Which GPU for 300 USD Budget?

Alright Sup Forums, since I'm getting this GPU entirely for gaming purposes (the only other things I'm going to be using my new PC for are writing papers, watching videos and internet browsing), I figured I'd ask Sup Forums for advice on what GPU to get.

I'm looking for a gpu that can run all the latest and greatest at 1080p resolution at ultra/max settings with upwards of 60fps. I'm well aware that the 1080p resolution requirement actually leaves me with quite a few options, and that's where I'm having trouble.

I honestly don't care about the team red/team green shit, I just want a solid gpu that will meet my small requirements.

>inb4 ">>>>/reddit/
>inb4 ">"
>inb4 ">>>r/pcmasterrace"
>inb4 "hurdurr he fell for le pcmustardface meme"

1070 or 1080 depending on how much you're willing to spend and what deals you can find on black/cyber.

rx 480 or gtx 1060

Or these if you have the money

480 or 1060

A month or two ago they were clearing out Fury cards for about $299. Still kind of regret not picking one up.

Hey, thanks y'all. Those are actually extremely helpful answers. Now I guess it's a coin-flip as to whether I should get the 480 or 1060.

I kinda already have brand loyalty in terms of non-reference cards (I always get MSI, they've never let met down), so now I just need to decide if I what amd or nvidia. Last time I had nvidia, so I might get amd this time.

Gtx 1060

How big of a difference in performance is there between the 3GB and 6GB 1060? I'd be gaming at 1440p

You need at least 4gb for 1440p

I know for a fact you should get a gpu with higher vram. Especially if you plan on playing with the textures turned up high.

You can't go wrong with either user. Both will get you 60fps@1080p at very high settings.

I play on 1440p fine with my current 2GB card though.

1060 usually gets more stable results, while 480 can get much better (or much worse) FPS than 1060. It is also a common assumption that AMD cards get better with time, so 480 can be better than 1060 in 2 years, but I cannot confirm nor deny that. You cannot SLI 1060, you can Crossfire 480.

Wait for EVGA's main Black Friday sale.

Last year I got a GTX950 from them for $120. I took a look at their offerings right now and you can buy a GTX970 for $150, but if you're deadset on getting a 1050, wait a few more days and it'll likely to on sale for $120 just as my 950 was.

>2x GPU in current year
A complete waste of money and power.

I assume 2 1060 are on par with 1080, while being cheaper, that's why they've disabled SLI. There's no other explanation. If that's true then the gains must be huge.

if only all games are SLI/Crossfire compatible

supposidely 2x 480s are = to a 1080, but dual gpus only cause a bevy of issues

happy thanksgiving you motherlovers

>2x 480s are = to a 1080
I think they've only achieved that in Ashes

>It is also a common assumption that AMD cards get better with time, so 480 can be better than 1060 in 2 years, but I cannot confirm nor deny that.
I'm still using a 7970 GHz and I can comfortably max out a lot of modern games (- extremely taxing effects like real time reflection) and get solid 60.

don't get a 1060. it's barely better than a 480 in dx11 and worse in 12. plus nvidia will cuck you and downgrade drivers. go for 470/480 or if you really want 1070, but 470/480 should be good for 1080p for a while

Don't settle for less than either a 970 or 1070.

No ifs ands or buts. You will STILL not reach 60fps consistently at all times even with one of those, but you will he majority of the time.

I'm going to tell you what you need to hear to reach your goal, not what you want to hear or what other people want you to hear to preserve the "le PC gaming is the best" meme.

PC gaming is not cheap. The payoffs are worth it, but if you want consistent 60fps look at a price tag of at least $1000.

1060 is better than 970

Do NOT get a 1060/480 for anything above 1080p gaming unless you only play games from 2014 or earlier

Also the 3gb 1060 is 5-10% slower than the 6gb version due to less cores

Sorry, that's what I meant. Original point still stands.

>plus nvidia will cuck you and downgrade drivers

This is a huge benefit for AMD, especially going forward after the inevitable switch to Linux that Microsoft is forcing on everyone.

Nvidia's drivers on Linux are closed source, meaning that they can pull all the same shit they do on Windows.

AMD meanwhile has open source drivers that are now better than their closed drivers, and they couldn't downgrade them even if they wanted to. Plus while it still varies from game to game Total War Warhammer is actually faster on AMD's open source OpenGL driver than their closed source Windows DX11 driver.

not OP but i want to get a 1060 and i don't give a shit about 4k and all that stupid crap.
1080p is fine, everything else is not necessary.

Alright my dudes, OP here, and pic related is what it comes down to.

Like I said before, I have no preference for which team. You've all been very helpful on this and I gotta say thanks to that, y'all are the bee's knees.

So far the 480 looks like it's the better deal, but my choice ain't set in stone. I've already set aside coin for the rest of the components and I don't exactly need to squeeze every dime I can. My budget is a hard 300 USD and either of these cards looks pretty good to me.

2160p isn't stupid crap, being able to get a single screen setup that is the same size as multiple smaller monitors is amazing.

Plus you don't need crazy expensive hardware to run one, I've got mine hooked up to an old 7950 for now and it handles old games in 2160p amazingly, and there's no penalty for running games at 1080 other than pixels about the same size as the 1680x1050 monitor I had a few years back. Which is a total non issue from 10 feet because its still a 40" display.

why MSI? XFX is good

>buy 1060 if you want to play DX11 games from the past few years and before
>buy 480 if you are happy with a few less frames than 1060 in those games but want a card that will hold up better over time
>don't buy 480 if you plan on playing exclusively GTA V and Arma 3. 1060 has biggest peformance difference on these two games.

honestly, you could even go for a 470 4gb and not even notice that much difference

I've just bought a 1060 6gb upgrading my Gtx 960 2gb and tested 2 particular games that my former gpu struggled to run

-Skyrim (heavily modded HD 2k graphics)
-The Witcher III

With the 960, Skyrim had those frame jumps specially in open places (ie the overworld) which could become bothersome when they happened more frequently. Now I experience a smooth game session even in crowded places (for example Whiterun). Granted, Skyrim is a more CPU oriented game, and it still lags (slightly) when a lot of NPC are loaded, but I believe the fps in Whiterun went from 15-20 to 30-40, which is pretty playable. You do notice the framedrop (going from a consant 55-60 fps) but for me is an improvement.

And for The Witcher III, now I put the game on ultra -even those hairworks thing - and it's stable as fuck

It's not the biggest upgrade of my life (that award goes from the integrated Intel videocard to the Gtx 960) But results are clearly noticeable, and knowing that I don't go crazy for the newest games, I believe I'll keep my 1060 for a long time

Yeah, that's actually not a bad idea. They're one of the best performance bargains out there now if you're only interested in 1080p.

I've never tried XFX before, I'm only listing MSI because it's the brand I'm most familiar with. I guess it wouldn't hurt to try another brand.

try Zotac GTX 1060 Mini 6gb and read the reviews, best 1060 card imo

look at it this way
will you upgrade after 1-2 years? -> gtx 1060
will you upgrade after 2-4 years? -> rx 480

i have a r9 280x which is essentially a hd 7970 and it's still going strong, chugging through bf1 on ultra and getting 60fps most of the time

Alright Sup Forums decision time;

Got a £200 budget i have the following options
> 1. sapphire radeon 470 (blower) + free hitman for £160
> 2. MSI gaming X 1060 6gb for £185

Option 1. leaves me with more money left over to buy more games (ie 4-5 with current sales)

Option 2 is ofc a better card (by about 20% i believe) but cost £40 more which means i can only buy 1/2 games within budget.


I would like either card to last 3-4 years at 1080p/60fps. How is RMA for sapphire and MSI?

to add; I would consider 480, but can't find one below £200

>blower
get the gtx 1060 6g from msi
msi is a top tier brand and there will be plenty of steam sales to buy the other games.

ANONS!

HERE ARE MY SPECS.


QUICK RECOMMEND ME AN UPGRADE!

They are selling off R9 Fury for $260 now (because R490 is coming soon). Faster than a GTX 1060 6GB for the same price. Only downside is the power consumption.

>upgrading
>from a one generation old PC
>probably not even 2 years old
>Gaming Headset
just don't

get a decent audio setup

>recommend an upgrade because i can't think of something to tell mom to get me for christmas

Dont be jealous i can buy any component i want fegggit

>12gb dual channel ram
>fell for the 970 meme
>less than 500gb of space
nah you're good

The benchmarks are rarely reliable, no one takes into account when Nvidia/AMD have development partnerships with various developers when games are made.

For example: Hitman, Deus Ex, and Battlefield 1 have partnerships with AMD, so of course those games will run better on AMD cards,

Nvidia most recently have a partnership with Ubisoft so their games like the division/watch dogs 2 probably run better on Nvidia cards etc.

I mean if there is money/relationships involved why would you want a game working better on a competitors hardware.