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Our newest GPU test system has been built with the intention of benchmarking low to mid-range graphics cards, we have a separate test system which benchmarks higher-end graphics cards such as the RX 480, GTX 1070 and GTX 1080. To reflect the performance of GPUs being tested the scope of testing has been reduced to 1080p and 1440p, since 4K is largely irrelevant for GPUs of this price point.
General Test System Notes
- All AMD Graphics cards were benchmarked with the AMD Crimson Display Driver 16.6.1 and all Nvidia Graphics cards with the Nvidia Forceware 368.39 driver.
- To tune the test system appropriately for acoustic measurements the case was outfitted with ultra quiet Noctua 800RPM fans and the Corsair H100i set to a fixed fan speed of 700RPM to further reduce the base noise level.
- The CPU was left to default Intel Turbo behaviour, disabling motherboard manufacturer enhancements such as all-core Turbo to minimise heat output inside the case and non-GPU related power consumption.
- Each benchmark or game is run 3 times at each resolution with an average result of the three runs taken as the final result for the graphs.
Test System Components
- Case: Corsair 400Q (two stock case fans replaced with Noctua 800 RPM 120mm rear exhaust and 140mm front intake fans)
- Processor: Intel Core i7-6700K (Stock Intel Turbo behaviour).
- Memory: 32GB (4 x 8GB) G.Skill Trident Z DDR4 running at JEDEC 2800MHz.
- Graphics Card: Variable.
- System Drive: Mushkin Chronos 120GB.
- Games Drive: Samsung 850 EVO 512GB SSD
- CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i w/ Noctua NTH1 (fan speed limited to 700 RPM on Corsair H100i).
- Power Supply: Seasonic Platinum 760W.
- Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit.
Comparison Graphics Cards List
- EVGA GTX 750 Ti Superclocked (1176MHz core, 1255MHz boost, 5400MHz memory )
- MSI R7 370 2GB Gaming (980MHz core, 1030MHz boost, 5600MHz memory)
- MSI R9 380 4GB Gaming (980MHz core, 5700MHz memory)
- MSI R9 390 8GB Gaming (1040MHz core, 6000MHz memory)
- PNY GTX 950 2GB XLR8 OC Gaming (1152MHz core, 1342MHz boost, 7200MHz memory)
- PNY GTX 960 4GB XLR8 OC Gaming (1203MHz core, 1266MHz boost, 7200MHz memory)
- Sapphire R9 380X 4GB Nitro OC (1040MHz core, 6000MHz memory)
- XFX R7 360 2GB Core Edition (1050MHz core, 6000MHz memory)
- Zotac GTX 970 4GB (1076MHz core, 1216MHz boost, 7010MHz memory)
Software and Games List
- 3DMark
- Ashes of the Singularity
- Dirt Rally
- Furmark
- GPU-Z
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Metro Last Light Redux
- Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
- MSI Afterburner
- Steam
- Unigine Valley
Eh, i don’t know if it’s worth buying, especially with 470 and 460 on the doorstep.
Could you include a 960 standard in the comparison for completeness ?
Seems off not to include the RX 480 in the result charts. Yes, the 960 is old, but it seems pointless to pretend newer cards aren’t competition.
This is something I’ll address in my next graphics card review, it will include the Rx 480, GTX 1070 and more. Thanks for the feedback. I disagree that it’s pointless though, the GTX 960 (£150~175) is a different price bracket to the Rx 480.
They should have RX 480 included!
Anyway. We want to compere the cards.
390 and 970 is they cheap?
200$ 960 vs 200$ 480? Even in the conclusion it should have been referenced that buyers should look that way or consider that the 1060 is coming out soon as well.
Awesome, the 1060 review should be interesting. Also is there potential to review the 4gb RX480 as that has a starting price of £175? Would be interesting to see how memory affects performance.
…Use google m8
Yep, working on that – a Rx 480 is now with me so will be testing in due course and try to get this review’s graphs updated before 1060.
In the UK (we are a UK site) Rx 480 is a £240+ card and not (yet) available in 4GB variants. However, yes I will revisit now I have an Rx 480 with me and update graphs/judgement accordingly.