Question about the Sapphire R9 280X

[prosmurf]

So I'm thinking of buying the 280X for the system I'll be building soon, but after doing more and more research I noticed that a lot of those cards have artifact issues and other problems, are those problems now fixed with the newest drivers or should I stay away from those cards?

Because I don't really want to pay 250€ for a card that doesn't work properly and that I'll have to replace after a week of use.

The R280 I want is the Sapphire Vapor-X R9-280X 3GB TRI-X OC, which apparently has a very good cooler. ( And seems to be reasonably priced for such a card )

 

[random5]

Well you could go for marginally newer R9 285 I guess?

 

[prosmurf]

Thing is this whole artifact thing seems to be the issue on almost every R2XX, so did the newest drivers fix it or are half of the cards still problematic?

 

[random5]

Thing is this whole artifact thing seems to be the issue on almost every R2XX, so did the newest drivers fix it or are half of the cards still problematic?

Haven't seen any issues lately bro.

 

[prosmurf]

It also looks like it's actually weaker than the 280X

So is it safe to go with a R280X? And if yes, which one should I take, Windforce ( GIGABYTE ) or Vapor-X ( SAPPHIRE )? Or maybe MSI?

 

[random5]

Personally I am never suggesting tech-giants brands, smalled tech companies offers more for less, like Zotac,Palit,XFX.. when it comes to radeon graphics cards my choice #1 is always Powercolor, price/performance ratio is unmatched by far.

 

[prosmurf]

Unfortunately I can't find Powercolor on a reliable site in the country I live at.

Would a XFX deliver the same performance as a Gigabyte (Windforce)/Sapphire (Vapor-X)/MSI? And could you rate the best one out of those 3 in case I'd decide to go for one of them?

 

[random5]

Unfortunately I can't find Powercolor on a reliable site in the country I live at.

Would a XFX deliver the same performance as a Gigabyte (Windforce)/Sapphire (Vapor-X)/MSI? And could you rate the best one out of those 3 in case I'd decide to go for one of them?

yeah XFX is no slouch. though if you can't trust a less renown brand and considering you're willing to overclock the Graphic's card I'd go with Gigabyte's 3 cool fans setup.

 

[prosmurf]

Unfortunately I can't find Powercolor on a reliable site in the country I live at.

Would a XFX deliver the same performance as a Gigabyte (Windforce)/Sapphire (Vapor-X)/MSI? And could you rate the best one out of those 3 in case I'd decide to go for one of them?

yeah XFX is no slouch. though if you can't trust a less renown brand and considering you're willing to overclock the Graphic's card I'd go with Gigabyte's 3 cool fans setup.

I wouldn't mind getting the XFX, I noticed it's a bit cheaper too and has great reviews. I won't be OC'ing though.
So I'm guessing you'd suggest me to get the XFX instead of the Gigabyte? ( With gigabyte being the '2nd choice' )

 

[random5]

I wouldn't mind getting the XFX, I noticed it's a bit cheaper too and has great reviews. I won't be OC'ing though.
So I'm guessing you'd suggest me to get the XFX instead of the Gigabyte? ( With gigabyte being the '2nd choice' )

Exactly, though as I said when it comes to Radeon cards, PowerColor is my choice #1, just like Palit for Nvidia.

 

[ko888]

Return rates due to failure. Stats are from a large French e-retailer where 100 cards or more of each model listed has been sold between April to October of 2014.

Radeon R9 280X
- 13.85% HIS R9 280X iPower IceQ X² Boost Clock
- 11.97% ASUS Radeon R9 280X R9280X-DC2T-3GD5
- 11.31% Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Dual-X OC UEFI
- 9.35% Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X GV-R928XOC-3GD-GA
- 8.20% HIS R9 280X iPower IceQ X² Turbo Boost Clock
- 7.79% MSI R9 280X Gaming
- 7.78% Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X GV-R928XOC-3GD
- 5.68% Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Dual-X OC
- 4.80% Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Vapor-X OC
- 4.35% Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Tri-X OC

 

[prosmurf]

Return rates due to failure. Stats are from a large French e-retailer where 100 cards or more of each model listed has been sold between April to October of 2014.

Radeon R9 280X
- 13.85% HIS R9 280X iPower IceQ X² Boost Clock
- 11.97% ASUS Radeon R9 280X R9280X-DC2T-3GD5
- 11.31% Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Dual-X OC UEFI
- 9.35% Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X GV-R928XOC-3GD-GA
- 8.20% HIS R9 280X iPower IceQ X² Turbo Boost Clock
- 7.79% MSI R9 280X Gaming
- 7.78% Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X GV-R928XOC-3GD
- 5.68% Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Dual-X OC
- 4.80% Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Vapor-X OC
- 4.35% Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Tri-X OC

Can you find the failure rate of the XFX one? Since I decided to go for that one.

 

[ko888]

Return rates due to failure. Stats are from a large French e-retailer where 100 cards or more of each model listed has been sold between April to October of 2014.

Radeon R9 280X
- 13.85% HIS R9 280X iPower IceQ X² Boost Clock
- 11.97% ASUS Radeon R9 280X R9280X-DC2T-3GD5
- 11.31% Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Dual-X OC UEFI
- 9.35% Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X GV-R928XOC-3GD-GA
- 8.20% HIS R9 280X iPower IceQ X² Turbo Boost Clock
- 7.79% MSI R9 280X Gaming
- 7.78% Gigabyte Radeon R9 280X GV-R928XOC-3GD
- 5.68% Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Dual-X OC
- 4.80% Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Vapor-X OC
- 4.35% Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Tri-X OC

Can you find the failure rate of the XFX one? Since I decided to go for that one.

Brands that aren't listed would mean that specific e-retailer doesn't carry that brand or not enough cards were sold to give a meaningful statistical sampling. My guess is that they don't carry that specific brand.

You can check Newegg.com's customer feedback to get an idea of what problems and how large of a problem those cards are having:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150678

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150690