So I can't decide should I get a:
MSI GTX 1060 6GB for $404 or;
MSI AMD 480 4GB for $337
I only game at 1080p and want the MSI Gaming X version as I want my PC to be quiet as possible, and as far as I can tell that is the quietest one available got either card.
As far as I know the 1060 is better generally but not sure it is worth 20% more.
(Prices as per MSY deal)
Thanks, the problem I have it as soon as I jump to $400, a 1070 for $550 + Gears of War is so tempting haha.
But a 1070 would be insane overkill overkill for 1080 yeah?
But a 1070 would be insane overkill overkill for 1080 yeah?
Probably. The 1060 still seems to have trouble maxing out games at 1080p, but just alter a few settings and you should be able to pull 60 fps relatively consistently. If you're playing beyond 60fps, 1070 would be the way to go.
But yeah, for 1080p60, you'd be better off spending that extra money later down the track on an upgrade. You'll get better performance per dollar in subsequent generations for that ~$150, so if the 1060 suits your needs for the next ~2 years, it's the better choice, even if you have to upgrade sooner.
if your budget allows for a 1070, go for it. it's not really an overkill imo, while most games will avg above 60fps, from what ive seen with more demanding games like tomb raider and modded gta v, will occasionally dip below it and its really noticeable. But that's just me, different people will have different tolerances.
It makes me wonder if sacrificing a few fps and getting an amd card with a freesync monitor wouldve provided a better experience
both very good things for the long-term performance of your PC
In what manner?
More power usage is bad for your household budget, and the PSU creates more heat to supply the additional demand. PSUs become less efficient at higher outputs too (after a certain point).
Heat is the enemy of electronics - PCs work best when they're nice and cool. Adding heat means your CPU cooler and case fans have to work harder, which makes more noise. And at higher temps, your components are more likely to reach throttling thresholds, and will degrade more quickly causing early life failure.
TLDR: keep your PC well cooled for best performance and longevity.
Your other points are valid, but I'm highly doubtful that heat has a significant effect on other components, unless you have zero airflow or cooling to speak of. It's not as if the 480 draws ~500W like a 295X2, the difference of 40W between a 1060 and a 480 is fairly negligible.
@ProspectiveDarkness: Google releases hard drive reliability stats which show a slightly higher failure rate at lower tempratures.
Basically cooler = better is an unsubstantiated urban myth with some evidence showing the opposite to be the case.
@Diji1: Your data is only related to hard drives, and presumably older type mechanical hard drives at that. Conflating that narrow band of data to be representative of all electronic components in a PC is a pretty major stretch.
I would suggest that basic engineering concepts of keeping components within their design operating temperatures and preventing heat soak are very well established, and that reducing the heat load on the cooling systems of the CPU, GPU, chipset, SSD, RAM and PSU can never be a bad thing.
An additional 40W of heat load is not a big deal in this particular scenario, but it's still 40W that you can avoid with smarter part selection and well worth considering.
@klaw81: Major stretch?
Why is that a major stretch and then your completely baseless assertion that cooler equals longer lasting components is not?
@Diji1: You want to argue about something that seems entirely obvious to anyone with an iota of engineering experience?
Here's some reading from a reputable source: https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Impact-of-Tempera…
Note the conclusion in particular: Sensitive electronics like CPUs have a finite lifespan and running them at higher temperatures shortens it. So unless you want to have an excuse to upgrade your system often, higher temperatures are counter-productive.
With PC hardware, higher temperatures make both minor and major hardware faults much more likely. These hardware faults can result in anything from reduced performance due to minor errors needing to be corrected to data corruption or bluescreens due to more dramatic errors.
Some more granular facts to help you out….
Pretty much every component inside a PC has capacitors, but they're most obvious on the motherboard and PSU. So keeping them cool is important for longevity.
Facebook found that temperature was a larger contributor to failure than read/write quantity. I note this is contrary to your purported evidence from Google, but as I said, that's for mechanical drives which have a very different mechanism.
If you can spend the extra money and get gtx 1070 and not only 100% max every game out now but have no trouble in the next years or so with future games.
150 more plus free game thats $100 on windows store.
Short answer - yes the 1060 6GB is worth 20% more.
Apart from having sufficient headroom to handle more graphically intense games in the future, the 1060 is a more efficient design that uses less power and creates less heat - both very good things for the long-term performance of your PC. It's probably the best value GPU currently on the market, from a FPS per $ perspective.
The only reason I'd consider the 480 is if a particular game I was planning to play had significantly better DX12 performance.