For our review today we are using the latest Catalyst 13.11 and Forceware 331.40 drivers. These drivers have the latest performance enhancements and bug fixes.
We are using one of our brand new test rigs supplied by PCSPECIALIST and built to our specifications. If you want to read more about this, or are interested in buying the same Kitguru Test Rig, check out our article with links on this page.
Comparison cards:
VTX3D HD7870 Tahiti LE (975mhz core / 1500mhz memory)
VTX3D VChamp HD7850 (1000mhz core / 1225mhz memory)
ASUS HD7850 (860mhz core / 1,200mhz memory)
eVGA GTX760 SC (1072 mhz core / 1502mhz memory)
Software:
Windows 7 Enterprise 64 bit
Unigine Heaven Benchmark
Unigine Valley Benchmark
3DMark Vantage
3DMark 11
3DMark
Fraps Professional
Steam Client
FurMark
Games:
Sleeping Dogs
Total War: Rome 2
Dirt Showdown
Tomb Raider
Metro Last Light
GRID 2
Alien V Predator
Splinter Cell Blacklist
All the latest BIOS updates and drivers are used during testing. We perform generally under real world conditions, meaning KitGuru tests games across five closely matched runs and then average out the results to get an accurate median figure. If we use scripted benchmarks, they are mentioned on the relevant page.
So the only card with the new audio features is a budget model? what? The 270x is basically the same performance as a HD7870 Tahiti LE and 280X is a 7970ghz ed?
Anyone else wondering if AMD have anything new at all to release? 290x? come on. its going to be £600, no one can afford that!!@
@Ben Both companies have done the same in terms of “re-branding”, only the GTX 780 is a new card.
For this card, i am somewhat impressed how they have managed to beat a 7870 LE, whilst consuming a lot less power. Cooler is a bit of a let down, but i would never buy a reference card anyway, ASUS Direct CU all the way!
I have a HIS R9 270 (nonX) I was able to get a stable 1100mhz overclock, For some reason I can only use the HIS iTurbo program to overclock it, When I used Afterburner it cause driver crashes, When i use saphire Trix it caused a Red screen, LOL At first I was angry thinking I got a card that would not overclock well, But when I tried the HIS iTurbo software and +4 on powertune it worked like a charm, I ran Unigine Heaven 4 times just to make sure. I may try 1150mhz next, But I should not press my luck. I should be happy it clocks to and past 270X speeds and calm down. But not bad for a GPU I only paid $179 for.