AMD 6870 done for...need replacement

[Brutus04]

Been outta the loop for awhile and looking for a replacement for my Sapphire 6870. 520 W PSU...thinking R9 380 but open to Nvidia too. Thanks in advance! Brutus.

 

[boozzer]

what is your price bracket? around 200$ a 290 or used 290x. nothing else comes close.

 

[Silverforce11]

Good PSU 520W can handle R290/X class.

Else 380 4GB or 970.

I wouldn't touch 960 4GB for the price.

 

[Brutus04]

Thanks boozzer and Silverforce11!
I'll try to find a used R290X...

 

[Sheninat0r]

why 2 series instead of 3 series?

 

[Silverforce11]

why 2 series instead of 3 series?

Cheaper, same perf (custom R290X runs cool, quiet, no throttling clocks), 8GB vram on 390/X overkill for the performance class.

 

[Brutus04]

Newegg has r9380 for under $180, seems like a decent replacement for a 6870. Still researching : - /

 

[Brutus04]

I have not seen a used r290x for anywhere near $200, more in the $300 range.

 

[Mondozei]

I have not seen a used r290x for anywhere near $200, more in the $300 range.

Did you look for the 290(non-X)? Those used cards are awesome, too.

I've been looking at Newegg and it seems most of the new ones are out of stock, unfortunately.

That's too bad. Maybe people are finally starting to understand just how undervalued that card was/is. When I sold mine, I sold it for $210 dollars and that was considered high. Meanwhile a GTX 780 could easily sell for $250-260 even if it was a far crappier card.

Maybe the market is re-calibrating now.

I'd look for a used 290 for a decent price(~180-200 dollars) and if you can't find that, then I'd wait for the full tonga to come out, i.e. 380X and see how it performs.

 

[RussianSensation]

Newegg has r9380 for under $180, seems like a decent replacement for a 6870. Still researching : - /

I think I'd rather take a $185 R9 280X with lifetime warranty over a 380 4GB. Otherwise, as suggested a used after-market 290/290X is probably the best deal. From time to time people sell those for $180-210.

If you aren't in a huge hurry, I'd wait for a deal on a 290 as it should be much better over the long term with DX12. It also has 64 ROPs and a lot more memory bandwidth than the 280X. An after-market 290 is about 34% faster than a 280X:

http://www.computerbase.de/2015-09/amd-radeon-r9-nano-test/4/

 

[LTC8K6]

But the 285/380 are GCN1.2 cards.

280X is GCN1.0

I'll leave it up to the buyer to decide if it's important. :biggrin:

 

[Leyawiin]

From reviews I've read it seems the newer the game the better the R9 380 performs against the R9 280X. I would probably get this, pay $20 less up front (and $10 less after rebate) and get a backplate in the process.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127879

 

[Brutus04]

Yeah, I am liking the 380 more & more, for scalability and tech.

 

[thesmokingman]

From reviews I've read it seems the newer the game the better the R9 380 performs against the R9 280X. I would probably get this, pay $20 less up front (and $10 less after rebate) and get a backplate in the process.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127879

Really? Latest bench is Battlefront and they are neck and neck as with most benches fwiw. Tahiti is very mature though so it overclocks quite well in comparison too. The only thing the 285 had improved upon was a better scalar, which the 380 should have too I think.

 

[boozzer]

I have not seen a used r290x for anywhere near $200, more in the $300 range.

a new 290 deals would make it around 200. without deals the price goes up to 240.

a USED 290x goes for 200$.

gl.

 

[RussianSensation]

From reviews I've read it seems the newer the game the better the R9 380 performs against the R9 280X. I would probably get this, pay $20 less up front (and $10 less after rebate) and get a backplate in the process.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127879

$190 for an R9 380 when R9 290 is $220?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202043&cm_re=r9_290-_-14-202-043-_-Product

Sure, it's a reference 290 but with PowerTune -20%, it'll blow the doors off the 380/960 while staying more bearable as far as noise levels go.

What newer games does 380 beat 280X? 1-2 games out of 30? Computerbase has tested 18 of very demanding modern games and 380 loses overall to the 280X.

In any event with R9 290 dropping so low, it's just a matter of time before the last remaining 290 cards go on sale towards the $220 mark and that's hands down the best deal in videocards right now as the $150-200 level (380 included) offers mediocre price/performance in comparison to the 290. Towards the holidays we are bound to see an R9 390/970 for $230-240. It's going to happen as we already had a $225 390.

Let's not forget that 64 ROPs, 2560 shaders and massive amounts of memory bandwidth will likely be better utilized under DX12 because DX11 API didn't allow for AMD R9 290 cards to perform to their potential. In Fable Legends DX12, 290X blows 285 (380) out of the water and even a 925mhz 7970 beats 285 easily.

Even a reference blower 290 is far closer in performance to the 980/Fury level cards than 380/960 are to the 290.

With a budget of around $200, it's really worth it to wait for a deal on a 290/390/970 at this time.

The 290 is really showing how amazing it has been since launch -- in SW BF, its minimums are close to 280X's averages at 1080P, leaving lower cards like 960 and 380 (~ 7970 performance) completely behind.

290 punches well above its weight as a ~$220 card.

 

[Headfoot]

$190 for an R9 380 when R9 290 is $220?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202043&cm_re=r9_290-_-14-202-043-_-Product

Sure, it's a reference 290 but with PowerTune -20%, it'll blow the doors off the 380/960 while staying more bearable as far as noise levels go. When I had a mining 290 reference I would run it at -31mV with lowered powertune and still I could overclock it to 1ghz from 947. YMMV but the reference ones were super hot because they had crap thermal paste and way more voltage than necessary for the clock.

What newer games does 380 beat 280X? 1-2 games out of 30? Computerbase has tested 18 of very demanding modern games and 380 loses overall to the 280X.

In any event with R9 290 dropping so low, it's just a matter of time before the last remaining 290 cards go on sale towards the $220 mark and that's hands down the best deal in videocards right now as the $150-200 level (380 included) offers mediocre price/performance in comparison to the 290. Towards the holidays we are bound to see an R9 390/970 for $230-240. It's going to happen as we already had a $225 390.

Let's not forget that 64 ROPs, 2560 shaders and massive amounts of memory bandwidth will likely be better utilized under DX12 because DX11 API didn't allow for AMD R9 290 cards to perform to their potential. In Fable Legends DX12, 290X blows 285 (380) out of the water and even a 925mhz 7970 beats 285 easily.


Even a reference blower 290 is far closer in performance to the 980/Fury level cards than 380/960 are to the 290.


With a budget of around $200, it's really worth it to wait for a deal on a 290/390/970 at this time.

The 290 is really showing how amazing it has been since launch -- in SW BF, its minimums are close to 280X's averages at 1080P, leaving lower cards like 960 and 380 (~ 7970 performance) completely behind.


290 punches well above its weight as a ~$220 card.

Agreed. If OP is savvy enough to install MSI Afterburner or a similar program and undervolt + powerlimit the reference 290 it won't be nearly as bad.

The other thing is that the reference 290's have terrible thermal paste in my experience. I recently replaced the thermal paste on an XFX 290 reference with Noctua NT-H1 and it ended up idling significantly cooler and ramping up the fan more slowly. Took about 20 minutes including removing it and replacing it into the case.

Back in 2013 when I used to coinmine on a reference 290, I could run it at -31mv and -10 or 20% powertune (cant recall) and still overclock it to 1000 mHz. Those reference 290s were worse than they could have been due to the crap paste and overly high stock voltage. YMMV but I've heard of people getting even bigger undervolts while staying at 1 ghz.

Sure, it's a little extra leg work, but the 290 really is a lot faster than the 380/960 class cards.

However if OP is very sensitive to noise, even when the card hits 40% fan speed it starts to get fairly loud, much less when its running at 50-60-70

 

[Brutus04]

You all are not making it easy...I do not care for the fan noise and most of my lights are led. I don't want to fiddle too much, I did not realize the 380 comes w/a 190w draw. Thank you all for the info!

 

[RussianSensation]

You all are not making it easy...I do not care for the fan noise and most of my lights are led. I don't want to fiddle too much, I did not realize the 380 comes w/a 190w draw. Thank you all for the info!

If you don't care about noise levels at all, well the $220 R9 290 simply cannot be beaten. Look at the performance delta between that card and 960/285 (aka 380).

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/powercolor_radeon_r9_390_pcs_8gb_review,13.html

Just to give you another perspective, it'll take 2x GTX960 in SLI just to match a stock 290 on average.
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_960_SLI/23.html

 

[boozzer]

You all are not making it easy...I do not care for the fan noise and most of my lights are led. I don't want to fiddle too much, I did not realize the 380 comes w/a 190w draw. Thank you all for the info!

don't be too hasty. youtube some full load noise videos before you buy. 290/290x reference blowers are like jet engines under full load.

 

[Erenhardt]

If you don't care about noise levels at all, well the $220 R9 290 simply cannot be beaten. Look at the performance delta between that card and 960/285 (aka 380).

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/powercolor_radeon_r9_390_pcs_8gb_review,13.html

Just to give you another perspective, it'll take 2x GTX960 in SLI just to match a stock 290 on average.
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_960_SLI/23.html

I just grabbed used 290 reference with 6months of warranty for about the price of new 380 2GB.
Reasoning was 290 is more powerfull by a huge margin. I could downclock and undervolt it to match 380 performance and it would run quiet with its reference cooler.
But, I have CM seidon 120v that can be re-arranged for my CPU:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMLRa8KHks8
and overclock the hell out of it

 

[RussianSensation]

I just grabbed used 290 reference with 6months of warranty for about the price of new 380 2GB.
Reasoning was 290 is more powerfull by a huge margin. I could downclock and undervolt it to match 380 performance and it would run quiet with its reference cooler.
But, I have CM seidon 120v that can be re-arranged for my CPU:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMLRa8KHks8
and overclock the hell out of it

:thumbsup:

That's a solid deal. Try changing the TIM as Headfoot suggested. Some cards have such terrible quality TIM or it's poorly applied that the resulting reduction in noise levels/temperatures can be pretty large, 5-8*C on some cards.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlO6Gx7Uf6g

 

[Headfoot]

Yeah on the last card I did it on it idled at 10% slower on the fan profile it had set up at idle, from 40 to 30%. Can't tell you what the curve was or typical temperatures, but it was pretty noticeably slower to ramp fan speeds and it didnt hit the same peaks. That NT-H1 stuff is pretty good

 

[RussianSensation]

The closer we get to BlackFriday/Xmas, we should start to see price drops.

XFX R9 290 was $259.99 last week and now it's $239.99. It also has lifetime warranty. With prices like these, it's very hard to objectively recommend GTX950/960/380/280X level cards right now.