AMD Radeon R9 270X 2GB Reference Video Card Review

Following the testing of the new Radeon R7 260X 2GB, we move into the higher-end R9 270X 2GB. This review also introduces Battlefield 4 testing.

Published
Updated
Manufacturer: AMD
20 minutes & 11 seconds read time

Introduction and Package

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The other day we got a chance to look at the new AMD Radeon R7 260X 2GB and found ourselves impressed with what AMD was bringing to the table with its new $139 video card. AMD has clearly done a better job hitting the low-end mid-range sector with this model when compared to the HD 7700 series.

While we know the model name of all the new cards that are coming, AMD is slowly releasing the models in the coming weeks to make sure they spend as much time as possible in the press. Outside of the R7 260X that launched, we've also seen one of the new R9 models.

Today we'll be checking out the new R9 270X, which carries with it a price tag of $199 for the 2GB model that we're looking at today, and $229 for the 4GB model that will also be available.

Just like the R7 260X we looked at, the R9 270X that we have on hand today is a reference card from AMD. That of course means that we don't have any bundle to look at, instead we'll be moving from here straight into the card itself and the main specifications.

So, with haste, let's get into it. Oh, and we have Battlefield 4 BETA testing included. Welcome FRAPS to the party.

The Card and Specifications

The Card

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Taking a look at the card, you may notice a few changes when compared to the R7 260X 2GB we looked at the other day. For starters, it's of course bigger, and secondly, we've got a fan setup that is designed to draw cool in and push it straight out the back of the card. The shroud look is similar to what we saw from the R7 260X. We would've loved to see AMD add some LED lighting to the red areas - it would've looked extremely cool.

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Taking a spin around the card, you can see two 6-pin PCIe power connectors located at the back. The Typical Board Power for the model is rated at 180 Watt by AMD. Staying across the top and moving closer to the front, you can see we've got a single CrossFire connector giving us the ability to run two of these cards together for even stronger performance.

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Looking at the I/O, you don't see anything new with two Dual-Link DVI connectors a single HDMI connector and a DisplayPort connector to round everything off. One of the cool new features that is brought to the new R9 series of video cards is the improvement in Eyefinity.

No longer do you need to have a DisplayPort monitor to make use of Eyefinity. Instead you can use two DVI connectors and the HDMI port. We've seen Sapphire offer this kind of technology on some of the mid-range models previously, but the issue we always had was that while you could run Eyefinity without the need for DisplayPort, these models simply didn't have the grunt to truly make Eyefinity gaming enjoyable.

Specifications

Taking a closer look at the specification, we can see that the core comes in at 1050MHz and offers a total of 1280 Stream Processors, significantly up on the 896 seen on the R6 260X. Other core related specifications include 32 ROPs, double that of the R6 260X, along with shared features like PCIe 3.0, DirectX 11.2 and a 28nm core.

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Looking at the memory side of things, we've got the same 2GB of GDDR5 present. Unlike the R6 260X, though, this sits on a wider 256-bit memory bus. For that reason we see a lower 5600MHz QDR clock speed. We're really looking forward to seeing what goes on with the overclocking side of things soon.

Outside of these core features, we've got a number of other features that come to the table with the new series of cards from AMD. Instead of repeating them again if you didn't read our first review, we'd recommend you head over to page two of it to learn more about TrueAudio and the new API features.

Benchmarks - Test System Setup

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We would like to thank the following companies for supplying and supporting us with our test system hardware and equipment: Intel, ASUS and Corsair.

When it comes to the video cards that you'll see in our graphs today, we've got almost an identical line up to what you saw the other day minus the Sapphire HD 7790 1GB Dual-X OC. That means we've got the lower-end R7 260X, which is an important card in our graphs today, as we really want to see how the two models differ from each other.

Along with that we've also got higher-end AMD models including the PowerColor HD 7950 2GB, which is overclocked to over 1100MHz on the core, along with the reference HD 7970 GHz Edition 3GB.

When it comes to the NVIDIA side of things we've got the MSI GTX 660 HAWK, Colorful GTX 760 iGAME 2GB OC and the higher-end reference GTX 770 from NVIDIA.

With this review we are also introducing Battlefield 4 testing, by popular demand.

The FPS Numbers Explained

When we benchmark our video cards and look at the graphs, we aim to get to a certain level of FPS which we consider playable. While many may argue that the human eye can't see over 24 FPS or 30 FPS, any true gamer will tell you that as we climb higher in Frames Per Seconds (FPS), the overall gameplay feels smoother. There are three numbers we're looking out for when it comes to our benchmarks.

30 FPS - It's the minimum number we aim for when it comes to games. If you're not dropping below 30 FPS during games, you're going to have a nice and smooth gaming experience. The ideal situation is that even in a heavy fire fight, the minimum stays above 30 FPS making sure that you can continue to aim easily or turn the corner with no dramas.

60 FPS - It's the average we look for when we don't have a minimum coming at us. If we're getting an average of 60 FPS, we should have a minimum of 30 FPS or better and as mentioned above, it means we've got some smooth game play happening.

120 FPS - The new number that we've been hunting down over recent months. If you're the owner of a 120 Hz monitor, to get the most out of it you want to get around the 120 FPS mark. Moving from 60 FPS / 60 Hz to 120 FPS / 120 Hz brings with it a certain fluidity that can't really be explained, but instead has to be experienced. Of course, if you're buying a 120 Hz monitor to take advantage of 3D, an average of 120 FPS in our benchmark means that in 3D you will have an average of 60 FPS, which again means you should expect some smooth gameplay.

Why are some graphs incomplete?

Adding new game benchmarks is a long, tedious and time consuming task as every video card has to be re-tested in those new benchmarks. Because of that reason we have always just evaluated our benchmark line up every six months. To stay up to date and current with the latest benchmarks and games available, we've changed our approach to adding new benchmarks.

Our benchmark line up will progress and be updated as newer more intensive games with benchmarks comes to light. While this will mean that initially you may only see a single video card in those particular graphs, as the weeks go on and we test more and more video cards, the results will grow quickly. This will help keep our benchmark line up as up to date as possible as we introduce and remove games on a constant basis.

Benchmarks - 3DMark 11

3DMark 11

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.1

Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com

Product Homepage: http://www.3dmark.com/3dmark11/

Buy It Here

3DMark 11 is the latest version of the world's most popular benchmark. Designed to measure your PC's gaming performance 3DMark 11 makes extensive use of all the new features in DirectX 11 including tessellation, compute shaders and multi-threading. Trusted by gamers worldwide to give accurate and unbiased results, 3DMark 11 is the best way to consistently and reliably test DirectX 11 under game-like loads.

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Starting off with 3DMark 11, we can see the strong performance gain over the lower-end R7 260X model.

Compared to the $50 more expensive GTX 760, you can see that performance isn't too separated - especially when you consider that the R9 270X is a good chunk cheaper.

Benchmarks - 3DMark Fire Strike

3DMark Fire Strike

Version and / or Patch Used: 1

Developer Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com

Product Homepage: http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/3dmark

Buy It Here

Fire Strike is our new showcase DirectX 11 benchmark designed for high-performance gaming PCs. It is our most ambitious and technical benchmark ever, featuring real-time graphics rendered with detail and complexity far beyond what is found in other benchmarks and games today. Fire Strike will only be available in the Windows editions of 3DMark initially.

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3DMark Fire Strike is one of the newest benchmarks in our line up, and as you can see, we're still building results for it.

You can see above, though, the strong boost over the lower-end R7 model, along with the fact that performance is almost even with the more expensive GTX 760 OC.

Benchmarks - Unigine Heaven Benchmark

Unigine Heaven Benchmark

Version and / or Patch Used: 3

Developer Homepage: http://www.unigine.com

Product Homepage: http://unigine.com/press-releases/091022-heaven_benchmark//

New benchmark grants the power to unleash the DirectX 11 potential in the gift wrapping of impressively towering graphics capabilities. It reveals the enchanting magic of floating islands with a tiny village hidden in the cloudy skies. With the interactive mode emerging experience of exploring the intricate world is ensured within reach. Through its advanced renderer, Unigine is one of the first to set precedence in showcasing the art assets with tessellation, bringing compelling visual finesse, utilizing the technology to the full extend and exhibiting the possibilities of enriching 3D gaming.

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Moving onto Heaven, you can see some strong performance numbers. Compared to the AMD offerings, you can see that performance is extremely close to the PowerColor PCS HD 7950 2GB that we overclocked to over 1100MHz.

Compared to the NVIDIA offerings, you can see it pretty much falls in between the GTX 660 HAWK and GTX 760 iGAME OC.

Benchmarks - Phantasy Star Online 2

Phantasy Star Online 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.sega.com/?t=EnglishUSA

Product Homepage: http://www.pso2.com/us/html/index.html

Play Phantasy Star Online 2 and experience revolutionary combat in an action-driven, free-to-play multiplayer online RPG from SEGA. Take a journey into an immersive sci-fi fantasy narrative and explore mysterious worlds to unravel their secrets. Join fellow adventurers and fight against the legions of darkness to banish them from the galaxy.

Score explanation: Less than 2000: Please adjust your game settings because the processing load is quite heavy.

2000 through 5000: The game runs fine at the setting, if you have room, you can adjust some settings.

5001+: The game works wonderfully at this setting.

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You can see with PSO2 performance falling into that 5000+ point category, we're not going to have an issue with this game at any single screen resolution.

We again see that the new R9 270X falls in between the NVIDIA based GTX 660 and GTX 760.

Benchmarks - Lost Planet 2

Lost Planet 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark - Test A Scene 1

Developer Homepage: http://www.capcom.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.lostplanet2game.com/

Lost Planet 2 is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Capcom. The game is the sequel to Lost Planet: Extreme Condition which is also made by Capcom, taking place ten years after the events of the first game, on the same fictional planet. The story takes place back on E.D.N. III 10 years after the events of the first game. The snow has melted to reveal jungles and more tropical areas that have taken the place of more frozen regions. The plot begins with Mercenaries fighting against Jungle Pirates. After destroying a mine, the Mercenaries continue on to evacuate the area, in which a Category-G Akrid appears and attacks them. After being rescued, they find out their evacuation point (Where the Category-G appeared) was a set-up and no pick up team awaited them. The last words imply possible DLC additions to the game, "There's nothing to be gained by wiping out snow pirates... unless you had some kind of grudge."

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Lost Planet 2 performance is strong across the board, and you can see we've got playable numbers at both 1920 x 1200 and 1680 x 1050. Only at the highest resolution do you see we fall short of the 60 FPS number we want for smooth gameplay.

As for how it compares against the NVIDIA options, you can see we're sitting at a similar level to the GTX 660 HAWK when we're talking about the game being playable or not. The GTX 660 HAWK does have a decent jump on the model, though, at the lower resolutions.

Benchmarks - Just Cause 2

Just Cause 2

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Dark Tower

Developer Homepage: http://www.eidos.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.justcause.com/

Just Cause 2 employs the Avalanche Engine 2.0, an updated version of the engine used in Just Cause. The game is set on the other side of the world from the original Just Cause, on the fictional island of Panau in Southeast Asia. Panau has varied terrain, from desert to alpine to rainforest. Rico Rodriguez returns as the protagonist, aiming to overthrow the evil dictator Pandak "Baby" Panay and confront his former mentor, Tom Sheldon.

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Just Cause 2 has some strong performance numbers with playable numbers at all resolutions.

Compared to the NVIDIA offerings, you can see we're almost dead even with the more expensive GTX 760 iGAME 2GB.

Benchmarks - F1 2012

F1 2012

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com/uk/

Product Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com

In F1 2012 players will feel the unparalleled thrill of becoming a FORMULA ONE driver with a host of new features, wide-ranging technical and gameplay advancements and extensive competitive and co-operative multiplayer components. F1 2012 will feature all of the official teams, drivers and circuits from the 2012 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, including the debut of the 2012 FORMULA 1 UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX at Austin, Texas and the return of Germany's famous Hockenheim circuit to the calendar.

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Looking at F1 2012 we can see that performance across the board is slightly above the GTX 660 HAWK. Most importantly, though, is the fact that we've got playable numbers at all resolutions.

Benchmarks - Metro Last Light

Metro Last Light

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.4a-games.com/

Product Homepage: http://enterthemetro.com/ /

Metro: Last Light takes place one year after the events of Metro 2033, proceeding from the ending where Artyom chose to call down the missile strike on the Dark Ones. The Rangers have since occupied the D6 military facility, with Artyom having become an official member of the group. Khan, the nomad mystic, arrives at D6 to inform Artyom and the Rangers that a single Dark One survived the missile strike. Khan believes the Dark One is the key to humanity's future, and wants to make peace with it, while Ranger leader Colonel Miller wants to kill the creature due to its potential threat. Miller sends Artyom to the surface with a mission to kill the Dark One; he is accompanied by Anna, Miller's sarcastic daughter and the Rangers' best sniper.

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Metro Last Light is another one of our newer additions, and as you can see above, we're still building the results for the game. With the three video cards we do have results for, though, you can see we're not able to hit the 60 FPS number at any setting on any card.

You can see performance is quite close to the more expensive GTX 760 iGAME 2GB OC.

Benchmarks - Dirt Showdown

Dirt Showdown

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com/uk/

Product Homepage: http://www.codemasters.com/uk/dirtshowdown/360/

DiRT Showdown is the new arcade racing game from the team that brought you the award-winning DiRT series, uncaged in 2012. Pick up and play controls combine with electrifying events, frenzied crowds and stunning graphics to deliver high octane, dive in and drive thrills from event one.

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Dirt Showdown sees performance ahead of the GTX 760 iGAME 2GB OC at all resolutions. At the highest resolution we fall short of the 60 FPS number we want.

1680 x 1050 and 1920 x 1200 performance, though, is great.

Benchmarks - Nexuiz

Nexuiz

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.alientrap.org/

Product Homepage: http://www.nexuiz.com/

Nexuiz is an Arena First Person shooter coming soon to consoles. Nexuiz is fast paced with extremely competitive game play. IllFonic brings Alientrap Software's Nexuiz to next-gen gaming consoles around the world while staying true to the game play refined over the years through development. IllFonic introduces a new Victorian influenced art style that is simultaneously futuristic and sophisticated. Nexuiz for consoles is powered by CryENGINE 3.

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Like we saw with the R7 260X, we're having issues running Nexuiz.

We've got our fingers crossed that it's just a simple driver issue that is fixed soon, as we love the intensity Nexuiz offers as a benchmark.

Benchmarks - Sniper Elite V2

Sniper Elite V2

Version and / or Patch Used: Standalone Benchmark

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.rebellion.co.uk/

Product Homepage: http://sniperelitev2.com/us/age.html

Sniper Elite V2 features detailed sniping simulation with advanced ballistics, taking into account gravity, wind, velocity, bullet penetration, aim stability and more. Guaranteed to provide players with the most realistic simulation of military sharpshooting yet available.

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Sniper Elite V2 numbers look good at 1680 x 1050 and 1920 x 1200 with playable FPS being seen at both resolutions.

Compared to the NVIDIA offerings, we see that the R9 270X again finds itself sitting between the GTX 660 and GTX 760.

Benchmarks - Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://eu.square-enix.com/en

Product Homepage: http://www.sleepingdogs.net/

The core gameplay of Sleeping Dogs consists of giving the player an open world environment in which to move around freely. Sleeping Dogs is played as an over-the-shoulder, third-person perspective action-adventure game with role-playing elements. The player controls Wei Shen, a Chinese-American police officer, as he goes undercover to infiltrate the Sun On Yee Triad organization. On foot, the player character has the ability to walk, run, jump, climb over obstacles and swim, as well as use weapons and martial arts in combat. Players also drive a variety of vehicles including cars, boats, and motorcycles.

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Sleeping Dogs sees some great numbers, and you can see, we're able to get over the 60 FPS number we're always on the hunt for at all resolutions.

We again see that the R9 270X is in between the two NVIDIA models, but the important thing to note here is that the GTX 660 doesn't pull a playable FPS number at the highest resolution, unlike the R9 270X, which is able to break the 60 FPS number.

Benchmarks - Far Cry 2

Far Cry 2

Version and / or Patch Used: 1.01

Timedemo or Level Used: Ranch Long

Developer Homepage: http://www.ubi.com

Product Homepage: http://www.farcry2.com

Buy It Here

The Dunia Engine was built specifically for Far Cry 2 by the award-winning Ubisoft Montreal development team. It delivers the most realistic destructible environments, amazing special effects such as dynamic fire propagation and storm effects, real-time night-and-day cycle, dynamic music system, non-scripted enemy A.I. and so much more.

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Across the board you can see the R9 270X has no problems dealing with Far Cry 2. We really don't need to see much else, so let's move onto our next benchmark.

Please Note: We still include Far Cry 2 in our benchmarks (we know it's old) as a way for our readers to get a general representation of how older games perform on new hardware.

Benchmarks - Hitman Absolution

Hitman Absolution

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.ioi.dk/

Product Homepage: http://hitman.com/

Hitman: Absolution is an action-adventure stealth game developed by I/O Interactive and published by Square Enix. It is the fifth entry in the Hitman game series, and runs on I/O Interactive's proprietary Glacier 2 game engine. Before release, the developers stated that Absolution would be easier to play and more accessible, while still retaining hardcore aspects of the franchise. The game was released on 20 November 2012, which is in the 47th week of the year (in reference to the protagonist, Agent 47).

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Hitman Absolution numbers look good across the board with excellent minimums being seen. We'd prefer the 2560 x 1600 average to be a little higher, but with a strong minimum, we're not as worried about the 50 FPS average.

Compared to the NVIDIA offerings, you can see that performance is actually stronger than the GTX 770, due to an FPS wall being hit at the lower resolutions.

Benchmarks - Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://www.nixxes.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.tombraider.com/us/base/agegate?refer=184&

Tomb Raider is an action-adventure platform video game. Published by Square Enix, Tomb Raider is the fifth title developed by Crystal Dynamics in the Tomb Raider franchise. As the first entry in a new Tomb Raider continuity, the game is a reboot that emphasizes the reconstructed origins of the culturally influential lead character Lara Croft. Tomb Raider was released on 5 March 2013 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows to universal critical acclaim.

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Checking out Tomb Raider, you can see at 1680 x 1050, we've got what we would consider playable in this instance. While our average doesn't hit 60 FPS, we're not too far from it and the 40 FPS minimum is strong.

Going above that, though, you can see that performance isn't where we need it to be for solid gameplay performance. Compared to the more expensive GTX 760, you can see that the AMD offering is ahead at all resolutions, slightly.

Benchmarks - BioShock Infinite

BioShock Infinite

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Steam Update

Timedemo or Level Used: Built in Benchmark

Developer Homepage: http://irrationalgames.com/

Product Homepage: http://www.bioshockinfinite.com

BioShock Infinite is a first-person shooter video game and the third installment in the BioShock series. Previously known as "Project Icarus", it is being developed by Irrational Games and was released worldwide on the Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 platforms on March 26, 2013. BioShock Infinite is not part of the storyline of previous BioShock games but features similar gameplay concepts and themes.

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BioShock Infinite sees playable FPS at 1680 x 1050, just. Above that, though, we're not getting the 60 FPS number we're on the hunt for.

You can see that the more expensive GTX 760 manages to come out ahead at all resolutions, but more importantly, you can see it manages to squeeze playable FPS in at 1920 x 1200, along with 1680 x 1050.

Benchmarks - Battlefield 4 Open Beta

Battlefield 4 Open Beta

Version and / or Patch Used: Open Beta

Timedemo or Level Used: Custom 60 Second Run with FRAPS

Developer Homepage: http://dice.se/

Product Homepage: https://www.battlefield.com/games/battlefield-4

Battlefield 4 (also known as BF4) is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by EA Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts. The game is a sequel to 2011's Battlefield 3. Battlefield 4 features several changes compared to its predecessor. The game's heads-up display is much the same, composed of two compact rectangles. The lower left-hand corner features a mini-map and compass for navigation, and a simplified objective notice above it; the lower right includes a compact ammo counter and health meter. The mini-map, as well as the main game screen, shows symbols marking three kinds of entities: blue for allies, green for squadmates, and red/orange for enemies.

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Taking a look at Battlefield 4 Open Beta, you can see the numbers aren't looking too bad on the new model. While this is the first time we've used this benchmark, we'll be adding more and more results to the graphs in the coming weeks.

For now, though, you can see that the playability is strong at 1680 x 1050 and not too bad at 1920 x 1200. We'd prefer a slightly higher average at 1920 x 1200, but with the strong minimum, we're not complaining too much.

Benchmarks - High Quality AA and AF

High Quality AA and AF

While we test all our games with maximum in-game settings, turning on Anti-Aliasing (AA) and Antistrophic Filtering (AF) helps take the intensity of our testing to another level.

Here we see video cards go from playable FPS to an unplayable FPS and the real power houses continue to help break that 60 FPS mark we always aim for to provide a smooth gaming experience.

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Turning on AA and AF, you can see we still manage to see strong FPS under Far Cry 2 at both resolutions.

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Metro struggles with no AA and AF on, so when we do enable it, you can see the FPS numbers are extremely low.

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Just Cause 2 sees some strong performance at 1920 x 1200, which is slightly behind the more expensive GTX 760. Moving to 2560 x 1600 with AA and AF on, though, you can see most the cards here struggle to hit 60 FPS.

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Turning on AA and AF under Sleeping Dogs sees the numbers plummet, giving us unplayable numbers at both resolutions.

Temperature Test

The temperature of the core is pulled from MSI Afterburner with the max reading used after a completed run off 3DMark Vantage and the Performance preset.

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Having a look above, you can see coming in at 67c the R9 270X sits in the middle of the pack.

Like the lower-end R7 260X, we hope noise levels are nice and low.

Sound Test

Pulling out the TES 1350A Sound Level Meter we find ourselves quickly yelling into the top of it to see how loud we can be.

After five minutes of that we get a bit more serious and place the device two CM away from the fan on the card to find the maximum noise level of the card when idle (2D mode) and in load (3D mode).

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When it comes to noise, you can again see that the new R series of video cards from AMD are extremely strong in this area.

Power Consumption Test

Using our PROVA Power Analyzer WM-01 or "Power Thingy" as it has become quickly known as to our readers, we are now able to find out what kind of power is being used by our test system and the associated graphics cards installed. Keep in mind; it tests the complete system (minus LCD monitor, which is plugged directly into AC wall socket).

There are a few important notes to remember though; while our maximum power is taken in 3DMark06 at the same exact point, we have seen in particular tests the power being drawn as much as 10% more. We test at the exact same stage every time; therefore tests should be very consistent and accurate.

The other thing to remember is that our test system is bare minimum - only a SSD hard drive is used with a single CD ROM and minimal cooling fans.

So while the system might draw 400 watts in our test system, placing it into your own PC with a number of other items, the draw is going to be higher.

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Power draw is an area that AMD pushed while in Hawaii, and you can see that the R9 and R7 models are very close to each other in both the idle and load department.

Pricing, Availability and Final Thoughts

Coming in at $199 for the 2GB version we're looking at today and slightly higher at $229 for the 4GB version, the new R9 270X really hits at a great price point. For the most part, when it comes to an NVIDIA counterpart, we've either got a model that sits cheaper or one that sits more expensive.

With recent price drops, the GTX 660 comes in at around the $160 - $180 mark. So roughly $40 to $20 cheaper than the new Radeon 2GB R9 270X. The GTX 760 on the other hand comes in at around the $250 mark, making it $50 more expensive. For the most part we see the new R9 270X sit between both cards. With that said, there's also times that it manages to outperform the more expensive GTX 760.

As we mentioned in our R7 260X review the other day, the fact that one of the main competitors to the new R series cards is under the GTX 600 naming means that people feel they're buying older technology. Purely from a psychological standpoint, people will prefer something with the GTX 700 name scheme or the new R naming scheme from AMD, because they are newer models.

At $199, the new R9 270X is a great video card. The new R series of video cards bring with it some great new technology, and as we mentioned in our previous review, we really look forward to companies making use of the new Mantle API in upcoming games. Of course one of the other standout features that is brought to the R9 series is the ability to run Eyefinity without the need to have a DisplayPort monitor.

If you're looking to spend around the $200 mark, it's fairly safe to say that this is more than likely what you are going to be looking at. The only other question we have now is what happens if you want to spend more? Well, keep an eye out for a review on the new Radeon R9 280X 3GB soon.

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Shawn takes care of all of our video card reviews. From 2009, Shawn is also taking care of our memory reviews, and from May 2011, Shawn also takes care of our CPU, chipset and motherboard reviews. As of December 2011, Shawn is based out of Taipei, Taiwan.

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