RX 580 4GB, 1060 3GB or 2nd hand 290/970

[krusha03]

I am considering upgrading my GPU and looking at the prices in NL and the ridiculous 2nd hand market I have narrowed down my choice to the following options:

• Sapphire Pulse RX 580 4GB for 220e
• 1060 3GB for 210e
• 2nd hand custom 290 for 125 euros
• 2nd hand 970 for 150e

What would you go with from these options?

 

[jboydgolfer]

Depending on exactly how secondhand ,I'd likely go for the 970 as it performs fairly close to the 580 and it's pretty cheap (out of that list of cards you posted).

 

[Vya Domus]

970 and OC the hell out of it.

 

[m0nt3]

I would go 2nd hand 290, likely faster or on par with 970 and it doesn't have the 3.5GB + .5GB RAM setup, which newer game are starting to exceed 3,5GB even at 1080P.

 

[jboydgolfer]

I would go 2nd hand 290, likely faster or on par with 970 and it doesn't have the 3.5GB + .5GB RAM setup, which newer game are starting to exceed 3,5GB even at 1080P.

I have a sensible and personal experience based response to your RAM concerns

Seriously though I've never run into an issue with that. 5 GB RAM thing. I own multiple GTX 970's. If you do intend to go above 1080 or 1200 P I would recommend going with something with more ram

 

[Kanan]

2nd hand 970 sounds best, but only if you get one with warranty and a nice custom model. Else I'd go for the RX 580.

 

[m0nt3]

I have a sensible and personal experience based response to your RAM concerns

Seriously though I've never run into an issue with that. 5 GB RAM thing. I own multiple GTX 970's. If you do intend to go above 1080 or 1200 P I would recommend going with something with more ram

You won't run into an issue, but you will suffer in FPS from it. My friend observed this on his 970 when monitoring RAM usage.

 

[P4-630]

I would save up a little more for something like this:

279 Euros:
https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/567235/msi-geforce-gtx-1060-6gt-oc.html

266,50 Euros:
https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/567501/kfa2-geforce-gtx-1060-oc-6gb.html

 

[jboydgolfer]

My friend observed this

well i cant comment factually on what your friend did or didnt observe, but I personally own a couple of them, and I have never seen any effect from it. not even a little. but again, i only run 1200p resolution, maybe with higher end screens, or with more demanding titles. OFC, i only paid $300 for 2 brand new Ref 970's, so i wouldnt have cared even if it did effect perf in actual (un benchmark oriented)usage

 

[P4-630]

i only paid $300 for 2 brand new Ref 970's

Ok, can't argue with that...

 

[jboydgolfer]

Ok, can't argue with that...

Best Buy made an error in my favor .
It ended up being a buy one get one free situation. Technically they were $300 each but only suckers buy Both

@krusha03
It all boils down to what resolution/ref rate you're playing in and what expectations you have for gaming. My 970 is served me very well in every game that I've played. But the others that you listed are also very good video Cards.I would go with what brings you the best performance at the least price just like with any purchase.

 

[64K]

I am considering upgrading my GPU and looking at the prices in NL and the ridiculous 2nd hand market I have narrowed down my choice to the following options:

• Sapphire Pulse RX 580 4GB for 220e
• 1060 3GB for 210e
• 2nd hand custom 290 for 125 euros
• 2nd hand 970 for 150e

What would you go with from these options?

I see you are in the Netherlands. If the cost per kWh there isn't high then the RX 580 is a better GPU than the 1060 3GB.

Used market. I would take the 970.

 

[r9]

I am considering upgrading my GPU and looking at the prices in NL and the ridiculous 2nd hand market I have narrowed down my choice to the following options:

• Sapphire Pulse RX 580 4GB for 220e
• 1060 3GB for 210e
• 2nd hand custom 290 for 125 euros
• 2nd hand 970 for 150e

What would you go with from these options?

If the money are not the issue rx580 its the fastest and its brand new.

 

[krusha03]

I was thinking the best is to go for something like the sapphire tri-x R9 290 but I see many people here recommending the 970 instead. I will look then more into what's available on the 2nd hand market. I know I just cant justify paying more than 150 for it and I don't want a reference one or those itx sized ones.

@krusha03
It all boils down to what resolution/ref rate you're playing in and what expectations you have for gaming. My 970 is served me very well in every game that I've played. But the others that you listed are also very good video Cards.I would go with what brings you the best performance at the least price just like with any purchase.

I am gonna stick to 1080p/60Hz for the foreseeable future. I am not a hardcore gamer and even my 7950 is still serving me quite well. I completely agree with your statement and that's why i put this question here. These cards all seem comparable in performance to me so I wasn't sure what would be the best choice.

I see you are in the Netherlands. If the cost per kWh there isn't high then the RX 580 is a better GPU than the 1060 3GB.

Used market. I would take the 970.

My playing hours a month are way too low to worry about kWh price

If the money are not the issue rx580 its the fastest and its brand new.

I would save up a little more for something like this:

279 Euros:
https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/567235/msi-geforce-gtx-1060-6gt-oc.html

266,50 Euros:
https://tweakers.net/pricewatch/567501/kfa2-geforce-gtx-1060-oc-6gb.html

It's not that money is a big issue but this is more of a want than need purchase for me. I just can't really justify paying 40-120 euros extra for 15% performance

 

[jboydgolfer]

290 and the 970 r affectively equal and performance for the most part. If the extra $25 is something you'd like to save then go with the 290 then. you mentioned that it's not a upgrade out of necessity but rather want, so it's best that you go with the card you want ,even if it's not the "sensible " choice, because you're going to regret it if you don't

 

[oxidized]

Watching, as i'm the same situation and i want to spend around 200€, i could buy a sapphire pulse 580 4gb (for 220€), but i'm not sure about this yet.

 

[r9]

I was thinking the best is to go for something like the sapphire tri-x R9 290 but I see many people here recommending the 970 instead. I will look then more into what's available on the 2nd hand market. I know I just cant justify paying more than 150 for it and I don't want a reference one or those itx sized ones.




I am gonna stick to 1080p/60Hz for the foreseeable future. I am not a hardcore gamer and even my 7950 is still serving me quite well. I completely agree with your statement and that's why i put this question here. These cards all seem comparable in performance to me so I wasn't sure what would be the best choice.



My playing hours a month are way too low to worry about kWh price







It's not that money is a big issue but this is more of a want than need purchase for me. I just can't really justify paying 40-120 euros extra for 15% performance

Don't forget used vs brand new.
You want to protect your investment and also there is the resell value.
If you don't care for that and you don't care for the high power consumption or heat get the r9 290.
Its kind of hard to recommend because it all depends what is important to you price, power consumption, resell value, protecting your investment by buying new card.

 

[krusha03]

290 and the 970 r affectively equal and performance for the most part. If the extra $25 is something you'd like to save then go with the 290 then. you mentioned that it's not a upgrade out of necessity but rather want, so it's best that you go with the card you want ,even if it's not the "sensible " choice, because you're going to regret it if you don't

My reasoning was while 290 might run hotter and use more power it should be more future proof with vulkan and DX12 versus the 970. It's not like i have any brand preference. I try to be objective that way

Don't forget used vs brand new.
You want to protect your investment and also there is the resell value.
If you don't care for that and you don't care for the high power consumption or heat get the r9 290.
Its kind of hard to recommend because it all depends what is important to you price, power consumption, resell value, protecting your investment by buying new card.

Price vs performance would be the main thing. Second future proof and lastly noise / heat. Don't really care about power consumption as long as my 500W PSU can ran it (although heat, noise and power consumption go hand in hand )

 

[HD64G]

If you know for sure that the used GPUs aren't heavily tortured, go for one of them, ore else I 'd get an RX580.

 

[Kanan]

Don't go for a R9 290X unless you get one with warranty / or you know it's absolutely fine and not 3 years old and everyday used or smth like that. It's a high power card and those generally have a shorter life. That aside, I wouldn't buy anything without warranty anyway.

 

[hrp32]

As an owner of two failed 280s (both bought second hand) I suggest stay away from those cards with high TDP chips.
Preferably stay away from AMD/ATi anyway if you can afford a little more. They are more likely to fail when compared to their Nvidia counterparts.

 

[Kanan]

Preferably stay away from AMD/ATi anyway if you can afford a little more. They are more likely to fail when compared to their Nvidia counterparts.

I wouldn't go that far, but thanks for underlining my point. It was meant generally btw, for both Nvidia and AMD cards.

 

[evernessince]

As an owner of two failed 280s (both bought second hand) I suggest stay away from those cards with high TDP chips.
Preferably stay away from AMD/ATi anyway if you can afford a little more. They are more likely to fail when compared to their Nvidia counterparts.

Video cards don't die due to heat unless you are really torturing them. Just a heads up but Nvidia was the company that invented the original house heater, Fermi. Anyone saying "just stay away from brand A" as a broad statement doesn't know what they are talking about.

Don't go for a R9 290X unless you get one with warranty / or you know it's absolutely fine and not 3 years old and everyday used or smth like that. It's a high power card and those generally have a shorter life. That aside, I wouldn't buy anything without warranty anyway.

Do you have any data to back that up? I remember people having problems with their R9 290s because they were stupid enough to buy 2nd hand bitcoin mining cards, which in fact should be a testament to their durability. How many cards can make it through a life on a bitcoin farm and then still work to be resold.

 

[Kanan]

Do you have any data to back that up? I remember people having problems with their R9 290s because they were stupid enough to buy 2nd hand bitcoin mining cards, which in fact should be a testament to their durability. How many cards can make it through a life on a bitcoin farm and then still work to be resold.

Not at the moment, but there are websites for such data, I even read some of them. It's simply my experience and common logic. GPUs that draw more power and are therefore hotter/under higher usage are under higher stress, which means shorter life span.

 

[evernessince]

Not at the moment, but there are websites for such data, I even read some of them. It's simply my experience and common logic. GPUs that draw more power and are therefore hotter/under higher usage are under higher stress, which means shorter life span.

Once again though you have no data to back that up. Graphics cards are designed to run at certain temperatures so unless they exceed those parameters, they are perfectly fine. It's not like GPUs are made out of frail materials where a 5c difference can damage the metal. If that were so fan curves and temp tolerances would be adjusted accordingly. Coming into a forum and passing this off as advise is willfully ignorant. I think the engineers who design these video cards know more about the tolerance of these card than you. Tell you what, you tell me the effect on the substrate and traces that extra 5c has and how it degrades the GPU over time. I'm sure you know all about the thermal tolerances of all the materials used in a GPU.