mainly used for audio/production, but having the ability to run games at very high settings is a treat. Completely fan cooled - running an i5 6600K with just 8gb Ballistix LT ram, on a fairly simple Asus Z170-P board and an EVGA 750 PSU.

There are plenty of future upgrades to be had, but I assume this current set-up will be adequate for running the RTX as is?

Think I've almost made my mind up, but still interested to know what people would do in this situation...

Thanks!
 

King_V

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The RX 580 8GB performs equal to or *slightly* better than the GTX 1060. Why would you veto it in favor of paying a lot more for the same performance?

The RTX 2060 performs about on par with the GTX 1070Ti, so it is worth considering. However, you have to ask if you need it. What is your monitor's resolution and refresh rate?
 
Feb 2, 2019
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I did think that after posting this, realised I could be being way too hasty. After looking over the benchmarks/value for money with the 580. For the time being I'm only using a 1080p, 60hz set-up, anyway!

My reasoning for vetoing was purely based on the fact that the previous AMD card died (after numerous hiccups, although it did serve me a couple of years) and fancied the change over - silly as that may seem. :cheese:

Think you may well have swayed me towards that choice though. Would be saving a lot of cash and it's still a rather decent upgrade from the 480.

Appreciate the response..
 

King_V

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Glad to help.

If you were at a higher resolution or same resolution and higher refresh rate, I'd recommend the higher-end cards, but at 1920x1080@60, the 580 is definitely the way to go... best price/performance ratio in this case.

My son is using an 8GB RX580 on his PC, and plays locked at 60Hz at 2560x1080, he loves it.
 

rjohnson98126

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Jan 2, 2019
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i'm looking at the same sort of decision, and i notice the RX 580 has considerably higher power consumption than the 1060 6GB. i dont know if that matters to you or not, but its worth noting.
 

nobspls

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Mar 14, 2018
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Here is some performance info:
https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-RTX-2060-6GB-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1070-Ti/4034vs3943

I would go with the RTX2060 especially looking at the pricing gap between the GTX1070ti and the RTX2060. I think there is relatively good deal there. The RX580 will be consuming at least 30% more power or 60Watts or so. You don't need that kind of heating in the PC and need to work to improve cooling.

Come to think of it could have been cooling issues that may have been marginal that killed the RX480 sooner than you like, and the RX580 would be in the same boat.
 

King_V

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The 2060 is overkill for the resolution and refresh rate of godricv's monitor. That's throwing away money for performance they'll never be able to use on this machine.

The 1060 has a 120W TDP
The 2060 has a 160W TDP
The RX 580 has a 185W TDP

Arguably you could say the 580 consumes 60W or so more than the 1060, but NOT compared to the 2060 which you're recommending.

The RX 480 had a 150W TDP.

I think it's a bit of hysterics to assume that heat was a huge issue for the 480, then recommending a card that has a higher TDP. Also kind of hysterics to assume that the 580 is going to have serious heat issues.
 

rjohnson98126

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Jan 2, 2019
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i think you should get the RTX 2060. it's as good as the 1070Ti, but 1/3 less cost (you also get a free copy of Battlefield V or Anthem, if you buy through NVidia). the 2060 benchmarks *hugely* better than the RX580, and somewhat less power.

to make an argument that he's "throwing away" performance because his monitor is some random mediocre thing... that doesnt even make sense. Who defines their rig according to their monitor? especially a lousy one?

NVidia's 2000-series' Turing AI and ray tracing is going to set the standard for game development. The 2060 card will last you 5 years. your monitor will not. time to go find a better monitor anyhow, you can go to a PC recycle joint and get a great used one pretty cheap.

... however, if you dont really care about gaming all that much, and you have no plans to change your monitor, then you'll save about $200 going with the RX580, and it'll be slightly better than what you had.

 
Feb 2, 2019
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I did decide to go with the 580 in the end. Should provide what I'm looking for until it is truly worth investing in upgrading!

Thanks again.
 
Feb 2, 2019
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I've actually changed my mind AGAIN! Haha...

The performance from the RTX2060 at 1080p is worth it to me right now, if you consider that it is indeed on par with a 1070 or 1070ti. To also consider that I paid 220 for the RX480, treating this as a new purchase is a big discount at £266. Also got a bit of extra cash at this moment in time.

I will no doubt upgrade the rest of my set-up completely within the next couple of years by necessity anyway.

Cheers for the input from everyone!

 

King_V

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The problem with the extra performance of the 2060 is that your monitor cannot display it.

Now, if you are planning to get a new monitor in the near future, then the 2060 is worthwhile. Otherwise, you'll have a fast card with a monitor that will not be able to display any more than 60fps at 1080p.
 
Feb 2, 2019
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Indeed. Have managed to find a decent 24in 144hz monitor going cheap nearby! Been looking to step up from 60hz, so it's all good.

I'm not likely to get the opportunity of upgrading to the 1070ti end of the spectrum with just £260 spent. It's been a tricky decision though!

A concern at first, was the lower 6GB instead of 8GB Vram, as you'd get with most of the higher-end cards. This doesn't seem to be an immediate issue though.

I'm seeing this as pretty much buying a 1070ti - also include getting a new 144hz monitor for that extra £100ish that would go towards a ti.

I'm sure the shop have had enough of me...
Changed my mind twice already!!!

 

King_V

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There's no worries about the 6GB. From the testing they did on Toms Hardware, the 2060 performs about the same as the 1070Ti. Since the 2060 price at your shop is LESS than the 1070Ti, that's a win. No reason to even look at the 1070Ti.