By Olin Coles
Manufacturer: Sapphire Technology Limited
Product Name: Vapor-X R9 270X 2G
Model Number: 11217-00-40G
UPC: 840777063255 EAN: 4895106267954
Price As Tested: $219 (NewEgg / Amazon)
Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Sapphire.
The latest AMD Curacao XT-based video cards are poised to supply the market with plenty of graphics power and added value for mainstream gamers – especially as Battlefield 4 readies for launch with realistic DirectX 11 special effects. Sapphire, the leading name in AMD Radeon desktop products, have released their own Radeon R9 270X complete with an exclusive second-generation Vapor-X lightweight vapor-chamber cooling system. Sapphire further improves upon the AMD reference design by incorporating dual UEFI and BIOS firmware support, long-life 5000-hour capacitors, and Black Diamond electronic chokes. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X, which sells online for $219 and features a 1100 MHz factory-overclocked UltraHD 4K resolution-ready graphics card with 1280 Stream processors 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 for desktop PCs. The AMD Radeon R9 270X is an example of this effort, designed to compete against the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660. We test the custom-designed Sapphire Vapor-X R9 270X 2G video card, model 11217-00-40G, 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.
Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X Specifications:
| Specifications | |
| Display Support | 4 x Maximum Display Monitor(s) support |
| Output | 1 x HDMI (with 3D) 1 x DisplayPort 1.2 1 x Dual-Link DVI-D 1 x Dual-Link DVI-I |
| GPU | 1050/Boost:1100 MHz Core Clock 28 nm Chip 1280 x Stream Processors |
| Video Memory | 2048 MB Size 256 -bit GDDR5 5800 MHz Effective |
| Dimension | 264(L)X103(W)X35(H) mm Size. 2 x slot |
| Software | Driver CD SAPPHIRE TriXX Utility |
| Accessory | CrossFire™ Bridge Interconnect Cable DVI to VGA Adapter 6 PIN to 4 PIN Power Cable x 2 HDMI 1.4a high speed 1.8 meter cable (Full Retail SKU only) |
| System Requirements | |
|
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
The Sapphire Vapor-X R9 270X graphics card, model 11217-00-40G, sells online for $219 (NewEgg / Amazon). The retail kit comes with an accessory package that includes: product manual, driver CD, CrossFireX interconnect cable, DVI to VGA adapter, digital HDMI 1.4 cable, two 4-pin Molex into 6-pin PCI power adapters, and of course the Radeon R9 270X graphics card.
If you’ve owned or read reviews for previous-generation AMD video cards in the past few years, you’re probably familiar with the classic “black slab with red accents” styling that AMD has traditionally used. Even these new Curacao XT-based cards use this same familiar styling on reference models, most of which will merely receive a vendor-specific sticker for branding. Sapphire has decided that these new graphics cards deserve better, and have outfitted R9 270X Vapor-X with an exclusive vapor-chamber cooling system. Sapphire offers an in-depth look at Vapor-X technology here.
The first thing you’ll notice different about this product is its dual-fan Vapor-X GPU cooler. This high-performance cooler is quite elaborate: Sapphire replaces the basic AMD blower-motor fan cooler with a large vapor chamber cooler of their own design. Large heat-pipe rods span away from the base plate out to a massive collection of aluminum fins that dissipate the heat. These fins are further cooled by a pair of 10cm propeller fans, which force large amounts of air over the heatsink without the noise of high-RPM fans.
An aluminum Vapor-X fan shroud wraps around the upper half of this graphics card, protecting the aluminum heatsink and fan blades from damage while at the same time focusing air pressure directly in towards the GPU. During normal operation heated air escapes from around the sides of the card, with oversized vents in the header panel to help exhaust outside the computer case.
The Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X graphics card measures 10.39″ long x 4.06″ wide x 1.38″ tall (264 x 103 x 35mm). Ideally, the R9 270X Vapor-X will be installed into a tower computer case with adequate internal cooling , but the reduced overall size lends itself to compact enclosures designed for mATX form-factor components.
Available output connectors for the Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X graphics card include two DVI ports, one HDMI port, and one DisplayPort. The primary DVI connector is positioned closest to the board and enables 120Hz dual-link display. The secondary DVI connector is located beside the vents, and can be used for an additional display device.
Sapphire’s Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X video card requires two 6-pin PCI-E power connectors for proper operation. While AMD suggests 180W typical power consumption (maximum), our own testing indicates the R9 270X Vapor-X card draws approximately 150W during high-demand graphical applications like 3DMark11 and up to 230 watts using FurMark’s “Torture Test”.
Most graphics cards run hot, and leave very little room for additional overclocking. The Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X graphics card operates at 1050 MHz, and boosts to 1100 MHz. Enthusiasts can use their favorite overclocking tool, or utilize Sapphire’s own TriXX software tool. Combined with the ultra-efficient Vapor-X vapor chamber cooler, TriXX works to optimize your overclock and reach maximum potential while remaining stable under stress.
In the next section, we share details on the new AMD ZeroCore Power Management technology featured on Sapphire’s Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X graphics card…
Source: AMD
When a discrete GPU is in a static screen state it works to minimize idle power by enabling a host of active power saving functions including (but not limited to); clock gating, power gating, memory compression, and a host of other features. However, GPUs with AMD’s exclusive AMD ZeroCore Power technology can take energy savings to entirely new heights by completely powering down the core GPU while the rest of the system remains active.
Nearly all PCs can be configured to turn off their displays after a long period of inactivity. This is known as the long idle state; where the screen is blanked but the rest of the system remains in an active and working power state (ACPI G0/S0). As soon as the system goes into long idle state and applications are not actively changing the screen contents, the GPU enters the AMD ZeroCore power state. In the AMD ZeroCore power state, the GPU core (including the 3D engine / compute units, multimedia and audio engines, displays, memory interfaces, etc.) is completely powered down. However, one cannot simply remove the GPU and its associated device context completely; particularly when it is the only GPU in the system as is the case in many enthusiast platforms. The operating system and SBIOS must still be aware that a GPU is still present in the system. For this reason, the AMD ZeroCore Power state maintains a very small bus control block to ensure that GPU context is still visible to the operating system and SBIOS. The AMD ZeroCore power state also manages the power sequencing of the GPU to ensure that the power up/down mechanism is self-contained and independent of the rest of the system.
The enablement of the AMD ZeroCore Power feature is controlled by the driver. The driver monitors the display contents and allows the GPU to enter the AMD ZeroCore Power in the condition that the GPU enters long idle and subsequent work requests are no longer being submitted to the engine. If any applications update the screen contents, AMD ZeroCore Power technology can periodically wake the GPU to update the framebuffer contents and put the GPU back into the AMD ZeroCore Power state. Furthermore, applications such as Windows 7 desktop gadgets are architected to minimize activity and save power in the long idle state. These applications are active during screen-on mode to display dynamic content such as weather, RSS feeds, stock symbols, system status, etc. but also have the intelligence to suspend any updates and activity when the system enters long idle. These applications will not wake the GPU from the AMD ZeroCore Power state in long idle.
AMD ZeroCore Power technology delivers tremendous energy savings. Many PCs remain in the long idle state for a variety of use cases that are highly relevant to everyday consumers, enthusiasts and professionals. In AMD ZeroCore Power mode, users can still enjoy non-graphics activities such as file serving/streaming, motherboard audio and music, and remote access while the GPU core is essentially powered off.
In the next section, we detail our test methodology and give specifications for all of the benchmarks and equipment used in our testing process…
The Microsoft DirectX-11 graphics API is native to the Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System, and will be the primary O/S for our test platform. DX11 is also available as a Microsoft Update for the Windows Vista O/S, so our test results apply to both versions of the Operating System.
In each benchmark test there is one ‘cache run’ that is conducted, followed by five recorded test runs. Results are collected at each setting with the highest and lowest results discarded. The remaining three results are averaged, and displayed in the performance charts on the following pages.
A combination of synthetic and video game benchmark tests have been used in this article to illustrate relative performance among graphics solutions. Our benchmark frame rate results are not intended to represent real-world graphics performance, as this experience would change based on supporting hardware and the perception of individuals playing the video game.
- Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 Deluxe Motherboard (Intel X79 Express)
- Processor: Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition (six cores/3300 MHz)
- System Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws-Z 32GB DDR3-1600
- Power Supply Unit: OCZ Z-Series Gold 850W OCZZ850
- Monitor: Lenovo ThinkVision LT3053p IPS LED-Backlit 30″ LCD
- 3DMark11 Professional Edition by Futuremark
- Settings: Performance Level Preset, 1280×720, 1x AA, Trilinear Filtering, Tessellation level 5)
- Aliens vs Predator Benchmark 1.0
- Settings: Very High Quality, 4x AA, 16x AF, SSAO, Tessellation, Advanced Shadows
- Batman: Arkham City
- Settings: 8x AA, 16x AF, MVSS+HBAO, High Tessellation, Extreme Detail, PhysX Disabled
- BattleField 3
- Settings: Ultra Graphics Quality, FOV 90, 180-second Fraps Scene
- Lost Planet 2 Benchmark 1.0
- Settings: Benchmark B, 4x AA, Blur Off, High Shadow Detail, High Texture, High Render, High DirectX 11 Features
- Metro 2033 Benchmark
- Settings: Very-High Quality, 4x AA, 16x AF, Tessellation, PhysX Disabled
- Unigine Heaven Benchmark 3.0
- Settings: DirectX 11, High Quality, Extreme Tessellation, 16x AF, 4x AA
| Graphics Card | GeForce GTX650Ti | Radeon HD6970 | GeForce GTX580 | GeForce GTX660Ti | Sapphire R9 270X | Radeon HD7950 | GeForce GTX760 | GeForce GTX670 | Radeon HD7970 |
| GPU Cores | 768 | 1536 | 512 | 768 | 1280 | 1792 | 1152 | 1344 | 2048 |
| Core Clock (MHz) | 925 | 880 | 772 | 915 | 1030 | 850 | 980 | 915 | 925 |
| Shader Clock (MHz) | N/A | N/A | 1544 | 980 Boost | 1120 Boost | N/A | 1033 Boost | 980 Boost | N/A |
| Memory Clock (MHz) | 1350 | 1375 | 1002 | 1502 | 1400 | 1250 | 1502 | 1502 | 1375 |
| Memory Amount | 1024MB GDDR5 | 2048MB GDDR5 | 1536MB GDDR5 | 2048MB GDDR5 | 2048MB GDDR5 | 3072MB GDDR5 | 2048MB GDDR5 | 2048MB GDDR5 | 3072MB GDDR5 |
| Memory Interface | 128-bit | 256-bit | 384-bit | 192-bit | 256-bit | 384-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 384-bit |
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650Ti (925 MHz GPU/1350 MHz vRAM – Forceware 306.38)
- AMD Radeon HD 6970 (880 MHz GPU/1375 MHz vRAM – AMD Catalyst 13.3)
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 (772 MHz GPU/1544 MHz Shader/1002 MHz vRAM – Forceware 306.23)
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660Ti (915 MHz GPU/980 MHz Boost/1502 MHz vRAM – Forceware 306.23)
- Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X (1050 MHz GPU/1100 MHz Boost/1450 MHz vRAM – Catalyst 13.11)
- AMD Radeon HD 7950 (850 MHz GPU/1250 MHz vRAM – AMD Catalyst 13.9)
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 (980 MHz GPU/1033 MHz Boost/1502 MHz vRAM – Forceware 320.39)
- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 (915 MHz GPU/980 MHz Boost/1502 MHz vRAM – Forceware 306.23)
- AMD Radeon HD 7970 (925 MHz GPU/1375 MHz vRAM – AMD Catalyst 13.9)
FutureMark 3DMark11 is the latest addition the 3DMark benchmark series built by FutureMark corporation. 3DMark11 is a PC benchmark suite designed to test the DirectX-11 graphics card performance without vendor preference. Although 3DMark11 includes the unbiased Bullet Open Source Physics Library instead of NVIDIA PhysX for the CPU/Physics tests, Benchmark Reviews concentrates on the four graphics-only tests in 3DMark11 and uses them with medium-level ‘Performance’ presets.
The ‘Performance’ level setting applies 1x multi-sample anti-aliasing and trilinear texture filtering to a 1280x720p resolution. The tessellation detail, when called upon by a test, is preset to level 5, with a maximum tessellation factor of 10. The shadow map size is limited to 5 and the shadow cascade count is set to 4, while the surface shadow sample count is at the maximum value of 16. Ambient occlusion is enabled, and preset to a quality level of 5.
- Futuremark 3DMark11 Professional Edition
- Settings: Performance Level Preset, 1280×720, 1x AA, Trilinear Filtering, Tessellation level 5)
3DMark11 Benchmark Test Results
| Graphics Card | GeForce GTX650Ti | Radeon HD6970 | GeForce GTX580 | GeForce GTX660Ti | Sapphire R9 270X | Radeon HD7950 | GeForce GTX760 | GeForce GTX670 | Radeon HD7970 |
| GPU Cores | 768 | 1536 | 512 | 768 | 1280 | 1792 | 1152 | 1344 | 2048 |
| Core Clock (MHz) | 925 | 880 | 772 | 915 | 1030 | 850 | 980 | 915 | 925 |
| Shader Clock (MHz) | N/A | N/A | 1544 | 980 Boost | 1120 Boost | N/A | 1033 Boost | 980 Boost | N/A |
| Memory Clock (MHz) | 1350 | 1375 | 1002 | 1502 | 1400 | 1250 | 1502 | 1502 | 1375 |
| Memory Amount | 1024MB GDDR5 | 2048MB GDDR5 | 1536MB GDDR5 | 2048MB GDDR5 | 2048MB GDDR5 | 3072MB GDDR5 | 2048MB GDDR5 | 2048MB GDDR5 | 3072MB GDDR5 |
| Memory Interface | 128-bit | 256-bit | 384-bit | 192-bit | 256-bit | 384-bit | 256-bit | 256-bit | 384-bit |
| Graphics Card | Sapphire R9 270X | Radeon HD 7950 | GeForce GTX 770 | Radeon HD 7970 | GeForce GTX 780 |
| GPU Cores | 1280 | 1792 | 1536 | 2048 | 2304 |
| Core Clock (MHz) | 1030 | 900 | 1046 | 925 | 863 |
| Shader Clock (MHz) | 1120 Boost | N/A | 1085 Boost | N/A | Boost 902 |
| Memory Clock (MHz) | 1400 | 1250 | 1753 | 1375 | 1502 |
| Memory Amount | 2048MB GDDR5 | 3072MB GDDR5 | 2048MB GDDR5 | 3072MB GDDR5 | 3072MB GDDR5 |
| Memory Interface | 256-bit | 384-bit | 256-bit | 384-bit | 384-bit |
BattleField 3 Benchmarks
- BattleField 3 Campaign
- Settings: 2560×1600 Resolution, Ultra Graphics Quality, FOV 90, 180-second Fraps Scene
Battlefield 3 Benchmark Test Results
DX11: Metro 2033 Benchmarks
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DX11: Metro 2033 Benchmark
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Settings: 2560×1600 Resolution, Very-High Quality, 4x AA, 16x AF, Tessellation, PhysX Disabled
Metro 2033 Benchmark Test Results
- Unigine Heaven Benchmark 3.0
- Settings: 2560×1600 Resolution, DirectX 11, High Quality, Extreme Tessellation, 16x AF, 4x AA
Heaven Benchmark Test Results
In this section, PCI-Express graphics cards are isolated for idle and loaded electrical power consumption. In our power consumption tests, Benchmark Reviews utilizes an 80-PLUS GOLD certified OCZ Z-Series Gold 850W PSU, model OCZZ850. This power supply unit has been tested to provide over 90% typical efficiency by Chroma System Solutions. To measure isolated video card power consumption, Benchmark Reviews uses the Kill-A-Watt EZ (model P4460) power meter made by P3 International. In this particular test, all power consumption results were verified with a second power meter for accuracy.
The power consumption statistics discussed in this section are absolute maximum values, and may not represent real-world power consumption created by video games or graphics applications.
A baseline measurement is taken without any video card installed on our test computer system, which is allowed to boot into Windows 7 and rest idle at the login screen before power consumption is recorded. Once the baseline reading has been taken, the graphics card is installed and the system is again booted into Windows and left idle at the login screen before taking the idle reading. Our final loaded power consumption reading is taken with the video card running a stress test using graphics test #4 on 3DMark11, and again with FurMark’s “Torture Test” for comparison.
This section discusses power consumption for the Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X graphics card, model 11217-00-40G. This product operates at factory-overclocked GPU and GDDR5 speeds, which means that our power consumption results are not representative of the entire Radeon R9 270X-series product family which may feature modified designs by various board partners. Radeon R9 270X requires two 6-pin PCI-E power connections for normal operation, and will not activate the display unless proper power has been supplied.
In our real-world test results indicate the Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X graphics card consumed 12W at the lowest idle reading, and 150W during high-demand graphics from 3DMark11. Using FurMark’s “Torture Test” under full load with fan operating at 100%, power consumption increased to 230 watts. AMD suggests typical board power at 180W. If you’re familiar with electronics, it will come as no surprise that less power consumption equals less heat output as evidenced by our thermal results below…
This section reports our temperature results subjecting the video card to maximum load conditions. During each test a 20°C ambient room temperature is maintained from start to finish, as measured by digital temperature sensors located outside the computer system. GPU-Z is used to measure the temperature at idle as reported by the GPU, and also under load.
Using a modified version of FurMark’s “Torture Test” to generate maximum thermal load, peak GPU temperature is recorded in high-power 3D mode. FurMark does two things extremely well: drives the thermal output of any graphics processor much higher than any video games realistically could, and it does so with consistency every time. Furmark works great for testing the stability of a GPU as the temperature rises to the highest possible output:
| Video Card | Ambient | Idle Temp | Loaded Temp | Max Noise | ||||
| ATI Radeon HD 5850 | 20°C | 39°C | 73°C | 7/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460 | 20°C | 26°C | 65°C | 4/10 | ||||
| AMD Radeon HD 6850 | 20°C | 42°C | 77°C | 7/10 | ||||
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 20°C | 39°C | 74°C | 6/10 | ||||
| ATI Radeon HD 5870 | 20°C | 33°C | 78°C | 7/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti | 20°C | 27°C | 78°C | 5/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 | 20°C | 32°C | 82°C | 7/10 | ||||
| ATI Radeon HD 6970 | 20°C | 35°C | 81°C | 6/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 | 20°C | 32°C | 70°C | 6/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 | 20°C | 33°C | 77°C | 6/10 | ||||
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 20°C | 40°C | 84°C | 8/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti BOOST | 20°C | 26°C | 73°C | 4/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 20°C | 26°C | 62°C | 3/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 | 20°C | 26°C | 71°C | 3/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 | 20°C | 26°C | 75°C | 3/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 | 20°C | 30°C | 81°C | 4/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 | 20°C | 27°C | 79°C | 3/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 | 20°C | 27°C | 78°C | 3/10 | ||||
| Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X | 20°C | 26°C | 68°C | 4/10 | ||||
| NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 | 20°C | 28°C | 80°C | 3/10 |
Everything that consumes electricity produces heat, so while power consumption for Radeon R9 270X is relatively tame it could still benefit from an improved thermal management system. This is exactly what was done with the Sapphire R9 270X Vapor-X 2G video card. Utilizing their own vapor chamber “Vapor-X” dual-fan design with large aluminum GPU heatsink, temperatures reached only 68°C after ten minutes of 100% load, which is a considerably low peak temperature by comparison. Idle temperatures were nearly stone-cold and remained at a cool 26°C.
The temperatures discussed in this section are relative maximum values, and may not represent real-world temperatures created by video games or graphics applications. Your results may vary depending on ambient room temperature and firmware revision.
IMPORTANT: Although the rating and final score mentioned in this conclusion are made to be as objective as possible, be advised that every author perceives these factors differently. While we each do our best to ensure that all aspects of the product are considered, there are often times unforeseen market conditions and manufacturer revisions that occur after publication which could render our rating obsolete. Please do not base any purchase solely on this conclusion, as it represents our rating specifically for the product tested which may differ from future versions. Benchmark Reviews begins our conclusion with a short summary for each of the areas that we rate.
My ratings begin with performance, where (according to AMD) the $219 Sapphire R9 270X Vapor-X 2G graphics card competes against NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 660 series that costs around $179. Although the GeForce GTX 660 Ti and GTX 660 TI Boost share a similar series name, each have twice as many CUDA cores as the standard GTX 660, and start around $249. This ultimately places the Radeon R9 270X in-between GTX 660 and GTX 660 Ti, at least in terms of price.
In DirectX 11 tests the Sapphire R9 270X Vapor-X typically outperformed the more-expensive GeForce GTX 660 Ti, while easily surpassing the GeForce GTX 580 and AMD Radeon HD 6970 in our benchmark tests. Ultra-demanding DX11 games such as Batman: Arkham Asylum produced 80-FPS from this factory-overclocked R9 270X, which outperformed the GTX 660 Ti’s 60 FPS while closing in on the Radeon HD 7950’s generated 87 FPS. Battlefield 3 actually gave the Sapphire R9 270X Vapor-X a 13-FPS lead over the GTX 660 Ti when Ultra quality settings were used, and got within 6-FPS of high-end GTX 760. Lost Planet 2 played well on all graphics cards when set to high quality with 4x AA, but was a test anomaly that forced the Sapphire R9 270X Vapor-X to trail behind the GTX 660 Ti by 15-FPS. In Aliens vs Predator the performance was more competitive, with R9 270X Vapor-X ahead by 12-FPS over GTX 660 Ti while trailing Radeon HD 7950 by about 6-FPS. Metro 2033 is another demanding game that requires high-end graphics to enjoy high quality visual settings, and the Sapphire R9 270X Vapor-X used its factory GPU and memory overclock to outpace GeForce GTX 660 Ti by 7-FPS while trailing the 7950 by only 2-FPS.
Synthetic benchmark tools offer an unbiased read on graphics products, allowing video card manufacturers to display their performance without special game optimizations or driver influence. Futuremark’s 3DMark11 benchmark suite strained our high-end graphics cards with only mid-level settings displayed at 720p, allowing the Sapphire R9 270X Vapor-X to build a slight lead over the GeForce GTX 660 Ti, and usually enough power to outperform the upper-class Radeon HD 7950. Unigine Heaven 3.0 benchmark tests used maximum settings that tend to crush most products, yet the Sapphire R9 270X Vapor-X still beat the GeForce GTX 660 Ti by nearly 5-FPS while matching the Radeon HD 7950.
Appearance is a much more subjective matter, especially since this particular rating doesn’t have any quantitative benchmark scores to fall back on. AMD’s Radeon HD series has traditionally used the same recognizable ‘black and red brick’ design over the past few years, which tends to dull consumer appeal. Sapphire breathes new life into this aging look with their Vapor-X twin-fan cooler and rocketship-like thrusters at the end of the fan shroud. Unfortunately this modified design exhausts much of the heated air back inside the computer case, which might possibly increase operating temperatures on less-ventilated enclosures. Fashionably good looks could earn points with some consumers, but it’s the card’s low heat output and quiet operation that should leave the biggest impression.
Construction is an area where Sapphire graphics cards continually shine, and the Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X continues this tradition with a two-year product warranty. Thanks to extremely cool operation paired with highly efficient GPU cores, the Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X 2G consumes less energy while emitting less heat. The card requires two 6-pin PCI-E power connections, which are available on practically every mainstream power supply unit. This series offers support for DirectX 11.2, and comes ready for Ultra-HD 4K screen resolutions. Additionally, consumers can have a high-performance single-GPU solution capable of driving three monitors with AMD HD3D support using the two DL-DVI ports with supplementary DisplayPort outputs.
As of October 2013, the Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X 2GD5 graphics card (model 11217-00-40G) is available online for $219 (NewEgg / Amazon). This is $29 less than the GeForce GTX 660 Ti that is outperformed on almost every benchmark, proving itself worthy of value-seeking mainstream gamers. A three-year product warranty ensures that their money doesn’t go to waste if something breaks.
Summary: the Sapphire Radeon R9 270X Vapor-X 2G graphics card runs very cool under full load, and seems ideal for standalone desktop installation for mainstream gaming. Multi-card CrossFire sets are also entirely possible, so long as the enclosure is large enough to fit two dual-slot cards and offers above-average case ventilation. For $219.99 you’re getting plenty of bang for the buck from a video card that competes with much more expensive products, and still has room for additional overclocking performance.
+ Outperforms GeForce GTX 660 Ti
+ DirectX 11.2 ready
+ Supports CrossFireX and DisplayPort output
+ Triple-display and AMD HD3D support
+ Sapphire Vapor-X system keeps GPU very cool
+ Relatively low power consumption under full load
+ 2GB GDDR5 video RAM
+ UltraHD 4K display support
– Some heated exhaust is circulated back into enclosure
– Shorter warranty period than others offer
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Performance: 9.00
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Appearance: 9.25
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Construction: 9.50
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Functionality: 9.00
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Value: 7.75
Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award.
COMMENT QUESTION: How much are you willing to spend on a graphics card?
