Gigabyte Also Rolls Out Radeon R9 270X OC with 4 GB Memory

[btarunr]

Gigabyte joined the growing list of AMD Radeon add-in board partners to launch Radeon R9 270X graphics cards with double the standard memory amount. The GV-R927XOC-4GD, available in a standard edition and one with a Battlefield 4 Origin key, features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory across a 256-bit wide memory interface, clocked at 5.60 GHz, at which the GPU has 179 GB/s of memory bandwidth at its disposal. The card features a long, non-reference design PCB, and the company's new generation WindForce 3X cooler, which together give the card a high-end look when installed. 4 GB of memory makes the R9 270X meet the recommended system requirements of Battlefield 4.

The factory-overclocked card offers 1050 MHz base GPU clock, and 1100 MHz PowerTune Boost frequency. The card draws power from a pair of 6-pin PCIe power connectors, display outputs include a pair of dual-link DVI, and one each of HDMI 1.4a and DisplayPort 1.2. Based on the 28 nm "Curacao" silicon, the Radeon R9 270X features 1,280 GCN2 stream processors, 80 TMUs, and 32 ROPs. It features a 256-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface. Its API support includes DirectX 11.2, OpenGL 4.3, and Mantle. Gigabyte didn't reveal pricing of the two.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[micropage7]

triple fans? wow they make a serious 270x

 

[SetsunaFZero]

IMO 4GB is a overkill for this card, but when the chip prices are so low, why not? Add 4GB to a low/mid range card and voila u get better marketing value.

 

[alwayssts]

IMO 4GB is a overkill for this card, but when the chip prices are so low, why not? Add 4GB to a low/mid range card and voila u get better marketing value.

Pitcairn/Curacao though finds itself in an interesting position for a few reasons.

1. It will always be a better solution than anything GK106, while being the same die size/similar cost to make.
2. It will always have to be cheaper than GTX760.
3. At a reasonable clock it will play almost anything at 1080p with one card.
4. Two of them are currently a good amount cheaper than a 290, and perform pretty darn well even with 2GB.

4GB actually makes sense for this card, especially as it is available in such a small form-factor (for m-itx and m-atx builds.)

The only semi-current review I've seen comparing 270x configs to 290 is here, and those are 2GB. While it doesn't show minimum framerates, one would think 4GB would alleviate whatever possible issue there may be. I'm not saying it's an optimal solution vs. a $399 290, but in the current landscape, as well as for those that want something that is the cheapest part that will perform well at 1080p but have room to upgrade without being limited by the shared buffer, it looks quite interesting...especially if enough aibs make them so there is price competition. We saw 7870 dip to absurdly low prices, ditto the gen before that with Barts, and before that will 5770 and 460. There are multiple conceivable realities where these work for people not just because of size or upgradability at lower price than the initial investment on hawaii or GK110, but where they might actually be a better deal for price/performance in many cases.

 

[DF is BUSY]

yet another marketing ploy;
i doubt the card is strong enough to "make use" of those 4 gigs of mem. the only cards strong enough to hold their own for 3 and 4 gigs of vram are the 280x and 290s(x) from amd and the gk110 chips from the green team.

 

[Blue-Knight]

IMO 4GB is a overkill for this card.

It depends on what you will do with the card... They can be used for many other things other than running games.

Just my opinion.

 

[Nihilus]

yet another marketing ploy;
i doubt the card is strong enough to "make use" of those 4 gigs of mem. the only cards strong enough to hold their own for 3 and 4 gigs of vram are the 280x and 290s(x) from amd and the gk110 chips from the green team.

Useful if you can get a pair for a descent price. A pair of 7870/270x are beast in crossfire. In that case the 4 GB would come very handy.