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MSI R9 280 Gaming v PNY GTX760 XLR8 – £185 shootout

Unigine provides an interesting way to test hardware. It can be easily adapted to various projects due to its elaborated software design and flexible toolset.

A lot of their customers claim that they have never seen such extremely-effective code, which is so easy to understand.

Heaven Benchmark is a DirectX 11 GPU benchmark based on advanced Unigine engine from Unigine Corp. It reveals the enchanting magic of floating islands with a tiny village hidden in the cloudy skies. Interactive mode provides emerging experience of exploring the intricate world of steampunk.

Efficient and well-architected framework makes Unigine highly scalable:

  • Multiple API (DirectX 9 / DirectX 10 / DirectX 11 / OpenGL) render
  • Cross-platform: MS Windows (XP, Vista, Windows 7) / Linux
  • Full support of 32bit and 64bit systems
  • Multicore CPU support
  • Little / big endian support (ready for game consoles)
  • Powerful C++ API
  • Comprehensive performance profiling system
  • Flexible XML-based data structures

heaven1080pheaven 1600p
We use the settings shown above at 1920×1080 and 2560×1600.
unigine heaven 1080p

heaven 2014-06-11 15-43-09-10heaven 2014-06-12 10-57-32-34

unigine heaven 1600p

heaven 2014-06-11 15-48-28-46heaven 2014-06-12 11-03-01-84
Nvidia cards generally score better in this benchmark, although the performance of the MSI R9 280 Gaming is clearly way in advance of the PNY GTX760 XLR8.

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19 comments

  1. Well the R9 280 may perform better over all, there are other reasons to get the Nvidia over the AMD, one of which is the built in streaming to twitch in the Nvidia software, for anyone looking to stream games it’s a big plus as it’s super easy to use. Just food for thought as it’s not always about max performance per dollar.

  2. R9 290 = GTX 780
    R9 280 = GTX 770
    R9 270 = GTX 760
    (roughly)
    Sadly, the price does not reflect this (for Nvidia that is). No wonder the 280 won that round – it’s a good card for the price.

  3. Funny that in my country you can get gigabytes windforce GTX 770 for the same price as R9 280x (from the store not forums or sth).

  4. Sadly i see almost all pictures say that they use 290 not 280, so ofc it will win.

  5. BREC there is No r9 290 in this review, its an R9 280 Gaming.

  6. Radosław Greń

    Yep, it is better than my Radeon HD 5450…

  7. I have this card and it’s a beast you just can’t beat it for the price I run Titanfall everything maxed (maxed AA) on 24″ at 1080p never dropping below 60fps I bought mine for £167 from scan and that deal is on again right now! 3 free games included. Also you get free streaming software for 6 months with it xsplit game caster which is great. Brilliant card.

  8. i think im in love <3

  9. MSI R9 280 IS BETTER THAN NVIDIA GTX 760 I REALLY WANT IT BECAUSE OF THIS SO MUCH INTENSE POWER GAMING. I WANT TO REVIEW ANT TO KEEP THIS CARD FOREVER IN MY LIFE.

  10. Id like to review this because it looks like a beast, moreover id like to get this because gta V is on its way 🙂

  11. Would love to review this card… keeping fingers crossed.

  12. I’d love to review one of these!

  13. I have an msi gtx 760 OC and i would love to review and compair these.

  14. Ignacio Castillo

    Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity. I would love the chance to review and keep these cards. I would give you a great review. Thank you again

  15. ITS A good card for high gaming i thnk

  16. Ilove MSI

  17. i want to have this someday 😀

  18. The R9 280 is in-between the high end GPU and the budget friendly r9 270x.. If you are looking for a heavy duty,power kicking GPU the r9 280 would deliver it at your doorstep .
    With its dual fan,overclocking enthusiast would drool on the possibilities this baby can do.
    The r9 280 is a must get GPU for me..if you have the budget go for it.

  19. I am currently studying Computer Hardware Servicing and although I am new I know that this video card is surely a one of class just by looking at it the design was really extremely fantastic or should I say a design with sole purpose, I think with this kind of memory type and clock speed you shouldn’t worry about having some game lags on any game and experience high quality gaming experience. I commend this GPU as one of the most leading card today that anyone should have.