MSI Radeon R9 270X GAMING 2G5D Video Card Review

By Olin Coles

Manufacturer: Micro Star International
Product Name: R9 270X GAMING 2GD5
Model Number: 912-V303-002
UPC: 824142016237 EAN: 4719072313852
Price As Tested: $199 (Amazon / NewEgg)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by MSI.

When AMD unveiled their latest series of graphics cards, MSI was ready to improve upon their design by adding military-grade components cooled by Twin Frozr dual 10cm propeller fans. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the MSI Radeon R9 270X GAMING 2GB video card. For $199 gamers get a 1120 MHz factory-overclocked UltraHD 4K resolution-ready graphics card with 1280 Stream processors capable of fast frame rates, and support for the upcoming DirectX 11.2 API.

AMD have been working to extend their graphics reach into emerging markets, primarily through the use of integrated GPUs. This hasn’t slowed their pursuit in the discrete graphics market, where the AMD Radeon series continues to battle for supremacy in some of the most demanding DirectX 11 video games available on PC. The AMD Radeon R9 270X is an example of this effort, designed to compete against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the custom-designed MSI R9 270X GAMING video card using several highly-demanding DX11 video games such as Metro: Last Light, Batman: Arkham City, and Battlefield 3.

What’s new in Radeon R9 270X: revamped AMD Graphics Core Next Architecture supports upcoming DirectX 11.2 API, UltraHD 4K resolution-ready via DisplayPort MST streams, and a new AMD CrossFire technology via hardware DMA engine.

MSI Radeon R9 270X Gaming Specifications

• Total Stream Processors: 1,280
• Engine Clock: 1030 MHz base speed, up to 1120 MHz Boost
• Compute Performance: 2.69 TFLOPS
• Memory Configuration: 2GB or 4GB GDDR5 / 256-bit
• Memory Speed: 5.6 Gbps
• Power Connectors: 2x 6-pin
• Typical Board Power: 180W
• PCI-E Standard: PCI-E 3.0
• API Support: DirectX 11.2, OpenGL 4.3, Mantle
• Warranty: 3-Year support service

UltraHD 4K Resolution is:

• 3840 x 2160 30 Hz TV
• 4096 x 2160 24 Hz TV
• Half frame 1920 x 2160 60 Hz IT
• Half frame 2048 x 2160 60 Hz IT