[Solved] Which brand for RX 480?

[DidelisDiskas]

I would not bother with the Powercolor, the Sapphire uses better components(ie VRMS, capacitors etc just like XFX, Asus, MSI) , even if you don't overclock better components normally offer better stability and longevity in general.

It might have better components, but saphire's 470's and 480's are very power hungry compared to other brands, so it might need that quality because of that huge power draw.

 

[gx_saurav]

Electricity is cheap in India. I have a Corsair CX 500 PSU. I plan to keep it for few more years hence I want to keep my CPU requirements in future to a 65W CPU and GPU to something with 150W TDP.

How is RX 470? I am reading a review here http://www.pcworld.com/article/3104...aphics-card-with-a-terrible-price.html?page=3

I spend time in tweaking graphical settings to find best balance and anything over 50 fps is fine with me. I have a 1080P, non Freesync monitor.

RX 470 is very very close to RX 480 in terms of performance but has a lower TDP. However, cost wise it is very close to RX 480 and I can pay that difference easily.

Sapphire Nitro+ RX 470 4 GB = $235 including tax.
Sapphire Nitro+ RX 470 8 GB = $310 including tax.
Sapphire Nitro+ RX 480 8 GB = $ 340 including tax.

The difference between RX 470 4GB and RX 470 8 GB is huge and it makes more sense to buy RX 480 8 GB instead of RX 470 8 GB due to minute price difference.

From what I see, cheaper and best performance/$ value for me I with RX 470 4 GB. If I plan to play games at High/custom graphical settings, will 4 GB RAM suffice for next 3 years?

 

[gx_saurav]

It might have better components, but saphire's 470's and 480's are very power hungry compared to other brands, so it might need that quality because of that huge power draw.

Sapphire RX 470 is also factory overclocked to 2 GHz for RAM so that high power requirement is understandable.

 

[Bacon1]

From what I see, cheaper and best performance/$ value for me I with RX 470 4 GB. If I plan to play games at High/custom graphical settings, will 4 GB RAM suffice for next 3 years?

Yes it will be fine for most games. There will be an outlier here or there, but 4GB will be good and save you a ton. If nothing else it makes it easier to upgrade in 2 years since you are saving ~1/3 of the total cost already.

 

[gx_saurav]

Yes it will be fine for most games. There will be an outlier here or there, but 4GB will be good and save you a ton. If nothing else it makes it easier to upgrade in 2 years since you are saving ~1/3 of the total cost already.

What you are saying makes sense. I am able to sell my 2 GB Asus Radeon R9 270X for ₹ 7,000 ( $ 102). A new Radeon RX 470, 4 GB is costing around $230.

I was looking at comparison videos. It seems that in terms of chip performance a RX 470 is only 10% slower than RX 480 when both have 8 GB VRAM.

In case of 4 GB RAM, there is frame rate difference but considering the money I will save, it is fine. Latest games today are recommending 4 GB VRAM (Watch Dogs 2, Quantum Break) so by the end of 3 years, 4 GB will be the minimum requirement. However, In next three years new games will overpower even a RX 470 chip and hence I will anyway need to buy a new GPU

I play games like Batman Arkham, Deus Ex, Watch Dogs, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, Quantum break etc. Story driven games which are not fast paced but you play them slowly. You walk instead of running so that you can explore things. This is why anything over 40 fps is fine with me.

 

[tamz_msc]

If you are not getting the RX 470 4GB around the 16K mark, then I'd just go with the RX 480. As long as you tweak your settings and are willing to settle with high instead of very high/ultra (these days the difference in image quality is not worth it for the performance hit it encumbers), then you'll be able to run pretty much everything at 60fps for at least three years. Though your CPU will be the bottleneck at 1080p.

Just remember to increase the power limit and undervolt the card - you will get a stable clock speed at very reasonable temperatures, that will help with power consumption as well.

 

[sirmo]

Avoid the Powercolor 480 btw, the VRMs are pretty bad on it apparently. I own one by the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nEbpn6NKPQ

This is for extreme overclocking only, like LN2 or 1500Mhz+. Powercolor RedDevil rx480 is a perfectly fine card. It has one of the better coolers actually. VRMs are fine for 99% of people who just do normal overclocks.

 

[gx_saurav]

If you are not getting the RX 470 4GB around the 16K mark, then I'd just go with the RX 480. As long as you tweak your settings and are willing to settle with high instead of very high/ultra (these days the difference in image quality is not worth it for the performance hit it encumbers), then you'll be able to run pretty much everything at 60fps for at least three years. Though your CPU will be the bottleneck at 1080p.

Just remember to increase the power limit and undervolt the card - you will get a stable clock speed at very reasonable temperatures, that will help with power consumption as well.

I am getting Sapphire RX 470, 4 GB model for ₹ 15,750 here assuming it is Sapphire's lowest end RX 470 (http://sapphirenitro.sapphiretech.com/en/rx-470-4.html#specifications). This is the cheapest RX 470 I have been able to find. After selling my current GPU for ₹ 7,000, effective price is ₹ 8,750 which is very good.

On the other hand, Sapphire Nitro RX 470 8 GB is costing me ₹ 21,000. So ₹ 5,250 ($ 78) for extra 4 GB RAM which is where it all comes down to. I can pay extra ₹ 5,250 but I don't want to pay this amount if I won't even get to use it at 1080p/custom settings.

I know about my FX 6300 bottlenecking my system. I plan to upgrade my CPU to Kaby Lake Core i5 7600 as soon as it is available.

 

[gx_saurav]

Just remember to increase the power limit and undervolt the card - you will get a stable clock speed at very reasonable temperatures, that will help with power consumption as well.

This part I do not understand. Care to explain? I usually leave things at default. Only the CPU is overclocked to 4.2 GHz.

 

[tamz_msc]

I am getting Sapphire RX 470, 4 GB model for ₹ 15,750 here assuming it is Sapphire's lowest end RX 470 (http://sapphirenitro.sapphiretech.com/en/rx-470-4.html#specifications). This is the cheapest RX 470 I have been able to find. After selling my current GPU for ₹ 7,000, effective price is ₹ 8,750 which is very good.

On the other hand, Sapphire Nitro RX 470 8 GB is costing me ₹ 21,000. So ₹ 5,250 ($ 78) for extra 4 GB RAM which is where it all comes down to. I can pay extra ₹ 5,250 but I don't want to pay this amount if I won't even get to use it at 1080p/custom settings.

I know about my FX 6300 bottlenecking my system. I plan to upgrade my CPU to Kaby Lake Core i5 7600 as soon as it is available.

That is a very good price for the 4GB Nitro. Wouldn't even bother with the 8GB version. What are you getting the RX 480 4GB Nitro for?

This part I do not understand. Care to explain? I usually leave things at default. Only the CPU is overclocked to 4.2 GHz.

Follow the steps as described in this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWDgrAQ678g

 

[gx_saurav]

That is a very good price for the 4GB Nitro. Wouldn't even bother with the 8GB version. What are you getting the RX 480 4GB Nitro for?

Assuming it is Sapphire's lowest end RX 480, I am getting it for ₹ 23,300. All prices mentioned here include tax.

So indeed a saving of 1/3 the price I was going to pay for RX 480 8 GB without even getting to use it at full potential due to the way I play games and the kind of games I play.

Since effective payment is ₹ 9,750, it sounds good for a GPU for 3 years. Next upgrade will likely be in 2020 with a sub 150 W TDP GPU. Maybe Vega 11 with 8 GB VRAM.

 

[Bacon1]

What you are saying makes sense. I am able to sell my 2 GB Asus Radeon R9 270X for ₹ 7,000 ( $ 102). A new Radeon RX 470, 4 GB is costing around $230.

Yeah there isn't that much of a performance difference considering the massive price difference. The resell value won't end up that different as well once you do decide to upgrade again. So just keep the savings in a "GPU upgrade fund" and upgrade an extra year early

 

[William Gaatjes]

Not something I can find in India.

From what I see considering most games are poor ports of Xbox/PS4, I should go with 8 GB VRAM. For this Sapphire looks like the best option.

8GB RX480 is a good future proof choice.
But are there absolutely no other cards available ?
Is importing the card into India an option ?

 

[gx_saurav]

Yeah there isn't that much of a performance difference considering the massive price difference. The resell value won't end up that different as well once you do decide to upgrade again. So just keep the savings in a "GPU upgrade fund" and upgrade an extra year early

My thinking exactly. I can get a 8 GB RX 480 but I will still need to change it due to the chip getting underpowered in 3+ years. I might as well save money and put it in GPU upgrade fund. I anyway have a backlog of Deus Ex Mankind divided, Quantum Break (DirectX 12), Watch Dogs 2 and Batman Arkham Knight left to play. These alone will take many months considering I only get to play on weekends.

8GB RX480 is a good future proof choice.
But are there absolutely no other cards available ?
Is importing the card into India an option ?

There are other cards available but they are very very costly. A GeForce 1070 8 GB costs as much as $530 here. I cannot extend my budget that much. Importing in India is an option via Amazon Global but then their warranty is not applicable in India.

I will be going to market some time this week and depending on availability, I will buy a RX 470, 4 GB. The shop where I asked has Sapphire Nitro and MSI Armour in stock.

 

[William Gaatjes]

Well, a gigabyte rx480 gaming g1 8GB might be an idea. One of the cheaper rx480 products, or if you have the room for the bigger cooler, the MSI is a nice one too.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/gigabyte-radeon-rx-480-g1-gaming-review,1.html
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/msi-radeon-rx-480-gaming-x-review,1.html

Can you not order one through internet from another far away city in India and have it delivered to you ?

 

[gx_saurav]

Well, a gigabyte rx480 gaming g1 8GB might be an idea. One of the cheaper rx480 products, or if you have the room for the bigger cooler, the MSI is a nice one too.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/gigabyte-radeon-rx-480-g1-gaming-review,1.html
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/msi-radeon-rx-480-gaming-x-review,1.html

Can you not order one through internet from another far away city in India and have it delivered to you ?

I have decided to go with Radeon RX 470 4 GB for now and use it for 2 years. Then sell it for another 150W TDP GPU two years later.

 

[William Gaatjes]

I have decided to go with Radeon RX 470 4 GB for now and use it for 2 years. Then sell it for another 150W TDP GPU two years later.

Good for you.
Over 2 years, a vega based gpu for midrange will highly likely be available.

 

[gx_saurav]

Good for you.
Over 2 years, a vega based gpu for midrange will highly likely be available.

That is the expectation and plan. A 150W TDP based Vega 11/Navi GPU with 8 GB HBM2 which will make sense to buy at that time.

 

[krumme]

I have decided to go with Radeon RX 470 4 GB for now and use it for 2 years. Then sell it for another 150W TDP GPU two years later.

I have a sapphire 470 4GB ref going at 1340 at standard voltage. Temp target is set at 85c so little noise. Nice lean dirt cheap card.
I know your cpu is bad but as you are very price conscious and have a cpu for perhaps 6 years consider waiting for zen 3 months as that probably give lower prices. You might get cheapest end 6 core zen for that core i5. Then the cpu will probably last 8 years and then 3 or 4 generations of gfx

 

[gx_saurav]

I have a sapphire 470 4GB ref going at 1340 at standard voltage. Temp target is set at 85c so little noise. Nice lean dirt cheap card.
I know your cpu is bad but as you are very price conscious and have a cpu for perhaps 6 years consider waiting for zen 3 months as that probably give lower prices. You might get cheapest end 6 core zen for that core i5. Then the cpu will probably last 8 years and then 3 or 4 generations of gfx

Wow, I have hopes for some good overclock. I use a Corsair CX500 so I need to check the overclock headroom. Default Boost clock of Sapphire's lowest end RX 470 is 1260 Mhz. 1340 is around 6% overclock on stock voltage. Very nice.

My CPU was purchased in August 2013 even though it was released before that. I am price conscious in the manner that I will not buy something I won't get to use. I will see which is better in terms of performance, Ryzen or Core i5. Waiting for Ryzen to release.

 

[krumme]

Wow, I have hopes for some good overclock. I use a Corsair CX500 so I need to check the overclock headroom. Default Boost clock of Sapphire's lowest end RX 470 is 1260 Mhz. 1340 is around 6% overclock on stock voltage. Very nice.

My CPU was purchased in August 2013 even though it was released before that. I am price conscious in the manner that I will not buy something I won't get to use. I will see which is better in terms of performance, Ryzen or Core i5. Waiting for Ryzen to release.

It seems polaris is a bit of a random bet. Mine was a 10% oc and that from low voltage levels. I think i was lucky. My impression is its difficult to oc p10 but many can take eg 1260 at extreme low voltage. There is a good possibility for a 95w card at standard clock rather than very high clocks. Process variation seems to have been a mess but dont know if its changed now. A cx500 should be plenty and then some. My card is a 6pin only card. Lets hope the best. And lets hope 6c zen is not to expensive. My guess is what you saved buying rx470 vs 480 or 1060 6gb is enough to pay for the 6 core 12 thread vs a 4c 4t core i5. Fingers crossed. A 6c 12t will last while a i5 4t is starting to show signs of beeing to slow imo.

 

[gx_saurav]

It seems polaris is a bit of a random bet. Mine was a 10% oc and that from low voltage levels. I think i was lucky. My impression is its difficult to oc p10 but many can take eg 1260 at extreme low voltage. There is a good possibility for a 95w card at standard clock rather than very high clocks. Process variation seems to have been a mess but dont know if its changed now. A cx500 should be plenty and then some. My card is a 6pin only card. Lets hope the best. And lets hope 6c zen is not to expensive. My guess is what you saved buying rx470 vs 480 or 1060 6gb is enough to pay for the 6 core 12 thread vs a 4c 4t core i5. Fingers crossed. A 6c 12t will last while a i5 4t is starting to show signs of beeing to slow imo.

Well, uncertainty about Ryzen is the reason I am not upgrading CPU and motherboard yet. Lets see how much 6C-12t Ryzen costs.

Regarding GPU and undervolting, I will be able to say only after trying it myself. Until the time a RX 470 chip itself gets slow, I will try to use it at low voltage. When the time comes, I will overclock it.

 

[gx_saurav]

Boys, I purchased MSI Armor Radeon RX 470 8 GB. https://www.msi.com/Graphics-card/Radeon-RX-470-ARMOR-8G-OC.html#hero-overview

http://imgur.com/a/VS8dr

The sapphire RX 470, 4GB model was the reference model with reference cooler. Nitro and Nitro+ in 4 GB were out of stock.

Next option was Sapphire Radeon RX 470 Nitro, 8 GB. The only difference between this and MSI Armor was 6 Mhz Core clock and 400 Mhz memory clock increase but price difference was huge ( ₹ 3,500) for such small difference.

Then came MSI Gaming X RX 470 4 GB which was available for ₹ 19,400. Difference from Armor is 24 MHz core clock and 100 Mhz memory clock increase but RAM was half.

MSI Gaming X RX 470 8 GB was also in same price range as Sapphire RX 470 8 GB.

Cheapest RX 480 8 GB was available for $360 ( ₹ 25,000).

After lots of thinking, MSI Armor RX 470 8 GB seemed like the best deal. I am running it right now overclock via MSI after burner at stable 1242 Mhz core clock and 7Ghz Memory clock without any other modification. This matches the speed of Sapphire RX 470 8 GB at much less price.

 

[guskline]

Great news gx_saurav! Enjoy it. I'm using a
LG 29UM67P free-sync monitor and it works well even with a single GTX480!

 

[gx_saurav]

Great news gx_saurav! Enjoy it. I'm using a
LG 29UM67P free-sync monitor and it works well even with a single GTX480!

I am using a 24" LG Regular IPS monitor. Free sync is not something I can see myself investing in any time soon.