Need advice on R9 270 vs 270X

[Fireman Dave]

Ok, so first post, so be gentle!

Next month I am planning on upgrading some of the parts in my aging PC.
Currently it's a Phenom II X4 965 based system, which has served me well. I have a (very) limited budget, so am planning on upgrading RAM, HDD (to an SSD), CPU cooling and graphics card. Will eventually upgrade CPU and motherboard later on this year.

I have pretty much settled on all the parts I want, with the exception of the graphics card. I had initially settled on the MSI Radeon R9 270 Gaming 2GB for AU$239. But then I noticed the Sapphire Radeon R9 270X OC 2GB for just AU$10 more... And now I am torn! I really like the MSI (and it come with BF4), but then should I pay just $10 more and get a higher model card?

Thank you!





APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Next month
BUDGET RANGE: AU $200-250

USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Mostly for gaming (Skyrim / Civ5), then photo editing, internet, office etc.

CURRENT GPU AND POWER SUPPLY: HD7770 and Antec Neo 550 HE

OTHER RELEVANT SYSTEM SPECS: ASUS M4A785T-M with AMD Phenom II X4 965 and 4GB A-RAM ICE Series ARTW4GB1600C8D3I (will be upgrading RAM and same time to 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Australia www.pccasegear.com.au

OVERCLOCKING: No
CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1200

 

[Beezy]

obviously get the 270x, I think the difference is that of a 7850 vs a 7870 which is considerable. the prices are high right now so wait till the prices drop back to around 200-215

 

[Heinrich17]

Not exactly 7870 vs 7850. It is more like the exact same cards with different clock speeds. Basically do the straight math. 900MHz vs 1020MHz. So if 270 gets 45 FPS, the 270X will get 51 FPS (13% increase because of 13% higher clock). Depending how well the 270 will run in "OC mode" it may make the difference negligible.

If the 270 is possible to overclock, then you can make up the difference, as there is likely more room to OC the 270 since the 270X is already OC. However, both will be able to play the same games at similar levels, just the 270x will be a little better.

If you do not have BF4 and want to buy it, then the 270 looks good. If you don't care about the game, then buy the 270x.

 

[Fireman Dave]

Good (and quick!) answers. Thanks guys ^_^

Yeah, I could care less about BF4 (but free is nice...).
The MSI apparently 'boosts' to 975MHz, with the Sapphire sitting at 1020MHz base.

It's kind of looking like the 270X would be the smarter choice.