MSI R9 280X Gaming 3G GPU Review

Graphics cards are what make a gamers world go-round. High levels of detail and great frame rates are crucial in their world. What good is having great frame rates if the game looks blocky and frankly, ugly? This may come to a shock to some, but not every gamer has 1000’s of dollars to pour into their components and PCs. While some can afford to plop in a R9 295×2 or GTX Titan black, others must be a little more conservative. In my mind, $300-350 is a good price range for great graphics performance. This seems to be pretty much on par with what we have seen at events and LAN parties. The R-series of graphics cards have been out for a while and AMD has had time to massage and mature the drivers and clear up performance issues.  The MSI R9 280x Gaming 3G graphics card sits firmly in this price range; does the performance justify the price?

[sc:sponsor sponsor=”MSI” product_link=”http://us.msi.com/product/vga/R9_280X_GAMING_3G.html#hero-overview” product_name=”MSI R9 280x Gaming 3g” product_price_link=”http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127759″ product_price=”304.99″ ]

Specifications

• Graphics Engine
  AMD Radeon™ R9 280X
• Bus Standard
  PCI Express x16 3.0
• Memory Type
  GDDR5
• Memory Size(MB)
  3072
• Memory Interface
  384 bits
• Core Clock Speed(MHz)
  1000MHz Core (Boost Clock:1050MHz) (OC mode)
  1000MHz Core (Boost Clock:1020MHz) (Gaming mode)
  1000MHz Core (Boost Clock:1000MHz) (Silent mode)
• Memory Clock Speed(MHz)
  6000
• DVI Output
  1 (Dual-link DVI-I)
• HDMI-Output
  1 (version 1.4a), Max Resolution: 4096×2160@24 Hz
• Mini DisplayPort
  2
• HDCP Support
  Y
• HDMI Support
  Y
• Dual-link DVI
  Y
• RAMDACs
  400
• DirectX Version Support
  11.2
• OpenGL Version Support
  4.3
• CrossFire Support
  Y
• Card Dimension(mm)
  269x128x34 mm
• Weight
  849