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R9 290 vs. R9 270 Crossfire

I am considering two graphics card options for the near future. I am going to shortly get my ASUS R9 270 2 GB back from an RMA, and I am wondering if I should add another for crossfire, or if I should sell it once I get it back and use some spare money I have lying around to get an R9 290.

 

The main concern I have for the R9 270 crossfire is the VRAM issue. With the advent of GTA V's PC release, the increasing VRAM requirements for PC games are becoming more apparent, especially considering the amount of VRAM the current consoles have available. Even at 1080p, I'm not sure for how long 2 GB will be a viable option. Also, the amount of heat generated may be a problem. I don't particularly want to sacrifice the lovely quiet I now experience with my system at idle and the slight noise at load. I know it'd still be mostly quiet when idle, but adding 4 more fans will increase the noise slightly, even at low RPMs. Another little worry I have about fan curves is the one I have for my CPU fan. I did a stress test with Prime95 (with manual voltage, of course) and the temperatures skyrocketed to 100 C instantaneously before the fan could spin up, before stabilizing at a reasonable 70 C for all cores. It gave me a start, and while I don't experience similar things in real-world loads, it...scares me a bit. D:

 

For these reasons, under most circumstances, choosing the R9 290 is an obvious choice. However, I am not particularly inclined to try to sell an R9 270 again, as it failed, a couple weeks ago, to sell on LTT's classified section. It's just another annoyance to deal with. I'd probably have a higher chance on eBay, but still.

 

So, basically, should I deal with an annoyance in order to avoid a potential VRAM or heat issue or not? Please don't bring power consumption or crossfire scaling/support issues into the discussion, as, for the former, I am fairly confident a Corsair CX600 can power either setup, at least according to a review between the two options on this website. (I should have enough connectors too since my current R9 270 only uses one 6-pin.) The review also shows performance values that are very close. As for the scaling or support problems some moan about, it seems to me that it is generally considered a non-issue for most games, and the ones that do have problems usually don't need crossfire/SLI in the first place.

Why is the God of Hyperdeath SO...DARN...CUTE!?

 

Also, if anyone has their mind corrupted by an anthropomorphic black latex bat, please let me know. I would like to join you.

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The answer isn't so cut and dry. Not all games have (proper) Crossfire support, and therefore you may be limited to a single 270 in some titles.

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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Id get the 290 and I was in a similar situation..

 

-more vram

-possibility for xfire 290's as an upgrade

-no worries for games that dont scale well or support xfire

Personal Rig v3: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X | Noctua NH-U14S | Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro ITX | Zotac GTX 2070 8GB | 16GB G-Skill Trident DDR4 3200MHz | EVGA Supernova 750B | Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX 

Peripherals: Sennheiser HD518 & Classic ModMic | Corsair K65 Luxe | Zowie EC2 | ASUS VG259QM  |  ASUS VG278E | Klipsch ProMedia 2.1

 

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The answer isn't so cut and dry. Not all games have (proper) Crossfire support, and therefore you may be limited to a single 270 in some titles.

Yep, I'm aware of that. But most of the games I'll be playing will have good crossfire support at least some point after they are released. If not, I'd probably be happy using one 270, or I might not buy the game at all, because I'm usually not compelled to buy all the latest games in the first place. Therefore, I am not going to view it as a factor in my purchasing decision.

Why is the God of Hyperdeath SO...DARN...CUTE!?

 

Also, if anyone has their mind corrupted by an anthropomorphic black latex bat, please let me know. I would like to join you.

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my answer is take a look on future mark and see which graphic card you might like. GTA V you might want to go with a card that can score 12k at least. For me try benchmark your graphic card on ultra like Valley https://unigine.com/products/valley/or 3D Mark FireStrike Extreme, if it doesn't die out first. xD

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Id get the 290 and I was in a similar situation..

 

-more vram

-possibility for xfire 290's as an upgrade

-no worries for games that dont scale well or support xfire

I know no one can predict the future, but what I want to know is if the general consensus is that 2 GB is no longer going to be adequate for PC gaming in the relatively near future, as in 2-3 years. I am certainly inclined to believe so considering GTA V, but I want the educated opinions of people who are more knowledgeable in that than I am. 

 

Edit: (R9) 270 posts! :D

Why is the God of Hyperdeath SO...DARN...CUTE!?

 

Also, if anyone has their mind corrupted by an anthropomorphic black latex bat, please let me know. I would like to join you.

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Well OP I would say take a 290.

I have one and couldn't be happier about my choice.

It runs well, gets no higher than 75c (Tri-X cooler anyway, from Sapphire) and really there is nothing to complain about.

It runs gta V like a dream and... Yeah, really nothing more to add. (no MSAA in gta v though, I leave that off)

2GB seems low for the games to come In the near future and even now.

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I know no one can predict the future, but what I want to know is if the general consensus is that 2 GB is no longer going to be adequate for PC gaming in the relatively near future, as in 2-3 years. I am certainly inclined to believe so considering GTA V, but I want the educated opinions of people who are more knowledgeable in that than I am. 

 

Edit: (R9) 270 posts! :D

 

It will always be "adequate" but the norm now is usually 3-4GB as a standard for newer games.  Texture sizes are rising and games are becoming more intensive.  Even in BF4, mantle can cause crippling lag if you use higher res textures due to its higher use of VRAM.  If you dont care how your games look I'd recommend not upgrading at all... but if you do, I'd get the 290.

Personal Rig v3: AMD Ryzen 7 2700X | Noctua NH-U14S | Gigabyte B450 Aorus Pro ITX | Zotac GTX 2070 8GB | 16GB G-Skill Trident DDR4 3200MHz | EVGA Supernova 750B | Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX 

Peripherals: Sennheiser HD518 & Classic ModMic | Corsair K65 Luxe | Zowie EC2 | ASUS VG259QM  |  ASUS VG278E | Klipsch ProMedia 2.1

 

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Well OP I would say take a 290.

I have one and couldn't be happier about my choice.

It runs well, gets no higher than 75c (Tri-X cooler anyway, from Sapphire) and really there is nothing to complain about.

It runs gta V like a dream and... Yeah, really nothing more to add. (no MSAA in gta v though, I leave that off)

2GB seems low for the games to come In the near future and even now.

 

 

It will always be "adequate" but the norm now is usually 3-4GB as a standard for newer games.  Texture sizes are rising and games are becoming more intensive.  Even in BF4, mantle can cause crippling lag if you use higher res textures due to its higher use of VRAM.  If you dont care how your games look I'd recommend not upgrading at all... but if you do, I'd get the 290.

 

It's as I thought. I love to have games look good, so in that case I will again try to sell the R9 270 once it gets back from the RMA. And, @Vizzion by "adequate" I mean good enough for 60 FPS & 1080p at higher than medium settings. :P

Why is the God of Hyperdeath SO...DARN...CUTE!?

 

Also, if anyone has their mind corrupted by an anthropomorphic black latex bat, please let me know. I would like to join you.

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