AMD Radeon R9 280X, R9 270X, And R7 260X: Old GPUs, New Names

Features
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AMD is introducing a handful of new model names today, based on existing GPUs. Do the company's price adjustments make this introduction newsworthy, or will the excitement need to wait for its upcoming Radeon R9 290 and 290X, based on fresh silicon?

Test Setup And Software

Test Hardware And Software

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Test Hardware
ProcessorsIntel Core i7-4960X (Ivy Bridge-E) 3.6 GHz Base Clock Rate, Overclocked to 4.3 GHz, LGA 2011, 15 MB Shared L3, Hyper-Threading enabled, Power-savings enabled
MotherboardASRock X79 Extreme6 (LGA 2011) X79 Express Chipset, BIOS 2.50
MemoryG.Skill 32 GB (8 x 4 GB) DDR3-2133, F3-17000CL9Q-16GBXM x2 @ 9-11-10-28 and 1.65 V
Hard DriveSamsung 840 Pro SSD 256 GB SATA 6Gb/s
GraphicsAMD Radeon R9 280X 3 GB
Row 5 - Cell 0 AMD Radeon R9 270X 2 GB
Row 6 - Cell 0 AMD Radeon R7 260X 2 GB
Row 7 - Cell 0 AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition 3 GB
Row 8 - Cell 0 AMD Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2 GB
Row 9 - Cell 0 AMD Radeon HD 7790 2 GB
Row 10 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 760 2 GB
Row 11 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2 GB
Row 12 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost 2 GB
Row 13 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2 GB
Power SupplyCorsair AX860i 860 W
System Software And Drivers
Operating SystemWindows 8 Professional 64-bit
DirectXDirectX 11
Graphics DriverAMD Catalyst 13.11 Beta 1 (All AMD cards)
Row 19 - Cell 0 Nvidia GeForce 331.40 Beta (All Nvidia cards)
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Benchmarks And Settings
Battlefield 3Ultra Quality Preset, v-sync off, 1920x1080, 2560x1440, DirectX 11, Going Hunting, 90-Second playback, Fraps
Arma 3Very High Detail Preset, DirectX 11, 2x FSAA, v-sync off, 1920x1080, 2560x1440, Infantry Showcase, 30-Second playback, Fraps
Grid 2Ultra Quality Preset, 4x MSAA, v-sync off, 1920x1080, 2560x1440, Built-In Benchmark, Fraps
The Elder Scrolls V: SkyrimUltra Quality Preset, FXAA Disabled, 1920x1080, 2560x1440, Custom Run-Through, 25-Second playback, Fraps
BioShock InfiniteUltra Quality Settings with Diffusion Depth of Field, DirectX 11, 1920x1080, 2560x1440, Built-in Benchmark Sequence, 75-Second playback, Fraps
Crysis 3High System Spec, SMAA Low (1x), High Texture Resolution, 1920x1080, 2560x1440, Custom Run-Through, 60-Second Sequence, Fraps
Tomb RaiderUltra Quality Preset, FXAA Enabled, 16x Anisotropic Filtering, TressFX Hair, 1920x1080, 2560x1440, Custom Run-Through, 45-Second playback, Fraps
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini
Chris Angelini is an Editor Emeritus at Tom's Hardware US. He edits hardware reviews and covers high-profile CPU and GPU launches.
144 Comments Comment from the forums
  • CaptainTom
    Wow what's with the AMD hate? As it stands they are doing the same thing Nvidia did except without the outrageous prices. The GTX 770 wasn't a great deal when the 7970 was $50 cheaper. Have fun trying to run BF3 with 2GB of VRAM...
    Reply
  • slomo4sho
    Nothing revolutionary but better prices I suppose.

    The MSI R9 280X Gaming at $299 appears to outperform the GTX 770 at 1600P and is within margin of error at 1080P according to Techpowerup. Not a bad value at $100 less and still overclocks well:


    http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_280X_Gaming/26.html
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    So long story short, if you have a HD7970GHz then these do nothing for you.

    Best to hold out till the reviews on the R9-290X I guess. But considering the specs I hope for at least 20% performance increases over a 7970.
    Reply
  • Shankovich
    What happened to Chris? I didn't see this kind of hate with all of the 700 series rebrands. Also, to the Canadians here, grab the $270 7970 GHz edition cards while you still can.
    Reply
  • BigMack70
    I don't like this new strategy AMD and Nvidia are taking of rebranding an old series at improved price points and then releasing only one new chip at a stupidly expensive price point.

    Are the days of (nearly) annual simultaneous full line GPU launches from $100-500 with a dual GPU chip to follow at $750-1000 really over?
    Reply
  • cangelini
    Hate? The R9 280X won an *award*. I think Tahiti at $300 is pretty much brilliant.

    I wrote one of the least flattering GTX 780 stories out there. I only identified a couple of situations where a Titan made any sense at all. And although the 760 *did* change the balance at $250, that card still didn't get an award. I liked the 770 for the simple fact that it delivered better-than-680 performance for close to $100 less.

    The rest of AMD's new line-up is a lot like what exists already. Again, the 7870 is a better value than 270X. So what are you getting worked up over? The fact that I'm pointing out these aren't new GPUs? They're not. ;)
    Reply
  • Shankovich
    Ok Chris, I agree with you, sorry for the over reaction. But I really don't like how nVidia made price increases for some of the rebrands. Looking forward to your 290 and 290X reviews :D
    Reply
  • ingtar33
    i'll take a 7950 at $129 thank you very much (or two). There is a major retailer selling them for that this week. Best buy all year. two 7950s for the price of one r9-280x? yeah... i'll do that all day every day.
    Reply
  • tomfreak
    Radeon 7790 has true Audio = but not enabled boooooo = as a 7790 owner I somewhat disappointed :( . Anyone have any idea if we can crossfire 1GB 7790 and 2GB 260x?
    Reply
  • net_nakul
    By the time a R9 380X comes out, the GCN Tahiti XT achitecture may be 4 years old (assuming end of 2015). AMD better come up with an awesome new architecture by then, considering the R&D time they have.

    That goes to you too Mr. NVIDIA
    Reply