Powercolor

[cam_96]

Is power color good? They have cheap cards.. But that's not always a good thing. I want to get the r9 280. Please share experiences below. I just don't want to get a card that will not work or feel cheap. Thanks.

[H4X3R]

Their cheap cards are crap. Their new PCS+ series is not bad and does well against the competition.

[cam_96]

Their cheap cards are crap. Their new PCS+ series is not bad and does well against the competition.

Well, I was looking at the power color r9 280, and it's only like 150$ (cheap for a GPU these days)

[Wingfan]

I have 2 Powercolor 280's. They outperform my 760's, which are more money.

[cam_96]

I have 2 Powercolor 280's. They outperform my 760's, which are more money.

Are they reliable? Had any problems with them?

[Wingfan]

No problems and they run very cool. Ive had them since August.

There is nothing better for the price, imo

[SteveGrabowski]

I know the PowerCooler PCS+ R9 290 is one of the best R9 290s.

[Carde]

I have had a powercolor 7970 PCS+, they where cheap, but crap, only card ever to die on me for no good reason.

 

Brought an other one, sold my RMA replacement and never looked back.

[Briggsy]

I had a power color 7950 PCS+ (aka PoS+) that lasted for half a year before it died. I had to lap the cooler because the copper shim was anything but smooth, more like it had been hack-sawed. I can't say it was complete junk, but it was bare-bones in the quality dept. 

[cam_96]

I had a power color 7950 PCS+ (aka PoS+) that lasted for half a year before it died. I had to lap the cooler because the copper shim was anything but smooth, more like it had been hack-sawed. I can't say it was complete junk, but it was bare-bones in the quality dept.

Ok, I'm gonna get the MSI r9 280, as it goes with the MSI board I'm getting and because I like MSI.

[cam_96]

I had a power color 7950 PCS+ (aka PoS+) that lasted for half a year before it died. I had to lap the cooler because the copper shim was anything but smooth, more like it had been hack-sawed. I can't say it was complete junk, but it was bare-bones in the quality dept.

Ugh, sounds like a nightmare. At least you saved another person from buying that as well

[Wingfan]

If you can get the Sapphire at a good price i would go for that

[teddyteddyteddy]

Is power color good? They have cheap cards.. But that's not always a good thing. I want to get the r9 280. Please share experiences below. I just don't want to get a card that will not work or feel cheap. Thanks.

read the reviews.  if there are a ton of 4 and 5 star reviews, then you can probably count on the card being good.  Powercolor doesn't make all bad cards, but they also don't make all good cards.  just like any other company 

[Tacitus]

I know the PowerCooler PCS+ R9 290 is one of the best R9 290s.

 

The 290 is indeed excellent. I'd normally advise against their lower tier cards, but if Wingfan has no issues with his, he's the one with the better knowledge, might be a goer! 

[Wingfan]

read the reviews.  if there are a ton of 4 and 5 star reviews, then you can probably count on the card being good.  Powercolor doesn't make all bad cards, but they also don't make all good cards.  just like any other company 

exactly

[SteveGrabowski]

The 290 is indeed excellent. I'd normally advise against their lower tier cards, but if Wingfan has no issues with his, he's the one with the better knowledge, might be a goer! 

 

I don't know much about their regular 290 though; just that the PCS+ kicks serious ass.

[Wingfan]

here they are in my Scout 2 pc, they look ok too

 

 

 

[cam_96]

If you can get the Sapphire at a good price i would go for that

How much better is sapphire than MSI and why?

[Tacitus]

here they are in my Scout 2 pc, they look ok too

 

 

Looks good I almost went for a pair of 280x's myself.

 

How much better is sapphire than MSI and why?

 

Sapphire tend to make the best AMD cards. They're the board partner closest to AMD (IIRC they make the reference boards for AMD) and over the years have produced some very effective cooling solutions vs the likes of MSI and Gigabyte, who tend to favour their Nvidia products, and spend more money making coolers for them, accordingly.

 

MSI will likely have better customer service, however.

[cam_96]

Looks good I almost went for a pair of 280x's myself.

Sapphire tend to make the best AMD cards. They're the board partner closest to AMD (IIRC they make the reference boards for AMD) and over the years have produced some very effective cooling solutions vs the likes of MSI and Gigabyte, who tend to favour their Nvidia products, and spend more money making coolers for them, accordingly.

MSI will likely have better customer service, however.

I like red and black and that's what color my build is.. Am I being too picky based on the color? And there is 2 sapphire 280 cards.. One is cheaper than the other, I don't understand

[Tacitus]

I like red and black and that's what color my build is.. Am I being too picky based on the color? And there is 2 sapphire 280 cards.. One is cheaper than the other, I don't understand

 

The Dual-x and Vapour-x? The latter uses a vapour chamber and is better cooled, and has better build quality, and is a little more expensive. It won't make a huge difference which one you go for.

[cam_96]

The Dual-x and Vapour-x? The latter uses a vapour chamber and is better cooled, and has better build quality, and is a little more expensive. It won't make a huge difference which one you go for.

I mean I do like msis design but I guess that's a little too picky, so I might go for a sapphire. But on PC part picker they have 2 vapour x's that are the same color, but are different prices

[TheMcSame]

Haven't heard much about them but I've heard that they are usually a go to brand for miners. The way I see it, if it's good for pinning at 100% for god knows how long then why wouldn't it be reliable in a gaming PC?

[cam_96]

This card (https://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-1003732l) is like 5$ more expensive than this card (https://pcpartpicker.com/part/sapphire-video-card-100373l) but there is like no difference between them