AMD R9 280X GPU - Recommendations Needed

[KiwiSi]

Hi,

Based on your experience, can you recommend a particular make/model of AMD R9 280X GPU that you've found to be stable, and that is able to be under-volted (ideally out of the box - without re-flashing, etc).  I'm looking for an economical 280X card to run, that provides average/good hash, eg: 730-740mhs approx.

I currently run a pair of 290's, which is similar to sitting near a pair of jet engines (as well as running very hot), and also a pair of MSI 280x's - which are a nice card (quiet and run cool), though I can't under-volt them, so am having something of a re-think of what I run in my rigs.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations/advice. 

[DonQuijote]

What you prefer? 280x or 290 ?
Im going to buy 2, and.. i cant choose!

[KiwiSi]

I own both 290's and 280x's - I would recommend going for the 280x's.  Sure, you will get extra MHs out of the 290's though only about an extra 100 - 150 (depending on who you speak to and how much they like to over-clock/over-volt their cards).  Also, the 290's on the market at the moment don't seem to have the best fan cooling arrangement, meaning that they tend to be very noisy, and also run very hot (ie: it isn't unusual for a 290 to run at 90-95 degrees as normal).

So, I personally would go for the 280x's (make sure you get a good brand/model for mining) and save yourself some money in doing so (and your hearing ).  Bang for buck the 280x's seem to be the sweet-spot (at least at the moment).

Hope this helps - note: this is my opinion, others may take a different view.

[therealbigcoin]

I heard Form many miners that the gigaby 280x is the Nest choice for mining (i will also geht some but need to wait 3 Werks )

And yes if youre not living in the antarctic, you shouldn't take 290's with basic fan ..

Grertings

[crazyates]

I own both 290's and 280x's - I would recommend going for the 280x's

+1 I've used both, and the 280x are nicer.

I heard Form many miners that the gigaby 280x is the Nest choice for mining (i will also geht some but need to wait 3 Werks )

The Gigabyte WF3 280x are pretty sweet. All of ours undervolt like a champ, are quiet, and get a solid 710-720 depending on clocks. (1020-1040MHz w/ 1500MHz RAM). TC 8192, 2 threads, I:13, 256 worksize.

[KiwiSi]

Were the Gigabyte WF3 280x simple to under-volt?  Did you just use the util or did you need to reflash, etc?  Also, do they run pretty quiet with the three cooling fans?  They look like a nice model.

Thanks

[therealbigcoin]

You can over/underclock and Volt directly in cgminer if u installed ADL

[Peacefrog]

as for manufacturer i heard that the toxic 280x's have the best performance. I seen screenshots of one of them doing like 850kh/s. ill try to find it

[KiwiSi]

Thanks, do you know if the Toxic's are able to be under-volted at all?  Unfortunately the power consumption is a real factor for me.

[SheepOnDrugs]

So far I have tested 3 280x:

BF Edition: 730 khash, undervolted with second BIOS, no problem. Running stable 2 weeks non stop, no issues. Around 80° but this is due to my ambient temp.
XFX Black Edition: Same as BF Edition
Sapphire: Cant get them to work like the others

[KiwiSi]

Thanks, though stupid question     What make/model is the BF Edition?

Cheers

[Pavlinius]

Hey who recommends GB ? IMO that's the WORST choice for 280X !!! Locked voltage by default and pretty common low hash rate as they are able to run at up to 1030 on the GPU. Not to mention the big failure rate of the first revision, hopefully they are fixed now.

I have XFX, Sapphire Dual-X and Sapphire Vapor-X. All of them get about the same on my rig - about 730kh/s. Sapphire Vapor-X is overall cooler than the others and eventually undervolt a little bit more. Also what I especially like about this card is that it has a big plate covering the whole "other" side of the video card, so basically all of the chips on this card are covered with some kind of heat sink. XFX are also good. They are quieter, but their cooling is not so great. All of them undervolt successfully in my experience.

[SheepOnDrugs]

With BF I mine the following:
SAPPHIRE Dual-X R9 280X BF4 Edition

XFX is the hottest one in my rig. As it doesn't have two BIOS I don't dare to flash it so I wouldn't recommend it. If you fuck up flashing then have fun with a bricked card. Better get one with two BIOS.

[KiwiSi]

Thanks for the responses. 

How loud are the Sapphires (Dual-X and Vapour) when mining?  Are the cooling fans pretty quiet?  ie:  don't sound like a small jet engine (I have an R9 290 that I mine with and that thing is loud and hot).

Cheers

[crazyates]

Were the Gigabyte WF3 280x simple to under-volt?  Did you just use the util or did you need to reflash, etc?  Also, do they run pretty quiet with the three cooling fans?  They look like a nice model.

Thanks

Ya they were pretty simple. I kept reflashing one of them on a test bench with a lower voltage until it failed, went back up one notch, and then flashed that BIOS to all my cars at once. haven't had any issues.

They run really quiet, even at 80-90% fan. I've got some stock blower 290 cards that are LOUD! You could run a whole room full of those 280x, and you would barely know. A room full of those 290 and you'd probably go deaf. No seriously, you'd need earplugs if you ran more than 20x 290s.

[KiwiSi]

I know the feeling re: R9 290 fan noise levels.  I am running two R9 290's and they are so loud you could hear them from the room next door, not to mention the heat they generate.  Am thinking of selling them and swapping them out on that rig for 280x's instead.  That is why really want to make sure that I get the right make/model of 280x that runs quietly and that I can undervolt to (hopefully) run 4 of them off my 1250W Seasonic PSU.

[pryzh]

I have 10 Sapphire 280x, 4 vapor X and 6 Dual X, find them to be really solid. Ambient temp is high where the rigs are, but even with that none of my cards ever went over 80C. Find them to give more or less the same performance imo. Around 730-740 mh/s per card. I wonder if the Toxic version is just using a better cooling system and some higher voltage/clock speeds to get that 850mh/s performance. I am really starting to wonder if i put all these cards under a water cooling setup, will it be possible to get them to the toxic version performance level???

[Noruka]

Hi,

Based on your experience, can you recommend a particular make/model of AMD R9 280X GPU that you've found to be stable, and that is able to be under-volted (ideally out of the box - without re-flashing, etc).  I'm looking for an economical 280X card to run, that provides average/good hash, eg: 730-740mhs approx.

I currently run a pair of 290's, which is similar to sitting near a pair of jet engines (as well as running very hot), and also a pair of MSI 280x's - which are a nice card (quiet and run cool), though I can't under-volt them, so am having something of a re-think of what I run in my rigs.

Thanks in advance for your recommendations/advice. 

I have the MSIs and they can be undervolted as well. Been running 6 of them since i could get them when they came out and havent had a single problem yet. 700 Kh/s. I probably could squeeze out alittle more but i am happy not over taxing them.

[crazyates]

I have 10 Sapphire 280x, 4 vapor X and 6 Dual X, find them to be really solid.

The Vapor-X are usually a few bucks more than the Dual-X. I assumed it was a better cooler design (using the vapor chamber rather than just a block with some heatpipes). You notice any temp differences between the models?

[pryzh]

I have 10 Sapphire 280x, 4 vapor X and 6 Dual X, find them to be really solid.

The Vapor-X are usually a few bucks more than the Dual-X. I assumed it was a better cooler design (using the vapor chamber rather than just a block with some heatpipes). You notice any temp differences between the models?

Yep you nailed it there. The Vapor X runs way cooler than the Dual X, like 10C cooler. overall though i have never had any of the cards go over 80C. The Dual X gives identical hashrates as the Vapor X just runs a bit hotter.