Best model of R9 280X?

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mrfungi

mrfungi

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Jun 3, 2015
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It has been recommended that I should upgrade my Graphics card to a R9 280x and I'm torn between the XFX and Sapphire models at the moment, but I'm also looking at the MSI model. Sapphire Vapor-X (priced around £210) is out of my end of the budget (budget@£180) but if it's the better model I might try and convince my lady that we don't go to bingo for a week or two 😉

I'm wondering if one has the edge over the other.

Which model of the R9 280x would you recommend? Or would you recommend something else altogether?

Specs -

PSU - Corsair CSM650w
GPU - Sapphire R7 260x
CPU - i5 4690k 4.1ghz /w coolermaster hyper 212 evo
RAM - 8gb Ripjaw DDR3 @1600mhz
HD - Samsung 250gb SSD
Case - Aerocool X-Warrior

 
Solution
G
The double dissapation version is pretty nice yes, it costs £180 @ CCL and is a little better than the MSI.
You won't really see a difference in actual gameplay but it's up to you.
The R9 300 series will be getting released on the 16th, so it's worth waiting to see how it goes.
I doubt the Nvidia cards will drop in price, GTX 970s are pretty much £250 right now.
I saw the Palit GTX 970 Jetstream on sale for £247 @CCL.
I would have bought it myself if I didn't buy the Zotac a few weeks ago (although I got a very good deal anyways).
I could imagine the R9 200 series dropping a bit.

If your budget can extend to a 970, you should definetely go for that.
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No the Vapor-X then! The XFX model seems alright and has decent reviews as well http://

I've got around a week or two to go before I buy it yet. I've heard the R9 300 series might drive some Nvidia cards down in price so will see what happens
 
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The double dissapation version is pretty nice yes, it costs £180 @ CCL and is a little better than the MSI.
You won't really see a difference in actual gameplay but it's up to you.
The R9 300 series will be getting released on the 16th, so it's worth waiting to see how it goes.
I doubt the Nvidia cards will drop in price, GTX 970s are pretty much £250 right now.
I saw the Palit GTX 970 Jetstream on sale for £247 @CCL.
I would have bought it myself if I didn't buy the Zotac a few weeks ago (although I got a very good deal anyways).
I could imagine the R9 200 series dropping a bit.

If your budget can extend to a 970, you should definetely go for that.
 
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Solution
The ASUS and MSI models of the R9 280X are the two you want to stay a distance away from. Both of them had sub-par cooling performance - at least for the VRM. MSI released a BIOS update that ramped up the fan speed to help the problem, but it still can be an issue. Sapphire's Vapor-X model is good - as long it is one of the models that has three-fans. There are three different models of the Vapor-X R9 280X: "standard with boost" ; "overclock" ; and "overclock with boost." The "overclock" model has "only" two fans, compared to the others' three, so it does not seem to perform as well as competitors brands - although it still does the trick handedly enough. The other two models with three fans work quite well.

The Sapphire R9 280X Toxic edition is the best out-of-the-box R9 280X, and it is essentially a higher binned chip with a custom PCB that utilizes the Vapor-X cooling solution. But it costs the most, and is probably out of your budget.

HiS (Hightech Information System) and XFX have the best aftermarket cooling solutions for cooling the R9 280X, other than the Vapor-X models. So, take a look at the HIS models, to see if you can find it for a cheaper cost.

This is if you're set on buying an R9 280X. It may be worth it to wait for the R9 3XX series, which is just a hop and skip away.
 
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^ you're going by reviews rather than experience - that's a flawed outlook.
Compare the fan speeds & noise under load - the his wins only because its fan profile at stock ramps up to near 60%.
The Asus has the lowest fane speed profile (maxrs out at 35%) still maintains excellent temps & the lowest noise levels .
No one sensible runs stock fan profiles on an amd card . at 50% fan speed the Asus owns all those cards apart from the windforce.
 
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You're assuming that I am not taking my own experience into account. If I were to present my experiences, without proof, I am just providing subjective evidence. (In other words, an opinion, or testimony.) With the reviews linked are to provide objective evidence; anyone can go and look at it, and see the numbers. If you want me to waste a half-hour of my time and post an image of my XFX Black Edition R9 280X topping out at, I think, roughly 60C, I will, but it was easier for me to spend a couple minutes finding reviews. (My HIS R9 280X I have sold off, so I can not obtain proof there.)

The HIS fans may be running 600 RPM faster, but the decibel difference is still less than one. (Also, I do believe the HIS has smaller fans.) I, personally, had no issues running a stock fan profile. I'm sure there are plenty of other people who don't mind running stock profiles.

If you wish to post your own evidence from the plethora of cards you have used, or own, I welcome it. (Be sure to include VRM temperatures.) I'll update my database, and perhaps we can set a standard for reviewing cards.

As an afterthought, though, I might actually be mistaken about the ASUS cooler. Was it the R9 280X, or the R9 290X that they used a repurposed cooling solution? Either way, I remember that the GPU cooling was acceptable, but VRM cooling left something to be desired.

EDIT - Gnarly temps for the R9 290X ( http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-290-and-290x,3728-6.html ) can't seem to find VRM temperatuer for the Asus R9 280X, offhand.
 
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^ Pre production model which never made retail - the whole system was redesigned from scratch when review samples were returned.
Hence the black shroud on the review model & the totally different red/black shroud & backplate on retail stock.

Not going into a debate about models ,they are all generally on a par apart from reference models & some of the premium triple fan ones.
The preset fan profiles make far more difference to temps & noise than anything else.
You did state to stay away from the asus 280x though when its easily a top 5 model & one of the current best buys & that was an unfounded statement to make IMO.

& yes I agree HIS cards are probably the best performer but they're expensive & in very short supply.
 
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Cheers! Like I said, it'll be about 2 weeks before I buy a new card so hopefully there'll be some change in prices when the r9 300 series comes along. I am a bit conflicted when it comes to the GTX 970 and R9 280x. On one hand, the GTX 970 has 4gb ram @ 256bit yet the R9 280x has 3gb @ 384bit. I would've thought the higher bit rate would be better, regardless of the 1gb drop in the r9 280x to the GTX 970. But from what I've read the GTX 970 is superior due to other factors. I am thinking of the future as well and would like this card to last me a good two years before I think of replacing it.

But yea, two weeks, and I'll see where I'm at!
 
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The bigger memory interface doesn't give it an edge over the GTX 970.
The GTX 970 is a better performer and consumes a lot less power.
The memory interface is not as important as actual performance.
My personal preference for Nvidia is because of the energy efficiency and you can't go wrong with a GTX 970 for 1080p gaming.
 
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