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Unlike the other launch reviews today, AMD never sent us a reference sample of the R9 280X so we have been unable to offer any direct head to head comparisons with the custom Sapphire Vapor X model. There is no doubt that the Vapor X cooler is one of the main selling points to our readers, especially as AMD reference coolers usually offer very little of note for the enthusiast gamer.
As we mentioned earlier in the review, the R9 280X Vapor X is basically a reflashed HD7970 GHZ Edition brought into 2013. The shader configuration, Pixel, Texture filrate and bandwidth specifications are identical, including the release date of Dec 22, 2011 and Device ID of 1002-6798. Check out our GPUZ screenshots on the second page of this review for verification.
Many enthusiast users will be asking why AMD didn't release a brand new board to take on Nvidia in the high end. Right now the GTX780 has no competition, unless you include the recent price cuts on the dual GPU HD7990 flagship. We will have to wait on the AMD R9 290X to see what they have up their sleeves in the coming weeks.
As far as the R9 280X is concerned, it offers identical performance to the HD7970 GHZ Edition – which we reviewed way back in July 2012. I have to admit I find it unusual that AMD didn't launch the R9 290X first, as it seems to the model that should be leading the way.
Thankfully this review can be taken from a slightly different viewpoint. Sapphire have replaced the reference R9 280X cooler with a Vapor X model which performs exceptionally well. There is also a dual BIOS switch which increases the core clock speed from 1,050mhz to 1,070mhz and the memory speeds from 1,500mhz (6.0Gbps effective) to 1,550mhz (6.2Gbps). Not a huge clock improvement, but every little counts.
For our review today we decided to include the Sapphire HD7970 6GB Toxic Edition, one of the fastest HD7970's ever released. This card unsurprisingly outperforms the Sapphire R9 280X Vapor X, but it does generate a lot more noise and heat due to the fact that the board received a voltage increase at the time.
No one argued that the HD7970 6GB Toxic Edition wasn't a stunning card however the noise levels did cause concern at the time. In this regard, the new board has the edge … although even with manual overclocking the R9 280X can't quite reach the same clock figures.
Overclocking the Sapphire R9 280X Vapor X didn't prove to be incredibly successful. We already knew from past experiences that the HD7970 was often limited to between 1,100mhz and 1,150mhz and our review sample hit a hardlock clock speed just below 1,150mhz. The GDDR5 memory is also almost clocked to the limit, we managed to only squeeze another 30 mhz before minor artifacting would occur.
Pricing of the R9 280X will be instrumental in regards to sales success. AMD have told the press that the R9 280X will be sold for $299.
This directly translates into £190 UK pre VAT. With £38 UK VAT added we have a final price of around £230. We spoke with several retailers just before launch and we were told prices would be between £249 and £289 inc vat, so again UK punters have to pay extra. With overclocked, custom HD7970's already available for £230 inc vat, it might be a difficult sell for AMD partners. Again, pricing tends to shift a lot in the coming weeks after launch, so it is best to keep watching leading online retailers.
In closing, this Sapphire R9 280X Vapor X is undoubtedly a powerful graphics card but in reality it won't offer anything new to gamers who were already contemplating the purchase of a custom, overclocked HD7970. No matter what way you look at this, it is a disappointing scenario for AMD to end 2013.
We hope the R9 290/X brings something fresh, new and exciting to the table.
Pros:
- Vapor X cooler is fantastic.
- Dual bios.
- relatively quiet under load.
- fantastic performance at 2560×1600.
Cons:
- Not much headroom on our sample.
- HD7970 anyone?
Kitguru says: A high performance, supremely cooled custom card from Sapphire, but no matter what way you look at it, AMD releasing a HD7970 GHZ rehash in 2013 is disappointing.
Dear AMD,
Thanks for wasting our time. Hope this Mantle crap pans out or you’ve got NOTHING.
Sincerely,
Most of your customers.
well this is a good card, but its hardly anything new. even the new output display – Sapphire had FLEX for years. disappointing for AMD, but sapphire made the best of a bad idea.
Nvidia must be loving this.
Another good card from Sapphire, but its just a HD7970 with Flex as Slashwat says. nothing new, move along.
Wow, I think ill still get the GTX780, what a complete waste of time, I wanted something new and exciting not a card from 2011 🙁
I feel sorry for AMD partners right now. 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!
I had to check my watch today I thought I woke up in December 2011…..
Its a nice card and I love AMD, but what is happening? I only use one monitor so I dont care about this AMD new output system and I loved the new audio features as I record music myself, but I have to get a 260X if I want the new features?
This can’t be happening… I am just picking up a 7950 on offer now. so much for an exciting new range.
Quite funny AMD couldn’t even be bothered trying to hide the 2011 date and change the ID number.
Sapphire always make great cards, but they dont exactly have much to work with here. 7970 is a great board as Kitguru say, but so what? we have had it for well over a year in various custom forms. Not sure why this is considered a launch.
Audio features might be useful, but this card or 270x doesn’t even have Trueaudio, so why bother?
I have a custom 7970 and I love it, and wanted to get a new 280X at the same price with all the improvements.
Where are they? My own card is the same and I already use three displayport monitors for work and dont see any benefit for me. Dont need trueaudio either, which is just as well as this doesnt have it.
They are great cards, but I have no reason to update. interested to see the 290x as it looks to be a nice card. not a remake.
Great card for what it is, but didnt nvidia get slammed for rehashing old hardware a while ago?
waiting on 290x. fingers crossed
What did you all expect? This was released as a REBRANDING from the start… only the 290X will be the new architecture… jeez cry more because AMD made the current offerings a bit better but used a new name.
And as far as the OC goes, it feels like the reviewer put very little effort into this AT ALL. I have the single fan 7950 OC Boost from Sapphire and have easily achieved 1250 core 1800 mem clock using Trixx and been rock solid… I know that isn’t the XT version with 2048 shaders, but saying this is no headroom to drive this thing higher is just unacceptable and irresponsible… I’d bet there is more to squeeze from this 280X than this review shows.
Oh look, people slamming AMD for rehashing old hardware… So where is all the hate for Nvidia for doing THE EXACT SAME THING? They rehashed the hardware and made the 760 and 770. Just as AMD does now, Nvidia only released two cards on the new architecture: Titan and 780. What is AMD doing? OH RIGHT, the 290 and 290X. So shut your mouths, Nvidia is no better in this domain… Oh how I wish for the days of $450 high end sexy beast cards… -sigh-
@ Dameon – a reader who thinks he is a reviewer – such bollocks. of course a 7950 will hit higher overclocks, but this is a completely differentr board and most 7970’s (including my own) is often limited to 1,150mhz. I actually think Zardon’s reviews are more accurate than many who claim ludicrous stability figures, when there is minor artifacting or glitching. unacceptable and responsible? wise up you retard, you passing out this information is pathetic. Heres a tip, buy a 280X, start your own site, review it. sned me a link and ill go over and see how you did with the rest of it.
hello, please help very very urgent, I’ll buy a 280x r9 like the story and want to know if my power supply is powerful enough, my source is an imperator TEMPLARIUS aerocool 650w 80 + bronze .. my source can run this graph without any kind of problems?? thank you very much and hope to answer
As a rehashed GHZ ED. I must confess I just bought this. I got it because it is is slightly more efficient than the previous 7970’s, the UEFI bios, and it is a single card solution that is on par with a GTX770 for my HTPC setup at a seriously discounted price! I’m dropping my power and heat hungry GTX 560Ti 1gb SLI setup for it. Jesus… The minum requirement power supply is 550 watt for the Vapor, 500 for stock speed cards with little to no OCing so you’re more than good.
Jesus I lied you actually need a 750 watt PS… Sorry for my wrong answer!
You guy are complaining for nothing. Think, this is a rebranded 7970Ghz, but let’s gonna take a look into the prices.. The 7970Ghz have a price launch of $ 549. R9 290x have a launch price of $ 299. Understand what i’m talking about? The money is most important here.
We have a little more performance of a 7970Ghz for just $ 299, and beating an $ 400 GTX 770. I’m very satisfacted, not talking about performance, but talking about money.
lmao these low life halfwits & their irrelevant complaints …not at all factoring what matters, THE PRICE TO PERFORMANCE RATIO, the R9 priced similarly as the 7000 series while the 7000 series gets ridiculous price cuts..Mantle?? If you have some cash to blow, sign up for a gym membership lardass
To the person asking about the power supply.
Companies list a higher rated power supply than necessary because almost no one understands PSUs and purchase the least expensive [cheap] PSU they can find.
If you have a good 80+ certified PSU rated at 650 watts, it will be enough to run a single R9 280X. Just make sure you have enough GPU power connectors.
Check this list to see if you PSU is on it:
http://www.plugloadsolutions.com/80PlusPowerSuppliesDetail.aspx?id=283&type=2
I got Min FPS of 35.2 and max of 158.5 and the average fps was 83.2 with my r9 280x vapor-x with a modest overclock (1130mhz). I think this totally crushes the 770, which is also a rebadge, so why the big deal anyway?