R9 280X vs R9 380

[BuddiLuva]

Hi Guys,

About to put in a purchase for a GPU.

It's either the MSI R9 280X 3GB or the MSI R9 380 4GB

Which is the better GPU, is there much difference in the two?

 

[senseijtitus]

As the latest in the line, R9 380 would be more advanced and should perform well. But it is just released and yet to be tried out in different games with different settings. R9 280X on the other hand, is a tried and proven card. I would say better choice for now would be R9 280x.

 

[-Fran-]

Yes, although the R9 380 is a rebrand, it uses a newer GCN GPU than the 280X, which in turn is a re-branded 7970 Ghz. The R9 380 uses the GPU found inside the R9 285.

I would recommend going for the R9 380 4GB because of 2 reasons: 1.- the bigger amount of RAM will come in handy down the road with new games and higher resolutions, plus it does have additional tweaks that the 280X doesn't have, and 2.- is because you have FreeSync and the Audio thingy as bonuses. Performance wise, the 280X should edge out the 380 in some scenarios, but in an overall picture, the 380 should be the better buy IMO.

If price is a concern and the "other features" are not an interesting point for you, just get the cheaper option. Both will do a good job.

Cheers!