Comparing the AMD RX480 and Nvidia GTX1060

[Lt_JWS]

First of all I know this isn't an apples to apples comparison of the the two cards but it is simply my opinion on the two. This is my first nvidia card since the 8800s( I think). FYI the CPU speeds aren't being reported correctly in 3dmark stock card clocks and CPU @ 4.0Ghz. Overclocked results with CPU @ 4.5Ghz

Size:

The RX480 is tiny in comparison to the GTX1060

Performance:
Timespy
GTX1060 = 3889
http://www.3dmark.com/spy/200763

RX480 = 3653
http://www.3dmark.com/spy/151612


Very close in both real world gaming and benchmarks, with the edge going to the GTX1060.

Overclocking:

Not news here but... no comparison, hands down GTX1060. Im sure the nvidia can go further just playing with it on the first day

GTX1060 OC = 4249
http://www.3dmark.com/spy/201149

RX480 OC = 4005
http://www.3dmark.com/spy/146132

Temps:

The cooling on the RX480 sucks we all know that. Runs at 80C+ gaming, So far the GTX1060 has hit a max of 65C for me. I will say this the RX480 is still silent as long as you don't mess with the fan speeds.

Other:

The RX480 feels "better built" in my hands, the GTX1060 feels flimsy.

 

[INSTG8R]

The RX480 feels "better built" in my hands, the GTX1060 feels flimsy.

The 480 really is over engineered and well the 1060 is just all kinda cheapness under the cooler so you're right there. Which one to keep is a tough call with them being pretty close.

 

[Athlon2K15]

Depends where you see yourself in a few years. With the 480 you have the option for more performance via Crossfire while not so much on the 1060. For myself, i went in cheap and bought a RX480 for a budget VR machine and ended up selling the card.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I did a comparison of PowerColor Red Devil RX 480 (1330 MHz) and the Founder's Edition GTX 1060 at 1920x1080. 4 tests were DX12 where the RX 480 won 3 of the 4 (Rise of the Tomb Raider); 8 tests were DX11 where the GTX 1060 won 7 of the 8 (Alien: Isolation). The cards are well matched:

DX12:
GTX 1060=65.75 fps
Red Devil = 68 fps

DX11:
GTX 1060=80.25 fps
Red Devil = 76.13 fps

Average for both:
GTX 1060 = 75.41 fps
Red Devil = 73.42 fps

Source: http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/powercolor-radeon-rx-480-red-devil-review,1.html

[sarcasm]As you can see, a whooping 2 FPS difference (2.7%)! [/sarcasm]


If you plan on holding on to the card for >3 years, I'd go with RX 480. If you don't, I'd go with GTX 1060. Not only is the RX 480 likely to last that long because it is built like a tank, it is also going to perform better in DX12/Vulkan games which will be widely available by then.

 

[arbiter]

If you plan on holding on to the card for >3 years, I'd go with RX 480. If you don't, I'd go with GTX 1060. Not only is the RX 480 likely to last that long because it is built like a tank, it is also going to perform better in DX12/Vulkan games which will be widely available by then.

Um i think DX12/Vulkan tests should be redone on lower end chip. Something closer to CPU a person would most likely put the card in to. Seems like Vulkan least in Doom when put on a lower end cpu not an i7 class cpu seems to loser a ton of FPS. i am talking like an i5 750 or amd x4 955 as shown by another site. Could really change end results. http://i.imgur.com/JF7ngP5.png

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Well that's interesting. That said, I excluded Doom from my math because the GTX 1060 wasn't tested on Vulkan as well so nothing to compare it to.

 

[little cat]

GTX 1060 . Because is faster , more power efficient and has a better cooler

 

[swirl09]

That's a bit of an odd situation to be in ;p

I can't believe that's your first nvidia card since the 8000 series, I really wouldn't have picked that model - from either team actually. I appreciate the ref RX 480 is well built, but I'd have held out for the Nitro if I was going for that.

Provided the AMD is quiet, I would probably go with that, specifically between the 2 models you have. But between any model of the 2 cards, I'd go with the gtx 1060 (and in fact I did, I got an evga sc 1060 and it's the cutest little thing, really like it).

 

[Xzibit]

Um i think DX12/Vulkan tests should be redone on lower end chip. Something closer to CPU a person would most likely put the card in to. Seems like Vulkan least in Doom when put on a lower end cpu not an i7 class cpu seems to loser a ton of FPS. i am talking like an i5 750 or amd x4 955 as shown by another site. Could really change end results. http://i.imgur.com/JF7ngP5.png

Both those processors were release in '09.

 

[Caring1]

Both those processors were release in '09.

Agreed, most people would be on Sandy Bridge or newer.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

Even so, the framerate shouldn't fall off as precipitously as it did. GTX 1060's trend is what is expected, not the RX 480's.

 

[Nergal]

Keep the Rx480

1) sturdier
2) Ages better (drivers)
3) DX12/VULKAN
4) You can put up an other cooler later-on
5) crossfire

 

[medi01]

Consider price on FreeSync vs g-sync monitors, if you plan to go adaptive sync.

 

[Vayra86]

Stock vs stock I would pick the RX 480 hands down, and that says alot about how much AMD improved its stock offering compared to previous gen.

AIB vs AIB... not so sure, but highly price dependant. I would choose the cheaper alternative, because RX480 and 1060 are too similar to justify a higher price, each has its better and lesser game titles it excels on, and I happen to see the RX480 excel on heavier engines and also on newer API's. Regardless, the differences are negligible making price the dominating factor.

On performance and OC headroom, the conclusion drawn in the OP is actually wrong: apples and apples...

RX480 goes from 3653 > 4005 = +352
GTX1060 goes from 3889 > 4249 = 360

The percentage gained from OC is HIGHER on the RX 480. The absolute performance on GTX 1060 is about 5% higher in synthetics - something I call negligible in this performance bracket and definitely if it requires an OC result, as newer game releases and drivers tend to have a habit of breaking your previously stable OC.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Interesting. Just like in another poll regarding the 480 or 1060, the results are decidedly lopsided in the 480's favor. I think this will end up being a very good release for AMD in retrospect.

 

[Nergal]

Just see about the vote on the TPU main page
when the total voters was 5K; difference was 40% for 480; 28% for 1060
Now it is 10K voters, and the numbers stayed the same

Means that the last few weeks, perception hasn´t changed (at least to people who visit TPU)

Are there any other websites that keep such a poll up? Would be nice to compare

 

[Lt_JWS]

An update of sorts. The 1060 seems smoother overall, the rx 480 has some strange fps dips.

 

[Fluffmeister]

An update of sorts. The 1060 seems smoother overall, the rx 480 has some strange fps dips.

People often focus purely on the fps without considering frametime latencies, The Tech Reports article many years ago certainly kicked up a stink when it showed up:

https://www.techpowerup.com/177173/...amerates-but-gtx-660-ti-still-smoother-report

Not saying that is the case for you and how those games you play "feel", but it's something that still gets overlooked.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

An update of sorts. The 1060 seems smoother overall, the rx 480 has some strange fps dips.

Its the auto clocking on the 480, try adjusting all your clocks to boost clocks ,I auto volted this up powertune by 20% and set your fans to run between 3500 and 5500 then retry it could definitely do with aggressive cooling imho

 

[Kanan]

The perf of RX 480 is probably only going to be faster than GTX 1060 over time, because almost everything is DX11 based but the future is DX12/Vulkan which favors AMD's GCN. Also it has 2 GB Vram more - but I'd get myself a custom version of the RX 480 (8 GB), the stock variant is something like a no-go at least for me (it's loud and hinders OC).

 

[Lt_JWS]

I've decided to keep the 1060 at least for now... once more DX12 games are released I may sell the 1060 and get a custom cooled RX480 depending on performance. The main thing I want is a card that is overclockable, runs cool and is quiet. The Ref. RX480 meets none(well maybe quiet) of these requirements. Also I only plan on playing 1080p for at least the next couple of years until 4k projectors become reasonably priced.....Just finished building a theater/gaming room so no upgrades in that area for some time or the wife will murder me Don't get me wrong the RX480 is an amazing card for the money I just feel as if it was a bit rushed out the door....

 

[RejZoR]

People often focus purely on the fps without considering frametime latencies, The Tech Reports article many years ago certainly kicked up a stink when it showed up:

https://www.techpowerup.com/177173/...amerates-but-gtx-660-ti-still-smoother-report

Not saying that is the case for you and how those games you play "feel", but it's something that still gets overlooked.

That's from 4 years ago and I know AMD released at least 2 major driver updates that were addressing frame pacing. For both, multi-GPU and single-GPU.

 

[ViperXTR]

Regarding AMD aging better and nvidia getting gimped over time, Was it because when new CPUs or games are coming out, new and faster CPUs are being used on those tests? I mean the HD 7970 vs GTX 680 where HD 7970 dominates even the 780 now because of faster CPU as arbiter (hardwareunboxed Doom test on lower end CPUs) pointed out?

 

[FordGT90Concept]

AMD has largely been using the same architecture 2011. Games optimized for said architecture continue to benefit through the RX 480 today. That's 4-5 generations of graphics cards. That kind of staying power with graphics cards is unheard of.

 

[ViperXTR]

Just curious because of the graph/test made by hardwareunboxed on AMD's CPU scaling in Doom, HD 7970 and GTX 680 were around 2012 along with Ivy Bridge CPUs/sandybridge-e at that time, then today they were re benched using faster 5960X or 6950X cpus