Graphic card advice

By Travesty
in Hardware Hangout

 Share

Recommended Posts

Veteran

Travesty

Posted
Posted

So I'm looking at these two, the Sapphire Toxic R9 270X 2GB GDDR5 With Boost and the Sapphire R9 4GB GDDR5 With Boost & OC (would love to post the links but copy paste is broken on  the forums when using IE11...). Would the extra two gigs of ram be something that I don't want to miss out on or should I go with the cheaper of the two that has a faster clocked core and ram?

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1200225-graphic-card-advice/
Share on other sites
Grand Master

The Evil Overlord

Posted
Posted

From what I remember, the extra ram doesn't really make much difference, someone posted that it was mostly a gimmick, (I'm going by my own memory and don't fully remember the details of what was said, or in which thread)

I'll vote for the more powerful gpu unit, unless cost is not an issue of course :)

Grand Master

djdanster

Posted
Posted

Depends... If you plan on using a multi-monitor setup and/or high res screens then the 4GB would definitely benefit you more. If you're on a budget then I think the cheaper one is the obvious winner.

Grand Master

Som

Posted
Posted

So I'm looking at these two, the Sapphire Toxic R9 270X 2GB GDDR5 With Boost and the Sapphire R9 4GB GDDR5 With Boost & OC (would love to post the links but copy paste is broken on  the forums when using IE11...). Would the extra two gigs of ram be something that I don't want to miss out on or should I go with the cheaper of the two that has a faster clocked core and ram?

 

According to the following site, the R9 4gb is ranked at no.5 and the r9 2g is No. 31

http://www.overclock.net/t/502403/graphics-card-ranking-5th-time-and-last-updated-daily

 

you didn't give the full model of the 4gb one so I may be incorrect...

 

that said my own is ranked at 87 and I can run every game i've tried maxed out :)

Grand Master

Phouchg

Posted
Posted

For gaming currently with 2 GB VRAM you can safely do 1440p (single) with all bells and whistles to maximum, including post-AA (BF4, FC3 and Metro being the today's benchmarks). Future games may (will, in fact) change it, but then - with 270X it will not matter because it won't be powerful enough as it is. For multiple monitors (assuming 1080p), once again, 270X will not be powerful enough to handle the drawing itself (lest you sacrifice other settings), so I'd wager it isn't worth it.

 

Also, usually these doubled VRAM models have lower clocks - take special note on specs - otherwise what you'd gain long term (and that's a big if), you'll lose all the while before you get there.

Mentor

snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member

Posted
  • Member
Posted

You are asking us to speculate on which card would be a better without the actual specs. We don't know the clock-rates/memory rates/etc. of the cards and such so it's really impossible to see which would be better in practice. Personally, I think the only reliable indicator would be look up benchmarks for the cards but I don't feel comfortable guessing which card you are looking at and such without more information.

Grand Master

Andre S. Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

So I'm looking at these two, the Sapphire Toxic R9 270X 2GB GDDR5 With Boost and the Sapphire R9 4GB GDDR5 With Boost & OC (would love to post the links but copy paste is broken on  the forums when using IE11...). Would the extra two gigs of ram be something that I don't want to miss out on or should I go with the cheaper of the two that has a faster clocked core and ram?

Assuming both are 270X, the 4GB is a gimmick. The 270X doesn't have the power to drive the resolutions where 4GB would be beneficial: AMD specced it at 2GB because that's what it needs.

  • Yusuf M. and snaphat (Myles Landwehr)
  • Like 2
Veteran

Travesty

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I'll try to get you guys specs here later, like I said I wanted to do direct links but IE11 and our forums aren't to friendly with each other and I'm not getting the beat reception on my phone right now.

  • snaphat (Myles Landwehr)
  • Like 1
Veteran

Travesty

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So on the R9 270X 4GB GDDR5 With Boost & OC the GPU is at 1020 MHz and the memory 5600 Mhz. On the Toxic R9 270X 2GB GDDR5 With Boost the GPU is 1100 MHz with the memory at 6000 MHz. Those and the Toxic model having three fans instead of two are the only differences.

Rising Star

Bi4me

Posted
Posted

From what I remember, the extra ram doesn't really make much difference, someone posted that it was mostly a gimmick, (I'm going by my own memory and don't fully remember the details of what was said, or in which thread)

I'll vote for the more powerful gpu unit, unless cost is not an issue of course :)

I can confirm that. I have a junk GPU and it's 1.5GB VRAM don't help a bit. For instance I have had an older model with more powerful GPU, only 320MB VRAM and it performed way better :)

 

And by the way 2GB of VRAM are just fine, 4GB is wasted money imo... Unless you wanna play Battlefield 4 maxed out on triple monitors.

  • The Evil Overlord
  • Like 1
Grand Master

Yusuf M. Veteran

Posted
  • Veteran
Posted

There's absolutely no need to buy the 4GB version over the 2GB one. You won't get any extra performance, even at higher multi-monitor resolutions. Go for the 2GB version and as someone who owns an ASUS R9 270X DirectCU II TOP, I can say that it performs very nicely.

  • The Evil Overlord
  • Like 1
Mentor

snaphat (Myles Landwehr) Member

Posted
  • Member
Posted

Yup, you made the right choice given that they were both 270X. Definitely, the higher clock was better in this case -- not the additional RAM. Had it been a choice of different cards, it wouldn't have been so clear cut

Veteran

Travesty

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Good to know I made the right choice. Thanks guys for all your help.

Yup, you made the right choice given that they were both 270X. Definitely, the higher clock was better in this case -- not the additional RAM. Had it been a choice of different cards, it wouldn't have been so clear cut

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Grand Theft Auto VI pricing revealed alongside Ultimate Edition and pre-loading details

      By Nick H. · Posted

      I must admit, this is probably the only game at the moment where I can see that $80 price point being ok. The issue will be when other developers think they can get away with it with half of the work.
    • Google Wallet expands TSA PreCheck Touchless ID access to more travellers

      By Fiza Ali · Posted

      Google Wallet expands TSA PreCheck Touchless ID access to more travellers by Fiza Ali Google has announced that Google Wallet is becoming the first digital wallet to integrate with TSA PreCheck Touchless ID. It is a programme that lets eligible travellers move through participating airport security checkpoints using facial recognition instead of showing a physical ID or boarding pass. While the TSA PreCheck Touchless ID programme has been available for some time, using it hasn't always been straightforward. The programme currently operates at 65 airports across the US, but participation has largely depended on flying with a limited number of airlines. Travellers also had to upload passport information separately through participating carriers. Now, the tech giant's new integration is designed to remove some of those extra steps. With the update rolling out in the coming weeks, travellers with TSA PreCheck membership will be able to enrol in Touchless ID through Google Wallet and use the service with any of the 100 airlines participating in the programme. Rather than repeatedly submitting identification details, users can store a digital ID in Google Wallet and use it to streamline future trips. Setting up the feature is relatively straightforward as well. The process starts with users creating a digital ID in Google Wallet using their passport information. After checking in for a flight and saving a boarding pass to the app, eligible travellers will see a "Get started" option that directs them to the TSA enrolment process. Once users choose to share their ID pass and boarding pass information with the TSA for a specific trip, the agency will verify the enrolment. If approved, a TSA PreCheck Touchless ID indicator will appear on the boarding pass stored in Google Wallet, signalling that the traveller can use designated express Touchless ID lanes at participating airports. As privacy and security are likely to be key considerations for many travellers, Google says users must explicitly opt in before any information is shared with the TSA, and authentication is required through a device PIN, pattern, or biometric verification. The company also notes that digital IDs stored in Google Wallet remain encrypted and are kept on the user's device. For frequent flyers who already use TSA PreCheck, the new integration could remove a few more steps from the airport security process, making travel slightly faster and a little less cumbersome.
    • Windows 11 is now five years old

      By excalpius · Posted

      Even though MS had to sunset the Windows Subsystem for Android, you can apparently use BlueStacks to run Android in Windows now. I haven't tested this yet, so if anyone has any feedback, I'd love to hear it.
    • Microsoft adds new AI study and teaching tools for free to Microsoft 365 Education

      By excalpius · Posted

      Or, if you want to teach your kids how to hallucinate and lie like AI slop, introduce them to a Crazy MAGA Grandpa on LSD.
    • Ventoy 1.1.14

      By Copernic · Posted

      Ventoy 1.1.14 by Razvan Serea Ventoy is an open source tool to create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files. With Ventoy, you don't need to format the disk over and over, you just need to copy the ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)EFI files to the USB drive and boot them directly. You can copy many files at a time and ventoy will give you a boot menu to select them. Both Legacy BIOS and UEFI are supported in the same way. Most type of OS supported (Windows/WinPE/Linux/Unix/Vmware/Xen...) Ventoy features: 100% open source Simple to use Fast (limited only by the speed of copying iso file) Directly boot from ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI file, no extraction needed Legacy + UEFI supported in the same way UEFI Secure Boot supported (since 1.0.07+) Persistence supported (since 1.0.11+) MBR and GPT partition style supported (1.0.15+) WIM files boot supported (Legacy + UEFI) (1.0.12+) IMG files boot supported (Legacy + UEFI) (1.0.19+) Auto installation supported (1.0.09+) File injection supported (1.0.16+) ISO files larger than 4GB supported Native boot menu style for Legacy & UEFI Most type of OS supported(Windows/WinPE/Linux/Unix/Vmware/Xen...), 550+ iso files tested Not only boot but also complete installation process ISO files can be listed in List mode/TreeView mode Linux vDisk boot supported (vdi/vhd/raw) "Ventoy Compatible" concept Plugin Framework Menu Alias/Menu Style/Customized Menu supported USB drive write-protected support USB normal use unaffected Data nondestructive during version upgrade No need to update Ventoy when a new distro is released Ventoy 1.1.14 changelog: Update secure boot shim file to solve the UEFI CA 2023 issue. The new release use a new CA, so you need to enroll the new key for the first boot time. VentoyPlugson update synchronously. Global control plugin add a VTOY_SECURE_BOOT_POLICY option. Notes Download: Ventoy 1.1.14 | 15.9 MB (Open Source) Download: Ventoy Live CD | 187.0 MB Link: Ventoy Home Page | Project Page @GitHub | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware

  • Recent Achievements

    • Dedicated
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Dedicated
    • First Post
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      First Post
    • One Month Later
      D0nn13 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Rookie
      +ChiefOfNeo went up a rank
      Rookie
    • One Year In
      Tom Schmidt earned a badge
      One Year In

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      457
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      177
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      123
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      83
    5. 5
      Xenon
      76
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!