Video card suggestion for WoW @1080P (ultra)

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by entropism, Feb 25, 2017.

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What would you choose?

  1. RX 480 4GB

    5 vote(s)
    15.2%
  2. RX 480 8GB

    8 vote(s)
    24.2%
  3. 1060 3GB

    5 vote(s)
    15.2%
  4. 1060 6GB

    15 vote(s)
    45.5%
  1. entropism

    entropism Member

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    First off, I'm not sure if this post is in the right section, so I apologise if it needs to be moved/deleted/reposted, etc.

    That being said...

    OK, so I need to upgrade my video card, and I basically have only one game that I play with any frequency, and that's (sadly) WoW. I don't see myself playing anything else in the near future, so my main concern is to get this game running at 1080P, with as close to the highest details possible.

    Eventually I might upgrade to 1440, but that's at least a year off.

    Right now I'm considering an RX 480, a 3GB 1060, and a 6GB 1060 which is probably overkill but would do better with the 1440.

    I have the chance to get an MSI Armor OC RX 480 4GB for $170, a Gigabyte G1 RX 480 8GB for $180, an MSI GamerX 1060 3GB for about $180, or a Zotac Amp! 1060 6GB for about $225

    My priorities are:

    - As quiet as possible
    - Keeping framerates/effects up during raids in WoW
    - As cheap as I can get away with
    - As reliable as possible, since I keep my cards for a while.

    My last 2 cards were an 8800GT, and a GTX 570, so that gives you an idea of how often I upgrade.

    For full disclosure, I'm running a 3570K @4Ghz, a 650w EVGA G2 PSU and 16GB of ram. So you know if I'll be bottlenecked or not (I don't believe I will)

    Thanks for the help!
     
  2. Darkest

    Darkest Guest

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    GPU:
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    WoW is more CPU dependent. If you're struggling to maintain high FPS in raid environments with high details, you're not going to see a massive improvement even with a newer GPU. Try clocking your CPU a little higher and see if there's any improvement, that CPU should be able to hit 4.4-4.6 easily.

    As far as the difference a GPU does make in the game, most Blizzard games tend to prefer Nv hardware. That said, at the level of GPU you're looking at it's not going to matter much either way.
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2017
  3. entropism

    entropism Member

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    I definitely agree it's a bit low on the OC, I did it mainly to keep temps down and the noise low. I'll bump the voltage to 1.25 and see what I can do.

    That being said, while the game is definitely CPU intensive, the latest expansion put a lot more stress on the video card as well.
     
  4. Undying

    Undying Ancient Guru

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    Generally, nvidia cards tend to perform better in Blizzard games. If you dont see yourself playing anything else 1060 is the the way to go.

    As for CPU, 3570k 4.5ghz is more than enough even for a such a CPU heavy game.
     

  5. Darkest

    Darkest Guest

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    The 3gb 1060 would be more than ample for your needs in honesty, if you do notice a decent difference from cranking the CPU up a little you could always spend the savings on a better HSF so you don't have to deal with noise.
     

  6. sykozis

    sykozis Ancient Guru

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    GTX1060 6GB should manage 1080p@Ultra... I'd be surprised if a 3GB 1060 could though.

    Ideally...an i7 at 4.5ghz or higher is best for running WoW on Ultra.... I've considered picking up a 1 month sub card to see if my system can still do it. I know my 2600K@4.5ghz with HT enabled and a GTX970 struggled a bit in raids on Ultra. Higher details are not always best in raids.

    WoW is not quite as CPU dependent as it used to be. Blizzard has improved on that quite a bit over the years. It is still more CPU dependent than it should be though.
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2017
  7. entropism

    entropism Member

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    Right now the difference between the 3gb (MSI Gamer X) and Zotac 6GB Amp! is $175 vs $225. I was thinking about going for the 6gb simply for when I (eventually) swap to 1440.
     
  8. Agent-A01

    Agent-A01 Ancient Guru

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    6GB would be perfect for 1440P, 3gb can be cutting it pretty close in many games.
     
  9. entropism

    entropism Member

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    World of Warcraft. That's it. It's the only game I've bothered playing in years, aside from the very seldom/occasional Diablo 3 or Heroes of the Storm.

    MAYBE once in a blue moon I'll play a Dragon Age type game, but it's so rare I'd never base a purchase around it.
     
  10. entropism

    entropism Member

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    Geryboy, that first video sums it up pretty nicely for me. 1080P, every setting at max (including 4x SSAA and 200% render scale), and despite it being in spanish, showed him in a raid with his settings at max.

    Like you said, max was about 2.5GB, average was under 2. That being said, if I ever want to do 1440...
     
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2017
  11. entropism

    entropism Member

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    Yeah, for sure. Plus the 200% UI render, which renders it at 4K and then downscales it to 1080P. Seems superfluous to me.

    Can anyone comment on the Zotac Amp! 6gb 1060? I can get it for about $225, but hearing reports the build quality and heat leave a lot to be desired.

    On the other hand I can pick up a Gigabyte G1 RX480 8GB for $180, then sell the copy of Doom that comes with it.
     
  12. Darkest

    Darkest Guest

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    Given the price difference I think I'd go for the 480 in all honesty, sure the 1060 will perform better in Blizzard games, but with the level of GPU you're looking at it isn't going to be realistically noticeable.
     
  13. Undying

    Undying Ancient Guru

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    Buying a 1060 3gb instead of rx480 8gb for the same price is just silly. I know WoW runs better on nvidia bla,bla... but that should be recommended by no one.

    Even for WoW that card should be more than sufficient and one day know hows, you'll end up playing something else with a much better card. ;)
     
  14. entropism

    entropism Member

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    OK, so this is what I have available to me right now:

    Powercolor Red Devil 8GB for $210 locally

    MSI Armor OC 8GB for $210 shipped (with a $30 rebate I doubt will ever ship out)

    MSI Gamer X 8GB for $230 shipped. (with a $20 rebate I doubt will ever ship out)

    I can also do a Sapphire 8GB Nitro for $200 locally, but I heard those were loud and ran hot.


    I can also do a 6GB Gamer X 1060 for $245 shipped.

    Any thoughts? (Yes, I know I'm overthinking this)
     
  15. Truder

    Truder Ancient Guru

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    As far as I know the XFX GTR and the Sapphire Nitro are the best cards to go for, are there any XFX cards available?
     
  16. entropism

    entropism Member

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    This XFX can be had for about $225 -

    www xfxforce com/en-us/products/amd-radeon-rx-400-series/rx-480-gtr-8gb-dd-led-rx-480p8dfa6 (I can't post links)

    Again, cool & quiet are my main goals.
     

  17. Agent-A01

    Agent-A01 Ancient Guru

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    The gamer X 6gb will be the quietest/coolest of those listed.
    RX480 uses close to 40% more power than the 1060, not that in itself matters but added power consumption means more heat and noise.
    Gamer x of the 480s would likely be the best.

    Up to you what you want to spend.
    They are similar enough that it won't really matter but WoW being CPU bound, 1060 will be a bit better in those situations by 10-20% due to driver overhead.
     
  18. Dch48

    Dch48 Guest

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    I also play WoW a lot but not exclusively. With a good CPU, the RX 470 4 GB would fit the bill. I can't run ultra with my CPU but I'm sure I could with an i7 or high end i5. I'm also sure the Ryzen 6 and 8 core chips will be sufficient.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2017
  19. entropism

    entropism Member

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    A - I'm not changing my CPU (which would also require a new MB and ram)

    B - The difference between the 4GB 470 and 8GB 480 is about $20. I'll spend the extra to futureproof myself a bit.
     
  20. Darkest

    Darkest Guest

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    Your CPU is still solid anyway, the only thing I'd do would be to try and get a little more of an OC out of it. Mine has been running at 4.4ghz almost since I bought it, and my temps/noise levels have been just fine. I'm using a True Spirit 140 currently, not the best or worst by any means, but you can get a similar performing HSF for fairly cheap now.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2017
  21. Dch48

    Dch48 Guest

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    I didn't say you would have to change your CPU. Yours is good enough. You're right about the prices though. They have gotten much closer lately. I seriously doubt that WoW will ever require 8gb of video memory though.
     

  22. entropism

    entropism Member

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    Sorry, I should update my specs. Last week, I've bumped it up to 4.3Ghz, at 1.25v. I tried at 4.5, but while gaming, my GPU was at 85c, CPU was probably running hot as well, and the computer shut down. I'm hoping off on pushing the OC higher until I have a cooler card in the system.
     
  23. Truder

    Truder Ancient Guru

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    Yeah go for the XFX GTR, that's one of the best 480 boards for overclocking too and has the nice feature that the fans are removeable so makes for easy cleaning.

    The difficulty is though, with WoW, it's all about the CPU power, you can pretty much run any card on that game for it's max details, it all depends on the CPU horsepower (but you're fine in that regard) - Now it's true that driver overhead, particularly in DX11, nVidia is better but, that gap has been closed significantly as of late and I'd go as far as to say, the 480 has better futureproofing - what with better DX12 performance (though again this probably just showcases the difference in driver optimisation).

    Eitherway though, 480 8GB or 1060 6GB, you can't go wrong with either.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWASNajSdpg

    That should give you an idea of the XFX GTR
     
  24. Dch48

    Dch48 Guest

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    I would go with the 4gb RX 480 if all you plan on playing is WoW. Maybe the 480 is different but my 470 runs very quietly, never exceeds 65C, and never uses more than 90W of power in any game.

    In Legion, WoW has gotten more GPU dependent. My card gets worked harder in WoW than it does in Forza:Horizon 3.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2017
  25. entropism

    entropism Member

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    Dch, someone on the MMO-champion forums ran a test for me using the settings I wanted, during raids. At 1080P, the card maxed out at around 2.5GB of ram used, but at 1440 it goes up a LOT. Considering I hardly ever upgrade, and how each expansion gets more and more graphics intensive, I figure the 480 8GB will keep me going for a while.

    I ended up snagging the XFX GTR 8GB for $221 shipped. Hopefully I get lucky with the binning.
     
  26. airbud7

    airbud7 Guest

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    pny gtx 1060 xlr8
    That^ is a big upgrade from a 570/ fair price too...enjoy OP/ you will like the 480.
     

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