Rumors have been swirling online about this for ages; at this point, it’s practically a legend. Word is we might see movement by the end of this week (at least here in the US), and if not, then definitely sometime next week in Europe.
The GTX 1060 is going to set you back about $2500-$1000. Honestly, if your budget is closer to the $1500-$667 range, I’d definitely suggest waiting a week or two for a custom RX 470 or a 4GB RX 480. Let's be real: in that specific price bracket, all you can really grab from Nvidia is a GTX 960.
That said, Gainward is actually killing it this year click, click, but I wouldn't stress too much over brands—just keep an eye on the local prices and deals once they drop here in the States.
Gregory Miller said:I’m looking for a quick rundown on the current GPU landscape. I haven't really kept up with the latest tech since the days of the GeForce 6800, so I'm pretty out of the loop regarding the US tech scene. It seems like there’s a lot of talk here about AMD—does that mean they’ve actually overtaken Nvidia and are making better cards now? A decade ago, AMD had a bit of a reputation for buggy drivers that would crash constantly... personally, I always stuck with Nvidia because they were reliable.
I built a new rig about two years ago (Intel i5-4440, 8 GB RAM, XFX 480W PSU), but I didn't include a dedicated graphics card because I just didn't have the time for gaming. That might change soon, though. I assume a mid-range card would be the sweet spot to run modern titles smoothly at full HD on high settings for the next few years...
I’m also not sure what the deal is with DirectX 12 cards, how pricing looks, or how things are shifting toward 4K resolution... so, if anyone could provide a brief guideline... it's not an urgent purchase. If there's a "best buy" coming later this year or next, I can wait.🙂
Most discussions here revolve around finding something within a specific budget. If we're talking mainstream options (under $667?), AMD is set to release several new models in the $900/$333 to $2400/$833 range soon. Nvidia is also dropping a new $2500-$3000 card shortly.
Basically, AMD has significantly improved their driver situation (especially over the last two years) and they're releasing updates much more frequently now—at least once a month. Regarding the Nvidia vs ATI debate, AMD has been trailing behind Nvidia lately in terms of power efficiency, while Nvidia lags behind in DirectX 12 performance (and potentially Vulkan, though we'll have to see). There are other minor technical advantages on both sides, but those are the most significant differences.
Speaking of which, Tomb Raider (which uses Nvidia GameWorks) just received another DirectX 12 patch that implemented async compute and possibly other features click. On a 4K Very High setting, for example, a 980Ti loses about 4% performance with this patch, whereas the AMD equivalent (Fury X) actually gains over 18%. That single patch creates a massive 22%+ swing in their relative performance ratio.
Check out today's Vulkan patch for Doom here: click
Look, if you aren't interested in a dual-core Pentium paired with Intel HD Graphics 530, then just go all out and grab an i3-6100 along with a motherboard featuring HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 (you can find all those options in the links fadedorca66 provided). Honestly, I don't think you need anything more than that. Just keep in mind that the CPU isn't going to be doing the heavy lifting here; the integrated graphics will be handling the actual workload.
A Radeon HD 7970 and a Dell desktop are two things that just don't belong together. First off, the physical size—it’s not a low-profile card. But even if you tried to force it into a small ITX case, there's really no point in putting a former high-end monster with a 250W TDP inside a machine like that. Honestly, you should just sell it.
Regarding the configuration, drop a link to whatever shop you're looking at over in the States, and let me know what your budget is. Also, are you specifically looking for HEVC support?
E3 1231v3 B85M pro3 or go for the premium route if you want room for future M.2 SSD upgrades via an ASUS H97M-E (there is plenty of middle ground between those two price points, such as the ASrock B85 or H97 Anniversary series)
If you opt for the budget motherboard, you can grab that Asus Z170-P D3 LC Power CPU cooler LC-CC-120; otherwise, keep in mind this Xeon runs cooler than its i7 counterparts
Ten bays is just ridiculous; I can't even think of a single case off the top of my head that holds that many drives. You’d probably need a specialized server chassis or a workstation build for that kind of setup. Honestly, it might be easier to just grab higher-capacity HDDs instead.
Ultra EDIT
Amazon actually helped someone out the other day by sourcing a w200, check it out here
Look, a "best buy" isn't some universal label; it really depends on your specific budget and what you actually need to do. For instance, you could call a Celeron a "best buy" if you're looking to spend just $250-$100, but then again, an i7 5820k at over $500 could be a total steal depending on your setup.
It looks like we should be aiming for true 4GB models if you can even track them down. From what I can gather, most of these are actually 8GB cards with 4GB of the memory disabled—essentially 8GB units that have been BIOS-locked to lower capacities (I'll dive deeper into that in our hardware news segment).
Real 4GB versions probably don't even exist on the market yet.
They’ve switched up their OEMs. These guys don't actually manufacture much themselves; they’re essentially just a brand slapping a logo on someone else's hardware. It used to be that Seasonic handled their power supplies—and by most accounts, they were top-tier. Nowadays, they outsource to mid-range manufacturers like CWT, Chicony, or Great Wall. Don't get me wrong, their high-end stuff is solid, but these budget lines like the VS series—which is a lower tier than they ever offered before—are just cheap Chinese knockoffs. They aren't total junk, mind you, but there are definitely worse out there. Bottom line: your current power supply has absolutely nothing in common with modern Corsair units; it's much more comparable to an old-school Seasonic build.
Prices have dropped for the graphics cards sitting in the same bracket as these new models. Up until recently, you could snag an MSI gaming GTX 980Ti for $1267 because of the arrival of the GTX 1070 and 1080. These won't have any impact on the budget-friendly models.
frozengull44 said:Since I also decided to pass on the GTX 960 and wait for these RX cards, I wanted to ask what I should pick up for under $200 if I have the option to buy from Germany. Also, this might be a trivial question for you guys, but what exactly is a "non-reference" card? Which one should I get, and how do I spot them?
If you need to pull the trigger right now in Germany, the best value you can squeeze out of $200 is an R9 380X. I see this specific Strix model available at this shop for that price point:
Ethan Campbell81 said:I was just browsing around and realized that a Gigabyte R9 390 8GB is only about 90 cents—not dollars, cents—more expensive than an NVIDIA GTX 1070: https://www.computeruniverse.net/en/...-g1-gaming.asp
There's one major difference, at least in my book: the R9 390 features a 512-bit bus, whereas this NVIDIA GTX 1070 is only 256-bit. While the core clock on the NVIDIA GTX 1070 is slightly higher than the R9 390, the R9 still holds that advantage with the 512-bit interface, which explains why the prices are so close. The only other thing is power consumption; I noticed the R9 is a total power hog, but that isn't really an issue for me since it's easily handled by a solid 650W power supply.
Looking at some benchmarks, I see that this R9 390X (factory overclocked) actually beats out the NVIDIA GTX 1070 in certain areas...
So, should I stick with the NVIDIA GTX 1070, or should I go with a proven performer? A friend of mine owns this R9 390X and he’s incredibly happy with it, so maybe I should grab the R9 390X instead.
Keep in mind that the 390 and the 390X aren't identical cards, and that Gigabyte model likely has the weakest cooler in the entire series.
I honestly think this could be a smarter buy than a custom GTX 1060 right now. My only concern is that by tomorrow, the link will probably just say "out of stock."
wiredotter14 said:The RX 470 was officially slated for a simultaneous release, but my guess is we won't even see a standard AMD version; instead, it'll go straight to custom coolers.
It’s pretty straightforward. After all, they presented it completely bare—just the chip without any cooler attached.
wiredotter14 said:If you're seeing an NVIDIA GTX 1070 priced at around $250 where you shop, then you can expect that RX 470 to sit somewhere in the $175 to $185 range. At that price point, it's definitely going to outperform the R9 380X. Bottom line: picking up the R9 380X just isn't worth the money.
It’s even less than that. The MSRP for the RX 470 was set at $149. Over in the States, people actually respect the MSRP for the 480. Now, the big question remains: when will prices around here finally settle back down to normal?
We still don't know what the custom models will go for, but the current prices look incredibly promising. It’s just a matter of waiting for them to reach our local importers and retailers. Honestly, with the way taxes work here, this 8GB model from the site should basically cost $613 in the US