Help choosing video card.

[alucasa]

So, December is coming and I suppose sale season will come to GPU selection. I will pull the trigger in late December.

As per my system spec, my GPU is 760GTX. It served me well. But I've used it for 3 years and it's fairly outdated now. In addition, its power consumption is, well, fack.

Something to note: I use 1080p and I don't play game often. I certainly don't generally play AAA tiles. I play Football manager, Civ series, Cruader kings, and indie games found from Kickstarters. I even play Visual novels.
All of which are sufficient for my 760 GTX (or even Intel's iGPU) but its power consumption is bugging me which is 170w max.
Also, 2GB vRAM has been preventing me to use it for GPU rendering. So, it's time for an upgrade.


I've done my own research and decided that 1060 6GB is off my budget. (Starts at 345 CAD)

I am in Canada, so your USD price doesn't really affect me.

1050ti list (Newegg)

1060 3gb list (Newegg)

RX470 4gb list (Newegg)


1050ti (Why the hell would I choose it?)

Pro
1. 75w TDP while probably exceeding 760GTX's power.
2. Thus, being able to remove PCI-E power cable.
3. ITX size card
4. Starts at 190 CAD, affordable.

Con
1. May not be that big of upgrade GPU raw power wise.


1060 3GB (Why the hell would I choose it?)

Pro
1. May be gimped version of 1060 family but , hey, it's still 1060. CUDA core wise, it's got 1000+ which would help greatly in GPU rendering compared to 1050ti's 700-something cores.
2. A big upgrade most likely.
3. ITX size card.
4. Still a lot less power hungry than 760 GTX

Con
1. Gimped 1060, especially RAM wise. 3GB? Hmmm-kay, not so sure.
2. Starts at 270 CAD. Affordable? Yes but it's close to my max budget allocated for GPU which is 300.

RX470 (Yeah, why?)

Pro
1. Stats at 230 CAD, 40 more than 1050ti but performance gain is pretty high for the difference.
2. 4GB vRAM
3. Performance is identical to 1060 3GB from what I've seen. It trade blows with 1060 3GB, give or take 5 ~ 10%.

Con
1. no ITX size card
2. Non-CUDA (Not a deal breaker since Blender supports AMD GPU rendering but I have other 3D applications that take advantage of CUDA. My CPU can handle it however.)


So, what ya think?

 

[RejZoR]

RX470. It's just more future proof with DX12/Vulkan, performs great even in DX9/DX10/DX11. Only benefit GeForce cards have are the better V-Sync modes. Gotta give NVIDIA credit for that. Adaptive and Fast V-Sync modes are awesome as they don't create any input lag, but exterminate image tearing entirely. It's pretty awesome and at least for me the only biggest deal breaker from now on when it comes to deciding between NVIDIA and AMD. It's a tiny feature that makes a HUGE difference. Especially since even these low end cards mostly break the 60fps barrier, which means image tearing on 60Hz monitors...

 

[alucasa]

I don't care about DX12 or Vulkan. None of it helps the type of games I play or even assist in rendering.

 

[Mr.Scott]

1060. Use the CUDA power.

 

[qubit]

The 1050 Ti performs like the old GTX 680 framerate wise and has the lower power and feature enhancements of Pascal, so it will perform much better than your GTX 760. Obviously, if you could stretch to the 1060 that's faster still that would be better, but only you can decide if you can stretch your budget to that.

The FastSync vsync feature is a killer one and seriously enhances games for me, regardless of the monitor refresh used. In my experience, NVIDIA are better all round than AMD so don't even bother thinking about AMD imo, especially as AMD don't have a FastSync equivalent.

 

[Assimilator]

I'd say wait for Black Friday and see if you can snag a GTX 1060 6GB for an acceptable price. If not, your requirements indicate that GTX 1050 Ti would probably suit you best.

 

[newtekie1]

You say the 1060 6GB is off the table because it is above your budget at $345, but there are version on newegg for $320, and it seems the price seems to be dropping a little every other week. I know you said your max budget was $300, but even if you buy today, the extra $20 definitely seems worth it to go with the GTX1060 6GB. I might very well be below $300 by the holidays, the competition in that segment of the market really seems to be taking off. And that is another hard thing about asking the question now, prices change, and around the holidays they can change quickly. So I'd keep my eye out, check every day, and try to get a deal on a GTX1060 6GB.

The odd thing to me is that you have a $1,800 CPU, and you're arguing with yourself about spending an extra $30-40 to get a better GPU...

 

[alucasa]

The odd thing to me is that you have a $1,800 CPU, and you're arguing with yourself about spending an extra $30-40 to get a better GPU...

It's not odd. It's a secondhand CPU off Ebay for 450 CAD. My budget for CPU was 300 CAD as well but decided it was worth going for the extra. GPU's budget is the same but am unwilling to go extra.

Like you say, it may dip below 300 or at least close to during holiday season. At the same time, if I can sang RX 470 for 1060 3GB for far cheaper, that'd work as well.

At the same time, 1050ti works for me also like @Assimilator says.

Also something to note. Canadian tax, HST, is at 15%. That 15% gets bigger as price goes up.

 

[BiggieShady]

I vote for 1060 6GB ... isn't VRAM size essential for complex scenes rendered by the GPU renderers (octane, blender, vray-rt and similar)?

 

[alucasa]

I vote for 1060 6GB ... isn't VRAM size essential for complex scenes rendered by the GPU renderers (octane, blender, vray-rt and similar)?

Aye. In that sense 1060 3GB shouldn't be considered which is why RX470 is in the scene since it has 4gb.

The reason my 760 GTX held on for 3 years is probably because it is *60 line GPU. If I had purchased 750ti, I would have replaced it by now. I originally wanted 960 but realized 960 was a failure as a *60 GPU and waited for successor.

1060 6GB would be ideal but then -
Of course, the price... It starts at low 300 but the model I like sits at 380 or something. It''s PNY one.

 

[cdawall]

I have seen open item RX480's go local for $180. Keep an eye out for those would be my suggestion. The 1060 would be the obvious choice in that list however.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

This is better than anything on your list, and only $320 on MIR.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133631

 

[alucasa]

This is better than anything on your list, and only $320 on MIR.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133631

Oh, wow. How did I miss that one?

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Oh, wow. How did I miss that one?

Merry Christmas. I'll add that while you might find better holiday prices, you might also be playing a dangerous game of them going out of stock if you wait for better prices. Newegg.ca doesn't have nearly as much stock as US Newegg, so I would keep that in mind. They already have a few models out of stock on 6GB 1060s. Plus it sounds like you want it now.

 

[alucasa]

Plus it sounds like you want it now.

Want it now? Ye
My financial plan says no. I pull the trigger in December.

Edit: Hmm, I see that Newegg has added some coupon codes on certain items for taking 20 bucks off on some items. Those weren't there when I was researching.

 

[newtekie1]

It's not odd. It's a secondhand CPU off Ebay for 450 CAD. My budget for CPU was 300 CAD as well but decided it was worth going for the extra. GPU's budget is the same but am unwilling to go extra.

Wow, I hadn't realize how cheap those things have gotten on ebay. Really temps me to pick one up myself...

Also, I noticed that one of the Pros for the GTX 1050Ti was that it was an ITX sized cards.
So I found this GTX1060 6GB in ITX size for $320 with no rebate at all.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500402

 

[alucasa]

Wow, I hadn't realize how cheap those things have gotten on ebay. Really temps me to pick one up myself...

Also, I noticed that one of the Pros for the GTX 1050Ti was that it was an ITX sized cards.
So I found this GTX1060 6GB in ITX size for $320 with no rebate at all.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500402

The CPU has gotten cheaper now by a little.

Anyhow, Newegg seems to be doing weekend sale which is why some select GPUs have gone down by a little. They should have a slightly bigger sale in December. I should pull the trigger in early December because popular items will be out of stock by 25th.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

...I see that Newegg has added some coupon codes on certain items....

On that note, I forgot to suggest signing up for Newegg's email subscriber promos. They regularly have great deals.

 

[FilipM]

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500402&cm_re=GTX_1060-_-14-500-402-_-Product

319.99


EDIT. It's already posted

 

[alucasa]

I don't know. While it's good that 1060 6B can be found closer to 300, I tend to like one with backplate. My current 760 GTX ITX has a backplate on it. It'd be gimmick on ITX size cards but for longer cards, I prefer to have a backplate.
In other words, aesthetics matter to me.

At the moment, I am leaning toward 1060 6GB and this PNY model has caught my attention.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

longer cards, I prefer to have a backplate.
In other words, aesthetics matter to me.

It's not just aesthetics, backplates act like heatsinks. They also stiffen the PCB.

 

[cdawall]

It's not just aesthetics, backplates act like heatsinks. They also stiffen the PCB.

They only act as a heatsink if something is connected via thermal pads to it. Not every card has that, quite a few cards just have a for show back plate.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

They only act as a heatsink if something is connected via thermal pads to it. Not every card has that, quite a few cards just have a for show back plate.

If they're made credibly they do. Pointless to pay extra just for a plate made for show, especially when it's not even facing you when you look in the case.

 

[FYFI13]

You could buy a second hand GTX 970 for <200 CAD, it's comparable to GTX1060.

 

[slozomby]

It's not just aesthetics, backplates act like heatsinks. They also stiffen the PCB.

you really don't have to worry too much about heat with the pascal cards. folding 24/7 neither my 1080 or 1060 ever get much above 60c at 40% fan speed. if I bump it up to 100% fan I can get it around 45c.

i haven't tried one of the single fan itx types however.