R9 280 vs R9 280x

[Schizo007]

Hey everyone,

I'm having a hard time deciding which one I should take, the R9 280 or the R9 280x.

The 280x is more expensive (~30 euros), but the performance doesn't reflect that.

What I was wondering about, will a 280 get close to the performance of a 280 when overclocked?

 

thank you

[MLG Doge]

 

What I was wondering about, will a 280 get close to the performance of a 280 when overclocked?

 

thank you

Yes /Sarcasm

 

Yes

[ImBleu]

The R9 280x is essentially just an overclocked R9 280, if you overclock the 280x you'd get further ahead, but stock 280x vs OCed 280 are about the same.

[Faceman]

Hey everyone,

I'm having a hard time deciding which one I should take, the R9 280 or the R9 280x.

The 280x is more expensive (~30 euros), but the performance doesn't reflect that.

What I was wondering about, will a 280 get close to the performance of a 280 when overclocked?

 

thank you

Get the 280.  You can overclock it to the same level of a 280X, and as you said, the performance gains doesn't justify the increase in price.

[Jayfeather787]

You can not overclock a 280 to the performance level of a 280x. At all. You can do that between a 270 and a 270x, as they are literally the same card, but the 280 and 280x are not the same. The 280x is faster than the 280. The 280 outperforms a GTX 760, and the 280x outperforms a GTX 770. 

[IMPERIUS]

Meh not worth the extra 30$

[worldwin]

The R9 280x is essentially just an overclocked R9 280, if you overclock the 280x you'd get further ahead, but stock 280x vs OCed 280 are about the same.

No. The 280x is a fully unlocked tahiti chip @ 2048SP while 280 only has 1792SP. Check your facts please. You can easily mislead OP.

[jnmbhj]

The R9 280x is essentially just an overclocked R9 280, if you overclock the 280x you'd get further ahead, but stock 280x vs OCed 280 are about the same.

 

Get the 280.  You can overclock it to the same level of a 280X, and as you said, the performance gains doesn't justify the increase in price.

You got to be kidding me. I mean really?   So this means I can overclock a i5 4690k to a i7 4790k cause they are about the same. Just overclock the 4690k to 4790k speeds....

YOU WILL NOT HAVE THE SAME PERFORMANCE!!!

The 280 has  1792 stream processors 

and the 280x has 2048 stream processors 

 

Both cards can be overclocked. 

 

If its only a $30 difference then go for the 280x with a good cooler. You will get better performance.  

[SkulD]

The R9 280x is essentially just an overclocked R9 280, if you overclock the 280x you'd get further ahead, but stock 280x vs OCed 280 are about the same.

The 280x has more shader cores than the 280.

[Faceman]

You got to be kidding me. I mean really?   So this means I can overclock a i5 4690k to a i7 4790k cause they are about the same. Just overclock the 4690k to 4790k speeds....

YOU WILL NOT HAVE THE SAME PERFORMANCE!!!

The 280 has  1792 stream processors 

and the 280x has 2048 stream processors 

 

Both cards can be overclocked. 

 

If its only a $30 difference then go for the 280x with a good cooler. You will get better performance.  

Dude, an i5 is equal to the performance of an i7 when they are at the same speeds.  Want sources?

 

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/5

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7189/choosing-a-gaming-cpu-september-2013/10

 

 

You can not overclock a 280 to the performance level of a 280x. At all. You can do that between a 270 and a 270x, as they are literally the same card, but the 280 and 280x are not the same. The 280x is faster than the 280. The 280 outperforms a GTX 760, and the 280x outperforms a GTX 770. 

The 280 beats a 760, but a 280X does not beat a 770.  A 280X is on the same level as a 770.  There are a few games that flip flop, but for the most part they are the same.  In games where the 280X wins, its by a very small margin, in games where a 770 wins, its by a large margin.  Regardless, I would still opt for a 280 because it has 3GB of VRAM, which is starting to be really important, even at 1080p.

 

Here is a comparison of a 280 vs. 280X.  The 280X does win, but you can overclock the 280 to come close and even beat it in some instances.  I just don't think it justifies the 30e difference.  Just my opinion, you don't have to agree with it, but thats my 2c.

[SurvivorNVL]

280x but this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202095  because the Vapor-X line of coolers are so.. *Drools*.  They're great.  And Sapphire is the EVGA of AMD.  *Sagenod*

[jnmbhj]

Dude, an i5 is equal to the performance of an i7 when they are at the same speeds.  Want sources?

 

 

http://www.anandtech.com/show/8227/devils-canyon-review-intel-core-i7-4790k-and-i5-4690k/5

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7189/choosing-a-gaming-cpu-september-2013/10

 

 

The 280 beats a 760, but a 280X does not beat a 770.  A 280X is on the same level as a 770.  There are a few games that flip flop, but for the most part they are the same.  In games where the 280X wins, its by a very small margin, in games where a 770 wins, its by a large margin.  Regardless, I would still opt for a 280 because it has 3GB of VRAM, which is starting to be really important, even at 1080p.

 

Here is a comparison of a 280 vs. 280X.  The 280X does win, but you can overclock the 280 to come close and even beat it in some instances.  I just don't think it justifies the 30e difference.  Just my opinion, you don't have to agree with it, but thats my 2c.

So your saying that the i5 4690k will become the same as the i7 4790k? Soo how about rendering, multitasking, streaming, heavy threaded games. And oh news flash, you can overclock the 4790k as well.

Granted the i5 is good enough if your only gaming, everything else that can use those 8 threads then the i7 beats it. 

 

Now back to the 280 vs 280x. Yes the 280 will come close to the 280x when overclocked. Ok but i didn't know you cant overclock a 280x. Oh wait... you can. then the 280x pulls a head. 

 

Keep in mind that GPU cores matter more in gaming. 

In battlefield 4 

280 has the avg of 47 fps and it dips down to 39

the 280x has the avg of 55 fps and dips down to 45 fps 

The dips is what causes choppy gameplay at intense moments. 

And both cards are equity overclockable 

[Faceman]

So your saying that the i5 4690k will become the same as the i7 4790k? Soo how about rendering, multitasking, streaming, heavy threaded games. And oh news flash, you can overclock the 4790k as well.

Granted the i5 is good enough if your only gaming, everything else that can use those 8 threads then the i7 beats it. 

 

Now back to the 280 vs 280x. Yes the 280 will come close to the 280x when overclocked. Ok but i didn't know you cant overclock a 280x. Oh wait... you can. then the 280x pulls a head. 

 

Keep in mind that GPU cores matter more in gaming. 

In battlefield 4 

280 has the avg of 47 fps and it dips down to 39

the 280x has the avg of 55 fps and dips down to 45 fps 

The dips is what causes choppy gameplay at intense moments. 

And both cards are equity overclockable 

For gaming, I'm talking strictly gaming.  When an i5 and i7 are at the same speed, they perform the same.  In the Anandtech test, they show both i5 and i7 at 4.7Ghz...   Performing the same.  There is a grand total of one game, one.  That has the i7 outperforming the i5, and that is the smishsmorsion of a game called Watch Dogs.  For everything else, i5 = i7 when they are at the same speed for gaming.  You also act like the i5 can't multi task, stream and render.  The only thing it wont do as well as the i7 is render.  When it comes to streaming and multi tasking, it will be pretty much the same.  A program that utilizes all 8 threads is a niche area, often reserved for content creation.

 

I understand that both cards are overclockable, but the 280X comes out of the box factory overclocked, so it doesn't have as much of a range to go further.  Lets look at the same review, from the same reviewer.  XFX 280 Vs. MSI 280X.  In their overclocking results, the XFX 280 gets up to 1080Mhz while the MSI 280X gets up to 1150Mhz.  Lets try and quantify that in a benchmark.  Unfortunately they don't test the same games, but they do compare Unigine Valley.  The scores between the two are 1762 for the overclocked 280, and 1817 for the MSI.  That is a whole 3.1% difference. 

 

Look, the 280X is always going to be faster than the 280, unless you get a golden 280 that overclocks like a dream.  Bottom line, it is not worth the extra money in my opinion for a factory overclock that you can do at home.

[jnmbhj]

For gaming, I'm talking strictly gaming.  When an i5 and i7 are at the same speed, they perform the same.  In the Anandtech test, they show both i5 and i7 at 4.7Ghz...   Performing the same.  There is a grand total of one game, one.  That has the i7 outperforming the i5, and that is the smishsmorsion of a game called Watch Dogs.  For everything else, i5 = i7 when they are at the same speed for gaming.  You also act like the i5 can't multi task, stream and render.  The only thing it wont do as well as the i7 is render.  When it comes to streaming and multi tasking, it will be pretty much the same.  A program that utilizes all 8 threads is a niche area, often reserved for content creation.

 

I understand that both cards are overclockable, but the 280X comes out of the box factory overclocked, so it doesn't have as much of a range to go further.  Lets look at the same review, from the same reviewer.  XFX 280 Vs. MSI 280X.  In their overclocking results, the XFX 280 gets up to 1080Mhz while the MSI 280X gets up to 1150Mhz.  Lets try and quantify that in a benchmark.  Unfortunately they don't test the same games, but they do compare Unigine Valley.  The scores between the two are 1762 for the overclocked 280, and 1817 for the MSI.  That is a whole 3.1% difference. 

 

Look, the 280X is always going to be faster than the 280, unless you get a golden 280 that overclocks like a dream.  Bottom line, it is not worth the extra money in my opinion for a factory overclock that you can do at home.

I never said the 4690k cant stream or multitask. It just can't do it as fast as a 4790k. If you look at all those videos on 4690k vs 4790k almost everyone would recommend getting the 4690k if your only gaming. the 4790k is more oriented for people who want to do more than just gaming (or if they have too much money to blow) 

As for the 280x overclocking should not be a big issue I am pretty certain that it can go higher than 1150 on the core. I got my 7970 ghz OC to 1150 on the core without touching the voltage. 

 

As for the scores between the 280 vs 280x 

Thats not a fair comparison 

the 280x is running the res of 2560x1600 and gets a score of 1817

the 280 is running the res of 2560 x 1440 and gets the score of 1762

[Faceman]

I never said the 4690k cant stream or multitask. It just can't do it as fast as a 4790k. If you look at all those videos on 4690k vs 4790k almost everyone would recommend getting the 4690k if your only gaming. the 4790k is more oriented for people who want to do more than just gaming (or if they have too much money to blow) 

As for the 280x overclocking should not be a big issue I am pretty certain that it can go higher than 1150 on the core. I got my 7970 ghz OC to 1150 on the core without touching the voltage. 

 

As for the scores between the 280 vs 280x 

Thats not a fair comparison 

the 280x is running the res of 2560x1600 and gets a score of 1817

the 280 is running the res of 2560 x 1440 and gets the score of 1762

"You got to be kidding me. I mean really?   So this means I can overclock a i5 4690k to a i7 4790k cause they are about the same. Just overclock the 4690k to 4790k speeds...."

"So your saying that the i5 4690k will become the same as the i7 4790k?"

 

I'm not even sure why you brought processors into a discussion about GPUs.

 

The result of the overclock you get is going to be entirely dependent upon the silicon lottery.  You never know how good of a chip you will get.  There are many examples of people with reference GTX780s that are able to reach higher overclocks than GTX 780 SCs.  It all comes down to luck. I've personally had two EVGA GTX 780 SCs.  One of them was absolutely terrible, refused to overclock at all even when adding voltage, the second I can add +100Mhz Core, and +250Mhz Memory without touching voltage.  It all comes down to luck. This is where an argument can be made for the factory overclocked R9 280X because it is guaranteed to perform better out of the box.

 

I didn't notice that the screen resolution was different, thats my fault.  It is still a very small difference.  I'm talking 6% PPI density on a 22" monitor.  I don't know how to factor in the PPI into the score on Valley, but its safe to conclude it is still less than a 10% difference between the two based on this test even after factoring in the PPI difference.

 

Is it still worth the 30e increase in price?  That is up to the end user to decide, but in my opinion, no. Absolutely not.

[jnmbhj]

"You got to be kidding me. I mean really?   So this means I can overclock a i5 4690k to a i7 4790k cause they are about the same. Just overclock the 4690k to 4790k speeds...."

"So your saying that the i5 4690k will become the same as the i7 4790k?"

 

I'm not even sure why you brought processors into a discussion about GPUs.

 

The result of the overclock you get is going to be entirely dependent upon the silicon lottery.  You never know how good of a chip you will get.  There are many examples of people with reference GTX780s that are able to reach higher overclocks than GTX 780 SCs.  It all comes down to luck. I've personally had two EVGA GTX 780 SCs.  One of them was absolutely terrible, refused to overclock at all even when adding voltage, the second I can add +100Mhz Core, and +250Mhz Memory without touching voltage.  It all comes down to luck. This is where an argument can be made for the factory overclocked R9 280X because it is guaranteed to perform better out of the box.

 

I didn't notice that the screen resolution was different, thats my fault.  It is still a very small difference.  I'm talking 6% PPI density on a 22" monitor.  I don't know how to factor in the PPI into the score on Valley, but its safe to conclude it is still less than a 10% difference between the two based on this test even after factoring in the PPI difference.

 

Is it still worth the 30e increase in price?  That is up to the end user to decide, but in my opinion, no. Absolutely not.

I used the CPUs as an analogy

granted it wasn't a particularly  good one.

 

As for overclocking that kind of depens on how well the card is. As for the 7970s well my friend got a gigabyte 7970 reg and had his card OC to 1223 on the core and 1575 on the mem. The only reason I could not get there is because gigabyte locked the GPU voltage for the GHZ edition. 

Would I say it is worth the extra 30 E(36.72 USD) It would be a definite yes. More stream processors than the 280 and better scores in benchmarks. I would say maybe save the money for another few months and get a next gen GPU. 

 

Here in the US

the price of a 280 is $185

and the price of a 280x is $270

is it worth the extra $85 (70 euro) 

then hell no. 

[Jayfeather787]

It doesn't matter what you get. Just pick one, they will both crush 1080p games.

[GloriousPain]

if it's an option why not just a 285?