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Asus AMD graphics card

Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 8:23 am
by DeltaForce
Before posting on the new build thread in the forum, wanted to ask questions about the card. I've done research but it's hard to know what is truly quieter as non-SPCR reviews have different notions about quiet.

My preference is to get the quietest Asus AMD card that can play games reasonably well, but does't have to be top of the line, as I won't be gaming as much, regrettably. Asus has directcu ii tech, but it's unclear if that is in all asus cards. Do improvements in gpu technology affect heat and noise? Do the newer R7 and R9 run at less watts for the same performance than older models? Some versions are overclocked, which I don't want.

Have narrowed it down, but am open to other ideas.

-Asus HD7770. It's unclear whether this has directcu ii and if it is quiet in idle?

-Asus R9270x. Another thread in this forum reported the 290x as quite loud, but at one site, the 290x runs from 200-500 watts whereas the 270x from 150-320, so the 270 is running at less power. But is it quieter? Would the 270x be louder than the 7770?

-Then there is the R7 250x. Again unclear about how quiet these are.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Saffire has some quiet models but had a bad experience with them in the past. May end up putting an aftermarket heatsink on any card if it is too loud. As far as monitor resolution, I plan to get a 24 or 27 monitor, but don't have that yet.

Thanks for any help.

Re: Asus AMD graphics card

Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 12:37 pm
by quest_for_silence
DeltaForce wrote:Do the newer R7 and R9 run at less watts for the same performance than older models?


No (no substantial advantage).

DeltaForce wrote:Have narrowed it down, but am open to other ideas.


Powercolor R9 270 SCS3.

Re: Asus AMD graphics card

Posted: Mon May 05, 2014 9:17 pm
by darqsyde
With Asus cards, look for DC2 in the product number.

For general usage, with limited gaming focus, I'd actually consider an Nvidia GTX 750Ti. It has a very respectable power/performance ratio.

If you are set on an AMD, then I'd go for a R9 270/270X. It should be more than enough for high setting games at 1080p.

Re: Asus AMD graphics card

Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 10:25 am
by DeltaForce
Thanks for the responses. That Powercooler looks interesting, but after researching it is available in Europe and not in US or Can. There is a helpful thread on it in SPCR.

The R9 270 and R9 270x seem like the best AMD option for having enough performance for gaming, but not overboard on the watts. The MSI and Asus boards had the lowest noise reports in various reviews. The MSI boards had some anecdotal reports of fans malfunctioning though.

The R9 270 is essentially the 7870. The reference X version has a higher clock than the non-X, but both the Asus boards, the 270 and 270X are slightly overclocked from the reference AMD boards to 970MHz and 1120 MHz respectively. Is there any other difference in the X version aside from the higher clock? What I don't have a good understanding of is how significant in terms of heat, reliability, etc, is the higher clock of 1120 MHz in a GPU? Is this a minor overclock and nothing to be concerned about, or from a long term reliability basis is it better getting the lower clocked version?

Re: Asus AMD graphics card

Posted: Tue May 06, 2014 1:33 pm
by darqsyde
I've been running my 7870 OC'd for more than a year now, and it is showing no signs of reliability issues. I very much doubt that the reduction in lifespan of the card will make much difference, as it's likely to be replaced long before it fails. (It'll likely be replaced with a 300 series when they come out)

You might decide to buy an R9 270, and save a few bucks over a 270X. As for a factory overclock, they are generally done at stock voltage(what I have done personally), and will have minimal impact on the life of the card. The increase in heat and power consumption due to the OC will also have little impact on the life of the card.

You can probably reasonably expect the cards to last 2-3 years of HARD usage(mining, etc). Since yours will likely not be pushed that hard, it's probable that the (useful) lifespan of the entire computer will be more of an issue than the life of the cards (or any other component, really).

One other thing to consider, I know you said you'd prefer to avoid Sapphire, but, unlike Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, they build there coolers specifically for AMD cards. And they are usually cooler/quieter. Asus, has a tendency to use the same cooler for both Nvidia and AMD, and it's not as well optimized as a dedicated cooler. That said....we are talking maybe 5 degrees and 1-2dB difference, max.

Re: Asus AMD graphics card

Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2014 4:39 am
by kopilu
Hi,

I currently have a Sapphire Radeon 7790. I can honestly say that in idle it is inaudible. Even with the case opened, i cannot hear it.
I am looking to change it to a 280x, and i have the same problem as you: i cannot find an inaudible card (in idle).

If you are like me, i don't care about gaming noise, but i care a lot about idle/desktop noise.

Re: Asus AMD graphics card

Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2014 5:24 am
by quest_for_silence
kopilu wrote:i care a lot about idle/desktop noise.

Slow down the fans with any Rivatuner-derivative, or Speedfan.

Anyway, if you're asking which card: the semi-fanless ASUS Strix is a 280 (7950), while the quietest 280X should be (more probably that not) the usual MSI OC Gaming, with the XFX DD which could be even slightly quieter (JUST) at idle (and noticeably noisier at load).

Re: Asus AMD graphics card

Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 5:51 am
by kopilu
i've read about the new semipassive Asus card here, but it has yet to be available for sale in my country. That is a good bet, but it depends on the pricing...

Regarding the MSI card, in some reviews (tomshardware) it has been described as really noisy; at least with the new bios. The old bios had throttling problems.

Re: Asus AMD graphics card

Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 6:12 am
by quest_for_silence
kopilu wrote:Regarding the MSI card, in some reviews (tomshardware) it has been described as really noisy; at least with the new bios. The old bios had throttling problems.
I can't help about THG, I don't trust them at all (just for example, contemporary reviews didn't mention at all those issues: Guru3D reported the lowest noise levels among any siblings with a load temp of 68°C, and even better, TT reported a load temp of just 73°C for a Crossfire pair but with - according to them - a fantastic noise level, so YMMV): but even so, THG itself stated that card was quiet at idle with whatsoever BIOS. Besides, the freshly released 6Gb variant, even if more expensive, performed pretty well, noise wise, on any review I saw (if you mind).

Re: Asus AMD graphics card

Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 8:38 am
by kopilu
You are right, but I still have to find out if the sapphire radeon 280 model is quiet\inaudible at idle....I would buy the MSI, I really would, but in my country there is a 15% price difference between the two (sapphire is cheaper).

if the sapphire cooler, with the rpm turned as low as catalyst will allow (I think its 20%) is quiet, then the choice is a no-brainer...The problem is that the idle tests on the web are conducted with auto fan settings; and I know for a fact that the fans are not running at their lowest speed in this scenario.

Re: Asus AMD graphics card

Posted: Tue Jun 24, 2014 1:55 pm
by quest_for_silence
kopilu wrote:The problem is that the idle tests on the web are conducted with auto fan settings; and I know for a fact that the fans are not running at their lowest speed in this scenario.
Open a new poll/thread to ask to any HD7970/R9-280X owner whether they are able to stop the fans using Afterburner 3.0 or SpeedFan 4.49, or not. Up to now I'm enough confident it should work almost flawlessly (I did that on 7770 and 7850).