Please Help With GPU Decision - Votes Wanted!

Callum Rafferty

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Nov 5, 2014
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Hi, this is my first build so I don't have any experience but... Which one do you guys think is best for a mid range gaming build. I have $260 budget for GPU - here's the build im looking at.
-[PCPartPicker part list](http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/J6qzWZ) / [Price breakdown by merchant](http://au.pcpartpicker.com/p/J6qzWZ/by_merchant/)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor](http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/amd-cpu-fd6300wmhkbox) | $135.00 @ PCCaseGear
**Motherboard** | [MSI 970 GAMING ATX AM3+ Motherboard](http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-motherboard-970gaming) | $129.00 @ PCCaseGear
**Memory** | [Kingston Fury Red Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory](http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/kingston-memory-hx318c10frk28) | $105.00 @ PCCaseGear
**Storage** | [Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive](http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/western-digital-internal-hard-drive-wd10ezex) | $67.00 @ PCCaseGear
**Case** | [Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Mid Tower Case](http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-case-cc9011042ww) | Purchased For $105.00
**Power Supply** | [Antec High Current Gamer 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/antec-power-supply-hcg620) | $99.00 @ PCCaseGear
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit)](http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/microsoft-os-fqc04649) | $45.00
**Case Fan** | [Cooler Master SickleFlow 69.7 CFM 120mm Fan](http://au.pcpartpicker.com/part/cooler-master-case-fan-r4l2r20arr1) | $9.00
| | **Total**
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | $694.00
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-09 10:58 EST+1100 |

But I can't decide on a GPU so... Which one??

1)ASUS Radeon R9 270x
2) Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X
3)MSI Radeon R9 270X
4)Sapphire Radeon R9 270X
5)XFX Radeon R9 280
6)Gigabyte Radeon R9 280
7)Sapphire Radeon R9 280

I was trying to go for a red and black theme but if it's grey and black that's also fine.
 
I am personally leery of MSI. Sapphire has a good reputation but Gigabyte and Asus are very good too.
XFX has had issues with VRM overheating although I haven't heard it in a while so it may well be fixed

I still say you should choose a 280 if you can.
 

Callum Rafferty

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Nov 5, 2014
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Ok... so you all think the Sapphire is the better card. I personally can't see why. When you look at the features of the XFX compared with Sapphire the XFX looks better. It has a faster Memory clock (5000mhz vs 5200mhz) and... it just seems to have better features... is it just better marketing... or am i missing something??? Do you think you guys could explain to me why the Sapphire is better?? That would be great

Thanks

Callum