R9 280x Crossfire or R9 290x?

jkteddy77

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I'm building a brand new rig, and need a new GPU. DOn't worry about bottlenecks or PSU power, I have enough of each. In terms of raw performance, should I buy 2 280x's for $620 or an R9 290x for $579. Check these benchmarks out

http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/727/bench/BF3_01.png

Is it worth working with a few Crossfire issues (which are mostly fixed, or will be soon for the next gens in the drivers) for an extra 45fps! Keep in mind, I'm going for Price/performance ratio, and I never want to upgrade this PC again. Please leave your suggestion. Thanks!
 
Solution
The 2 x280X is more powerful where CF works. I personally would not buy the 290X until it starts appearing with better cooling solutions from the AMD partners.

jkteddy77

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I am definately waiting for better cooling options. I'm even waiting for the R9 200 cards to be bundled with games before buying any GPU. It's the end of 2013, are people still having CF troubles? I have searched all over, and people seem to be running them fine? Micro stutter has said to have been fixed, and I would get 60% better performance than a 290x for about the same cost (possibly even less if the OC'd 290x's are more expensive). Meanwhile, a single 290x in all of its glory, only gets about 25-30% faster performance that a single 280x. Although, the new 290/290x have 4gb ram and a 512 bit bus. It seems to be a "pay for latest technology" instead of "price for performance." I probably need 4gb in the card(s) if I want it to last the next 4-5 years . . . heh . . . Any more ideas/comments? I know I ramble a lot.
 
I have 7870 CF. Since I got the second card I have occasionally had my main monitor go all red/green lines and had to restart to get it to go away. My second monitor always looks normal when that happens though. Since the 13.10 beta driver I haven't seen it happen so I'm assuming it was just a driver issue.

The only issue in-game I have noticed come up since I got the second card is in BC2. I get a rolling black screen every once in a while. I haven't had a problem with any other game so this could be something unrelated to crossfire.

I have never noticed microstutter. Keep in mind for high end cards come with a price premium. The price/performance ratio is never in favor of the top of the line cards.

4-5 years may be unrealistic, unless you don't mind turning settings down quite a bit by that time. Anyway, I hope I answered your question a little.
 
I'd go for the dual R9 280 option ATM but if you're going to wait don't discount the earlier 7950/7970 or even 7990, with the 'old' and 'new' cards being to most practical purposes identical I'd advise you to look to price/cooling as the deciding factor rather than release date.
 

jkteddy77

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4-5 years meaning I'm willing to play at low or medium settings. but 110 Fps on BF4, and that will only go up with Mantle, I see little trouble with it. I've also been thinking about the R9 290, based on its new structure. It's almost as strong as the 290x, just $100 less (rumored). Should I just buy one of those and crossfire another in the future, or buy 2 280x's now?
 

jkteddy77

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I'm aiming for a Custom 29x or 2 Sapphire Vapor-x 280x's. Definately don't want hot hardware in my PC.
 
Well a 290x with a better cooler will actually make the inside of your case hotter because it will be transferring more heat energy away from the gpu, unless you get a blower style cooler that exhausts the heat out of the back of the case. Conservation of energy, that heat has to go somewhere.
 

jkteddy77

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I have a nice amount of 8 fans now, all 140mm/120mm, and its like a windtunnel, so Heat isn't a major issue. I just need the 290x to run less hot than 95 degrees stock . . . If an aftermarket can get the card stock down under 80 degrees, I'll be alright. I am not a "cool freak", just don't want overheating issues. I have every part for a beast new machine in a box right now, even an OS. Just need GPU(s)

New dilemma:
single more affordable, (but still beats 780) R9 290 for $500 w/ aftermarket cooler and OC boost (jumps 10fpsd in benchmarks with factory OC!), with new 512bit bus, trueaudio, and 4gb vram for performance in titles in the future (Games are starting to require more Vram already)
or
dual 280x's slightly OC'd, aftermarket coolers, and 30-50fps faster performance, but possibility of outdating with 3gb vram and possible crossfire issues?

Is it worth giving up new future driven architecture for the FPS now? I plan on 1440p/1600p as soon as they hit the affordable market, I'd love to still keep a good 60fps on high-ultra.
I could always add a second 290 in 2 years when the nexdt AMD series is released for cheap and skip the next generation or two completely, while 280x's may not sit as high up as they are technically mid-cards now.
So many positives and negatives, dunno which equal out. I'm personally sick of asking this, and feel like a nitpick right now. I would really appreciate as much help as I can get. You've all helped me a lot, and I'm sorry if I'm annoying. Know that an extra $600 takes me 12-18 weeks to earn.
 

stevethejew

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I bought two 280x the other day with a 1440p monitor for gaming. this setup can max every game ive played ( some need low aa ). im using the msi frozr cards. they run ~77 c @ 1050 mhz at full load. im pretty happy with it. it just depends on how much you want to spend. the 280x is a steal imo. and getting two just makes you a BAMF. its the best cost to performance ratio you can get right now until nvidia drops their prices. unless you want to get two 290x cards, which can be costly for maybe a 25% gain. the 280x cf solution is the way to go. its been painless for me so far.
these cards are very easy to OC.
 

stevethejew

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also buddy if it takes you that long to save 600 bucks you should really reconsider spending that much on a card. a 270x will do fine for 1080p gaming on moderate settings. all things tech are a diminishing return. just wait until youre comfortable spending the money.
 

jkteddy77

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Well, I'm comfortable spending $450 for a single 290 now. Its rumored to be faster than a 780 and the aftermarket versions are around $450-500, $399 for reference. Think its a better idea. I definately want a card that will last, and 270x will nt last me long . . . betyter to buy a great card now than do little costy upgrades every year.
 

RollTide615

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Just curious, what kind of PSU do you have? I'm looking at the same setup as yours, but I have an 800W PSU and was wondering if that would be enough
 

jkteddy77

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280x is a power hog, but If you have a good brand of PSU (no if its a Raidmax or thermaltake), 800w should be enough. I bought a Corsair HX850 for futureproofing and some headroom for Overclocking. you should be alright.
 

Arcturus314

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I definitely agree. I have the same setup and CF 280X are really fast.
 

llkashll

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I'd go with the 290x, if you can't wait on the coolers you could always get a custom cooler like the Arctic Accelero Hybrid to keep it icy cool. Crossfire is getting better, but microstutter ("frame variance" as everyone likes to call it now) is definitely worse than a single card whether or not you have frame pacing enabled. Also 2*280x will use alot more power and as hard as it is to believe vs the 290x, eat up alot more power and emit significantly more heat, so if you're in a warmer climate/have high power bills that may be an issue.
 
I have two Gigabyte Windforce Radeon HD 7970 OC 3GB cards in crossfire (try saying that three times fast..lol) and I have had no problems whatsoever in every game I have played. No stuttering, no incompatibility, no lack of stability, no nothing. So far, they have been as stable as my trusty old XFX Radeon HD 4870s that I ran in crossfire for four years with no issues at all. I chose these because I got a really good deal on them and I couldn't be more pleased. The R9-280X is the same card as the HD 7970 so I would definitely recommend that path.