OC'd 7950 vs OC'd R9 280X

[psurg]

Okay. So the R9 280X 'wins' by default because it's simply faster. But is it $100 faster?

I can't decide between the two cards. I can afford either, but I don't want to waste $100 if it's not substantially faster than the 7950. I plan on overclocking both my i5 4670k and GPU.


Regarding the brand --
Sapphire's 7950 is the cheapest. $210; $190 AR

Gigabyte's looks like the choice for the R9 280X at $300 + 4$ shipping. It seems to hit nearly 1.2Ghz for overclocking.

Not sure what to get though. I'm finding it difficult to compare an overclocked 7950 to an overclocked R9 280X.

 

[blackened23]

A lot of sapphire dual x 7950/7970 GPUs have coil whine. Especially the non GHZ dual-X editions (I experienced this first hand, on like, 3 7970 dual x cards that I exchanged back to back to back..This was like a year ago and i've since sold the 7970s. Yet, needless to say - at the time this happened, I went back to my ref 7970s which did not exhibit the issue).

That said, you may not have issues in that regard. Yet my impression is that since none of the 280X GPUs are using reference PCBs (I don't think?) that the coil whine will not be present guaranteed. With a sapphire dual x non ghz card you're taking a chance - if you do buy it, buy from a place with a good return policy.

Aside from this, performance wise, you'll find that both cards OC equally well. Expect 10-13% of additional performance with whichever card you get, maybe more if you're lucky. You can OC the 7950 to 7970 performance, but you can also still OC the 7970 to even higher performance than that. So it's up to you really.

 

[rancherlee]

By the looks of the benchmarks the 280x isn't overclocking any better than 7970 cards. Clock for Clock the 7970's are only 5-7% faster than the 7950's. I know I wouldn't pay 100$ more for a possible 10-15% MAX gain over a 7950......... and I didn't, guess I'm lucky and have no coil wine with mine but I really haven't pushed it hard yet, 1100/1600 @ 1.175v is her daily driver speed, good cooler too on the Dual X, stays under 60*c with the fan at 50% in most games though I have cool ambient temps.

 

[dragantoe]

If I had the money, I would go with a nice 7970, unless crossfiring, then i wud get 7950's in a heartbeat, but does it support mantle? it might be important

 

[psurg]

I've decided on getting the R9 280X. Shopping for a brand now if anyone wants to help.

 

[blackened23]

Gigabyte windforce, 1100mhz clock, 299.99, or Asus DC2T, 309.99 , 1070mhz clock, but tons of OC headroom.

Those are the best two for the most reasonable price IMO

 

[psurg]

Gigabyte windforce, 1100mhz clock, 299.99, or Asus DC2T, 309.99 , 1070mhz clock, but tons of OC headroom.

Those are the best two for the most reasonable price IMO

Any idea where I can find the Asus in stock?

 

[psurg]

gwas

 

[blackened23]

Yeah, I think that's one of the best choices on the market right now in terms of 280X cards. You're paying reference price for a factory OC'ed card with a whisper quiet cooler. Great deal IMHO.

 

[dragantoe]

gwas

nice choice, that's the one overclocking the best right now and comes stock with a very hefty overclock if you get lazy

 

[Ieat]

Personally, I would have gone with 2x7950's. Sell the games for $30 a pop and for roughly $20 more then what you paid would have gotten a ton more performance. But to each his own.

 

[Shmee]

Personally, I would have gone with 2x7950's. Sell the games for $30 a pop and for roughly $20 more then what you paid would have gotten a ton more performance. But to each his own.

I most likely would second this. You may want to see the prices on the R9 280s though, and see if they can be had for even cheaper!

Of course the free games with the 79xx series is a big plus.