290 vs 280x CF (which is best for 1440p)

[Trojan Horse]

Hi,

I want to move up to 1440p from my 1080p setup and purchase the Samsung thats on sale at OcUK for 300.

It would cost approximately 120/slightly more to purchase a used 280x and crossfire it with my current MSI 280x, and it would cost around 230 to get a 290.

Should I sell my MSI 280X and purchase a 290 or go with an additional 280x... I've never used crossfire but in some benchmarks it seems like you get an addition 10-30fps over the 290x - and fair cheaper too.

I don't mind cranking the fans up, or even using the extra wattage; I have an AX850 that I want to put to use

Please let me know what the best option is for me,


Thanks.



Also: How would I set it up? I want to use my 24" 1080P monitor on the side to bring up information such as maps in game and so I can just look to my left and easily see a lot of information, I don't plan on playing games on the second monitor but would I be able to have the game in fullscreen on my 1440p and still be able to move my mouse from one monitor to the next?

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

I would probably go with a 290.
It's new tech and offers things like TrueAudio and according to some better Mantle support.
You also wouldn't have to worry how well a game supports crossfire.
There may also be a few scenarios where the extra VRAM may prove useful at 1440p.

In my experience if you play a game full screen you can't drag your mouse to the second screen (or if you can it will minimise the game as soon as you click something). With a single card you could play Windowed and make it full screen to get around this, I think. with 2 x 280X you couldn't as Windowed mode doesn't usually support crossfire.
I've also not played a game where you can drag in-game maps or anything onto the second screen. If the game is run full screen on 1 monitor that's the only monitor it can use.

 

[Trojan Horse]

I would probably go with a 290.
It's new tech and offers things like TrueAudio and according to some better Mantle support.
You also wouldn't have to worry how well a game supports crossfire.
There may also be a few scenarios where the extra VRAM may prove useful at 1440p.

In my experience if you play a game full screen you can't drag your mouse to the second screen (or if you can it will minimise the game as soon as you click something). With a single card you could play Windowed and make it full screen to get around this, I think. with 2 x 280X you couldn't as Windowed mode doesn't usually support crossfire.
I've also not played a game where you can drag in-game maps or anything onto the second screen. If the game is run full screen on 1 monitor that's the only monitor it can use.

Thanks for your response. I don't think TrueAudio would affect me at all because I have a Xonar STX to drive my sound anyway? But I see now that the 290 may be a clear better option. Is the difference from the 290 to the 290x worthwhile?

Could you perhaps link me to some benchmarks of the 290 in comparison to CF 280x in 1440p?

Also the maps idea was just an example, I meant to say separate in game maps. For example using my second monitor to google image search GTA 4 map or something... just to make use of my 2nd screen.


Also for a month or two would I be able to use my 280x sufficiently on 1440p (slightly lower graphic settings) on games e.g Witcher 1/2 and BF4?

also - these benchmarks show the 290 is only 10fps more than the 280x @ 1440p, in most titles, is an extra £100 really worth 10fps? http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/06/05/sapphire-radeon-r9-290-vapor-x-oc-review/3

 

[rankftw]

Could you perhaps link me to some benchmarks of the 290 in comparison to CF 280x in 1440p?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1068?vs=1058

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

Thanks for your response. I don't think TrueAudio would affect me at all because I have a Xonar STX to drive my sound anyway? But I see now that the 290 may be a clear better option. Is the difference from the 290 to the 290x worthwhile?

Could you perhaps link me to some benchmarks of the 290 in comparison to CF 280x in 1440p?

Also the maps idea was just an example, I meant to say separate in game maps. For example using my second monitor to google image search GTA 4 map or something... just to make use of my 2nd screen.


Also for a month or two would I be able to use my 280x sufficiently on 1440p (slightly lower graphic settings) on games e.g Witcher 1/2 and BF4?

also - these benchmarks show the 290 is only 10fps more than the 280x @ 1440p, in most titles, is an extra £100 really worth 10fps? http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/06/05/sapphire-radeon-r9-290-vapor-x-oc-review/3

I'm not an expert on TrueAudio, but I think it works in conjunction with your soundcard to do surround sound, even from stereo speakers (but think it can work with up to 7.1).

Yes, you could have a browser up displaying maps, that's not an issue, unless you need to control the web browser when it will be like Alt-Tabbing out of the game (in my experience).

I think a 290X is about 5-10% better than a 290. Whether that's worth the price difference to you is a decision you'll need to make. I've got 290s because I bought them at release, with some of the 290X prices now I'd be tempted to get them. Might not be worth it on a bang-for-buck basis though.

280X crossfire will usually give better performance as the 290 isn't twice as good as a 280X. That's as long as the game supports crossfire, which most usually do, although maybe not always perfectly on release.
You do also have to consider that 2 cards might output more heat into the case, so you will need decent airflow in the case.

Also, AMDMatt is compiling a list of games (currently at around 10 I believe) that will exceed 4GB VRAM at 3840x2160. I believe 1440p is about 75% of 2160p so it's possible that 3GB VRAM (75% of 4GB) might be an issue in those games at 1440p.

I found using Mantle that I could hit VRAM issues in BF4 at 1080p if using 4x AA.

280X crossfire should still perform well though. Before moving my 290CF into my 4770K rig I had 7950CF (which I believe is basically 280 (non-X) CF) and other than BF4 (with Mantle and 4xAA) I didn't have too much trouble at 1080p so it seemed like a very capable setup.

 

[Trojan Horse]

Those FPS readings definitely want me to go Crossfire although the simplicty of a single 290 is good... I do want performance and think I should go Crossfire, extra 20-30fps in many games and even lower temp/noise readings vs the 290!

Should that anantech benchmark be a good base point of my decision?

 

[old gamer]

a single 290 is fine for 1400p but the 280x xfire will be faster unless the game does not support crossfire which is pretty rare

 

[Trojan Horse]

Is it common for non AAA titles not to support CF?

 

[snips86x]

a single 290 is fine for 1400p but the 280x xfire will be faster unless the game does not support crossfire which is pretty rare

+1

Happily running a single 290 on a 1440p monitor playing the likes of Alien Isolation, Batman Arkham Origins, BF3 and Company of Heroes without a single issue.

Running most games on high/ultra and wouldn't consider going back to 1080p!

 

[ChrisD.]

If you can, always choose a single card over dual.

Sure, it's a lot better than 5 years ago but some games have issues with Crossfire (unsure about SLI so can't comment) such as COD:AW, Titanfall etc. It's a pain at times waiting for new drivers/application profiles.