Sapphire R9 270 Dual-X 2GB Graphics Card Review

Ryan Martin / 11 years ago

Final Thoughts

Pricing

In the UK Sapphire’s R9 270 is hitting the market at £134.99 or £139.99 if you want the Battlefield 4 Edition – meaning just £5 more to get a copy of Battlefield 4! In the USA we have seen the graphics card listed for $189.99 for the Battlefield 4 Edition, no doubt the variant without Battlefield 4 will sell for about $179.99 when retailers get stock.

Overview

Sapphire’s R9 270 couldn’t really be a much better value proposition. If you’re in the market for an AMD graphics card that offers incredible bang for your buck then the R9 270 is a sensible choice. Sapphire have taken that great sweet-spot GPU and made it even better. For next to nothing over the MSRP of the R9 270 you get a really efficient and super quiet cooling solution and a mild factory overclock. Our results suggest the Sapphire R9 270 is deadly quiet, runs extremely cool and performs right where it should for its clock speed. It does all of that while being incredibly small at just 8 inches, which is ideal for small form factor systems, and it is very cost-effective. Sapphire’s decision to offer a Battlefield 4 Edition for only a tiny amount more is also welcomed because in the UK it means you can gear up with Battlefield 4 for just £5!

In terms of negatives, I only have a few. Firstly, our sample didn’t overclock as well as I’d of hoped. We reached a dead-end at 1030MHz which isn’t the best result but that’s just the nature of the silicon lottery. Secondly, and this is a very pedantic negative, I think the 6 pin power connector should of been top-mounted not end-mounted. Top-mounting improves case compatibility especially in small form factor cases that are often limited in graphics card space. My final negative is that the warranty is only 2 years. 2 years for a graphics card of this calibre isn’t unsurprising or abnormal (most other vendors offer identical warranty periods on the R9 270), Sapphire have to keep costs down somehow, but I’d of liked to see 3 years.

Pros

Competitive Pricing
Battlefield 4 Edition SKU available
Totally silent
Runs very cool
Compact
Solid memory overclocking

Cons

End-mounted power connector
Only 2 year warranty
Below average core overclocking on our sample

“If you’re looking for the perfect mid-range graphics card to tackle all the latest gaming titles then Sapphire are offering exactly that. Silent operation, low temperatures and a competitive price – what more could you ask for? It is easy to see why Sapphire are a respected AMD graphics card brand from this solid display.”