CrossOver or new card?

[Oseth]

Let me start by saying that I am a fan of AMD cards. I know nVidia is good and what not but I've always stuck with AMD GPUs and am planning to do in the future.

Now, I have a 280x and I was wondering whether it would be a better idea to get a new 380 or get another 280 or 280x and CrossFire them?

What's your guys' opinion?

 

[Kushiro]

Better to just get another 280x and CF.

Though if you can wait, the next gen is definitely worth the wait. What is your reason for wanting an upgrade?

 

[NeverBackDown]

Well depends on budget. If you can get a really really good deal on a 280x then sure why not. If it's not a good deal then I'd say hold off on Xfire if performance is still good for you. If you want to upgrade now I'd say look between a really cheap 280x or selling your current card and getting a new higher end one.

 

[Pr3d4t0r]

"amd fan"

"crossover"

but srsly, I'd always prefer to get a single gpu over sli/cf, it just solves a lot of potential issues, especially with games that don't even support sli such as Fallout 4.

 

[Relayer]

I wouldn't crossfire Tahiti GPU's because they use the old crossfire bridges instead of the superior bridgeless system with the newer GPU's.

 

[Agost]

Going from a 280X to a 380 makes NO sense

 

[Oseth]

Going from a 280X to a 380 makes NO sense

Why do you say that?

 

[Oseth]

Better to just get another 280x and CF.

Though if you can wait, the next gen is definitely worth the wait. What is your reason for wanting an upgrade?

Just not getting solid FPS anymore, usually sitting around 30-40. The new titles, except maybe SWBF, are all demanding if you want to make them look pretty.

 

[Agost]

Why do you say that?

Because the 380 is slightly slower than a 280X.

 

[Feronix]

Because the 380 is mostly a slightly faster rebrand of the 280.

 

[Agost]

Because the 380 is mostly a slightly faster rebrand of the 280.

Not a rebrand of the 280, but 285. The 285/380 has GCN 1.2, the 7950/280 has GCN 1.0

Still a downgrade though

For a "decent" upgrade you should aim no lower than a Fury IMHO. I don't believe in small upgrades, it makes no sense to me to switch to a new card for full price if it's not going to deliver 50% or more performance than the previous one

I'd overclock you 280X to 1100MHz or more and save money for Arctic Islands and a 4k 60Hz/1440p 144Hz Freesync monitor.

 

[Feronix]

Actually, from the benchmarks I've seen (I looked it up for my £600 Buyer's Guide) the 285 is slower than, or equal to the 280 in most cases due to a slightly lower stock speed, a missing 1GB VRAM and a slower memory bus. Makes you wonder why they didn't call it 275 tbh. It was also cheaper than the 280.

 

[Oseth]

What about a R9 390X? The Fury and Fury X is just so expensive.

 

[Agost]

What about a R9 390X? The Fury and Fury X is just so expensive.

Are you playing at 1080p 60Hz? In this case, I'd still suggest to wait for arctic islands and upgrade the monitor too... 7970s are probably the most enduring cards ever made (well... that's because we're stuck on 28nm until mid 2016). Just dial back some settings in more demanding games


Alternatively, you can get a 390, although it is wiser to get a 970 at 1080p IMHO, since the 390 is better for 1440p (and draws more power)

 

[Feronix]

Yeah, hold on to your money and save up a bit more for a faster card mate. Maybe a nice 390(x) or 970 like Agost said. If you buy a 380 now you'll spend all your money on something that's barely going to provide you with a better experience than your current card.

 

[Oseth]

Yeah, hold on to your money and save up a bit more for a faster card mate. Maybe a nice 390(x) or 970 like Agost said. If you buy a 380 now you'll spend all your money on something that's barely going to provide you with a better experience than your current card.

Awesome, thanks for the reply. Just one last question, a 390x is just an overclocked version of a 390 right?
Essentially I can just overclock a 390 by myself and get the same results as a 390x would produce right?

 

[JR23]

Awesome, thanks for the reply. Just one last question, a 390x is just an overclocked version of a 390 right?
Essentially I can just overclock a 390 by myself and get the same results as a 390x would produce right?

A 390X/290X has all of the 2816 stream processors unlocked whereas a 390/290 only has 2560 enabled. Just like the difference between a 780Ti and 780. Consequently there is a ~14% difference in performance at stock clocks.

As far as I know they both respond equally well to overclocking and an overclocked 290X/390X will still perform significantly better than a typical overclocked 290/390. Both share the same heat issues when paired with poorly designed coolers. The 290X Lightning or 390X Twin Frozr V are the ones to go for money being no object. It may be worth noting that waterblock support for none-reference 390X's is extremely poor.

JR

 

[Agost]

AMD=>Sapphire.

 

[Relayer]

Because the 380 is mostly a slightly faster rebrand of the 280.

Actually, it's a 285 not a 280. Different chip.