The AMD Radeon R9 285 Thread

Kaapstad · 2 Sep 2014 at 20:39

Club3D R9 285

nails666 · 2 Sep 2014 at 20:58

Well the 285 cards themselves may be a bit of a meh release but from a glass half full perspective, the ~40% improvement in memory bandwidth efficiency looks very promising when put into a new high end card rather than these mid range ones

Reppyboyo · 2 Sep 2014 at 23:00

Might consider one of these if the rumored 4GB versions come out.

CAT-THE-FIFTH · 2 Sep 2014 at 23:10

popej said:
Howdy folks,

I'm no expert so these questions might seem a bit simplistic but I'd appreciate the help. Also, I think this is probably the best place to post this...

It's about time I upgraded from my 7850 and I've been considering the new R9 285 cards. However, I haven't ruled out the R9 280X's yet as reading up a bit seems to indicate that 3gb DDR5 minimum is important to consider.

Budget is £250 max really.

i) This is a pretty important factor for me - Are the R9 280X's all over 26cm long or are there versions with comparable dimensions to the new R9 285 cards? (I'm in for a fight with my case if so)
ii) Is the 3gb+ DDR5 as important as some are making out?
iii) How long is it likely to be before the 4gb versions of the R9 285 start to appear, and what price point are they likely to be?
iv) Are the new Nvidia cards (960?) that are being mentioned going to be in the same price bracket or £300+?

v) Lastly, what's your personal recommendation?

Thanks folks

Its a bit expensive but there is this short R9 285 2GB:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-357-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1983

malachi · 2 Sep 2014 at 23:20

CAT-THE-FIFTH said:
Its a bit expensive but there is this short R9 285 2GB:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-357-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1983

Would do nicely in a HTPC for light gaming.

biuro74 · 3 Sep 2014 at 00:39

popej said:
Howdy folks,
Budget is £250 max really.
v) Lastly, what's your personal recommendation?
Thanks folks

Popej, howdy, if I were you, I'd consider buying second (hand as well) 7850 and XFire them. Budget is smart enough to new, stronger pSU ;-)

so everything depends on your mobo - is CF capable (minimum 2x PCIE x8x8 slots).

McGraw · 3 Sep 2014 at 06:17

malachi said:
Would do nicely in a HTPC for light gaming.

What do you mean by light?

At 1080p (what most people have a HTPC connected to) this card would run pretty much anything at decent settings wouldn't it?

I ask because although I'm unlikely to buy one of these, they are an option for me as they'll fit in my SG05 with no modding and I wouldn't have to mess around sourcing right angle a usb 3 header.

It would only need to put me on until Pascal.

Kaapstad · 3 Sep 2014 at 10:27

More reviews added to OP.

McGraw · 3 Sep 2014 at 10:56

I read the XFX link as double disappointment

Gibbo · 3 Sep 2014 at 11:00

Hi there

Sapphire OC Edition in stock at £179.99 Inc. VAT

Kaapstad · 3 Sep 2014 at 11:35

Gibbo said:
Hi there

Sapphire OC Edition in stock at £179.99 Inc. VAT

They are really nice looking cards too.

dirtychinchilla · 3 Sep 2014 at 11:41

Very tempting! I've opened a thread, but would I be better off buying a 280X over the 285? This one, specifically.

Gibbo · 3 Sep 2014 at 11:45

dirtychinchilla said:
Very tempting! I've opened a thread, but would I be better off buying a 280X over the 285? This one, specifically.

280X should be quicker at 1440P and upwards.
285 should be as quick or quicker at 1080P.

Also we have Powercolor 280X for £199.99 inc too.

dirtychinchilla · 3 Sep 2014 at 11:52

Gibbo said:
280X should be quicker at 1440P and upwards.
285 should be as quick or quicker at 1080P.

Also we have Powercolor 280X for £199.99 inc too.

Hi Gibbo,

Thanks

I'm currently running 1080p, so the 285 would be better, but I can get a 3GB 280X, and I don't fancy buying a 4GB 285 when they come out as I doubt they'll be very cheap

so what do you think?

Gibbo · 3 Sep 2014 at 12:01

dirtychinchilla said:
Hi Gibbo,

Thanks I'm currently running 1080p, so the 285 would be better, but I can get a 3GB 280X, and I don't fancy buying a 4GB 285 when they come out as I doubt they'll be very cheap so what do you think?

1080P I'd buy 285, as fast or faster in games and True Audio which is actually pretty damn impressive.

4GB 285 I think will be around £200-£240 at OcuK.

dirtychinchilla · 3 Sep 2014 at 13:10

Cool, thanks for the heads up. I'll wait for a bit then!

popej · 3 Sep 2014 at 13:26

Hey Gibbo,

Are the 4gb 295's likely to appear this month?

Ta

Kaapstad · 3 Sep 2014 at 14:44

Here is a good article about how Tonga handles VRAM, thanks LtMatt.

Tonga VRAM Memory Management Explained.

http://techreport.com/review/26997/amd-radeon-r9-285-graphics-card-reviewed/2

humbug · 3 Sep 2014 at 16:16

Kaapstad said:
Here is a good article about how Tonga handles VRAM, thanks LtMatt.

Tonga VRAM Memory Management Explained.

http://techreport.com/review/26997/amd-radeon-r9-285-graphics-card-reviewed/2

So Tonga is a completely reworked and much improved architecture, even compared with Hawaii.

Thats great, but why do reviewers have to twist AMD's arm to get these details out of them? the rework and improvements are pretty interesting and impressive.

Why not shout about it as Nvidia would?

Gibbo · 3 Sep 2014 at 16:33

humbug said:
So Tonga is a completely reworked and much improved architecture, even compared with Hawaii.

Thats great, but why do reviewers have to twist AMD's arm to get these details out of them? the rework and improvements are pretty interesting and impressive.

Why not shout about it as Nvidia would?

AMD more of an engineering company and is their strength, but not so hot at marketing.

NVIDIA also great engineers but equally fantastic at marketing.