[SOLVED] AMD R9 280 (Non-X) upgrade from AMD 7850, worth it?

guitarmatt99 · Aug 1, 2014

Hello! I am currently in a position to sell my AMD 7850 for a nice £65. I was wondering if it is worth upgrading to the AMD R9 280 (Non-X).

I have found two of the same R9 280's made by the same manufacturer however one is factory overclocked and £30 more expensive, is it worth it?

Standard Clock Speed

Overclocked

junkeymonkey · Aug 1, 2014

to each his own-- I use a 7850 and looking at all the issues with these -r- cards I think i'll just hang on to it [opinion]

dwatterworth · Aug 1, 2014

It's not a strong upgrade for the money How much are the new 280's you are looking at going for? The performance difference will be about 30%-40% higher frame rates, so if you can get the 280 for the same amount of money over the selling price of the 7850, then it's a good move for performance/dollar.

guitarmatt99 · Aug 1, 2014

dwatterworth :

The new 280 is £150, so I'm really only paying £85.

One more thing is, I'll never have another chance to sell it.

Alex Kelly · Aug 1, 2014

It'll be a worthy upgrade!

Go for the standard clock speed edition, it's not worth all that extra money for a factory OC.
Enjoy your new card!! Let us know how it's going once you receive it.

dwatterworth · Aug 1, 2014

If it's your only chance to sell the 7850, that makes it a bit more appealing, especially if the manufacturer offers the games package thing from AMD and you're interested in any of the titles.

guitarmatt99 · Aug 1, 2014

Alex Kelly :

Do you think it's worth the extra £50 for the 280-X ?

dwatterworth · Aug 1, 2014

50 more than the 280 so a total of 135 you'll be spending? That's a little less bang for the buck, but will be a better position if you ever want to run them in crossfire.

Have you thought about stepping up to a used 290?

Alex Kelly · Aug 1, 2014

guitarmatt99 :

Yes! The 280X is excellent.

I wouldn't recommend a 290 though, dwatterworth. Especially not a used one as there is just too much to worry about. The 290s just get way too hot and loud, even with an aftermarket cooling solution. The Sapphire 290s are the only ones worth considering, in my opinion.

guitarmatt99 · Aug 1, 2014

dwatterworth :

As I'm only running an AMD FX 6300, it wont be able to run to it's full capabilities, and I'm not to sure on buying used components.

dwatterworth · Aug 1, 2014

So the same rules apply as if you weren't selling the card. The higher you go on a new card, the less return you get on your investment. So it's sort of up to you where the budget cut off is. Each step up is a good increase in performance, but the increase in spending is higher than the increase in performance.

The 290's with any of the non-reference coolers are fantastic cards, I've got a used reference 290x board for super cheap and other than sounding like a 2 cycle motor with the higher fan profile I set, it's great. (waiting to watercool it sometime when funds allow) I came from a 7950 boost before that, so the same as the 280. The 280 and 280x are definitely fantastic cards.

junkeymonkey · Aug 1, 2014

what is that 7850 doing that you don't like ?? I compared mine with guys with better cards in some benches and the difference was no where near me saying I need to chunk this for that ya it did not score in something's as high but not so bad I felt it had to go -- but is is nice to have a change when you can do it only 2 thing can happen is that you go for the new card and its kick a$$ and your happy or it falls short of what you expected of it and wished now you just kept your money and the old card that's now gone

just do what you feel is right and live with the results good or bad

Alex Kelly · Aug 1, 2014

dwatterworth :

I agree with your first statement, but your second only proves my point.
Even the aftermarket cooled 290/Xs are either way too hot, way too loud, or both.
Some people can deal with the noise (like you?) but I personally am pretty obsessive about my components and I can't deal with hearing a constant loud noise when using my PC.

guitarmatt99 · Aug 1, 2014

junkeymonkey :

This is the only chance I will have to sell it and make half my money back, plus it would be nice to be able to record my gameplay while still being on medium-high settings.

dwatterworth · Aug 1, 2014

Oh, I meant the reference board is insanely noisy, I've got buddy with a 290x tri-x (totally agree with you that this is the king of the affordable 290 boards) and it's night and day. Reference 290 = no way unless you have plans to water cool in the future. Any review of those Tri-X boards, Powercolor models or gigabyte windforce boards show how good that heatsink configuration really is.

I love a quiet environment as well, but I didn't want to spring for a good air cooled model to only ditch the cooler for a water block in the future.

Alex Kelly · Aug 1, 2014

guitarmatt99 :

junkeymonkey :

This is the only chance I will have to sell it and make half my money back, plus it would be nice to be able to record my gameplay while still being on medium-high settings.

Just go for it! The 280X is a great card, you will be really happy with it.

junkeymonkey · Aug 1, 2014

well go for it then it will either be good deal or bad , but unless you do it you never will know

guitarmatt99 · Aug 1, 2014

Alex Kelly :

I'm going with 280 (Non-X), the 280x is slightly out of my budget.

I would pick a solution but many people have given useful input, many thanks!

Alex Kelly · Aug 1, 2014

guitarmatt99 :

Nice! The 280 is still a brilliant card, better than the GTX 760 in my build.
You should still select a solution so the thread will show up as solved.

Enjoy your purchase.

junkeymonkey · Aug 1, 2014

its like this in the end your the one who decides whats best for you .. I get nice stuff just to be let down and some exceeds my expectations
unless you get it and use it its all a big guess and what if

guitarmatt99 · Aug 3, 2014

It arrived in the post today, BF4 running on ultra 60fps, I'm happy! Thanks everyone.

Alex Kelly · Aug 3, 2014

guitarmatt99 :

No worries at all.

Glad you're happy with your new card!

A best solution pick would be very much appreciated, though.

[SOLVED] AMD R9 280 (Non-X) upgrade from AMD 7850, worth it?

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