Sapphire Radeon R9 270X 2GB TOXIC Video Card Review

Introduction

The other day we got the chance to look at the Sapphire Radeon R9 280X 3GB TOXIC. We not only found ourselves impressed with what the R9 280X 3GB brought to the table, but also extremely impressed with what Sapphire did with the TOXIC variation, one we hadn't seen pop up in a while.

If you found yourself also impressed with what was on offer, but feel the mid-$300 price tag that comes with the product is a bit too high for you, we might have the perfect compromise for you here today.

The R9 270X 2GB has already done a great job of showing us what it's capable of and we're looking forward to see what happens when Sapphire put the magic TOXIC touch on the model today. Coming in at a bit over $100 cheaper than its big brother, if you're looking for something in the lower $200 price bracket, this could be the card for you.

On one hand we found ourselves lucky to get the sample a little earlier than we'd expect, on the other side of that, though, because we did get it earlier, we weren't able to get a full package of the card simply because it's not 100% ready yet.

The Card and Specifications

The Card

You can see the video card is pretty much identical to its big brother, the R9 280X 3GB TOXIC, with that massive three fan cooler and black PCB. We saw the cooler do an excellent job on the higher-end model, so it will be interesting to see the kind of numbers we get here today on a model that isn't quite as powerful and a bit cheaper.

Turning the card over, you can see we have a similar setup with the backplate. Having less memory, though, you can see it doesn't look quite as impressive, as it lacks the little heat sinks we saw on the 290X 3GB. We again see just how large the cooler is as it overshoots the card, and we also get an idea of the heat pipe setup.

Taking a spin around, you can see that power comes in the form of two 6-pin PCIe power connectors. This is the same power setup as the reference R9 270X 2GB. What does differ, though, is that moving to the front, we have two CrossFire connectors that give us the ability to run up to three of these cards together in CrossFireX mode, instead of just two.

We just received a new BIOS from Sapphire enabling this feature before testing. Unfortunately it's not a feature that we'll be making use of today, but we will look into it as soon as we can.

When it comes to the I/O, we've got two Dual-Link DVI connectors - one in the form of a DVI-D, and the other in the form of a DVI-I. Next to that you can also see that we've got HDMI and DisplayPort connectors.

The TOXIC 280X 3GB sacrifices one of the Dual-Link DVI connectors to a Single-Link one so it could instead have two Mini DisplayPort connectors. You can also see a vent that allows hot air to escape out the back of your case.

Specifications

Like the R280X 3GB TOXIC we looked at the other day from Sapphire, we expected them to do something quite strong with the clocks here today. Looking below, you can see that they've pushed the core up to 1150MHz, which is a 100MHz overclock from the default 1050MHz clock speed that we see on the reference card.

While we know most companies choose to leave the memory clock alone, you can see looking above that Sapphire pushed the 2GB of GDDR5 up also to 6000MHz QDR. This is up from the reference clock of 5600MHz QDR.

This is a nice overclock and should bring with it a nice performance boost over the reference card. It's nice to see the memory overclocked from the factory, as it's something we don't often see.

Benchmarks - Test System Setup

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

We've got a bunch of video cards in our graphs today alongside the new Sapphire R9 270X 2GB TOXIC. We've got both AMD reference cards we've looked at which include the lower-end R7 260X and R9 270X. Along with the reference R9 270X, we've also got the MSI Twin Frozr Gaming OC version we looked at the other day.

To round off the AMD side of things, we've got the older HD 7950 2GB PCS from PowerColor overclocked to over 1100MHz on the core, the reference HD 7970 GHz Edition and finally the higher-end Sapphire R9 280X 3GB TOXIC that we've already mentioned a couple of times here today.

We finish off the cards in our graphs today with two offerings from NVIDIA, the Colorful GTX 760 iGAME 2GB OC and reference GTX 770 2GB.

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.

Starting off with 3DMark 11, we can see a bit of a boost in performance at both presets that give us a bit more breathing room over the MSI Twin Frozr Gaming OC version we looked at the other day, and of course, even more room over the reference clocked card.

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.

Moving into Fire Strike, you can see a boost in performance when compared to the other R9 270X offerings.

You can see at the Standard preset we break over 6,000 points and we're just a few points away from 3,000 at the Extreme preset.

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.

We again see a nice little boost in performance when it comes to Heaven, and you can see the Sapphire card separates itself a bit more when compared to the reference card.

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.

PSO2 performance is really strong, and when compared to the reference card, you can see a boost of over 800 points.

This is really quite a decent performance increase. Let's see if we see these stronger kind of gains as we move into more intensive benchmarks.

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."

Lost Planet 2 sees some strong gains in performance, and you can see at the highest resolution, we're at the 55 FPS mark. This is a nice little jump from the 52 / 51 FPS seen on the other two R9 270X cards we tested.

Considering the game is maxed out, we know it wouldn't be too hard to get those couple of extra FPS we need to get to 60 FPS.

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.

Just Cause 2 numbers are good and you can see the overclock pulls us from the 60 FPS range into the 70 FPS range at 2560 x 1600, resulting in excellent gameplay.

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.

F1 2012 numbers continue to be strong across the board, and you can see at the highest resolution, we've got gains of almost 10% with the 87 FPS average being seen.

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.

Looking above you can see under Metro Last Light we've got a slight boost across the board at all resolutions.

Looking at the numbers, though, you can see we're below the 60 FPS average we're on the hunt for at all resolutions.

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.

Dirt Showdown is performance is good across the board and the jump from 48 FPS to 56 FPS at 2560 x 1600 at the highest resolution is strong.

We'd like a couple more FPS, but considering our in-game settings are maxed out, a small detail change would bring those numbers up to playable levels.

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.

We have seemed to fix our issue with Nexuiz. As long as we're not connected to the network when we open the game, it's fine. If we are the game will open and exit. Because of that we're glad to be able to start benching it again. Strange!

Looking above, you can see our first R series results and we're below the 60 FPS number at all resolutions.

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.

Looking above, you can see that we've got a nice boost in performance at all resolutions when compared to the reference card.

We remain below the 60 FPS number at 2560 x 1600, but below that, you can see the numbers are strong, resulting in solid gameplay.

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.

Sleeping Dogs sees a nice jump across the board and at the highest resolution you can see we're able to move out of the 60 FPS realm and into the 70 FPS area. And that's something that's always appreciated, as it gives us a bit more breathing room.

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.

As you'd expect, we've got strong numbers across the board here - so, nothing too interesting to report.

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).

We continue to see across the board a bit of a jump at all resolutions. The 45 FPS minimum and 54 FPS average at 2560 x 1600 isn't bad.

We'd prefer couple of extra FPS in the average area, but with a strong minimum, you'll experience fairly strong gameplay still.

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.

Looking above, you can see again a boost in performance. The most interesting number is at the lowest resolution, though, where we see our average move from 54 FPS to 60 FPS.

As we move above that, we find that the average is just a little bit too low to be playable.

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.

Looking above, you can see that the extra MHz on offer really gives us a nice boost in performance, as we move from a 62 FPS average to a 67 FPS average. This is a really helpful boost as it gives us some much needed breathing room.

As we move higher, the 55 FPS average isn't too bad either, but we're still a little lower than we would like. Of course, moving to 2560 x 1600, the 33 FPS average is too low.

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.

Looking above, you can see some strong gains in performance again and the 1920 x 1200 one looks good as we move to a 57 FPS average. While a little below the 60 FPS number we want, the fact that we're dealing with a 49 FPS minimum makes us feel a lot more comfortable.

2560 x 1600 performance, though, is too low.

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.

You can see a nice boost in performance at both resolutions and we get a bit more breathing room at 2560 x 1600 as our minimum moves to 36 FPS.

With AA and AF on, we see just a single FPS extra at both resolutions. More importantly, though, performance is way below where it needs to be for the game to be playable.

We continue to see a nice boost in performance and the 77 FPS average at 1920 x 1200 is strong. While we see a 10% gain at the higher resolution as well, the 49 FPS average in this instance is unfortunately just a little too low.

While we do indeed see a slight boost in performance at both resolutions, we're still below where we need to be for the game to be playable with AA and AF turned on.

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.

We can see that the big cooler on the lower-end R9 270X 2GB TOXIC does a fantastic job as the temperature sits low here.

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).

Noise levels are fantastic. Looking above, you can see the Sapphire R9 270X 2GB TOXIC sits at the very bottom of the pack.

The new cooler from Sapphire is a serious piece of work, and you can see, the numbers truly speak for themselves in both the noise and temperature tests.

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.

Power draw on the model is also incredible. You can see the idle number actually sits under 100 watt.

Pricing, Availability and Final Thoughts

Sapphire's Radeon R9 270X 2GB TOXIC is a really great performing video card, and to be honest with you, it's slightly better than we thought it would be. The decision to bump the core up to the highest speed we've seen so far and then to give the memory a slight boost in performance as well is really fantastic. In the end, you can see the numbers talk for themselves, and we really do see a strong boost in performance when compared to the AMD reference card. We also see that the performance boost is quite strong when compared to the MSI Twin Frozr Gaming OC, which also came out of the box overclocked.

Moving away from the gaming performance numbers, the cooler is just amazing. The numbers it puts out in both the noise and temperature department are really fantastic - so much so that the noise levels are the quietest of any video card we've tested.

While we don't have the bundle in front of us due to the fact that just the card was sent to us a little earlier than usual, we can head over to the Sapphire website and see that the bundle consists of everything you'd expect including the CrossFire bridge, DVI to VGA connector, two Molex to 6-pin PCIe power connectors and the 1.8 meter HDMI cable that we tend to see with Sapphire offerings. So, when it comes to the bundle, we've again got a strong offering from Sapphire that looks a little better than the competition because of the inclusion of the said HDMI cable.

The only thing we can't comment on is the price as when we head over to Newegg, it's simply listed as "Coming Soon". We know that it's going to carry a slight premium, though. If we have a look at what's available, we can see that most cards enter at around the $199.99 mark. The Dual-X variant from Sapphire comes in at $219.99 and the MSI HAWK addition comes in at $229.99. It's fairly safe to say that we're going to be looking at somewhere between the $229.99 - $234.99 mark.

Putting all the pieces together, there's not much we can fault about this video card. Performance is fantastic out of the box, and you can see a strong boost in the numbers when compared to the reference. What we really love, though, is the amazing cooler. Sure, it's big and maybe overkill, but it's just awesome. It's super quiet and puts out amazing numbers when it comes to the core temperature. If you're on the hunt for a R9 270X and you really don't mind paying a premium, this is one video card you should be giving some serious attention.