AMD Radeon R9 280X (ASUS DirectCU II TOP) benchmarked and reviewed

Power Consumption

AMD uses the “ZeroCore” power capability in its new generation of graphic cards. This feature allows the GPUs to rapidly reduce the RPM of all the fans and drop into a very low-power state whenever the display goes into power-save mode.

Our Load tests were done by running the benchmark tool in Battlefield 4 (Review Link) on loop. While this isn’t the absolute power scenario, this gives us better appropriation of real-world power usage scenarios in more typical workload environments.

The R9 280X power consumption numbers are close to the competition’s, and in some cases, even better. The R9 280X draws more power than GTX 770, GTX 780 and even the GTX Titan on idle. In numbers, it draws a tangible 7W more than the GTX 770 on idle. Not such a pleasing figure, but crank up the dials and that’s when we see the difference.

Under load, the R9 280X manages to stay below the GTX 780 and Titan in terms of power draw, but draws a meager 3 watts more than the GTX 770. Nvidia’s cards have been known for efficiency, and they make a stronger case now. Yet, this shouldn’t be a deal breaker, considering how cheaper the 280X is than Nvidia’s variants.

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Noise levels and GPU temperatures

The massive cooler on the ASUS R9 280X TOP pays off considerably. At idle, the 280X stands close to the entire competition, only beaten by the GTX Titan and the GTX 780. This is due to the Nvidia’s aluminum casing and premium single fan. Under load, our results tell a completely different story though. The R9 280X outshines the entire competition by considerable margins in terms of noise. The Radeon is actually the best card in its class when its comes to noise levels, providing the most silent operation under load. Credit goes to ASUS’s mega-fan design.

The fan ASUS put in not does not only benefit noise levels, but also keeps the R9 280X the coolest when compared to the competition. Surprisingly, the 280X runs cooler than the inferior 270X, and even the GTX 760. ASUS has built such a cooler in the 280X that even the lighter and inferior GPUs produce more heat than our protagonist.

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