Choosing Graphics Card

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Thanks for your responses! I am considering between GTX 1060 6GB and rx 480 8GB now. Leaning to invidia. I should have listed the specs of my PC.
Intel i5-2400 quad core 3.1ghz 2nd gen
8gb RAM DDR3
500GB HDD
Win 10
Motherboard : MSI H61MA-E35(B3)

I'm wondering if it is worth spending so much, though. RX 460 4GB is half the price of the aforementioned ones and could probably provide a decent experience, I guess?

If you can swing it, I highly recommend getting a SSD. For MMOs especially, you'll significantly increase load time speeds. It's not mandatory by any means though. Just thought I'd mention it.

As for the card, RX 460 will struggle with higher settings even at 1080p while the GTX 1060 can handle near max without difficulty. So that's your choice there, really. I would stick with the 1060 since it'll future proof you better.

[Rinari]

If you can swing it, I highly recommend getting a SSD. For MMOs especially, you'll significantly increase load times. It's not mandatory by any means though. Just thought I'd mention it.

As for the card, RX 460 will struggle with higher settings even at 1080p while the GTX 1060 can handle near max without difficulty. So that's your choice there, really. I would stick with the 1060 since it'll future proof you better.

Good call on SSD. It is the part that will make the most difference for most people! I barely see load screens. A lot of the chugging people blame CPU for is actually HD->GPU texture loading, which is much faster with SSD. A decent 500gb SSD is around $150 now. A cheaper card (like RX 460) with an upgrade to SSD will provide a better overall experience. Upgrading to SSD is kindof involved though... drive cloning and all.

I can say 1060 GTX is overkill for running FFXIV max at 1080 (what I do) and probably 1440 as well (gotta get new screen to try it). FFXIV isn't exactly pushing the limit graphically. Of course, if you're upgrading GPU, you want it to run well for games that come out a year or two from now, not just some years old MMO.

One thing to consider with Nvidia is that they loan out engineers to big name games to make sure those games get optimized for Nvidia. In a way, it's a shady practice, but it does result in a lot of the more popular games simply running better on Nvidia cards with all else being equal. I don't know if FFXIV did that, but I wouldn't be surprised. Sometimes Nvidia even gets bonus features (like Witcher 3 hair effects). Also if you're thinking of getting VR gear soon, Nvidia is better prepared for that.