Newbie GPU question

[serioushank]

Hi all,

As a complete novice in PC building, I find myself relying on the advice and help of others. So here I am!!

I'm nearing the end of my first ever build and have to say that I've enjoyed every second of it. The final part of the puzzle is the GPU, and I'm looking to order that in the next couple of days. My build so far is;

Mobo - Asus Maximus Hero VIII
CPU - Intel Core i7 6700K
PSU - EVGA Supernova 650W G1 Gold 80+
Case - Corsair Obsidian 750D Airflow Edition
RAM - Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB @ 3000MHz)
Cooler - Corsair Hydro Series H100i V2
SSD - Hyper X Savage 240GB (also have another inherited SSD @ 120GB but can't remember the name!)
HDD - 1 x 500GB (from an old Dell machine) & 1 x 1.5TB (butchered an old external USB HDD)
OS - Windows 10 64bit home edition

So last thing I need is the GPU. I've budgeted around £250 for this. I'd love to budget more but can't afford it. GPU that I've got in my sights is 4GB MSI Nvidia GTX970 Twin Frozr.

I'd love to get your opinions on my choice of GPU and would also appreciate any alternative suggestions (bearing my price point in mind of course).

Finally, I'd also like to hear your thoughts on my rig in general and suggestions on what I could next with it. Personally, i'm quite chuffed with it as I've never built a computer before and don't have a great deal of technical knowledge. I'm really enjoying it so far and built my rig with the intention of upgrading in the future - when I'll have gathered more knowledge and experience. Thanks for any advice!

 

[AlienALX]

Don't buy a Maxwell GPU now dude. You also need to remember that the GTX 970 only has 3.5gb of VRAM which is not even enough for ultra settings @ 1080p now, let alone going into the future.

Either stump up and buy a 6gb 1060 or get an 8gb 480. My choice would be with the latter, as when it comes to DX12 and Vulkan it is the better card, and that is where we are headed now.

The Sapphire Nitro is a good all rounder and fits within your budget

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/sapp...-pci-express-rgb-graphics-card-gx-37b-sp.html

Or if you are determined to go Nvidia this should do you well.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-32s-ms.html

 

[Excalabur50]

I agree with AlienALX get yourself a 480 as there's nothing between the 1060 and the 480 with the 480 having better asynchronous compute which is where things are headed

 

[serioushank]

Thanks for coming back to me so quickly guys. I'm 90% swayed towards the 480 as per your advice, but it'd be great if you could explain something to me?

So, the card in question is the Sapphire Radeon RX 480 Nitro+ OC 8192GB. Naturally, I've gone online and googled the card for reviews and YT vids etc. My confusion arises because there seems to be more than one RX 480. A quick google tells me that there's a MSI version, an Asus version, an XFX version and probably many more. I also found this when I was looking at the 970. I'm not looking for anyone to tell me which is best (I'm happy to go with your advice on the Sapphire), I'm just looking for someone to explain to me what the deal is here? Is it that there's a base card that different companies put their own finishing touches on or is it something else?

As a novice, I'm looking to learn as much as possible and this is something that has been bugging me for a little while, so I'd really appreciate you sharing your knowledge with me.

Thanks again

 

[AlienALX]

Out of all of the RX 480s the Sapphire IMO is the one that gets nearly everything right. It has a proper back plate that is extended up so that the fans can blow cool air on it which helps with the thermals. It's plain black and built like a bunker.

There are other 480s like this one.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/powe...ddr5-pci-express-graphics-card-gx-188-pc.html

That are larger and look really nice but in reviews they have shown to be noisier and not as good for overclocking. The Nitro fixed the issues that AMD had with the stock card (in the way the stock card pulls extra voltage from the PCIE socket).

XFX cards are usually OK but compared to Sapphire the quality lacks. Then you have cards like the Asus Strix for £290 that are no better than any of the others, just larger with more lights.

Sapphire have won this round IMO. Even if it were purely based on aesthetics they would win hands down but the Nitro also has easy to remove fans for cleaning etc. It's just a really well thought out card.

 

[NeverBackDown]

I would recommend the MSI rx480. It's cooler and more quiet than the Sapphire version albeit slightly slower. I own the MSI version and it's pretty quiet until about 60/65% fan speed. Although my aggressive fan profile makes it on the loud side. But that's because it's a small ITX case.

Imo MSI have won this round. Sapphire dropped the ball this time. So much potential but it's loud and hot

 

[Kushiro]

As above. Have used both the Sapphire and the MSI and XFX so far I the MSI is a tad better (my MSI also OC'd very nicely luckily).

 

[serioushank]

Thanks so much for the help and advice guys. It really is appreciated and I hope that one day I'll be in a position to help someone else in my position ��

 

[AlienALX]

I would recommend the MSI rx480. It's cooler and more quiet than the Sapphire version albeit slightly slower. I own the MSI version and it's pretty quiet until about 60/65% fan speed. Although my aggressive fan profile makes it on the loud side. But that's because it's a small ITX case.

Imo MSI have won this round. Sapphire dropped the ball this time. So much potential but it's loud and hot

Only they messed up the price because £270 is a joke when you can buy a 980ti for £300 now.