Heres a couple pros and cons I can some up with (to weedle out the myths). I have the processing power and PSU for both.
2x 280x's: Almost 90% more performance with a second card. No more 50% extra power with Xfire
A bit more $$$, but 280x vs 290x, 290x is only 30% faster than a single 280x. Another 280x is almost 90% faster than a single 280x. This is a trusted graph (7970ghz crossfire is almost equivalent to 280x CF)
http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/727/bench/BF3_01.png
Check the other benchmarks, see how the 7970ghz crossfire (almost equivalent to 280x CF) compares to the 290x
http://www.techspot.com/review/727-radeon-r9-290x/
Are Crossfire troubles over exaggerated? It's 2013, and MANY seem to have no trouble with it, even Micro stutter is just about gone. I could sit on an extra 40fps for the same exact price. 3gb could outdate soon, and only 312bit bus is a limiting factor since I want these to last 4-5 years at least. Why do they say single GPU is better when it comes to performance? Are the issues still that bad?
290x: It's newer. 512bit bus, 4gb Vram, dedicated audio processor, Future proof, but at what performance cost? Is it really worth twice the cost for only a 30% increase in performance? 290x also has trouble cooling stock right now (I'd buy OC custom cooler version). But really, the 280x's would do so much better? would the 280x's last 4-5 more years though? 290x has newer architecture.
I'm not made of money, so please no "just buy 2 290x's". If you had $640, which would you buy and why? P.S. (I want to play ultra at 60fps as long as possible, and transition into 1440p in the coming year(s)
2x 280x's: Almost 90% more performance with a second card. No more 50% extra power with Xfire
A bit more $$$, but 280x vs 290x, 290x is only 30% faster than a single 280x. Another 280x is almost 90% faster than a single 280x. This is a trusted graph (7970ghz crossfire is almost equivalent to 280x CF)
http://static.techspot.com/articles-info/727/bench/BF3_01.png
Check the other benchmarks, see how the 7970ghz crossfire (almost equivalent to 280x CF) compares to the 290x
http://www.techspot.com/review/727-radeon-r9-290x/
Are Crossfire troubles over exaggerated? It's 2013, and MANY seem to have no trouble with it, even Micro stutter is just about gone. I could sit on an extra 40fps for the same exact price. 3gb could outdate soon, and only 312bit bus is a limiting factor since I want these to last 4-5 years at least. Why do they say single GPU is better when it comes to performance? Are the issues still that bad?
290x: It's newer. 512bit bus, 4gb Vram, dedicated audio processor, Future proof, but at what performance cost? Is it really worth twice the cost for only a 30% increase in performance? 290x also has trouble cooling stock right now (I'd buy OC custom cooler version). But really, the 280x's would do so much better? would the 280x's last 4-5 more years though? 290x has newer architecture.
I'm not made of money, so please no "just buy 2 290x's". If you had $640, which would you buy and why? P.S. (I want to play ultra at 60fps as long as possible, and transition into 1440p in the coming year(s)
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