GamingPCElectronicsDesktop

What are the best GPUs for gaming under $300?

5
Options 
Considered
0
User 
Recs.
Last 
Updated

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6 GB vs AMD Radeon RX 480 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 3 GB

 vs Palit GTX 1050 Ti 4GB vs AMD Radeon RX 470 vs AMD Radeon R9 380 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 950 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 vs AMD Radeon R9 390 vs NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960

Specs

Release Date

Jul 19th, 2016

Memory Clock

2002 Mhz

Memory Type

GDDR5

Memory Size

6 GB

Memory Bus

192 bit

Architecture

Pascal

GPU Clock

1506 MHz

TDP

120 W

DirectX version

12.0

Shading Units

1280

Boost Clock

1709 MHz

Power connectors

1x 6-pin

TFLops

4.4

TFlops

-

Power Connectors

-

Boost clock

-

Shading units

-

DirectX

-

Release Date

Jun 29th, 2016

Memory Clock

2000 MHz

Memory Type

GDDR5

Memory Size

8 GB

Memory Bus

256 bit

Architecture

GCN 1.3 (Polaris)

GPU Clock

1120 MHz

TDP

150 W

DirectX version

12.0

Shading Units

2304

Boost Clock

1266 MHz

Power connectors

-

TFLops

-

TFlops

5.834

Power Connectors

1x 6-pin

Boost clock

-

Shading units

-

DirectX

-

Release Date

Jul 19th, 2016

Memory Clock

2002 MHz

Memory Type

GDDR5

Memory Size

3 GB

Memory Bus

192 bit

Architecture

Pascal

GPU Clock

1506 MHz

TDP

120W

DirectX version

12.0

Shading Units

1152

Boost Clock

-

Power connectors

1x 6-pin

TFLops

-

TFlops

3.9

Power Connectors

-

Boost clock

1709 MHz

Shading units

-

DirectX

-

Release Date

-

Memory Clock

-

Memory Type

-

Memory Size

-

Memory Bus

-

Architecture

-

GPU Clock

-

TDP

-

DirectX version

-

Shading Units

-

Boost Clock

-

Power connectors

-

TFLops

-

TFlops

-

Power Connectors

-

Boost clock

-

Shading units

-

DirectX

-

Release Date

Aug 4th, 2016

Memory Clock

1650 MHz

Memory Type

GDDR5

Memory Size

4 GB

Memory Bus

256 bit

Architecture

GCN 1.3 (Polaris)

GPU Clock

926 MHz

TDP

120 W

DirectX version

12.0

Shading Units

-

Boost Clock

1206 MHz

Power connectors

-

TFLops

-

TFlops

4.940

Power Connectors

1x 6-pin

Boost clock

-

Shading units

2048

DirectX

-

Release Date

-

Memory Clock

-

Memory Type

-

Memory Size

-

Memory Bus

-

Architecture

-

GPU Clock

-

TDP

-

DirectX version

-

Shading Units

-

Boost Clock

-

Power connectors

-

TFLops

-

TFlops

-

Power Connectors

-

Boost clock

-

Shading units

-

DirectX

-

Release Date

Aug 20th, 2015

Memory Clock

1653 MHz

Memory Type

GDDR5

Memory Size

2 GB

Memory Bus

128 bit

Architecture

Maxwell

GPU Clock

1024 MHz

TDP

90 W

DirectX version

12.0

Shading Units

768

Boost Clock

1188 MHz

Power connectors

1x 6-pin

TFLops

-

TFlops

1.572

Power Connectors

-

Boost clock

-

Shading units

-

DirectX

-

Release Date

-

Memory Clock

-

Memory Type

-

Memory Size

-

Memory Bus

-

Architecture

-

GPU Clock

-

TDP

-

DirectX version

-

Shading Units

-

Boost Clock

-

Power connectors

-

TFLops

-

TFlops

-

Power Connectors

-

Boost clock

-

Shading units

-

DirectX

-

Release Date

Jun 18th, 2015

Memory Clock

1500 MHz

Memory Type

GDDR5

Memory Size

8 GB

Memory Bus

512 bit

Architecture

GCN 1.1

GPU Clock

1 GHz

TDP

275 W

DirectX version

-

Shading Units

2560

Boost Clock

-

Power connectors

-

TFLops

-

TFlops

5.120

Power Connectors

1x 6-pin + 1x 8-pin

Boost clock

-

Shading units

-

DirectX

12.0

Release Date

Jan 22nd, 2015

Memory Clock

1753 MHz

Memory Type

GDDR5

Memory Size

2 GB

Memory Bus

128 bit

Architecture

Maxwell

GPU Clock

1127 MHz

TDP

120 W

DirectX version

12.0

Shading Units

1024

Boost Clock

1178 MHz

Power connectors

1x 6-pin

TFLops

-

TFlops

2.308

Power Connectors

-

Boost clock

-

Shading units

-

DirectX

-

Pros + Cons

Pro
 Outperforms AMD's RX 480

The GTX 1060 can be seen as NVIDIA's direct competitor to the AMD RX 480, with both cards offering similar price points. The GTX 1060 outperforms the RX 480 in most gaming titles, except for those that are optimized for AMD's Graphics Core Next platform, such as Hitman or Ashes of the Singularity. In most other titles however, such as Battlefield 4, GTA V, Metro: Last Light, Rise of The Tomb Raider, The Division and others, the GTX 1060 outperforms its competition. The average performance increase over the RX 480 is 13,5%.
Comment

Pro
 Excellent 1080p and VR performance, suitable for 1440p

The GTX 1060 performs extremely well in 1080 (Full HD) gaming situations, often providing a very playable framerate with maximum fidelity settings. For example, the average FPS in Battlefield 4 under the Ultra Preset is 97.5. In Grand Theft Auto V under very high settings, the card is able to reach an average FPS of 115, which is remarkable for a mid-range graphics card. The GPU also does well in games that are optimized for AMD's architecture such as Ashes of the Singularity, where the GTX 1060 is able to achieve a result of 46 FPS under the Extreme Preset. In short, this GPU performs excellently in demanding gaming situations in 1080p and offers the player a good framerates coupled with maximum graphic settings. For people using a slightly higher resolution such as 1440p (2560 x 1440 pixels), the GTX 1060 also does quite well. When looking back at the Battlefield 4 benchmarks, the GPU handles 1440p and Ultra very well with an average framerate of 62 frames per second. The same can be said for Grand Theft Auto V at 82.5 average FPS and the performance difference in Ashes of the Singularity is quite small at 40 FPS under extreme settings. In terms of performance compared to NVIDIA's previous generation card, the GTX 1060 performs slightly worse than a GTX 980 and floats between the 970 and 980. Compared to the mid-range GTX 960 however, the performance improvement is over 70%. This MSI OC edition is also slightly overclocked with a boost of 40 MHz on the base clock, which will result in slightly better performance as well. In terms of VR performance, the GTX 1060 6 GB scores 7.9 points in the relative SteamVR Performance Benchmark, which is firmly above the 'VR Capable' rating that's given to scores above 6.0. The VR Capable rating implies a steady framerate of at least 90 frames per second in an average VR-situation.
Comment

Pro
 Consumes little power for its performance

Power consumption levels of the GTX 1060 are very good. While the power consumption is somewhat higher than the previous-generation GTX 960 in some gaming circumstances - the new 1060 is the fastest graphics card on the market with a limited maximum consumption of 120 watts. In an idle situation, the GTX 1060 only uses about 9 watts of power - almost half of the amount a RX 480 requires at 16 watts. When looking at intensive full load scenario's such as a Furmark test, the maximum power consumption measured for the GTX 1060 is around 122 watts - a whopping 44 watts less than AMD's RX 480.
Comment

Pro
 Can handle overclocks well

By overclocking your graphics card, you increase the clock speeds of the chip and memory to gain even more performance. The GTX 1060 handles overclocks well, relatively high boosts of over 200 MHz for both the GPU and memory clock speeds aren't uncommon without the use of special cooling solutions. In this case, an overclock of 229 MHz on the GPU and 380 MHz on the memory result in a 14% better performance in Battlefield 3, in 1440p resolution.
Comment

Pro
 Offers exclusive features such as Ansel and Simultaneous multi-projection

The GTX 1060 and other Pascal-based GPU's from NVIDIA offer a couple of exclusive features that aren't available on previous-generation graphics cards or current GPU's made by AMD. Taking advantage of the new GPU architecture, NVIDIA has introduced a feature called simultaneous multi-projection. It allows developers of games and applications to improve performance when rendering multiple viewports of the same image. This is particularly useful when using a multi-monitor setup or in virtual reality where two images are required, one for each eye. Simultaneous multi-projection allows up to 16 different viewpoints and only requires calculating the geometry of a scene once. In compatible games, users of multi-screen setups can calibrate this experience so that distortion no longer occurs. Virtual reality games can use SMP to improve performance, although developers will specifically need to implement this feature in their games. Ansel is another feature that is exclusive to NVIDIA's Pascal-based graphics cards. Ansel can be described as a very extensive 'photomode', where you can capture massive in-game screenshots of several gigapixels or capture images in 360 degrees. The player is also able to use filters, adjust camera positions, take HDR-images and share them via the built-in software.
Comment

Pro
 Adequate amount of VRAM available

The GTX 1060 comes with 6 gigabytes of VRAM memory, which puts this GPU directly between other mid-range cards with 4 or 8 gigabytes of memory. Lots of video RAM isn't particularly useful in current games, but future titles will most likely take advantage of larger amounts of video memory. 6 GB is considered a sweet spot and the two extra gigabytes compared to the more standard 4 GB makes the card a bit more future proof.
Comment

Con
 Lacks support for SLI

The GTX 1060 does not offer support for SLI - short for Scalable Link Interface - which allows users to install multiple identical graphics cards in order to gain performance. In other words, you can't connect two or more GTX 1060's and run a dual- or multiple-GPU solution which is very remarkable for mid-range graphics cards.
Comment

Con
 Disappointing performance improvements when using Vulkan

Vulkan is a graphical API that allows developers to communicate better with the GPU, which in theory should result to performance improvements compared to the more standard DirectX 12 or OpenGL API's. The GTX 1060 doesn't do particularly better in Vulkan however, and the difference with the standard OpenGL is very minimal. Doom is one of the first (and only) titles with support for Vulkan and serves as a good benchmark for OpenGL vs Vulkan performance. Using Ultra settings and a 1080p resolution, the GTX 1060 is able to achieve an average framerate of 101.3 FPS in OpenGL. When tested in Vulkan, the performance difference is unnoticeable at 101.5 FPS, a very slight increase. In 1440p resolution, results for OpenGL are 68.3 FPS, while Vulkan only provides a small performance boost to 69.3 average frames per second. AMD's new Polaris-architecture graphics cards are significantly better optimized for Vulkan compared to the GTX 1060 and other NVIDIA Pascal-based GPU's. For example, the AMD Radeon RX 480 performs significantly better in Vulkan, with 1080p results of 85 FPS for OpenGL and 111 FPS in Vulkan, a 30.59% increase.
Comment

Pro
 Very silent operation

This MSI GTX 1060 uses a Twin Frozr IV cooler, identical to the coolers used on MSI's GAMING series of GPU's. These coolers perform excellently and offer better results than the reference 'Founders Edition' of the GTX 1060. Perhaps more importantly, sound production is also very low with a Twin Frozr IV card. As seen in this comparison graph, the idle noise level is measured at 33 dBA - which is considered to be very quiet and inaudible in normal situations. During full load, noise production ramps up to 37 dBA which makes the MSI GTX 1060 with Twin Frozr IV cooling one of the most silent mid-range GPU's on the market. 37 decibels is considered to be very silent and annoying noises such as coil whine aren't present as well.
Comment

Con
 Brand new hardware, risk involved in early adoption

It is unknown if there are inherent issues with this GPU (such as quality control, motherboard compatibility issues, driver issues, OS issues, etc) as it was only recently announced and has not undergone large-scale testing in the consumer market.
Comment

Pro
 Excellent performance for the price

Price/performance wise, The RX 480 is an excellent graphics card. It performs better than previous generation high-end GPU's such as the GTX 980 and is suited for high-quality 1080p and 1440p gaming. In some situations, the RX 480 can even handle games in 4K-resolution, albeit with lower graphical settings. In Rise of the Tomb Raider on 'Very High' quality mode and all other graphical settings set to maximum, the RX 480 achieves an average framerate of 63 FPS in 1080p, 44 frames per second in 1440p and 23 FPS when playing in 4K resolution. Similar results can be seen in benchmarks for Hitman: an average FPS of 75 in 1080p, a very fluent 57 FPS in 1440p and 31 frames per second in 4K. Both Rise of The Tomb Raider and Hitman are DirectX 12 compatible games and can be considered as quite intensive to run. AMD's card also performs excellently in older titles such as Grand Theft Auto V: 84 FPS, 59 FPS and 30 FPS for 1080p, 1440p and 4K, respectively. In Alien Isolation, results of 137 FPS for Full HD, 83 FPS for 1440p and 35 FPS for 4K are achieved. All graphical settings were set to maximum. In short, the RX 480 is ideal for high-fidelity gaming in 1080p and 1440p and often provides the player with a stable framerate of above 60 frames per second with all graphical settings and eyecandy set to the maximum. Gaming in 4K isn't as fluent, but performance can be improved by using less intensive settings.
Comment

Con
 Prices inflated and availability low due to mining craze

As of the late spring of 2017, a new cryptocurrency mining boom (ethereum) has greatly increased demand for the higher-end 400 and 500 series RX cards, especially since miners tend to snap up multiple cards. This has led to low stocks and greatly inflated prices.
Comment

Pro
 Low power consumption

The AMD RX 480 can be powered via a single 6-pin PCIe power connector with a maximum energy consumption of 150 watts. A single connector not only ensures a low energy consumption, but is also ideal for power supplies with a limited amount of wattage and/or 6-pin connectors.
Comment

Pro
 Some 4 GB version cards can be upgraded to 8 GB with a new BIOS

AMD has chosen to provide all reference RX 480 cards with 8 gigabytes of video memory, even on the cheaper models which are specified for 4 GB only. This applies to the reference cards and most third party RX 480 chips as well - the decision to implement 8 GB regardless of the RX 480 edition was made for performance reasons. A tool has been posted online called ATIFlash, which allows users to edit the BIOS of a '4 GB' RX 480. A BIOS file of the 8 GB card is also available via the same link. It is however only recommended for enthusiast tweakers and is at your own risk. It's also necessary to check if you indeed are using a card with the extra memory, as it's possible newer batches of the RX 480 will effectively limit physical memory to 4 GB. However, this is an easy and especially inexpensive method of upgrading a RX 480 4 GB to a RX 480 8 GB card.
Comment

Pro
 Asynchronous shaders improve performance in recent games and VR

The RX 480 offers concurrent/parallel CPU to GPU communication in DirectX 12, Mantle and Vulkan with asynchronous shaders for the stream processors. Asynchronous shaders allow the developers of games to maximize the potential of AMD's new Polaris architecture and this technology is used to optimize DX12, Mantle and Vulkan performance in recently released compatible games. In short, developers can now use multiple task queues and split up GPU power across multiple tasks at the same time. This also works well in virtual reality situations, where head tracking is required. Latency (delay between the images that appear on the display) and stuttering can be reduced by using asynchronous shading. This is reflected in the SteamVR Performance Test, where the RX 480 is given the 'VR Ready' label, indicating that the card is able to maintain a minimum framerate of 90 FPS at all times in an average virtual reality game.
Comment

Con
 Superseded by the RX 580

The RX 580 is essentially a reworked 480, but can perform about 9-10% better, on average. Considering the similar MSRP and what will be a shrinking stock of the 480, a 580 might be a better buy.
Comment

Con
 Power distribution raises some concerns

When the RX 480 cards were released, there was an issue where the GPU would draw too much power from the motherboard's PCIe slot, exceeding the 75W limit. This could lead to instability or permanent damage. AMD has somewhat resolved this issue by re-distributing power usage to the 6-pin connector, which is more capable of handling larger amounts of power than specified. Although this update prevents motherboard damage, the RX 480 still draws more power than stated in the thermal design point (TDP). Users can choose to underclock the GPU to stay completely within the power limits, although this will lead to a minor performance decrease. This setting is turned off by default.
Comment

Pro
 Two RX480 cards are a decent alternative for a single GTX 1080

The GTX 1080 is the second fastest grpahics card by NVIDIA and comes with a price tag of over $600. Two Radeon RX 480 cards configured in a CrossFire-setup perform similarly to a single GTX 1080, but with a much lower combined price tag of around $400. In Ashes of the Singularity, performance is identical with an average framerate of 55 FPS. In most other gaming situations, the two RX 480 cards are a tad slower than a GTX 1060. The dual RX 480's score 16,763 3DMark Firestrike Benchmark points, while the GTX 1080 achieves a result of 17,671 - a five percent increase. In Metro Last Light, two RX 480's are capable of achieving an average framerate of 131 FPS for 1080p, 89 FPS for 1440p and 43 FPS for 4K, respectively. Results for the GTX 1080 are 156 FPS (1080p), 98 FPS (1440p) and 45 FPS (4K). While a single GTX 1080 is still somewhat faster than two Radeon RX480 cards configured in CrossFire, the performance difference can be described as minimal and similar performance can be achieved for a much lower price point. It is worth noting however that not all games support multi-GPU's setups (well), which can lead to marginable performance gains for the second card. This setup also requires more power compared to a single 1080.
Comment

Pro
 Great performance improvements in Vulkan-compatible games

When using Vulkan, a graphical API that allows developers to better communicate with the GPU, the RX 480 can achieve great performance improvements compared to the more standard DirectX 12 or OpenGL API's. Some recent games offer support for Vulkan, such as Doom, Dota 2 and Ashes of The Singularity. When playing Doom in 4K, the RX 480 is able to achieve an average framerate of 26 FPS in OpenGL, while Vulkan performance is significantly better at 35 frames per second. Similar results are seen when playing at a lower 1440p or 1080p resolution: 51 FPS (OpenGL) and 69 FPS (Vulkan) and 78 FPS (OpenGL) and 110 FPS (Vulkan), respectively. While NVIDIA's new Pascal architecture is also compatible with the Vulkan API, the AMD RX series benefit greatly from it. In fact, the GTX 1060 which is considered the direct competitor of the RX 480 and is faster than the RX 480 in terms of raw power, does not benefit from using Vulkan at all. Because of this, the RX 480 is still significantly faster as seen in these benchmarks.
Comment

Con
 Limited overclocking potential

AMD has made it a bit harder to overclock the RX 480, as you can no longer adjust the voltage or clockspeed manually. Overclocking potential is disappointing, as the RX 480 does't appear to be stable at slightly higher clockspeeds. For example, a slight base clockspeed increase of 6.5% already caused artifacts and crashes. However, the video memory can be overclocked at maximum speed without many issues.
Comment

Pro
 New architecture

Comment

Con
 Not enough testing has been done to make definitive conclusions

Current analysis is based on leaked information that has not yet been verified.
Comment

Pro
 Lots of overclocking headroom expected

Comment

Con
 Brand new hardware, risk involved in early adoption

It is unknown if there are inherent issues with this GPU (such as quality control, motherboard compatibility issues, driver issues, OS issues, etc) as it was only recently announced and has not undergone large-scale testing in the consumer market.
Comment

Pro
 Consumes little power for its performance

Power consumption levels of the GTX 1060 are very good. While the power consumption is somewhat higher than the previous-generation GTX 960 in some gaming circumstances - the new 1060 is the fastest graphics card on the market with a limited maximum consumption of 120 watts. In an idle situation, the GTX 1060 only uses about 9 watts of power - almost half of the amount a RX 480 requires at 16 watts. When looking at intensive full load scenario's such as a Furmark test, the maximum power consumption measured for the GTX 1060 is around 122 watts - a whopping 44 watts less than AMD's RX 480. The power consumption difference between the GTX 1060 3GB and 6GB is negligible, although the 3GB-version surprisingly consumes around 4 watts more power under load.
Comment

Pro
 Excellent 1080p performance, suitable for 1440p

The GTX 1060 (3 GB) performs extremely well in 1080 (Full HD) gaming situations, often providing a very playable framerate with maximum fidelity settings. For example, the average FPS in Rise of The Tomb Raider (maximum settings) is a very smooth 70 frames per second and the card scores 52 average frames per second in Hitman. The 3 GB GTX 1060 also does well in Tom Clancy's The Division, where it achieves a result of 58 average frames per second with maximum detail. Gaming in 1440p is also a possibility with the horse power the GTX 1060 3 GB provides. In Rise of the Tomb Raider, Hitman and The Division - all with maximum settings, the card is able to achieve average framerates of 46, 37 and 41, respectively. Performance can further be improved by toning down the details a bit. When comparing the GTX 1060 3 GB to its bigger 6 GB version with 10% more CUDA cores, a performance decrease is noticeable. In the same benchmarks, the larger 6 GB version has an advantage of 8 FPS in Rise of The Tomb Raider, 13 FPS in Hitman and 4 FPS in The Division, all measured in 1080p.
Comment

Con
 Less ideal for use with high-quality texture settings, not futureproof

Three gigabytes of video memory suffices for most gaming situations in 1080p, but the 3GB version of the GTX 1060 might hit limitations when using high-quality texture packs or when using high-resolution texture options (such as gaming in 4K). Multisample anti-aliasing is also quite memory intensive and is less ideal for use with this version of the GTX 1060. Although the lower memory might not form a major issue nowadays, future titles will require more and more video memory in order to run decently.
Comment

Pro
 Offers exclusive features such as Ansel and Simultaneous multi-projection

The GTX 1060 and other Pascal-based GPU's from NVIDIA offer a couple of exclusive features that aren't available on previous-generation graphics cards or current GPU's made by AMD. Taking advantage of the new GPU architecture, NVIDIA has introduced a feature called simultaneous multi-projection. It allows developers of games and applications to improve performance when rendering multiple viewports of the same image. This is particularly useful when using a multi-monitor setup or in virtual reality where two images are required, one for each eye. Simultaneous multi-projection allows up to 16 different viewpoints and only requires calculating the geometry of a scene once. In compatible games, users of multi-screen setups can calibrate this experience so that distortion no longer occurs. Virtual reality games can use SMP to improve performance, although developers will specifically need to implement this feature in their games. Ansel is another feature that is exclusive to NVIDIA's Pascal-based graphics cards. Ansel can be described as a very extensive 'photomode', where you can capture massive in-game screenshots of several gigapixels or capture images in 360 degrees. The player is also able to use filters, adjust camera positions, take HDR-images and share them via the built-in software.
Comment

Pro
 Can handle overclocks well

By overclocking your graphics card, you increase the clock speeds of the chip and memory to gain even more performance. The GTX 1060 handles overclocks well, relatively high boosts of over 200 MHz for both the GPU and memory clock speeds aren't uncommon without the use of special cooling solutions. In this case, an overclock of 229 MHz on the GPU and 380 MHz on the memory result in a 14% better performance in Battlefield 3, in 1440p resolution.
Comment

Con
 Lacks support for SLI

The GTX 1060 does not offer support for SLI - short for Scalable Link Interface - which allows users to install multiple identical graphics cards in order to gain performance. In other words, you can't connect two or more GTX 1060's and run a dual- or multiple-GPU solution which is very remarkable for mid-range graphics cards.
Comment

Con
 Disappointing performance improvements when using Vulkan

Vulkan is a graphical API that allows developers to communicate better with the GPU, which in theory should result to performance improvements compared to the more standard DirectX 12 or OpenGL API's. The GTX 1060 doesn't do particularly better in Vulkan however, and the difference with the standard OpenGL is very minimal. Doom is one of the first (and only) titles with support for Vulkan and serves as a good benchmark for OpenGL vs Vulkan performance. Using Ultra settings and a 1080p resolution, the GTX 1060 3 GB is able to achieve an average framerate of 103 FPS and 65 FPS when tested in 1440p. When using Vulkan, performance improvements are not substantial with 109 FPS (+5,5%) and 71 FPS (+8,5%). AMD's new Polaris-architecture graphics cards are significantly better optimized for Vulkan compared to the GTX 1060 and other NVIDIA Pascal-based GPU's. For example, the AMD Radeon RX 480 performs significantly better in Vulkan, with 1080p results of 85 FPS for OpenGL and 111 FPS in Vulkan, a 30.59% increase.
Comment

Pro
 Quiet and cool

A 128-bit product which is a lot better than any 256-bit AMD card. There isn't anything it can't do (especially with the proper CPU) and along with that it remains cool (57 degrees, where 97 being the maximum safe temp) and quiet even with heavy games. When idling, temperatures never go above 22 degrees Celsius in the winter and 35-40 in the summer. Also, the drivers are properly tested with all Windows OS so you should never get the regular BSOD you may have with all R-series of AMD.
Comment

Pro
 Ideal for 1080p gaming

The RX 470 performs extremely well in recent games when played in Full HD resolution and with the highest possible graphical settings. For example, the RX 470 is able to achieve an average framerate of 117 fps in DOOM. The card also manages to get a very fluid 68 fps in Fallout 4 and even more intensive games such as Hitman perform well with the RX 470, averaging at 67 frames per second. In short, the RX 470 is ideal for playing games with a fluent framerate in 1080p. When gaming on a higher resolution of 1440p (2560 x 1440 pixels), performance on the RX 470 is often a hit or miss. Some more optimized games such as Dirt Rally (52 fps) or DOOM (77 fps). However, some other games will struggle to deliver a fluent gameplay experience. The average 1440p framerate in both The Division and Rise of The Tomb Raider for example hovers around the 45 fps mark, although a higher framerate can be achieved if graphical settings are toned down.
Comment

Con
 Mediocre performance-per-watt ratio

The RX 470 uses AMD's new Polaris 10 architecture and is more efficient than previous-generation GPU's, but the performance-per-watt ratio remains somewhat mediocre. The TDP (thermal design point and maximum power consumption) of the RX 470 chip is measured at 125W. The more expensive GTX 1060 by NVIDIA heavily outperforms the RX 470 but still manages to achieve the same levels of power consumption. Efficiency-wise, the Radeon RX 470 doesn't impress.
Comment

Con
 Very minimal price difference with RX 480

The RX 470 is positioned slightly under the RX 480 by AMD, but the price difference between these two GPU's is very minimal. Both GPU's hover slightly above the $200 mark, which gives users little reason to purchase a RX 470 instead of a faster RX 480.
Comment

Pro
 Great performance improvements in Vulkan-compatible games

When using Vulkan, a graphical API that allows developers to better communicate with the GPU, the RX 470 can achieve great performance improvements compared to the more standard DirectX 12 or OpenGL API's. Some recent games offer support for Vulkan, such as Doom, Dota 2 and Ashes of The Singularity. When playing Doom under the standard OpenGL in Ultra Settings and 1080p resolution, the RX470 is able to achieve an average framerate of 84.2 FPS. When using Vulkan however, the same RX 470 performs significantly better with an average result of 101.5 frames per second, a 20.5% performance increase. While NVIDIA's new Pascal architecture is also compatible with the Vulkan API, the AMD RX series benefit more greatly from it. In the same benchmarks, results for the competing GTX 1060 were also provided, where the performance improvement under Vulkan was only 6%.
Comment

Pro
 Asynchronous shaders improve performance in recent games

The RX 470 offers concurrent/parallel CPU to GPU communication in DirectX 12, Mantle and Vulkan with asynchronous shaders for the stream processors. Asynchronous shaders allow the developers of games to maximize the potential of AMD's new Polaris architecture and this technology is used to optimize DX12, Mantle and Vulkan performance in recently released compatible games. In short, developers can now use multiple task queues and split up GPU power across multiple tasks at the same time. This also works well in virtual reality situations, where head tracking is required. Latency (delay between the images that appear on the display) and stuttering can be reduced by using asynchronous shading. Although the RX 470 lacks the overall computing power to render VR games comfortably, the card has been given the 'VR Capable' rating by SteamVR, which implies a stable framerate of over 90 frames per second but not at the level that's recommended for smooth VR experiences.
Comment

Con
 Limited overclocking potential

The RX 470 has limited overclocking potential as AMD has decided to cap the maximum memory bandwidth at 1850 MHz. Although GPU clockspeed increases of 10 - 15% aren't uncommon up to 1355 MHz, differences in games are less noticeable because the card tends to struggle with this maximum speed. If AMD had allowed further clockspeed increases of the memory, the RX 470 would be better suited for overclocking.
Comment

Con
 Previous generation chip

The R9 380 chip has been around for a while and is based on older architecture from 2014. Both NVIDIA and AMD are introducing new mid-range graphics cards in the remainder of 2016. It's only a matter of time before a new graphics card debuts with increased performance and the same price tag, such as the RX 480 by AMD.
Comment

Pro
 Excellent 1080p performance

The R9 380 performs well in 1080p benchmarks, even in recent games. For example, the card reaches an average framerate of 57 FPS in Dying Light with maximum settings. Another example is Grand Theft Auto V, where the R9 380 has an average framerate of 51.1 with ultra settings.
Comment

Pro
 Overclocks well

You can further increase the performance of the R9 380 by overclocking it and thus increasing the clock speeds. A manual overclock of up to 1150 MHz can easily be reached.
Comment

Pro
 Outstanding temperatures

The Double Dissipation cooler on the R9 390 performs extremely well. In a non-gaming situation, highest GPU temperature measured was 32° Celsius. Under full load, 63° C was the maximum measured temperature. Low temperatures result in a longer lifespan and less throttling. Throttling occurs when a GPU clocks itself down in order to reduce temperature, which also results in a performance loss.
Comment

Con
 Factory overclock is negligable

XFX markets this Double Dissipation edition as an overclocked card with better performance compared to a regular 380, but the performance improvement isn't noticeable in normal situations. The overclock itself is very small, from 970 to 990 MHz. The memory didn't receive an overclock at all, which is a missed opportunity to further increase performance.
Comment

Pro
 Great for entry-level 1080p gaming

The GTX 950 is a lower-end to mid-range card and is tailored for entry-level gaming on a 1080p Full HD resolution. The GTX 950 performs quite well in recent games, with an average of 78 FPS in Grand Theft Auto with medium to high settings, an average of 45 frames per second for The Witcher 3 (medium to high settings) and an average of 54 FPS in Battlefield 4 (high to ultra settings).
Comment

Pro
 Low power consumption

For a lower-end to mid-range card, the power consumption is quite low. In an idle situation, the GTX 950 will only require about 8 watts of power. In a more stressful situation such as a benchmark or intensive game, power consumption will rise up to 122 watts - forty watts lower than an HD 7870.
Comment

Pro
 Low temperature

The GTX 950 chip doesn't heat up too much, resulting in a fairly low idle and load temperature. Only 49° C was reached during idle and the maximum temperature was 71° Celsius during full load.
Comment

Con
 Previous generation GPU

The GTX 950 uses a previous generation graphics chip based on NVIDIA's Maxwell architecture. While this chip works well with games, the next-generation GPU's based on the Pascal architecture offer better performance, optimization and lower power consumption. A Pascal-based successor for the GTX 950 hasn't been announced yet, but it only seems a matter of time before a GTX 1050 is released.
Comment

Con
 Expensive

Compared to some other options, the GTX 950 is a bit too expensive and doesn't perform very well in the price/performance ratio. For example, you can purchase a faster GTX 960 for $179.99.
Comment

Con
 Memory isn't overclocked

Although the main graphical chip of this GTX 950 2GB SC+ is overclocked from a base clock of 1024 MHz to 1190 Mhz, EVGA hasn't overclocked and improved the memory clock which is a missed opportunity to even further increase performance.
Comment

Pro
 Good results for 1440p gaming

The GTX 970 manages to handle 1080p gaming very well and all recent games run flawlessly, even on the highest settings. A more intensive situation is 1440p gaming, which requires a lot more horsepower. The SSC performs well, with a very comfortable FPS over 60 in BioShock Infinite, an average of 47 FPS in the very intensive Crysis 3 and an average of 90 FPS in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim - all in 1440p resolution with highest settings.
Comment

Pro
 Price cut

Recent price cut to match the RX 480 8GB.
Comment

Pro
 Huge overclock potential

970 series have been known to be a really good overclocker and hit 1500mhz frequently. It can match the 980 stock in performances.
Comment

Con
 Previous generation chip

The GTX 970 chip has been around for over a year, and both NVIDIA and AMD are introducing new mid-range and high-end graphics cards in the remainder of 2016, such as the GTX 1070. Lower priced cards are expected to launch as well, which would make the GTX 970 outdated.
Comment

Pro
 Hefty factory overclock

The SSC Gaming comes factory overclocked, which means it'll perform better than a reference GTX 970. With a base clock of 1190 MHz, the SSC offers a 13% clock speed improvement.
Comment

Pro
 Dual BIOS switch

As the GTX 970 SSC is aimed at enthusiast gamers, EVGA has included a dual BIOS switch. There are two pre-loaded BIOS settings - the alternative and second setting allows for an always-on and more aggressive cooling system which is ideal for people who want to have the lowest temperatures possible or to further increase overclocking. You can easily switch between the two BIOS settings.
Comment

Con
 High relative power consumption

The factory overclock provided by EVGA unfortunately comes at a cost. A reference GTX 970 can be powered by two 6-pin PCIe power connectors, but the SSC edition requires one 8-pin and a single 6-pin power connector, as more power is needed for stable overclocking. Compared to other GTX 970 models, load power consumption is around 30 watts higher.
Comment

Con
 High power usage

The R9 390 isn't known for its efficiency when it comes to power consumption. For comparison: during full load, a test system with a R9 390 equipped draws 337 watts of power. The same test system running a GTX 970 - which can be considered as the 390's main competitor - only draws 265 watts.
Comment

Con
 Previous generation chip

The R9 390 chip has been around for a while, and both NVIDIA and AMD are introducing new mid-range and high-end graphics cards in the remainder of 2016, such as the GTX 1070 by NVIDIA and the RX 480 by AMD. Lower priced cards are expected to launch as well, which would render the R9 390 outdated.
Comment

Pro
 Great performance for 1440p gaming

The R9 390 can handle gaming in Full HD (1080p) resolution extremely well, even with all settings maxed out. Performance in 1440p is also great, averaging 76 FPS in Battlefield 4 with Ultra settings. In Metro Last Light and Very High settings, the R9 390 reaches an average framerate of 53 FPS.
Comment

Pro
 Lots of video memory

The R9 390 has 8 gigabyte of video memory, which is great for memory- and resource-heavy games such as Star Wars: Battlefront.
Comment

Con
 Previous generation chip

The GTX 960 chip has been around for a while, and both NVIDIA and AMD are introducing new mid-range graphics cards in the remainder of 2016. It's only a matter of time before a new graphics card debuts with increased performance and the same price tag, such as the RX 480 by AMD.
Comment

Con
 Is outperformed by the RX 470

Although NVIDIA has announced the succesor of the GTX 960 in the form of the more powerful GTX 1060, the price point of the older 960 remains over a hundred dollars lower. This puts the GTX 960 in direct competition with AMD's new RX 470 graphics card which is available for a slightly higher price but offers consistently better performance.
Comment

Con
 Lack of async support

Comment

Con
 Poor price / performance

Comment

Pro
 Excellent overclocking potential

Overclocking allows you to increase the clock speeds of your GPU for increased performance. The GTX 960 chip overclocks very well and overclock results of over 15% aren't uncommon. In this case, both the GPU base clock and memory have been overlocked 18%, which also results in a 18.3% better performance in Battlefield 3 (73.9 FPS vs 87.4 FPS).
Comment

Pro
 Ideal for 1080p gaming

The GTX 960 holds up well in gaming benchmarks with a 1080p resolution and all games are perfectly playable. Some of the more recent titles may require you to to use medium settings, but overall 1080p performance is great. For example, Metro Last Light runs at an average of 56.1 frames per second with maximum details. Average FPS in Alien Isolation is 89.5 FPS in 1080p, and it also performs well in 1440p with an average 56.7 frames per second. Similar results can be seen in Bioshock Infinite with 90 average FPS in 1080p and 54.1 FPS in 1440p. In Battlefield 4, a result of 48.8 FPS is reached in 1080p with 4x AA enabled.
Comment

Pro
 Low power consumption

The GeForce GTX 960 requires a single 6-pin PCIe power connector and is decently energy efficient. In non-gaming situations, maximum consumption for an entire system is measured at about 9 watts while the maximum power usage during full load is 140 watts. For comparison, the GTX 760 consumes 167 watts during full load - 21% more.
Comment

Pro
 Excellent factory overclock

The standard base clock for a GTX 960 is 1127 MHz, but XFX has factory overclocked the GTX 960 to 1304 MHz, which is a 16% increase.
Comment

Pro
 Very silent operation

The fans of the EVGA ACX 2.0 cooler won't spin until a temperature of 63 degrees Celsius is reached, which results in an inaudible graphics card in idle situations. During load, the fan speed will reach a maximum of 31% which is experienced as silent.
Comment

Con
 Memory hasn't been overclocked

Despite the GPU clock boost provided by the FTW GAMING Edition, EVGA has decided not to overclock the memory of the graphics card. This is a missed opportunity to further increase performance.
Comment
undefinedurl nextprice drop