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Sapphire or XFX?

M

Mosie100

Limp Gawd
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Jan 4, 2010
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367
I'm looking at upgrading my graphic card.

Either the Sapphire Nitro Radeon R9 380 $194.99

Or the XFX Radeon R9 280X $189.99

I currently have a sapphire radeon hd 7870 which has served me very well.
I've got a mid tower so space is pretty limited...
I have an 850 W power supply.
Use an Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz Processor
Trying to get some better performance for SW Battlefront
I typically run my games at 1680x1050.
Hoping to spend less than $200.

Anyone have any thoughts ?
Thanks so much!
 
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380 Has 1GB more RAM and supports FreeSync and the new Bridgeless Crossfire. I'd get that, performance is similar.
 
The R9 280X is overall faster than the R9 380.. so for those choices I would pick the 280X..

however at this point I would not buy any of those cards, are you really tight and tied to that budget? if you want a better advice, look for a R9 290X which are under 300$, If you want also higher performance at that resolution I would consider green team GTX 970 which can be also found just below 300$.. but again if you are tied to about 200$ 280X is the choice.
 
Tough choice, the R9 290x is the better choice obviously. I run 280x cards and would suggest the 380 instead for the additional 1GB and Freesync support if you plan on a Freesync monitor, it's worth it. Performance should be similar, maybe slightly less performance than a 280x. If Freesync is something you are considering then the 380 is the better choice.
 
Thank you for all of your replies.

So it seems that the 380 is the better choice since it has 1GB more and has freesync.
I don't have a freesync monitor (just a nice BenQ monitor).

But the 280X is faster? How much of a difference will the 1 GB make?

Also -- this card would be stretching my budget but would it make that much of a difference? ---- Sapphire Radion R9 290 for $239
 
the 290 will be REALLLY fast as compared to a 280x or 380.
If you can afford that, look no further.

make sure you got a power supply of atleast 500-600w because that card is power hungry.
 
Mayberg said:
Thank you for all of your replies.

So it seems that the 380 is the better choice since it has 1GB more and has freesync.
I don't have a freesync monitor (just a nice BenQ monitor).

But the 280X is faster? How much of a difference will the 1 GB make?

Also -- this card would be stretching my budget but would it make that much of a difference? ---- Sapphire Radion R9 290 for $239
Click to expand...

At the 380 performance level, the extra 1GB doesn't do much honestly by itself as the card will run out of horsepower before running out of VRAM. However if down the line you as a second one, then in Crossfire yes you will have enough GPU power to use that extra 1GB.

As for the speed difference, it will depend on the game. Generally the larger bus on the 7970/280x can push through more performance overall even with the 380's compression techniques, expect maybe in tessellation heavy games (which you can use the tessellation slider in catalyst to regulate it). For me the Freesync support and newer GCN architecture is why I would choose it.

Definitely the 290 if you can though!
 
why people say the 380 support freesync and the 280 not?.. Freesync is supported for GCN 1.0 onward so all HD7000 R7 and R9 support freesync. so 280X support FreeSync.
 
I think that card is a good choice compared to the older cards....the stock cooler on the other hand...they say its loud and not overly efficient at keeping the card cool. I think its a great choice if maybe getting a aio water cooler one day...Personally video card fan noise doesn't bother me, but drives some people mad
 
For the price, I'm very pleased with my Sapphire Nitro R9 380 4GB!

Your x4 955 and my i5 750 are very similiar performance-wise.

I think it'll definitely give you the performance boost you're looking for!
 
I'd get the sapphire, but only because I like the design better.
 
BIG news: the Sapphire Radeon R9 290 is now $199 with mail-in rebate.

I'm choosing between the Sapphire R9 290 or the Sapphire R9 380 ($189.99 with MIR)

I can't decide and looking to make a big purchase today. I was also checking out a couple of websites that analyze them both seem to recommend the R9 290. Here's the first and here's the second

My main concern is whether my processor is better suited for the R9 380 or the R9 290 (I have an Intel Core i5-3450 3.1GHz Processor)
My PSU is fine... Would I be right in saying that overall and by far and large the R9 290 is more powerful and an overall faster GPU and the R9 380 is similar in performance but ultimately is just not as powerful?
Also I'd have to buy a DVI-D cord for the input to the R9 290, I only have a DVI-I cord.

I don't plan on ever using two monitors or overclocking, I'll just be putting the card into my desktop and rocking it from there.
Thanks again for your help!
 
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and your CPU should have no problem pushing that 290

the only thing extra you get with the 380 is better tess performance and 4kVSR, but the raw performance increase of the 290 more than makes up for that.
 
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can't go wrong with a 199$ 290.
fucking amazing price for the horsepower it has
 
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