R9 280X | Sapphire, Gigabyte or ASUS?

Adam Zilizi · Oct 14, 2013

Hi!

I am going to buy an AMD R9 280X, but I can't decide which one should I buy.
ATM I have a Gigabyte GTX 560Ti, what serves well, so I know the Gigabyte is not bad.
Actually, I had a Sapphire Radeon X1950 Pro, but It was pretty long time ago, but It's still working!!!

I am thinking between:
Sapphire R9 280X Dual-X OC 3GB
Sapphire R9 280X Vapor-X OC 3GB
Sapphire R9 280X TOXIC 3GB
Gigabyte R9 280X OC 3GB
ASUS R9 280X DirectCU II 3GB

And I want to ask if my Enermax 450W 80+ could handle these GPUs?

I am playing in 1920X1080
Games like:
TES V: Skyrim (lots of graphics improvement mods)
Battlefield 4 (BETA)
Crysis 3
Far Cry 3

PC Specs:
Intel core i5 2500K 3,6 Ghz
8 GB RAM
Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 motherboard
Enermax NaxN 450W 80+

Sorry for my bad English.

Tradesman1 · Oct 14, 2013

A basic 280X calls for about 500watt, so I'd go at least 550, of the cards listed I like the cooling on the Asus cards, they've had the CU cooling design for awhile and it's very efficient

zahimrad · Oct 14, 2013

I can vouch for Sapphire being quality products. I have tried them for a long time and they are really great cards.
The Vapor-X cooler is awesome and can handle high OC's with impressive noise levels on the Fans. Also looking at its price point its among the cheapest. Go for it.

On a side note: OMG I still have that old Sapphire 1950 XT. I hang it on my wall

DBGT_87 · Oct 14, 2013

Sapphire Toxic is the best 280x you can find, its for $350 on Amazon

Mirakledba · Oct 14, 2013

EASY EASY EASY PICK! The sapphire Toxic 280x is better in performance AND on paper. Its a fact.

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Sapphire-DL-DVI-I-SL-DVI-D-PCI-Express-11221-01-40G/dp/B00FLMKR78/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381781632&sr=8-1&keywords=sapphire+toxic+280x

Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202044&Tpk=sapphire%20toxic%20280x wait for it to get in stock. But on amazon its cheaper

Mombasa69 · Oct 15, 2013

Sapphire R9 280X Toxic Edition, best value, extremely good performance. (even beats a 780 on half the benchmarks I've seen) I'm getting 2, lost internet connection with previous reply, so sending again.

Adam Zilizi · Oct 15, 2013

Mirakledba :

Mombasa69 :

And what do you think about my PSU?

Mirakledba · Oct 15, 2013

Adam Zilizi :

Bad, very bad! 450w IS TOO LOW!! You're PSU will burn so fast. You need something like this!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

If you have a higher budget, get the Corsair HX 750w

Mirakledba · Oct 15, 2013

Adam Zilizi :

Bad, very bad! 450w IS TOO LOW!! You're PSU will burn so fast. You need something like this!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005

If you have a higher budget, get the Corsair HX 750w

Sangeet Khatri · Oct 15, 2013

Asus would be my choice. You can always trust Asus in everything they make. They make quality component that just works awesomely.

That being said, there is also nothing wrong with Sapphire or Gigabyte too. They also make good cards, it is just that I prefer Asus more, just because the Direct CU II design is awesome and that too along with the quality of Asus makes it even better.

FPSRazR · Oct 15, 2013

Mirakledba :

Yes 450w is low but not TOO low. Yes, you'll be stretching it especially if you have an 8320/50 or extreme intel cpu and overclocking both your gpu or cpu is a no-go. The card takes 300 max so I'd say upgrade to a 550w or 600w so you have some headroom. 750w is a waste of money unless you are crossfiring and even then thats pushing it. 850w would be great for crossfire.

Sangeet Khatri · Oct 15, 2013

Talking about PSU. This is a really good deal for the price, so definitely check this out.

+ 650W PSU.
+ 80 Plus Gold.
+ Comes with an extreme 10 year warranty.
+ Costs only 79 dollars after the rebates.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($79.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $79.99
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-15 11:37 EDT-0400)

Hawkeye74 · Oct 15, 2013

FYI The Sapphire Toxic requires a 750W PSU... 1000W if you want to Crossfire. I need to upgrade my PSU since I want the Asus Matrix R9 280X which requires a 750W also. Thats why I checked the Toxic in hope my 650W could power it... sadly no!

FPSRazR · Oct 16, 2013

Hawkeye74 :

How does a toxic or matrix r9 280x need a 750w psu. They each have a tdp of 300w and thats when your maxing them out. Your other components will be max 225-250w so at the very worst you'd be using 550w maybe 600w if your crazy

FPSRazR · Oct 16, 2013

Sangeet Khatri :

Sadly for me, that psu costs about £92 in the uk (amazon) which is roughly $147. Yeah, pretty expensive. It should really cost £49.

Sangeet Khatri · Oct 17, 2013

Okay, so if you live in UK. Then too there are many options. Two of my recommendations are :

1. EVGA 600W 80 Plus Bronze :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£48.72 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £48.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-17 06:51 BST+0100)

2. XFX 650W 80 Plus bronze PSU :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£67.84 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £67.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-17 06:52 BST+0100)

The XFX one is of course better because it is made by Seasonic, but you really cannot go wrong with any of the PSU at all. So, just get what your budget allows.

I hope this helps.

FPSRazR · Oct 17, 2013

Sangeet Khatri :

Okay, so if you live in UK. Then too there are many options. Two of my recommendations are :

1. EVGA 600W 80 Plus Bronze :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: EVGA 600B 600W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£48.72 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £48.72
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-17 06:51 BST+0100)

2. XFX 650W 80 Plus bronze PSU :

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Power Supply: XFX 650W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply (£67.84 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £67.84
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-10-17 06:52 BST+0100)

The XFX one is of course better because it is made by Seasonic, but you really cannot go wrong with any of the PSU at all. So, just get what your budget allows.

I hope this helps.

Thanks previously I was thinking about the CX600M which is about £55 but that evga one is £50.

Mirakledba · Oct 17, 2013

FPSRazR :

Sangeet Khatri :

Thanks previously I was thinking about the CX600M which is about £55 but that evga one is £50.

guys..dudes....THIS SHOULD have ended like yesterday! Its simple, The sapphire is the best. Need a PSU? Dont be cheap on the PSU, You need a good one. Get a 750w Corsair, Seasonic, XFX.

Sangeet Khatri · Oct 17, 2013

The EVGA one is a good quality PSU.

But yeah, if possible try to stretch out for the XFX PSU.

Gwamp · Oct 17, 2013

Mombasa69 :

+1 for Toxic but why the heck does amazon take 4-6 weeks just to ship it out?

Hawkeye74 · Oct 18, 2013

FPSRazR :

Well, when the manufacturer puts on the box that it needs a 750W power supply, I just assume that it needs a 750W power supply... I'm weird like that.

TamenZki · Oct 18, 2013

bouncedk :

Hawkeye74 :

Manufacturers assume people have horrible cheap power supplies, that's why they list much higher power supply requirements than what is actually needed.

Toxic uses ~450W under load. I think 750W is what it requires.
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5806/sapphire-radeon-r9-280x-3gb-toxic-video-card-review/index24.html

TamenZki · Oct 18, 2013

bouncedk :

TamenZki :

bouncedk :

Toxic uses ~450W under load. I think 750W is what it requires.
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5806/sapphire-radeon-r9-280x-3gb-toxic-video-card-review/index24.html

450 is for the whole system. A 280 does not use 450w under load, that would be insane

Apparently I can't read. Oh well, you can't be always right.. My bad.

Vic 40 · Oct 22, 2013

Adam Zilizi :

I think you should be fine with that psu if you take the graphics cards i quoted.They need a 6pin and an 8pin pcie connector which your psu has.

They use a very powerhungry cpu in those reviews witch use a lot more than a 2500K like you have.To compare the two cpu's,
http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/2575/25/intel-core-i7-3960x--3930k-sandy-bridge-e-reviewed-energy-consumption-idle--cinebench-115
In the tweaktown review it was even overclockt.

to give an idee what the R9280X system uses normally during games,this is with a stock 3960K,
http://uk.hardware.info/reviews/4892/7/amd-radeon-r9-280x--r9-270x-from-asus-and-msi-review-r9-in-practice-cooling-noise-production-and-energy-consumption
if you looked at the first review you can imagine that a system with a 2500K wil use less.

I tell you this with the comment that overclocking probably wont be a good idea,yours is running on 3.6ghz,which might even be turbo related,i imagine that won't be a problem.

About your psu,it can deliver 17amps=204 watt on each 12 volt rail,i imagine the 2 pcie connectors sit on one of those,they theoretically can use up to this amount and then there is 75watts that comes from the pcie slot itself,i think this will be powered from the other rail.I can't be sure,but it's realistic.These together should cover the needs of the gpu.
In total those two 12volt rails can deliver 360watt=30amps,but stil that's enough seeing a total system wattage use of 328watts during games in the review i linked,and that includes the 5 and 3.3 voltlines.

It is always good to have a better/higher rated psu,but i think the one you have will do the job.

Any language mistakes come from me being dutch.

With regards,

Vic.

Cube_of_Rubik · Oct 28, 2013

The Sapphire R9 280X TOXIC is the fastest one at the moment, but wait until they review the Asus MATRIX R9 280X.

R9 280X | Sapphire, Gigabyte or ASUS?

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