AMD Radeon R9 270X Review | 118 Data compared

The Techgage review highlights the AMD Radeon R9 270X as a strong $199 midrange card delivering excellent 1080p performance and surprisingly capable multi-monitor support, often beating the NVIDIA GTX 660. While offering high value at launch, the card faced intense competition when NVIDIA reduced the GTX 660's price to $175, diminishing the 270X's market position. Pros include strong overall performance in its price bracket and solid multi-display capabilities. However, the review notes inconsistent performance scaling across different titles and unpredictable results compared to rivals.

The AMD R9 270X is a competitive, mid-priced GPU in the $199 range, delivering strong performance that consistently outpaces the NVIDIA GTX 660. The review highlights its excellent value,, strong performance scaling, and impressive, voltage-free overclocking results, achieving a 14% increase in core speed and 13% in memory speed. However, the card is limited by locked voltage controls, which prevented advanced overclocking attempts and curtailed further performance gains. Despite this, the R9 270X is considered a balanced, high-value option for budget-conscious gamers.

The AMD Radeon R9 270X review by PCMag Australia evaluates a midrange graphics card priced at a $199 list price, aiming to deliver strong 1080p performance for budget-conscious gamers. It functions as a direct, drop-in refresh of the older AMD Radeon HD 7870, utilizing the same underlying architecture but boosting the core clock speed to 1,050MHz and increasing the memory transfer speed by 17 percent to 1,400MHz. Strictly containing a 2GB VRAM configuration, the retail card features one HDMI, one DisplayPort, and two DVI outputs, offering high multimonitor flexibility for up to three screens. Real-world benchmarking against its primary, higher-priced competitor—the Nvidia GeForce GTX 760—yields highly competitive performance, with the R9 270X scoring a close 38 frames per second (fps) in Shogun 2: Total War, 30fps in Metro 2033, and securing a slight win at 31fps in Hitman: Absolution. The primary pros highlighted in the review include notable clock speed bumps over its predecessor, a modest price cut compared to the older generation's initial launch, and multiple display outputs that facilitate flexible multimonitor setups without solely relying on DisplayPort. Conversely,...

The PCMag review highlights the AMD Radeon R9 270X as a strong, budget-friendly graphics card for 1080p gaming, boasting an "Excellent" 4.0 rating at its $199 MSRP. The card offers improved clock speeds and versatile display-out options over its predecessors. However, it is fundamentally a refresh of older architecture and offers little performance advantage over the cheaper HIS R9 270, according to the analysis.

The AMD Radeon R9 270X is a mid-range graphics card based on the repurposed Pitcairn XT chipset from the previous generation's HD 7870. It targets enthusiast performance up to 2560x1440 resolution. Hardware enhancements over its predecessor include a 50MHz core clock bump to 1.05GHz and an 800MHz boost to the effective memory clock (now 5.6GHz). This increases the overall memory bandwidth to 179.2 GB/s. Structurally, the card requires two 6-pin power connectors, registers a 180W thermal design power (TDP), and features two DVI ports, one DisplayPort, and one HDMI input, allowing triple-monitor setups without requiring a DisplayPort. The primary advantage of the R9 270X is its performance-per-pound efficiency against Nvidia's competing hardware. It comfortably outperforms the cheaper GTX 660, demonstrating up to a 23% advantage in demanding games like Tomb Raider. Its increased memory bandwidth yields measurable frame-rate advantages over the HD 7870 at 1440p resolutions. It also offers potential future-proofing through the upcoming Mantle API integration. However, the card suffers from a lack of true innovation, as the underlying architecture is a simple refresh of a discontinued product. It...

The MSI R9 270X Gaming 2 GB, reviewed by TechPowerUp, is a factory-overclocked card praised for its TwinFrozr dual-fan thermal design, which provides exceptionally quiet, low-temperature operation. Delivering 3% higher performance than the reference model due to a 1120 MHz factory GPU clock, it outperforms the HD 7870 by 11% while maintaining excellent single-monitor idle power efficiency. Conversely, the card features 2 GB of Elpida memory with limited manual overclocking headroom and no factory memory overclock. Additionally, the card carries a $20 price premium over reference models and exhibits high power consumption in multi-monitor or Blu-ray playback scenarios, say TechPowerUp.

The Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X OC (GV-R927XOC-2GD) is a highly recommended, budget-friendly graphics card that delivers impressive price-to-performance value at its $199.99 retail price. Equipped with a 50MHz factory overclock out of the box, it consistently outperforms the standard AMD reference card in 1080p gaming across titles like Battlefield 4 and Far Cry 3. A major highlight of the review is the inclusion of the WINDFORCE 3X GPU cooler, which keeps the card's 1280 stream processors running remarkably cool. Temperatures never exceeded 51°C during intense full-load testing, while maintaining very acceptable, middle-of-the-pack noise levels. Additionally, manual overclocking unlocks substantial potential, as reviewers pushed the core clock from 1100MHz up to 1230MHz with full stability, resulting in an extra 10% performance boost. Despite its strong value, the hardware does come with a few notable limitations. The card's memory is a major weak point, showing almost no overclocking headroom as it barely moved from 1400MHz to 1435MHz, marking one of the worst memory overclocks the reviewers had seen in years. The physical footprint is also a potential drawback, as the cooling apparatus...

The Phoronix review of the Gigabyte Radeon R9 270X 2GB under Linux highlights strong performance for its $200 USD price point, outperforming the Radeon HD 6950 by 52% in Unigine Heaven 4.0. The card offers good power efficiency with a 207W average load and provides solid overclocking capability, reaching 1180MHz core and 1520MHz memory clocks using the Catalyst OverDrive utility. Conversely, the review notes significant drawbacks, specifically that open-source RadeonSI driver support was completely unready at launch, forcing reliance on the proprietary Catalyst binary driver for functionality. Additional cons include system lock-ups at higher overclocks and limited driver support for OpenGL 4.3 features at release.

Techgage’s review of the AMD Radeon R9 270X outlines a rigorous testing methodology designed for maximum accuracy, featuring strict environmental controls such as monitored ambient temperatures and a clean, background-process-free Windows 7 installation to eliminate data noise. The evaluation emphasizes high-resolution performance, with a specific focus on ensuring repeatable, reliable benchmarking metrics for the mid-range card. Key advantages of this methodology include an exceptionally disciplined approach that provides highly reliable raw performance data. However, this strategy creates a best-case, artificial testing environment that does not reflect typical, real-world consumer PC usage, which is a notable drawback. Techgage

The Vortez AMD Radeon R9 270X review evaluates this mid-range graphics card as a heavily redesigned Pitcairn-core contender targeting the highly competitive $199 / £134.99–£150 "gamer sweet spot" market segment. Built on AMD's award-winning Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture and natively supporting the Mantle API, the reference design comes equipped with 1,280 shaders, a 256-bit memory controller, 2GB of GDDR5 VRAM, a core clock speed of 1050MHz, and an effective memory clock of 5600MHz. The review clarifies that the card is not a stripped-down HD 7950 or a Tahiti LE core. Testing reveals excellent overclocking headroom, allowing the card to stable at an impressive 1215MHz core clock (a 165MHz increase) and an effective memory clock of 7240MHz. This extra performance successfully nets a noticeable 128-point bump in the synthetic Unigine Heaven 4.0 benchmark. Acoustically, the redesigned stock cooler operates near-silently at idle and maintains a reasonable, quiet murmur under standard loads. However, the review outlines clear drawbacks alongside its strengths. On the negative side, the reference cooling architecture fails to deliver any cooling miracles; the GPU reaches a mediocre load...

Steven Walton's 2013 TechSpot review highlights that the AMD Radeon R9 270X offers solid mid-range performance, featuring a 16% advantage over the Nvidia GTX 660 in Medal of Honor: Warfighter. The entry-level R7 260X shows similar value, delivering a 19% increase over the HD 7790 in Hitman: Absolution. Conversely, the review notes minimal generational gains, with the R9 270X providing only a 3% improvement over the HD 7870 in specific tests. Furthermore, the R7 260X demonstrates weak competitiveness against older Nvidia cards, showing only a 7% edge over the GTX 650 Ti in certain scenarios. TechSpot

The AMD Radeon R9 270X 2 GB, based on the "Pitcairn" silicon, offers excellent performance-per-dollar at the $199 price point, outperforming the NVIDIA GTX 660 by approximately 10%. It provides robust triple-monitor support, good gaming efficiency, and features a 5% higher core boost clock and 16% higher memory clock than the HD 7870 GHz Edition. Conversely, the reference design suffers from poor, loud cooling and high operating temperatures. It also exhibits high power consumption during multi-monitor usage, which is inefficient compared to NVIDIA competitors.

The PCMag UK Review highlights the AMD Radeon R9 270X ($199 list price) as an excellent, budget-friendly midrange graphics card tailored for gamers seeking reliable 1080p performance without the premium cost of luxury models. Acting as a direct, drop-in replacement for the older Radeon HD 7870, this hardware refresh brings notable performance advantages, including a core clock bump to 1,050MHz and a 17% increase in memory transfer speeds to 1,400MHz. On the downside, the review criticizes the card for relying on older GPU architecture and notes that it strictly limits users to 2GB of VRAM. In benchmark testing alongside an Intel Core i7-3770K CPU, the R9 270X demonstrated functional multi-monitor flexibility, supporting up to three displays off a single card through a diverse mix of HDMI, DisplayPort, and dual DVI ports. While its primary competitor, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 760, scored marginally higher in titles like Civilization V (87fps vs. 75fps) and BioShock Infinite (65fps vs. 55fps), the Nvidia option cost $50 to $60 more, making the R9 270X a much better raw value. However, the review concludes that the...

The TechSpot review highlights that the AMD Radeon R9 270X and R7 260X are architectural refreshes of older silicon, offering exceptional value-to-performance at mid-range ($199) and budget ($140) price points. The R9 270X outperforms the GeForce GTX 660 by 18%, while the R7 260X beats the GTX 650 Ti by 10%, with both cards supporting DirectX 11.2 and AMD’s Mantle API. Conversely, the cards suffer from limited innovation, featuring poor manual overclocking margins of only 1 to 2 FPS. The R7 260X specifically draws 35% more power than its predecessor, and the overall rebranding strategy resulted in a confusing, non-innovative lineup, according to the review.

The AMD Radeon R9 270X is an impressive mid-range graphics card that offers excellent value for money at its $199 retail launch price, clearly outperforming its direct price competitor, the NVIDIA GTX 660. Key performance pros highlighted by Vortez include solid overclocking capabilities, with the card successfully achieving a 165MHz core boost and a 210MHz memory overclock using MSI Afterburner. Furthermore, it features an aggressive matte black dual-slot cooler that remains relatively quiet under normal gaming conditions. The card also showcases outstanding long-idle energy savings due to AMD ZeroCore Power Technology, which shuts down the GPU core completely when the display is blanked. However, the major architectural con is that the GPU is essentially a "re-hash" and re-badging of the older HD 7870 Pitcairn core, featuring the same 256-bit controller and 180W power board draw rather than any groundbreaking technological innovations. Performance also falls short when compared directly against the faster, albeit more expensive, NVIDIA GTX 760. While the physical design accommodates a full copper base plate and multiple display layouts, the reference cooler struggles to work miracles—averaging a warm...