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GPU Recco - after a rethink I've increased Budget to £200

If you are going to spend £210 on a card,you might as spend the extra £30 to £40 and get the 8GB version. Over two to three years,it is not that much. At least if a game runs badly on a RX480 8GB or GTX1060 6GB,you know very well the core has run out of performance,not some poxy VRAM limitation.

The sad thing is if the RX480 4GB and GTX1060 3GB were like £160 cards,it might be worth the saving,but a GTX1060 3GB for £190 to £200,when the 6GB version is £230 to £240,and a £200 to £210 RX480 4GB,when the RX480 8GB,is another £30 to £40 is not massively more IMHO OFC. Also remember the GTX1060 6GB has more cores too,and the RX480 8GB has faster VRAM,so the cut down versions are not just VRAM reductions.
 
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Funny thing is I came onto the forums with a paltry budget of £100. Now it's £210 - I'm still oohing and ahing as to whether I should get the 8gb!

On another note, how quick does stock come in? I was hoping to get the card this weekend!

No chance of that happening!
 
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Lal-Khaand-Bapu said:
I will be aiming to keep it 3+years
Click to expand...

Lal-Khaand-Bapu said:
Funny thing is I came onto the forums with a paltry budget of £100. Now it's £210 - I'm still oohing and ahing as to whether I should get the 8gb!
Click to expand...

I know!! :p

But for 3+ years,I would take the extra VRAM TBH. At least you will know if a game does not run,the core is not fast enough,instead of some texture issue.

I would definitely avoid the 3GB GTX1060 if I could,the 4GB cards might fare better(due to the GTX970 and GTX980),but if I was upgrading my GTX960 4GB,I would aim for the RX480 8GB(or a GTX1060 6GB),as I prefer to keep my cards for at least two years. I would consider the RX470 4GB,if it were cheaper than it currently is.

Edit!!

It is also important to remember,you are spending a decent amount on a card for longevity purposes and to probably max games out and texture settings and AA consume VRAM. Think about the current popular high end cards with 6GB and 8GB VRAM now.

Then think about the future midrange cards which will probably not be 3GB or 4GB cards.

Add the consideration we have two new consoles coming out soon,with added emphasis on graphics. You can see where it is going to go.

£30 to £40 extra is only like £10 to £14 extra a year,not £50 to £60 extra a year(over three years) if you went with a card above the RX480 or GTX1060.

Remember in another year or two everybody would have forgotten about the RX480 or GTX1060 as they would have been replaced by then,and I suspect 6GB to 8GB will be standard.

Its upto you,but if I was spending £200 to £220 on a card,I would try and find the extra few quid.

Its a bit of a shame,but sadly the general problems have pushed card prices up - the GTX1060 6GB and RX480 8GB should have been closer to £200.
 
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If you're keeping it at least 3 years, I would not recommend the 3GB 1060.

I think it's important to just set an end budget if you can, or else before you know it a GTX 1070 will be on the cards!

In that sense, a 4GB rx 480 will give you the best performance for your budget (of around £200)
 
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I agree with the last 2 posts you need to set a budget or it will creep up. but keeping it 3 + years go for 1060 6Gig or 480 8Gig, I do think thr 480 8Gig will be better over all.
 
Lal-Khaand-Bapu said:
I guess looking at it rationally and with all the great advice given im going to go for the 8gb version! Now am eyeing up the https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sapp...-pci-express-rgb-graphics-card-gx-37b-sp.html...

wondering if the OC is worth it!
Click to expand...

For you now increased budget, If you're to settle on a 480 8GB (a great choice I must say) then might I suggest:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/powe...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-188-pc.html

It recently had its price cut to compete with the one you linked. But, based on reviews, it runs quieter and cooler in comparison. It also overclocks very well. Also, you might prefer the aesthetic of the Powercolour card over the Sapphire, but this of course up to your personal preferences.

In either case, both cards are great and it's only minor differences that separate the two.
 
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I'm going to break ranks and tell you the 4GB 480 would be fine. You're not likely to notice any difference. Maybe one day. But you can play the "just a little bit more" game forever. Marketing people aren't stupid (well, except compared to engineers). They'll never give you a point where you wont have the option to go up to the next level for just thirty or forty pounds. Look at yourself - you started at £100 and now you're thinking it's worth going up from £200 to £240. You're far beyond your original plan because they haven't given you an obvious stopping place - and they never will. There'll always be a carrot just a few more feet in front of your nose.

I suggest the 4GB 480, you'll come in under two-hundred and wont know any different.
 
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h4rm0ny said:
I'm going to break ranks and tell you the 4GB 480 would be fine. You're not likely to notice any difference. Maybe one day.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's a tricky one.

This video



Seems to show little difference, but I guess you must consider how well the 4GB will last for the next 3 years.


In your situation, with the initial budget of £200 (whilst playing at 1080p) I would probably still say the 4GB 480 is your best bet.

But obviously there are slight improvements going to 8GB 480. Going from the video I linked, I personally wouldn't spend the extra money on the slight fps gains that the 8GB receives over the 4GB card. It's too much extra cash in my view.
 
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h4rm0ny said:
I'm going to break ranks and tell you the 4GB 480 would be fine. You're not likely to notice any difference. Maybe one day. But you can play the "just a little bit more" game forever. Marketing people aren't stupid (well, except compared to engineers). They'll never give you a point where you wont have the option to go up to the next level for just thirty or forty pounds. Look at yourself - you started at £100 and now you're thinking it's worth going up from £200 to £240. You're far beyond your original plan because they haven't given you an obvious stopping place - and they never will. There'll always be a carrot just a few more feet in front of your nose.

I suggest the 4GB 480, you'll come in under two-hundred and wont know any different.
Click to expand...

Except,he said he wants to keep it for OVER 3 years - can you honestly promise the OP that over 1,2 and 3 years the RX480 4GB and RX480 8GB will have exactly the same performance??

Did the HD6950 1GB have the same performance as the 2GB version over time??

There is every precedent for AMD and Nvidia to want to push VRAM usage on major titles over time - its a good way for them to tank performance on cards with reasonably fast cores but limited VRAM.

This is what the OP said:

I hope the card I buy will last me at least 3+ years.
Click to expand...

Edit!!

What about the HD7850 1GB against the HD7850 2GB??

Its happened so many times before.

If AMD thought 4GB was enough they would have sold the RX480 as a 4GB card only,and the same with Nvidia selling the GTX1060 3GB only.

The RX480 4GB apparently was a limited run so AMD could show they had this uber awesome value card,and the GTX1060 3GB was Nvidia countering that.

They have a history of pushing such limited edition cards to troll each other and often with very meh results.

This is what probably the plan was:
1.)RX480 8GB
2.)RX470 4GB
3.)GTX1060 6GB
4.)GTX1050TI 3GB
 
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CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
Except,he said he wants to keep it for OVER 3 years - can you honestly promise the OP that over 1,2 and 3 years the RX480 4GB and RX480 8GB will have exactly the same performance??

Did the HD6950 1GB have the same performance as the 2GB version over time??

This is what the OP said:
Click to expand...

Yeah it's all about budget really. A 8GB card requires way more than a £200 budget. I take it you would recommend the 8GB 480 then?
 
southernorth said:
Yeah it's all about budget really. A 8GB card requires way more than a £200 budget. I take it you would recommend the 8GB 480 then?
Click to expand...

8GB RX480 or GTX1060 6GB. I am the sort of person who spends £100 to £200 on cards if you look at my history. But even I am realising its more like £200 to £250(weak pound not helping too),which means cards have gone up by £20,maybe £30. The RX470 4GB would have been nice at £160 to £170,but even that is getting close to £200 and its pushed the RX480 4GB up in price!

The OP wants to keep the card for 3+ years - the Nitro RX480 4GB is £210. The equivalent 8GB version is £250(£260 one is another version). Over three years that is £40 more or £13.33 a year.

If you go higher than that - it is the GTX1070 for £360 for the one with a blower cooler,or £150 more than the Nitro RX480 4GB. That would equate to £50 extra a year(is much faster though).
 
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southernorth said:
For you now increased budget, If you're to settle on a 480 8GB (a great choice I must say) then might I suggest:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/powe...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-188-pc.html

It recently had its price cut to compete with the one you linked. But, based on reviews, it runs quieter and cooler in comparison. It also overclocks very well. Also, you might prefer the aesthetic of the Powercolour card over the Sapphire, but this of course up to your personal preferences.

In either case, both cards are great and it's only minor differences that separate the two.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I had a look at the the specs and I'm worried that the size of the card won't fit well in my Antec 900 case.
 
I would get 4 gig can't imagine 4 gig being obsolete any time soon at most there will be odd game where u need to lower a setting.
 
Lal-Khaand-Bapu said:
I'm sure you guys can tell, I'm rather flummoxed!

All the while, I've learned a lot, and for that you have my thanks.

:)
Click to expand...

I think it's always best to do some decent research before getting a GPU.

If you were just going on a £200-ish budget and didn't do some research you could have just ended up with:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-359-as.html


The GTX 960 is considerably slower than the 470/480/1060 in every aspect, is eol and will no longer receive optimizations from nvidia drivers.
 
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Get an 8GB card. As well as potentially better performance in newer games it'll have a much better resale value compered to the 4GB two to three years down the line.
 
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