AMD Radeon R9 M280x Review
AMD has done very well with the companies that make video game consoles. Microsoft (with the Xbox One), Sony (with the PlayStation 4), and Nintendo (with the Wii U) have all used AMD designs. With the release of its R7 and R9 graphics chip families, the company is turning its attention back to PC games. But AMD has a strange idea of what a “family” is because some of the new GPUs it announced recently, like the Radeon R9 280X we’re reviewing here, aren’t completely new.
Instead, they’re tweaked versions of products that came out before. AMD doesn’t like it when I call them “rebadged,” because that means they are just the same old product with a new name. In this case, AMD’s engineers took the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition from last year, changed some of its specs, and added some new features before giving it a new name. But a company rep has stated that the Radeon R9 280X “shares the same ASIC” as the Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition. An ASIC is an application-specific integrated chip.
AMD Radeon R9 M280x Specs
| Codename | Saturn XT |
| Core Speed | 900 – 1000 (Boost) MHz |
| Pipelines | 896 – unified |
| Memory Speed | 5500 MHz |
| Memory Bus Width | 128 Bit |
| Memory Type | GDDR5 |
| Shared Memory | NO |
| Transistor Count | 2.1 Million |
| Technology | 28 nm |
| Notebook Size | Large |
Specs
AMD came out with the Radeon R9 M280X graphics card on February 5, 2015. This Saturn-based GPU has an average die size of 160 mm2 and 2 giga transistors per second (GHz). It also supports DirectX 12, which makes it perfect for all current games, even today. You can also use 4GB of GDDR5 memory that is connected to your new device using 128-bit interface lengths. So, you’ll never have any problems with lag when watching high-definition videos.
The graphics processing unit (GPU) runs at 900 MHz and can go up to 1000 MHz if needed. The memory also runs at 1375 MHz, which is the same as 5.5 Gbps. This GPU also uses 28 nm process technology, which is one of AMD’s newest innovations in silicon design. This lets them put more transistors on each die, giving you better speed per watt than before.
Price
The AMD Radeon R280X GPU can be bought online at places like Amazon and Best Buy. The R280X can be bought for $249. The R280X is a great choice for a powerful and reasonably priced graphics card with all the features it has.
Display
On the card’s mounting base, MSI puts two Mini DisplayPort ports, one HDMI port, and one DVI-I port. AMD’s standard design has one full-size DisplayPort port, one HDMI port, and two DVI ports. Either way, it’s easy to join multiple monitors, but it’s too bad that so few market panels have DisplayPort connections. When we talk about DisplayPort, AMD’s EyeFinity multimonitor technology needs it to work on older GPUs.
You can add up to two HDMI or DVI screens to these cards, but the rest must be DisplayPort or have active DisplayPort adapters. Radeon R9 GPUs can handle up to three HDMI or DVI screens, and you can add up to three more using DisplayPort, giving you six monitors. There are certain rules: All of the screens must support the same timings, and the clocks and timings must be set up at boot time—hot-plugging is not allowed.
Processor
The Radeon R9 280X chip is similar to the older GPU in that it has 2048 graphics cores and 3GB of GDDR5 memory connected by a 384-bit wide port. MSI deviates from AMD’s reference design by putting its Twin Frozr IV dual fan and heat sink on top of the GPU and memory. It also speeds up the GPU’s clock by 50 MHz, so it runs at 1050 MHz instead of 1000 MHz in the standard design. MSI didn’t change the clock speed of the memory at all; it runs at the standard 1500 MHz.
Graphics
The AMD Radeon R9 M280X is a good graphics card for gamers that is both powerful and cheap. With the Radeon R9 M280X GPU, players can play at high settings smoothly. It also has good picture quality because it works with AMD Eyefinity technology, which lets you connect up to six monitors. Also, the card works with the latest games that use the DirectX 12 and Vulkan APIs. So, if you want a powerful graphics card that won’t break the bank, the AMD Radeon R9 M280X is a great choice.
Ports
On the card’s mounting base, MSI puts two Mini DisplayPort ports, one HDMI port, and one DVI-I port. AMD’s standard design has one full-size DisplayPort port, one HDMI port, and two DVI ports. Either way, it’s easy to join multiple monitors, but it’s too bad that so few market panels have DisplayPort connections. When we talk about DisplayPort, AMD’s EyeFinity multimonitor technology needs it to work on older GPUs.
You can add up to two HDMI or DVI screens to these cards, but the rest must be DisplayPort or have active DisplayPort adapters. Radeon R9 GPUs can handle up to three HDMI or DVI screens, and you can add up to three more using DisplayPort, giving you six monitors. There are certain rules: All of the screens must support the same timings, and the clocks and timings must be set up at boot time—hot-plugging is not allowed.
