Product Photos - AMD R9 280X

So for the AMD R9 280X AMD submitted a board partner graphics card, this is the TuL / PowerColor 3GB version of it with dual-fan cooler. So unfortunately we do not have the reference board here. However these boards look similar to the 270X with the exception it has a 6 and 8-pin PCI-E PEG power connector.

The 280X is armed with 3GB to get you a little more leash with resolutions and image quality settings. As such the card has been designed to be a nice match for QHD gaming, up-to 2560x1440. The reality though is that the Radeon R9 280X honestly is nothing more than a Radeon HD 7970 GHz edition with the same GPU, a few BIOS tweaks and a new cooler slapped on top of it.

Being Radeon HD 7970 GHz (Tahiti XT2) based also means that the specs are similar, 2048 shader processor running up-to a core frequency of 1 GHz. The 3GB GDDR5 graphics memory runs on a 384-bit wide bus. Honestly I can't report anything new or surprising here other than it might throttle a little higher on the clock frequency and that it has a slightly higher memory bandwidth.

With a somewhat steep TDP of 250 Watt the card needs to be hooked up to a 6 and 8-pin PCI-E PEG power connector. Under full stress we measured 241 Watt power draw, so that indeed is pretty spot on as advertised.

So yes, this is a Radeon HD 7970 GHz edition that is a hint faster. AMD is going to price this product at 299 USD. The board partners will be able to make slightly different SKUs with alternative clocks, cooling and PCB.