Best ATI R9 280

[Moidave]

Hello,

Thanks to the community, I have made up my mind in building a medium-budget gaming PC in Japan (as opposed to a PS4).

I have pretty much decided on all parts according to my budget:

Core i5 4690(or 4690S) with Gigabyte Z87X UD3H with 8gb ram.

However, I am trying to pick a graphic card around the 200$ mark, or 23,0000 yen. There are quite a few models available but I am not sure which one is best.

Sapphire dual X 280 with OC and boost
HIS 280 iceQ OC
Asus R280-DC2T

Unfortunately the MSI R9 280 gaming 3G is sold out....

What do you think? Thanks!

 

[Termie]

Of those, the Asus - it has a better cooler than the Sapphire and is more compact than the HIS. Quieter too.

Be careful about using a Z87 board. If it's from an older shipment, it will not run with a 4690 in it. Also, no reason to get a Z-series board if you're not overclocking, which you can't with the 4690. An H97 board would be a better match and is guaranteed to POST with a 4690.

And definitely skip the 4690S - it's not intended for gaming, it's for low-power applications.

 

[raghu78]

OP if you can get all of these at the same price the asus r9 280 is the better option. For R9 280 the ASUS DCII cooler is better than Sapphire Dual x or HIS Iceq

http://www.in.techradar.com/reviews...-280-DirectCU-II-TOP/articleshow/38452516.cms

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/R9_280X_Direct_Cu_II_TOP/25.html

 

[Moidave]

Of those, the Asus - it has a better cooler than the Sapphire and is more compact than the HIS. Quieter too.

Be careful about using a Z87 board. If it's from an older shipment, it will not run with a 4690 in it. Also, no reason to get a Z-series board if you're not overclocking, which you can't with the 4690. An H97 board would be a better match and is guaranteed to POST with a 4690.

And definitely skip the 4690S - it's not intended for gaming, it's for low-power applications.

Thanks! Any advantages to get an Asus Mobo to go with the card? Also, which H97 do you recommend?

 

[Moidave]

Here is the full build.

2 is the 8gb ram
4 is the scythe 600W PSU

For 50$ more I could get the 4690K and do some overclocking. Is it worth it?
I am hoping to keep the cpu/mobo for a long time and just update the GPU.

 

[Termie]

That looks like a good build. The H97-Pro motherboard would be fine. No advantage to having Asus for both motherboard and video card, but it's probably a good board. Doesn't seem to be available in the U.S., so I can't comment directly on it.

You won't need to overclock the CPU with that video card, but if you like tweaking, yes, it's worth it in the long run. You'd also need a Z97 board, so make sure you include that in the cost.

 

[greybaby]

Alternatively, you might look at used prices on 7950's in Japan. In the US, the prices all plumeted because of coin mining. They go for 100 dollars in the US and are essentially the same card as a 280. Unless you're looking to save on energy, don't get the 4690s. If you do want to saver energy, it will keep up with a 280 nicely.

 

[Moidave]

Alternatively, you might look at used prices on 7950's in Japan. In the US, the prices all plumeted because of coin mining. They go for 100 dollars in the US and are essentially the same card as a 280. Unless you're looking to save on energy, don't get the 4690s. If you do want to saver energy, it will keep up with a 280 nicely.

Unfortunately, the price of the 7950 are much higher than the newer generation of R9 here in Japan.

Thanks for the support. Now that I am finalizing my build, I am looking at 2 different online stores and they each have interesting deals.

Basically for 40-50$ more,

I could move from 4690 to 4690K Or. Go from Asus 280 CU2T to Sapphire 280X with OC.

As I plan to keep one main element for 5-7 years (of course reducing the graphic details as I go), either the CPU/Mobo or GPU, I am wondering which would be more future proof from the start: a faster GPU or a CPU I could overclock in a few years to keep up with new games.

 

[f1sherman]

As I plan to keep one main element for 5-7 years (of course reducing the graphic details as I go), either the CPU/Mobo or GPU, I am wondering which would be more future proof from the start: a faster GPU or a CPU I could overclock in a few years to keep up with new games.

I don't see 280X being able to deliver when 280 eventually fails to,
nor 4.5GHz 4690K being able to deliver when 3.9GHz 4690 fails

5-7 years is toooo long of a period. 7 years from now, you'll have tablets faster than your 280x

i7-4770 might make more sense, and I can see 4770 still being useful when 4690 isn't