Typically GPU's get released every 2 years, not always, but mostly from what I've seen and read. Those of you who are long time GPU owners, when is the best time to upgrade a GPU and sell on the existing GPU theat gets you a good deal on both sales?
There is never really a good time to buy any computer hardware, as something is always lurking around the corner. I upgrade when I need to usually (like when my games won't run very well or a big game comes out that cripples my GPU) and I usually buy last gen that I find in clearances etc.
Is it true that Nvidia GPU's don't receive proper support beyond 2 years and are AMD better in this regard? With that in mind, is 2 years after any initial GPU release, before any newer GPUs are released around the time, the best window to sell any current GPU?
No. Both have roughly the same support lifetime (in terms of driver updates. e.g. the GTX 4x0 series is still supported in the latest drivers, and is 6 years old!), and both have roughly the same tail-off in increases in performance from driver upgrades as vendors run out of things to optimise for each architecture (and newer games take advantages of features not present in older architectures). Neither will reduce in performance over time, despite what clickbaity articles will try and claim.
Okay, with that in mind, what GPU to consider for the next 2 years? Currently have i5-4440, 8GB ram and 1080p/60fps monitor. So am I right in thinking 1060 or RX 480? If so, benefits of each one?
1060 & rx 480 are pretty close in terms of performance, with the 1060 winning benchmarks for DX 11 games & the r 480 for DX 12 ones. Whichever you choose it will be more than enough for 1080p. 1060 has 3 gb & 6 gb variants, while the rx 480 has 4 gb & 8gb ones. Nvidia cards tend to run cooler & use less power, although the rx 480 is an improvement on AMD's side - had a sapphire rx 480 8 gb for a couple of weeks and i could keep it under 70 degrees with fans running constantly at 30%. Look for the brand you like / trust and then at prices you find, because in terms of performance at 1080p you can't go wrong with either of the 2 cards.
From my own experience, I tend to prefer MSI due to larger fans, slower rpm and quieter cooling. But the MSI gaming versions from both AMD and Nvidia are priced a little high and stock is scarce at the moment in the UK. I can afford to wait a couple of months, so black friday and future releases might help out on that front. Was tempted by the 1070, but high prices (especially relative to performance) and the micron memory issue killed any wild dreams I had of getting that. The extra money can be better spent on something else I think.
