XFX Radeon R9 380 4GB XXX OC Retail......$169.99 ar!!

[daveybrat]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...730&cm_re=R9-380P-4255-_-14-150-730-_-Product

XFX Radeon R9 380 R9-380P-4255 4GB 256-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 CrossFireX Support Double Dissipation XXX OC Video Card

On sale for $189.99 - $20 MIR = $169.99 w/fs!

 

[pbroussard]

as Russian Sensation said, the $20 difference between an R9 380 and 380x is well worth it. I almost pulled the trigger on this, thinking the only difference between the 2 were clock speed, but that must have been the R9 280 and 280x.

"R9 380X has only two physical differences to the cheaper R9 380. Firstly, an increased number of stream processors: 2048 on the fully unlocked SKU to the 380's 1792. Secondly, 128 texture units to 112 on the 380. "

Now that it's a $30 difference it's a bit tougher choice.

 

[FalconHorse]

For 1080p gaming, is the (now $30) price difference enough to ignore the R9 380x? And I assume the GTX 960 isn't worth considering at the moment? I'm coming from a HD7850 and will be pairing the GPU with an i5-6400 hopefully OC'd on a 'Sky OC' asrock mobo. Thanks in advance

EDIT: general gaming from LoL to Battelfront/Witcher3 etc

 

[pbroussard]

I've been waiting for a good deal in the $170 price range for a month, since that's the amount stepson has for a gpu. We've seen the same R9380X at $200 on and off for a bit, and would probably say if one dropped just $10 more dollars I'd bite. the R9 380x is significantly faster than a 960 and cheaper to boot.

Others here are more knowledgeable than me on gpu's but if $170 is your limit you're not going to find a better card.

 

[RussianSensation]

For 1080p gaming, is the (now $30) price difference enough to ignore the R9 380x? And I assume the GTX 960 isn't worth considering at the moment? I'm coming from a HD7850 and will be pairing the GPU with an i5-6400 hopefully OC'd on a 'Sky OC' asrock mobo. Thanks in advance

EDIT: general gaming from LoL to Battelfront/Witcher3 etc

IMO, no, unless you need specific HVEC 4K decoding, HDMI 2.0 for your 4K HDTV or you have a budget PSU or are primarily playing Project CARS. 380X is 20-30% faster than the 960 4GB.

Unfortunately, the media and the average PC gamer has overhyped the 960 and purposely downplayed R9 380/380X/280X but if you look at the benchmarks anywhere, it's 380X > 280X > 380 4GB > 380 2GB > 960.

Even a 1495mhz overclocked 960 cannot even beat a 380 non-X. That's how bad it is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66yhd36PdYg

You know 960 gets owned hard when in a test-suite with only 1 brand agnostic title, 960 loses by 20% against the 380X.

"Compared to the GeForce GTX 960 4GB cards these are priced similarly. It is a no-brainier that the ASUS STRIX R9 380X DirectCU II OC is a better deal. It provides faster performance than the GeForce GTX 960 4GB overclocked or not. Even the default out-of-box ASUS STRIX R9 380X DirectCU II OC was as fast as the highly overclocked ASUS GeForce GTX 960 4GB video card. The overclocked ASUS STRIX R9 380X DirectCU II OC was nearly 20% faster. In every shape and form AMD Radeon R9 380X is a better value than a GeForce GTX 960 4GB right now."
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015...tcu_ii_oc_overclocking_review/14#.Vostqvl95D8

While not definitive, 960 losing badly to a 925mhz 7970 in early DX12 benchmarks is not confidence inspiring.

In one of your games too, 960 gets whopped hard by a mere 380 2GB.

The other part about the 960 that I've been pointing out is that when 960 beats 380, it barely wins (except Project CARS/Anno 2205) but yet when R9 380 (nonX) is winning, it really beats the 960.

Current benchmarks of 290X vs. 980 vs. 960 also show 290X hanging with 980 but 960 falls apart. That suggests to me that 380X would easily beat 960 in that title too.

If you want the best value and don't mind going used/refurbished, see if you can find an after-market R9 290 or scout for a Jet's deal on 970/390 or wait for an EVGA B-stock 970.

It seems with Jet's deal and combined $20 AMEX Promo on Jet.com, it's possible to get an R9 390 for $265.
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2459328

I've been waiting for a good deal in the $170 price range for a month, since that's the amount stepson has for a gpu. We've seen the same R9380X at $200 on and off for a bit, and would probably say if one dropped just $10 more dollars I'd bite. the R9 380x is significantly faster than a 960 and cheaper to boot.

Others here are more knowledgeable than me on gpu's but if $170 is your limit you're not going to find a better card.

There is always the 280X for $185 as a good middle-ground between the $170 380 4GB and the $200 R9 380X, although in some recent games that rely more on tessellation, 380X pulls away from 280X.

Digital Foundry
380X vs. 960/380 @ 1080p
380X vs. 960/380 @ 1440p

Also, in some modern titles such as TW3, 380X pulls away from the 380 sometimes by 20%!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp9_PuhEo-Q

Considering $100 price difference between 670 and 680, $220 price difference between 970 and 980, $100 price difference between HD7970 1Ghz and HD7970Ghz, $150 price difference between R9 290 and 290X, I think $30 extra from 380 to 380X is worth it but each gamer can decide.

 

[FalconHorse]

Wow thanks for the info and opinions guys! One thing about the 280X, how much of a downside is 3GB for 1080p gaming? Thanks again

 

[RussianSensation]

^ Not much. Biggest downsides to 280X vs. 380/380X are weaker tesslelation performance (this slows 280X more with tessellated God Rays in Far Cry 4, Fallout 4, HairWorks in the Witcher 3), more outdated video encoding engine for 4K content, lack of FreeSync support over HDMI 1.4a or DisplayPort 1.2, and PowerColor 280X would run hotter and louder than the XFX 380X. Also XFX warranty is miles better than PowerColor's. Finally, AMD mentioned that only R9 300 series will support HDR content:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9836/amd-unveils-2016-vistech-roadmap/3

If I were to bet, I would think R9 300 could get longer driver support too. This is because Tonga XT 380X is much newer than Tahiti XT (280X).

Just keep it realistic: I wouldn't buy any $200 GPU thinking it will last 3-5 years. As long as you are aiming at 1920x1200 and below, these cards should run great for the next 1-2 years.

I still maintain that if someone is willing to go used after-market 290/970/290X, it's still the best deal.