Partner Cards: 10 Radeon R9 270 And 270X Boards, Reviewed
We're not particularly fond of AMD's reference Radeon R9 270-series cooling solution. Fortunately, most of the company's board partners have their own heat sinks and fans. We take 10 cards and measure their clock rates, thermals, and acoustics.
Temperatures
We're using Metro: Last Light for our thermal benchmarks. This should be a good representation of a high-end graphics workload. As a bonus, it's incredibly repeatable and easy to loop over and over through the built-in tool.
After publishing Does Radeon R9 290X Behave Any Differently In A Closed Case?, we decided to test these cards on an open bench table and in a closed case, since we found that dropping them into the right enclosure helped lower temperatures thanks to optimized airflow.
| Model | Idle | Full Gaming Load |
|---|---|---|
| Asus DirectCU II R9270X-DC2T-4GD5 R9 270X 4 GB | 90 °F / 32 °C | 106 °F / 71 °C |
| Club 3D royalQueen CGAX-R927X6 R9 270X 2 GB | 82 °F / 28 °C | 142 °F / 61 °C |
| Gigabyte GV-R927XOC-4GD R9 270X 4 GB | 82 °F / 28 °C | 149 °F / 65 °C |
| HIS IceQ X² Turbo Boost Clock H270XQMT2G2 R9 270X 2 GB | 86 °F / 30 °C | 153 °F / 67 °C |
| HIS iPower IceQ X² Turbo H270QMT2G2M R9 270 2 GB | 82 °F / 28 °C | 140 °F / 60 °C |
| MSI Radeon R9 270X Gaming 4 GB | 93 °F / 34 °C | 171 °F / 77 °C |
| PowerColor PCS+ AXR9 270X 2GBD5-PPDHE R9 270X 2 GB | 82 °F / 28 °C | 151 °F / 66 °C |
| Sapphire Dual-X 100365L R9 270 2 GB | 82 °F / 28 °C | 136 °F / 58 °C |
| Sapphire Toxic Radeon R9 270X 2 GB | 84 °F / 29 °C | 140 °F / 60 °C |
| Sapphire Vapor-X 100364VXL Radeon R9 270X 2 GB | 90 °F / 32 °C | 163 °F / 73 °C |
Temperature Graphics
These graphs slow how the temperatures change over time, influenced by the heat sink, the fan, and the firmware's fan profile.
Asus DirectCU II R9270X-DC2T-4GD5 R9 270X 4 GB
Club 3D royalQueen CGAX-R927X6 R9 270X 2 GB
Gigabyte GV-R927XOC-4GD R9 270X 4 GB
HIS IceQ X² Turbo Boost Clock H270XQMT2G2 R9 270X 2 GB
HIS iPower IceQ X² Turbo H270QMT2G2M R9 270 2 GB
MSI Radeon R9 270X Gaming 4 GB
PowerColor PCS+ AXR9 270X 2GBD5-PPDHE R9 270X 2 GB
Sapphire Dual-X 100365L R9 270 2 GB
Sapphire Toxic Radeon R9 270X 2 GB
Sapphire Vapor-X 100364VXL Radeon R9 270X 2 GB
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Igor Wallossek wrote a wide variety of hardware articles for Tom's Hardware, with a strong focus on technical analysis and in-depth reviews. His contributions have spanned a broad spectrum of PC components, including GPUs, CPUs, workstations, and PC builds. His insightful articles provide readers with detailed knowledge to make informed decisions in the ever-evolving tech landscape