Max of $350 to spend on a new GPU...spend it for me

J

jnick

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My nephew probably games the most out of all of our crew, yet he has the shittiest video card (560 Ti) out of everyone.

We are pitching in to get him an upgrade. Initially, we were going to go with a 970, until the RX480 came out. However, that was when the budget was $250-$300. Now, we are looking to top out at $350. We want this to be a card that the kid will be able to game on for a while. What would you choose?

His specs:

CPU - i7 2600k
Mobo - Asus P8P67 Pro
Ram - 8GB DDR3

He games at 1080p and I doubt that is going to be changing any time soon.

So, what card would you go with? Are the 980 (non-ti) 4GB cards good? I can land one for about $315 but I don't know if an 8GB 480 or 6GB 970 would be better suited.

Thanks!
 
At $350, the compelling options just aren't here yet. You either need to step up to $400+ for a GTX 1070, or step down to about $250 for an RX 480 and bank the difference. In between are only older gen cards with performance differences that mostly don't justify their price. The GTX 980 around $300 (there's one on Newegg for $285 AR) are probably the best options, but as you said, 4GB limitation could be an issue going forward.

I'll expand on what Shintai stated. Wait on the 1060 announcement tomorrow, and for AIB 480s to be out between 7/11-22. The'll all be way less than $350, but be compelling options within their price bracket.
 
There is a fairly large chasm between 300 and 400 right now (e.g. nothing really there) in terms of new. However, you could pick up a used 980Ti for low 300's if you watch a bit. The RX480 is a GREAT card at $250 though. Be curious to see what the patch does and furthermore what AIB's produce by the end of the month.
 
Lots of options these days, could go with a rx480, a little more gets you a 1070. You can wait for the 1060 to come out, should be around that price, or you can look into the used market. Any way you look at it, it will be a huge upgrade for him and I'm sure he'll be thrilled.

Bigger question is what psu does he have and will it be ok for higher power draw? A 980ti can draw a lot of juice.
 
"We want this to be a card that the kid will be able to game on for a while"

Makes me lean towards an AIB 480, DX12 so far has been pretty good for AMD getting a nice boost in performance from their drivers, it did beat/tie 980 in all the DX12 games Hardware canucks tested Quantum Break etc

With the savings maybe get AIO water cooler and OC
 
Add in less than 10% more money and wait for the 1070's to come down to MSRP. Or wait and see what a 1060 will do and at what price... or get a 480. Those are really the only good choices I can think of when it comes to buying new. Buying used, 980ti should be available.
 
First wait and see what 1060 has to offer. If its nothing special for the money, get an AIB model of RX480 when they hit the market. I'd avoid the current referefence model because of the issues it has with how much power it draws from the PCIe lane. Supposedly its going to be fixed with drivers but I have my doubts.
 
MangoSeed said:
Is the OP the only person reading the thread?
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Devil's advocate - people reading this thread will be interested expecting ~$350 budget. $400 budget won't apply to OP or other readers interested in the same type of purchase.
 
euskalzabe said:
Devil's advocate - people reading this thread will be interested expecting ~$350 budget. $400 budget won't apply to OP or other readers interested in the same type of purchase.
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Maybe but I'm sure they're capable of ignoring an option that's out of their budget. Or maybe they'll get excited that they can get a new card for just $50 more and stretch their budget a bit. Who knows!!
 
used 980Ti, gtx 1060 or AIB custom RX480 probably your best options for that price range. but hell compared to what the kid has now anything is miles better so there's still a lot of options out there especially at 1080p resolution. used R9 390 or GTX 970 are good options as well. you don't always have to max out the budget if you don't have to. you can use that extra money toward something else like a better gaming mouse, keyboard, or SSD.
 
480 is compelling for the price, 8gb, DX12 performance (the future) and options later to pick up another one (when on sell clearance, when more games use EMA etc.). Plus you would save $100 which is no chunk change either that can buy controllers, games and a night out with your wife :). The 1060 is wait and see plus availability.
 
Depending on time frame I would say give the 1060 a chance to come out and see how it performs.
 
used 980ti or a new one for 399. That will last him a very long time.
 
:yawn: Amazing that people are in here suggesting $400 solutions to a max-$350 question. o_O

If the person is willing to wait just a wee bit longer, wait for some 1060 benchies to drop and compare them to the RX 480. Both are sounding like pretty good choices for a brand new level card.
 
Thanks for all of the replies. I was initially going to wait for the AIB RX480, therefore, by then, 1060 benches and reviews should be out and that will give me a good idea. Thanks for the information everyone!
 
The correct answer is to pick the highest performing custom 480 at around a 299.99 price point. Longevity will be greater based off years of gpu data of throw away nvidia architectures with each new generation. The 480 will have legs, and a custom variant should last a decent while.
 
tybert7 said:
The correct answer is to pick the highest performing custom 480 at around a 299.99 price point. Longevity will be greater based off years of gpu data of throw away nvidia architectures with each new generation. The 480 will have legs, and a custom variant should last a decent while.
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Considering it looks like 1060 will outperform 480 by a good 15%, use less power, and will land well within the OPs price range, this seems like a very misguided suggestion.
 
Parja said:
Considering it looks like 1060 will outperform 480 by a good 15%, use less power, and will land well within the OPs price range, this seems like a very misguided suggestion.
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That depends on how much headroom the 1060 has, the only results we have so far of actual performance are around 8% faster at stock, still no word on dx12, and a history of nvidia architectures dropping off in terms of performance over time compared to how well GNC fares. The 1060 is worth waiting for to see if it performs miracles, but if it's in the same ballpark, going amd should offer more legs. As for power, that is mainly a concern if you think a system is too weak to drive the card, which I suspect most gaming systems should be able to handle a 480 just fine.
 
Parja said:
Considering it looks like 1060 will outperform 480 by a good 15%, use less power, and will land well within the OPs price range, this seems like a very misguided suggestion.
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It's more like 5% judging from the firestrike leaks. The 1060 will obviously win on power draw, but who gives a five when it's already so little and who cannot afford 30-40w more? The rx 480 will have leagues better compute and dx12 performance. Even for a diehard, it will be a close decision imo.
 
thesmokingman said:
It's more like 5% judging from the firestrike leaks. The 1060 will obviously win on power draw, but who gives a five when it's already so little and who cannot afford 30-40w more? The rx 480 will have leagues better compute and dx12 performance. Even for a diehard, it will be a close decision imo.
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The firestrike leak with 106 TMUs? ;)

Who says it will be better at DX12? The same people that claimed the 480 would be Fury X performance and 100W? And whats the compute part going to do for you? Mining? Perf/watt is not just cost. It also brings other benefits. Less room heating, less noise etc And by 30-40W you actually mean 40-55W?

We have to see benchmarks first, but on paper the 1060 looks like an easy choice. 10-15% faster and 70%+ more efficient for the price of 4% higher cost. Not to mention much better VR and other features.
 
Shintai said:
The firestrike leak with 106 TMUs? ;)

Who says it will be better at DX12? And whats the compute part going to do for you? Mining? Perf/watt is not just cost. It also brings other benefits. Less room heating, less noise etc And by 30-40W you actually mean 40-55W?

We have to see benchmarks first, but on paper the 1060 looks like an easy choice. 10-15% faster and 70%+ more efficient for the price of 4% higher cost. Not to mention much better VR and other features.
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/downfall Hitler waves his hand dismissively at the things you say, begging fate to prove him wrong with his psyche teetering on a knifes edge

please oh gods of gpu gaming, for once spare Hitler the indignity of indignation. Let amd hold strong here.
 
jnick said:
Thanks for all of the replies. I was initially going to wait for the AIB RX480, therefore, by then, 1060 benches and reviews should be out and that will give me a good idea. Thanks for the information everyone!
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This is a good plan. With a max of $350, either of these should come in well below that. Looking at your nephew's system specs, that 8GB of RAM jumps out as something that could benefit from a bit of loving. Take some of the savings from a $250 GPU purchase and get the guy another 8GB. ;)
 
Seeing as how he's had the 560 ti for so long being patient is key now as most have already recommended wait for AIB RX 480 or GTX 1060 reviews. With that being said FYI I picked up a GTX 980 Strix for $185 and a PowerColor PCS+ R9 390 for $120 on Craigslist, worth a look while you wait.
 
Shintai said:
The firestrike leak with 106 TMUs? ;)

Who says it will be better at DX12? The same people that claimed the 480 would be Fury X performance and 100W? And whats the compute part going to do for you? Mining? Perf/watt is not just cost. It also brings other benefits. Less room heating, less noise etc And by 30-40W you actually mean 40-55W?

We have to see benchmarks first, but on paper the 1060 looks like an easy choice. 10-15% faster and 70%+ more efficient for the price of 4% higher cost. Not to mention much better VR and other features.
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You sure write like the same shintaidk shill from anandforums? What happen, you get banned from there?
 
thesmokingman said:
You sure write like the same shintaidk shill from anandforums? What happen, you get banned from there?
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You are the same "thesmokingman" from the AnandTech forums. It seems strange to call somebody out for posting on multiple forums when you are doing the exact same thing .
 
EuphoricRage470 said:
You are the same "thesmokingman" from the AnandTech forums. It seems strange to call somebody out for posting on multiple forums when you are doing the exact same thing .
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Ugh, not calling him out for posting on multiple forums. I'm not hiding my username am I? Shintaidk is a very well known shill at anand, and this cat writes just like him, same name, slightly shorter, etc. And I asked to see if he would reply, "No I'm not" but he didn't, as expected. This is good, lets me know just for myself to not bother with his posts.
 
With $350, I would:
- Wait for custom AIB 480s and 1060s and pick between them. That will probably ease your wallet by some $270-300
- Use rest of cash for additional 8GB RAM
- Or up the ante and go for 1070
 
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