I'm currently testing a 1060 3GB rig (Samsung memory) and with a stable overclock (running over 24hours now without any crashes), pulling in 300-315sol/s per card on ZCash with EWBF's miner. Less power, less heat, and considerably faster than an equally priced RX470 4GB. Of course, ETH mining only gets around 24-25MH compared to 30MH on a 470, but if its all about the power consumption and keeping the heat down, then you can't go wrong with a 1060. I'm actually going to purchase another couple rigs with these cards. They are super easy to configure and just work. No need for BIOS mods or anything tricky.
If you compare pricing between 1060/1070/1080, you will notice that you get the best $/hash with a 1060. 1070 is more than double the price of a 1060, yet the hash rate is only around 1.5x.
Meh, dont waste your time with eth honestly.
$ per hash... yeah; but; the time to ROI also goes further back as you are populating more systems. For the frugal spender, you are absolutely correct, but when ROI is attained; you can sell them for ANY price; and make a killing on profit. This is also considering how easily you could sell a cut rate price on a 1080 or 1080ti, vs a lower model card... just like comparing resale values of titan cards.... they arent cheap yet; and several models have superseded them.
I was amazed at how well a machine with 1080's earned. That machine now pays off a video card each month. Each one paid off, is another added... you can see where this goes quickly.... I recommended the 1070 to him, but hes a "balls out" kinda guy.