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AMD Radeon R9 280X

AMD Radeon R9 280X

The AMD Radeon R9 280X is a fast single-GPU graphics card for desktop PCs, that has been presented in October 2013. It is based on the "Tahiti" GPU and manufactured in 28 nanometers. The card offers 2048 shader units and a 384-bit memory interface (3 GB GDDR5, 288 GB/s).

Architecture

The R9 280X uses the same chip as the older Radeon HD 7970. Tahiti is based on the GCN architecture and offers 2048 shaders, 128 TMUs and 32 ROPs. Compared to the HD 7970, the R9 280X clocks slightly higher at 1050 MHz for the Core (max. Boost) and 1500 MHz (6000 MHz effective) for the memory. The 280X supports DirectX 12 (FL 11_1), but lacks the new Trueaudio feature.

Performance

Depending on game and settings, the performance of the Radeon R9 280X is similar to the Nvidia GeForce GTX 770. Therefore, even the fastest mobile GPUs like the GeForce GTX 780M are outperformed by more than 30 percent. Demanding games like Metro: Last Light can be played fluently in 2560 x 1600 pixels and maximum settings. In some cases, even higher resolutions or additional AA/AF are possible.

Features

The R9 280X supports well-known features like Eyefinity, but also some innovations such as a new turbo mode. Depending on power consumption and temperature, the core can be boosted up to 1050 MHz. However, there is no offical base clock respectively a lower limit.

Power Consumption

Thanks to dynamic clock adjustments and the Zero Core technology, the R9 280X is very energy efficient while idle. Under load, the card is rated at a typical power consumption of 250 watts.

R9 Series

Radeon R9 290X compare 2816 @ 1 GHz512 Bit @ 5000 MHz
Radeon R9 280X 2048 @ 1 GHz384 Bit @ 6000 MHz
Radeon R9 270X compare 1280 @ 1.05 GHz256 Bit @ 5600 MHz
CodenameThaiti XTL
ArchitectureGCN
Pipelines2048 - unified
Core Speed1000 MHz
Memory Speed6000 MHz
Memory Bus Width384 Bit
Memory TypeGDDR5
Max. Amount of Memory3 GB
Shared Memoryno
APIDirectX 12 (FL 11_1), OpenGL 4.3
Power Consumption250 Watt
Transistor Count4.3 Billion
technology28 nm
FeaturesMantle, Eyefinity, App Acceleration, CrossFire, PowerTune, ZeroCore, HD3D
Date of Announcement08.10.2013
InformationPCI-E 3.0, HDMI mit 4K-Support
Link to Manufacturer Pagewww.amd.com

Benchmarks

Performance Rating - 3DMark 11 + Fire Strike + Time Spy
3.7 pt (11%)
3DMark Vantage
3DM Vant. Perf. total +
3DM Vant. Perf. GPU no PhysX +
3DMark 06 3DMark 06 - Standard 1280x1024 +
Unigine Heaven 3.0 - Unigine Heaven 3.0 DX 11
min: 94.6     avg: 95.2     median: 95.2 (32%)     max: 95.8 fps
SPECviewperf 11
specvp11 snx-01 +
specvp11 tcvis-02 +
specvp11 sw-02 +
specvp11 proe-05 +
specvp11 maya-03 +
specvp11 lightwave-01 +
SPECviewperf 11 - specvp11 lightwave-01
34.3 fps (37%)
specvp11 ensight-04 +
specvp11 catia-03 +
GFXBench (DX / GLBenchmark) 2.7
GFXBench T-Rex HD Offscreen C24Z16 +
- Range of benchmark values for this graphics card
red legend - Average benchmark values for this graphics card
* Smaller numbers mean a higher performance

Game Benchmarks

The following benchmarks stem from our benchmarks of review laptops. The performance depends on the used graphics memory, clock rate, processor, system settings, drivers, and operating systems. So the results don't have to be representative for all laptops with this GPU. For detailed information on the benchmark results, click on the fps number.

med. 1920x1080
40.8  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Fortnite

Fortnite

2018
med. 1920x1080
158  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
60  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
47.5  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
ultra 1920x1080
29.4  fps    + Compare
» The benchmarks indicate that the game is not playable in the tested settings.
med. 1920x1080
61  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
36.5  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
30.5  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
12  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
high 1920x1080
66.7  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
60.2  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
17  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
Mafia 3

Mafia 3

2016
med. 1366x768
49.4  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
27.9  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings med..
Overwatch

Overwatch

2016
high 1920x1080
146  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
73  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
47.4  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
med. 1920x1080
44.4  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
40.9  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
10.1  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
ultra 1920x1080
51  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
26.6  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
ultra 1920x1080
41  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
high 1920x1080
47.6  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
39.7  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
22.5  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
low 1024x768
116  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
78  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
49.3  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
39.4  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
21.1  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
low 1024x768
195  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
168  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
92  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
76  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
32.4  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings ultra.
low 1024x768
72  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
74  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
54  fps    + Compare
ultra 1920x1080
4.3  fps    + Compare
4K 3840x2160
19.4  fps    + Compare
» With all tested laptops playable in detail settings high.
Fallout 4

Fallout 4

2015
low 1280x720
135  fps    + Compare
med. 1366x768
97  fps    + Compare
high 1920x1080
57  fps    + Compare