R9 280x CF or R9 290 ?

lazarba

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Hello guys! I was going to buy a R9 290 this summer. But I found out that the 280x costs only 200 Eyros ( The Sapphire Dual X ) while the R9 290 costs 400 on it's own. So, should I go for the 280Xs ? I have heard that CF is not great and also , I have a Mobo with only 1 PCIx16. The other PCI is x4. So, if I know my facts, I will have a performance cut if I go CF. Still, the total raw power & FPS will be better than a single 290. What should I do?
 
Solution
Temps are ok on the 280x in Crossfire, assuming you have good airflow and custom-cooled cards.

Regarding the stuttering, AMD has supposedly fixed the stuttering issue recently, but I haven't tried first hand to confirm that. Tearing is just what you get with crazy fast cards lol You can try VSync.

If you're at 1080p, I would do the single 280x and save some money, or the single 290. You won't have to deal with games supporting Crossfire, no heat issues, etc. Then you can always add another in the future :)
The raw power and FPS you'll get will be massively better with a pair of 280X's in Crossfire compared to a single 290.

The second PCIe slot being x4 won't impact too much. The only thing I would look for is if you have a good enough power supply.

Also, At 200 Euro it sounds more like that's a 280, not a 280x.
 

lazarba

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Yeha, my bad. It is indeed a 280. Still, buying to 280x seems quite nice. I have an epic PSU bought with CF in mind, so that wont be a problem. What I am worried about are temps and CF problems ( tearing, stuttering). The 280x DCUIIT is priced at 250. Quite cheap. But, what about temps and the CF problems?
 
Temps are ok on the 280x in Crossfire, assuming you have good airflow and custom-cooled cards.

Regarding the stuttering, AMD has supposedly fixed the stuttering issue recently, but I haven't tried first hand to confirm that. Tearing is just what you get with crazy fast cards lol You can try VSync.

If you're at 1080p, I would do the single 280x and save some money, or the single 290. You won't have to deal with games supporting Crossfire, no heat issues, etc. Then you can always add another in the future :)
 
Solution
Ironically 2 x 290's are better in crossifre than 2 x 280 / 280X cards as the newer 290 has hardware frame pacing (whereas it's only in software on the 280 cards).

That said, I think a single 280X would probably be fine for now- you can always add the second one in the future if you need to. Crossfire is good when it works- but do be aware that not all games support it and there tends to be stuttering issues on games when they first come out. The software frame pacing fix has made things better- but quite a few games have needed special tweaks which often come out a while after the game is released.
 

lazarba

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Thank you all :) R9 290 it is! Maybe I will go CF in the future. But I still have a question, regarding Vsync. I currently have a 6850, and when I activate Vsync my framerate DIES. It's just sad. Unplayable. I can't see why activating Vsync while on CF would help... Also, as cdrkf said , the 290 is a more future proof solution, therefore I will stick to it.