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XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review

We haven't seen anything from XFX for a while, but today we check out the R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition card from them. Let's see how it performs.

XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card
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TweakTown
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20 minutes & 15 seconds read time

Introduction and Package

XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review 02

It's been a while since we've seen anything from XFX in the video card area; with AMD launching a whole mess of video cards, though, we knew it wouldn't be too long before we saw the company start to release models under popular series like the Double D Edition. The first card we're looking at is the popular R9 280X 3GB.

Priced at the mid $300 region, the R9 280X 3GB has become a popular card for gamers who are looking for something high-end, but don't quite want to go to the extreme end of the scale with the R9 290 4GB variants, which start at around $500 and go into the mid $600 realm for the R9 290X 4GB variant.

We've already covered so many versions of the new R series video cards from AMD, so we won't go into a whole lot more here. What we will say, though, is the particular version of the R9 280X 3GB we're looking at today from XFX is the Double D Black Edition, which in the past has brought with it strong performance in both the out of the box clock department and cooling area.

Let's leave it there, though, and get into the package to see just what XFX is bringing to the table with this video card.

Package

XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review 03
XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review 04

Taking a look at the box, you can see the overall design is similar to what we've seen before. We've got the brand and model on the front clearly, and you can see some of the main features listed on the box, including 3GB GDDR5, Double Dissipation Cooling, 90MM fans, Unlocked Voltage, and an out-of-the-box overclock via that Black Edition label.

Turning the box over, you can see we're just greeted with AMD specific features like Eyefinity, CrossFire support, GCN architecture, and PCIe 3.0 to name some of the main ones.

XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review 05

Moving into the package, you can see we've got a fair bit of paperwork going on, which is pretty standard for an XFX card as they often include a lot of leaflets. You can see we've got some advertising the power supplies along with the connectors. You can also see the install guide, quick install guide, and information regarding the registration of the product.

We've got the standard Driver CD and CrossFire bridge along with a dual Molex to 6-Pin PCIe power connector and a dual 6-Pin to 8-Pin PCIe power connector to round things off.

The Card and Specifications

The Card

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While the Double Dissipation cards aren't new to us, you can see the overall design of the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC here is a little different than we've seen before. Looking above, you can see we've got two nice 90mm fans on the card surrounded by a great looking shroud with just a simple XFX logo seen on the far right.

Looking behind the fans, you can see the massive heat sink setup that is going on that covers the entire card. Looking a little more carefully, you can also see the copper pipes that are helping draw the heat away from the R9 280X core.

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Moving around the card, you can see a very standard setup going on. Power comes in the form of two connectors: one is a 6-Pin PCIe Power Connector and the other is an 8-Pin one. Staying across the top of the card, you can see moving closer to the front we've got two CrossFire connectors here in the event that you want to throw more than one card into the mix here.

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The I/O side of things sees two DVI connectors; one is a Dual-Link DVI-I connector while the other is a Single-Link DVI-D connector. Along with that, you can see we've got a full size HDMI 1.4a port and two Mini DP connectors to round things off. You can see we've also got the XFX logo cut out in the back plate, and it looks very cool.

Specifications

Out of the box, a reference R9 280X 3GB will bring with it a 1,000MHz core. As for the 3GB of GDDR5, that will see a reference clock speed of 6,000MHz QDR. With the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC being a Black Edition card, that means that the card will carry with it an out-of-the-box overclock.

XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review 01

Looking above, you can see that XFX has pushed the core up to a solid 1,080MHz. As for the 3GB of GDDR5--most companies tend to leave that alone--you can see that XFX has also slightly bumped that up to 6,200MHz QDR. Overall, this is a nice overclock and should bring with it some strong performance.

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.

We've got a bunch of cards as usual in our graphs here today. Alongside our XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC we've got the lower-end ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP 2GB along with the reference clocked VisionTek R9 280X 3GB which will be one of the main competitors we're looking at today.

Along with these we've got the higher-end reference AMD R9 290 4GB to round off the AMD side of things. As for what we've got on the NVIDIA front; we've included the reference clocked GTX 770 2GB for good measure.

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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Out of the gate, performance is strong for the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC. You can see we've got a nice boost over the reference clocked Visiontek model and a lead over the GTX 770 2GB in the Performance preset. Under the Extreme preset, though, you can see it falls back ever so slightly.

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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Fire Strike sees the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC get a nice little boost over the reference clocked model. Looking above, you can see we don't have results for the GTX 770 2GB here.

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//

This 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.

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Heaven sees the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC get a nice little boost again over the reference clocked model. While Heaven tends to favor NVIDIA offerings due to the heavy emphasis on Tessellation, you can see that the GTX 770 2GB manages to only just sneak ahead of our XFX card here today.

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 world's 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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PSO 2 sees a bit of a performance increase over the reference clocked card, but you can see it's not really needed with a score of over 9,000. As for performance against the GTX 770 2GB, you can see there's almost nothing between them. Saying that, though, you can see the NVIDIA offering does manage to have a slight edge.

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. It takes place ten years after the events of the first game on the same fictional planet. 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, after 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 tends to favor NVIDIA cards, and you can see the GTX 770 2GB manages to come out ahead at all resolutions.

While both the GTX 770 2GB and XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC offer playable FPS across the board, we can't deny that we would prefer the 80 FPS average offered by the GTX 770 2GB at 2560 x 1600 over the 70 FPS average that the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC gives us.

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, ranging 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 performance is strong across the board, and you can see the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC manages to come out ahead of the GTX 770 2GB at all resolutions with a solid 90 FPS being seen at the highest resolution.

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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F1 2012 performance is really strong across the board with some great numbers being seen from the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC. At the highest resolution, we're just a few FPS behind the GTX 770 2GB, but below that, you can see the XFX offering manages to sneak out ahead. Because of the FPS wall we see at the lower resolutions, you can see the XFX and Visiontek offerings perform almost identical.

At the highest resolution, though, you can see the extra MHz help give us a couple of extra FPS, closing the gap between the NVIDIA and XFX offerings.

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 super intensive, and you see a lot of cards really struggle with the game. You can see the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC does manage to bring in a decent 64 FPS at 1680 x 1050, though. Moving above that, you can see the overall average FPS is just too low.

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. 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 performance is really strong, and you can see a nice little boost over the reference clocked VisionTek offering and strong performance from the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC when compared to the GTX 770 2GB, which falls short of playable FPS at the highest resolution.

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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The overclock really brings with it no movement, and we continue to see the R9 280X 3GB fall short of playable FPS at all resolutions like the GTX 770 2GB. The only card that manages to get a playable number is the R9 290 4GB at 1680 x 1050. Apart from that, you see everything else fall short of that 60 FPS number we're on the hunt for.

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 that take into account gravity, wind, velocity, bullet penetration, aim stability, and more. It is guaranteed to provide players with the most realistic simulation of military sharpshooting yet available.

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Sniper Elite V2 performance on the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC is good, and you can see playable FPS across the board. Against the GTX 770 2GB, though, you can see we fall short at all resolutions. Of course, the most important factor is that we're getting over 60 FPS, and as we just mentioned, the XFX offering manages to do that at all resolutions.

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 the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC perform very well. It sees a nice little bump in FPS compared to the reference card and a strong lead over the GTX 770 2GB at all resolutions. You can see that Sleeping Dogs is clearly not an issue for the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC.

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 sees fantastic performance across the board, and you can see that the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC manages to outperform the GTX 770 2GB easily at all resolutions thanks to an early FPS wall that is hit on NVIDIA cards.

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.

XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review 33

Tomb Raider sees the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC perform well against the GTX 770 2GB with a strong performance lead over it and playable FPS at both 1920 x 1200 and 1680 x 1050.

The NVIDIA offering, on the other hand, falls a little short at 1920 x 1200. Compared to the reference clocked R9 280X 3GB from Visiontek, we also see a slight performance boost at all resolutions.

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.

XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review 34

BioShock Infinite sees the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC and GTX 770 2GB perform very close to each other at all resolutions. Overall, we see both cards fall short of the FPS we need at 2560 x 1600, but they provide solid FPS at the resolutions below that.

Benchmarks - Battlefield 4

Battlefield 4

Version and / or Patch Used: Latest Origin Update

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 a first-person shooter video game developed by 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.

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Checking out Battlefield 4, we can see that the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC manages strong FPS at all resolutions with a solid 44 FPS minimum and 67 FPS average seen at 2560 x 1600.

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 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.

XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review 36

With the intensity of Metro Last Light, it comes as no surprise that the FPS are just way too low when AA and AF is turned on.

XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review 37

Just Cause 2 sees the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC manage playable FPS at both resolutions, even if it is just by a single FPS at 2560 x 1600. The GTX 770 2GB, on the other hand, falls short of that playable number at the higher resolution.

XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review 38

While we see the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC perform a decent chunk above the GTX 770 2GB here, both cards' numbers are just too low for the game to be playable.

Temperature Test

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

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Looking above, you can see the temperature numbers on the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC are really good. We're well into the bottom half of the pack here with a good 57C being seen under load.

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).

XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review 51

Along with strong temperature numbers, you can see that the Double D cooler that XFX offers manages to offer that strong number at very good noise levels.

Power Consumption Test

Using our PROVA Power Analyzer WM-01--or "Power Thingy" as it has quickly become 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 video cards installed. Keep in mind that 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 percent more. We test at the exact same stage every time, so tests should be very consistent and accurate.

The other thing to remember is that our test system is bare minimum--only an 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 will result in a higher draw.

XFX Radeon R9 280X 3GB Double D Black Edition OC Video Card Review 52

At 425 watts under load, the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC produces pretty standard power draw numbers that see the card sit in the middle of the pack.

Pricing, Availability, and Final Thoughts

Priced at around the mid $300 mark, the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC brings with it an aggressive price point that sees it sit in line with some of the cheapest R9 280X 3GB offerings currently available. Considering the strong out-of-the-box overclock and the quality cooler, we have to admit that we're surprised to see that XFX has been so aggressive with the pricing. Of course, it's not something that we're ever going to complain about.

Moving into the bundle, you can see that it's a fairly standard bundle from XFX with a bunch of paperwork along with the normal Driver CD and a couple of power connectors. What we would've liked to have seen in the bundle was at least a single Mini-DP to DisplayPort connector to round things off. If you're using a DisplayPort monitor and you don't already have a connector, you'll find yourself having to order one, which can be a slight inconvenience.

As for the performance of the card, XFX has put together a really nice card. Out of the box the performance is good as XFX has really given us a nice overclock. The fact that they have also chosen to increase the memory clock speed alongside the core is really nice. Increasing the memory clock is something we see few companies do these days and, if they do, it's because they have increased the core an extremely small amount. Today, though, we can see that XFX has given us a decent core bump along with the memory clock speed increase.

Increasing the speed in both areas has helped create a nice boost in performance that results in some great numbers seen in a number of our benchmarks here today at all resolutions. Compared against the GTX 770 2GB, you can see it's a bit of a back and forth fight when it comes to performance. Both cards have their strengths, but looking today you can see that you really can't go wrong with the R9 280X 3GB.

The XFX variant of the R9 280X 3GB is nice. The cooler looks simple and elegant; the good news, though, is that it doesn't only look great, but it performs exceptionally well with noise and temperature as well. If you're after an R9 280X 3GB that hits at a really strong price point, the model that XFX has shown here today is one you should be looking at.

PRICING: You can find the XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC for sale below. The prices listed are valid at the time of writing but can change at any time. Click the link to see the very latest pricing for the best deal.

United States: The XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC retails for $359.99 at Amazon.

Canada: The XFX R9 280X Double D Black Edition OC retails for CDN$543.21 at Amazon Canada.

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