Test Setup
| Processor | Intel Core i5-4670K |
| RAM | Avexir Core Series 8GB DDR3-1600 |
| Motherboard | ASRock Z87M OC Formula |
| Cooler | Cooler Master Seidon 120M |
| Monitor | 40″ LCD TV |
| Power Supply | Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid 1300W |
| Casing | Cooler Master N200 Casing |
| Operating System | Windows 8 Pro 64bit |
| Driver | AMD Catalyst 13.4 / 13.11 |
Now before I begin, I’d like to highlight that the R9 280X is essentially a HD 7970. Upon power up, my system that was formerly using the HD 7970 didn’t even request for a new driver. The GPU-Z screenshots above also speak the same story.
As if that’s not conclusive enough – I managed to CrossfireX the R9 280X with the HD 7970.
Benchmark
For this test, I’ve also included the benchmark results using Catalyst 13.11 Beta Drivers.
Metro 2033
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X | 75 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X (13.11) | 76.5 |
| Sapphire HD 7970 Ghz Edition | 71.5 |
| R9 280X + HD 7970 (Crossfire) | 102.5 |
Unigine Heaven 4.0
| Card | 1080p (avg) |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X | 59.1 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X (13.11) | 59.5 |
| Sapphire HD 7970 Ghz Edition | 55.4 |
| R9 280X + HD 7970 (Crossfire) | 110.9 |
Resident Evil 6
*Full HD at 1920×1080 – pardon me for the wrong screen resolution in the shot above.
| Card | 1080p (score) |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X | 11205 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X (13.11) | 11441 |
| Sapphire HD 7970 Ghz Edition | 10741 |
| R9 280X + HD 7970 (Crossfire) | 16753 |
Just Cause 2
| Scene | Card | 1080p (avg) |
| Dark Tower | ASUS Radeon R9 280X | 122.50 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X (13.11) | 121.90 | |
| Sapphire HD 7970 Ghz Edition | 115.27 | |
| R9 280X + HD 7970 (Crossfire) | 201.54 | |
| Desert Sunrise | ASUS Radeon R9 280X | 152.73 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X (13.11) | 153.28 | |
| Sapphire HD 7970 Ghz Edition | 146.16 | |
| R9 280X + HD 7970 (Crossfire) | 200.97 | |
| Concrete Jungle | ASUS Radeon R9 280X | 87.72 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X (13.11) | 87.42 | |
| Sapphire HD 7970 Ghz Edition | 84.92 | |
| R9 280X + HD 7970 (Crossfire) | 100.62 |
3DMark
Default settings
| Card | Score |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X | 7182 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X (13.11) | 7513 |
| Sapphire HD 7970 Ghz Edition | 6845 |
| R9 280X + HD 7970 (Crossfire) | 11527 |
Temperature
Furmark Burn-in Test was used to stress the card. Fan settings are at Auto. Room set to ~25c.
Below is the full load details.
| Card | Idle(°C) | Load (°C) |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X | 36 | 86 |
| Sapphire HD 7970 Ghz Edition | 34 | 77 |
Is the Vapor-X better? Not really. The Vapor-X was running at near full speed with the noise blaring away to maintain at 77 but the DirectCU II was not even close to that noise level when it was at 86c. I’m pretty impressed by it in fact.
The Verdict
Will the R9 280X be a good card? I believe so. It’s not entirely a HD 7970 because the R9 280X also comes with Mantle support, AMD’s new API for games. You can read more about it at Anandtech.
At the time of this article, sources say that the R9 280X will be priced cheaper than the HD 7970, which I think makes it all the more ridiculous for the used value of my card. 🙁 I’ll not rejoice until I see how our local (Malaysia) vendors price the card.
In the mean time, the ASUS Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II R9 280X is certainly something worth looking at.
I can’t wait to plug this into my gaming rig. Damn!