Gigabyte R9 270 OC: Review |Test| Specs| Pros & Cons| Set-up 2021

Gigabyte R9 270 OC: Review (Relevance in 2021) | Test | Specs | Price | CPU Performance| Setup| Config | Advantage (Pros) and Disadvantages (Cons) and other important features that will help you make better decision.

We continue in the series of tests of AMD cards after the R9 280 (XFX R9 280 DD and Asus R9 280 Strix), R9 280X (MSI R9 280X) and R9 290 (HIS R9 290 and MSI R9 290 Gaming) I will present a mid-range card which is none other than yet another renaming in the “R” series from AMD, the R9 270!

Here is a summary table of the main characteristics of the Radeon “R” series:

Menu	GPU	Transistors (in billions)	ROPs	GPU Frequency / Memory	Memory Capacity	Bus
R9 295X	2x Hawaii	2 x 6.2	2 x 64	1018/1250	2 x 4 GB	512 bits
R9 290X	Hawaii	6.2	64	1000/1250	4 GB	512 bits
R9 290	Hawaii	6.2	64	947/1250	4 GB	512 bits
R9 280X	Tahiti	4.3	32	1000/1500	3 GB	384 bits
R9 280	Tahiti	4.3	32	933/1500	3 GB	384 bits
R9 270X	Pitcairn	2.8	32	1050/1400	2 or 4GB	256 bits
R9 270	Pitcairn	2.8	32	925/1400	2 GB	256 bits
R7 265	Pitcairn	2.8	32	925/1625	1 or 2 GB	128 bits
R7 260X	Bonaire	2.08	16	1100/1625	2 GB	128 bits
R7 260	Bonaire	2.08	16	1000/1500	1 GB	128 bits
R7 250	Oland	1.04	16	1050/1150	1 GB	128 bits
R7 240	Oland	1.04	16	780/1150	1 GB	128 bits

The HD7870 R9 270 is therefore in the middle of the AMD range, with a 256bits bus, 2GB of memory and frequencies of 925Mhz for the GPU and 1400Mhz for the memory. The performances should not be surprising when we see the relative old age of the architecture but should still be good to run the games in good conditions, we will see that below!

Specification: Gigabyte R9 270 OC

Gigabyte R9 270 OC
GPU	Pitcairn
GPU frequency without boost	950 MHz
GPU frequency with boost	975 MHz
Memory Frequency	1400 MHz
Amount of memory	2 GB of DDR5
Memory bus	256 bit
Connectivity	1 x DL-DVI-I 1 x SL-DVI-D 1 x HDMI 1 x mini Display Port
Dimensions	25.4 x 14.1 x 4.3 cm
Food	2 x 6-pin
Price	~ 150 €
Guarantee	2 years

Gigabyte has decided to overclock the GPU frequency from 925Mhz to 975Mhz which will bring it closer to an R9 270X (GPU at 1050Mhz) in terms of performance, the 2 GB of memory remain at 1400Mhz on a 256 bit bus. like the benchmark R9 270. The dimensions of the card are fair with a little over 25 cm in length it should accommodate a very large number of ATX cases sold on the market, we are far from the monsters that can be more high-end cards!
The power supply is entrusted to 2 PCIe 6-pin connectors, not 8-pin here so owners of power supplies that are a bit dated should not have to worry about supplying the card as it should.

The map

The card having arrived naked there will unfortunately be no unpacking!

Here is the beast! Equipped with the Windforce ventilation system of the brand double fans (9.2 cm) it covers the entire board, note that the fairing is plastic and that the weight of the board is therefore felt by being much more slight. We can see the radiator under the fans which is rather small compared to what we can find on more high-end models consuming a lot more.

At the back we see that the cooler is only attached to the card thanks to the 4 screws surrounding the GPU, the choice of plastic therefore makes perfect sense for the ventilation system.

You can see the single large callpipe responsible for conveying heat to the aluminum fins, one part going down and another part up.

We undress the map

Et voilà, on enlève 4 vis et la carte se retrouve nue, elle n’est pas vraiment farouche! Le design n’est pas celui de référence, Gigabyte a décidé de faire les choses à sa façon. Le radiateur pour les étages d’alimentation (VRM) est à gauche, un bon point d’avoir un radiateur séparé pour ce type de puces, au cas ou l’envie de changer le système de refroidissement se ferait sentir.

La mémoire a été confiée à de la Elpida W2032BBBG donnée pour fonctionner à 1500Mhz, il sera donc fort probable que la carte puisse être overclockée à cette valeur très facilement.

Here is the ventilation system in its simplest form! 1 calloduct crossing right through the radiator with a copper square in the center which will be in contact with the GPU. The design is rather rudimentary but the cooler should be sufficient for this type of card. Note the presence of a thermal pad covering part of the memory chips located above the GPU, but the rest of the chips (to the right of the GPU) are not entitled to any cooling, perhaps only a means of s make sure that the memory chips do not directly touch the metal.

The test platform

The configuration used during the tests is as follows:

• Processor : Intel Core i4670K @ 4 Ghz
• Motherboard : Gigabyte Z87-UD5H TH
• Memory : Kingston HyperX 4 x 2 GB 1600Mhz
• Hard Drive: WD Raptor 150 GB
• Power supply : Seasonic X650
• Drivers : Catalyst 14.4 (AMD) & GeForce 337.88 (nVidia)
• Operating system : Windows 8.1 64bits

All games will be tested in 1920 × 1080 detail in full detail (except the TressFX on Tomb Raider), which is the current ‘standard’, the graphics cards used in testing are as follows:

Power Consumption / Temperature

The consumption of the R9 270 is very contained, with 68 Watts at rest and 303 Watts in load for the complete configuration, it is the card which consumes the least of the comparison, between 30 and 40 Watts less than its big sisters the R9 280.

The test was carried out on OCCT Power Supply so this consumption reflects the total consumption and the power of the machine, as you can see we are far from certain ideas received that a gaming PC needs a power supply of minimum 650Watts, the actual consumption of the components and taking into account an efficiency of 90% (80Plus Gold of the Seasonic X650) is in fact only 273 Watts!

At rest and with 30 ° the temperature of the GPU is the lowest of the comparison, surprising seeing the rudimentary cooling system, under load the GPU reaches 78 ° which is not exceptional but remains within the standard, nothing to worry about !

Sound level

Warning: Part to be taken with a grain of salt, unfortunately not having access to the appropriate equipment and using an android application to take the readings The measurements below are only indicative! The readings were taken 20cm from the graphics card.

So that’s why the menu was so fresh at rest! The fans of the Gigabyte R9 270 OC run at 1700RPM and therefore make a lot of noise, I find it difficult to understand what could have happened at Gigabyte to let this kind of thing pass knowing that the card consumes almost nothing at all. rest, however, be careful once the case is closed it may be that the noise is drowned out by the noise of other components but use in a silent PC is to be avoided ..
Under load and with 45 dB we see that the cooling system does no miracles, although it is sufficient to cool the card.

3DMark Fire Strike

Under 3DMark, the small R9 270 is logically no match for the high-end cards in the comparison, nothing surprising and in the end it only remains a benchmark, you have to see what it gives in real conditions.

Battlefield 4

The small R9 270 even if it arrives last allows to play in very good conditions in Battlefield 4, it will however be necessary to deactivate some options to have a very good fluidity.

Bioshock Infinite

50 FPS for the R9 270 under Bioshock Infinite, the game does not pose any particular concerns, a few options less and the game will run in very good conditions.

Crysis 3

Very greedy Crysis 3 is however playable with the R9 270 with its 39 FPS, as usual graphics adjustments will be necessary!

Hitman Absolution

Same observation on Hitman Absolution the R9 270 defends itself very well and even approaches its big sisters with 48FPS, not bad for the little one!

tomb Raider

Under Tomb Raider, the R9 270 from Gigabyte struggles a bit compared to its big sisters, even if the title remains quite playable in good conditions, once again it will be necessary to lower the graphic details to achieve a very good fluidity.

Summary of performance

We start on a 100 basis for the Sapphire 7950, the Gigabyte is logically behind with 14% less performance which is ultimately a very good result! The R9 270 OC does not deserve in particular thanks to a small factory overclocking. Perhaps with further overclocking the card will come closer to its big sisters 7950 R9 280, that’s what we’ll see right away!

In terms of overclocking, the Gigabyte R9 270OC does not allow the modification of the voltages so it will be necessary to be satisfied with a “basic” overclocking, that is to say an increase in the consumption limit by 20% and an increase in GPU frequencies. memory.
At this little game the R9 270 OC from Gigabyte behaves very well! Instead, judge the maximum overclocking reached:

• GPU : 1150 Mhz (+ 175 Mhz)
• Memory : 1550 Mhz (+ 150 Mhz)

With an increase of 175Mhz (+ 18%) of the GPU and 150Mhz (+ 11%) of the memory, the overclocking is rather very good on this model and the results should be there, let’s see it right away:

Powertune

To begin with, let’s take a look at the Powertune 2.0 that equips the R9 270. Powertune is responsible for keeping the processor temperature, the consumption of the card below certain values. During overclocking it is mandatory to be able to modify all the possible settings in order to get the best performance, for Powertune and the R9 270 series it is possible to increase the consumption limit of the card by 20% (50% for the R9 290 / 290X).
As I showed on the HIS R9 290 test (part on the Powertune here) Powertune can be a real brake on overclocking, what about the Gigabyte R9 270 OC?
Powertune not activating under 3DMark I took readings only under OCCT.
There will be 2 different tests:

• OCCT with factory settings
• OCCT + 20% consumption limit, GPU 1150Mz, Memory 1550Mhz

OCCT Factory :

OCCT + 20%, GPU 1150Mz, Memory 1550Mhz :

As we can see from the graphs above the card holds its original frequencies and overclocking without the slightest problem, Mr Powertune is no spoiler!

Consumption

The angry subject! It’s all well and good to “unleash” our precious graphics card by putting a little + 20% more consumption in the teeth, but this necessarily affects the total consumption of the machine. As on Powertune the readings will be done during the same 2 tests under OCCT.

The card does not already consume a lot of base with overclocking the results are really excellent with only 20 Watts more from 303 Watts to 323 Watts. Once again I would like to point out that the readings were taken at the outlet for the complete machine without taking into account the power supply efficiency, with the 800Plus Gold efficiency of the Seasonic X650 the components consume approximately 291 Watts.

Temperature

Overclocking also necessarily leads to an increase in the temperature of the components, more performance, more power, more heat to dissipate. The other important data to take into consideration when overclocking is to be successful is the temperature of the power supply stage (the VRMs), these small chips tend to heat up a lot and can block overclocking. well before the GPU temperature but unfortunately it was not possible to raise them with the Gigabyte. Let’s see the GPU temperatures of the Gigabyte R9 270 OC:

The GPU temperature does not move once the card is overclocked, no magic, however, if it does not move the noise pollution logically increases, let’s see this:

Sound level

Another unfortunate consequence for overclockers is the increase in noise levels, and in general on graphics cards it is better to wear a headset if you indulge in this kind of practice on an original cooling system.

Ah yes indeed the noise pollution increases during overclocking, the small cooling system is undermined and screams with all its might, at the same time it is the case for many cards during overclocking. Note that these readings are made under OCCT so in game the card will still make less noise.

Results

Enough talking, time for results! Only results with maximum overclocking were noted.

With the overclocking used the gains are not bad, with 9% more performance on average, the R9 270 OC should come a little closer to its big sisters R9 280! Let’s see this:

Indeed with a consequent overclocking the performances are close to the R9 280, with only 6.4% less than the Sapphire 7950 it goes without saying that it is very good for a graphics card of this range.

Here we are at the end of this test, what to say about the Gigabyte R9 270OC?
The build quality is there despite a rather rudimentary cooler equipped with a single calloduct. The renaming of the old ranges being in order at AMD with the “R” series the performances of the 7870 R9 270 are in the field of seen and reviewed, that is to say very good for playing up to 1920 x 1080 while being careful to graphic details. The card has been very docile in overclocking and almost manages to titillate an R9 280 which is really excellent.
In the end the only black point of the card lies in its noise pollution, and particularly at rest which remains incomprehensible to me given the low consumption of the card, it certainly does not break the ears but will be heard very clearly in a PC quiet.

Offered at around € 140, the Gigabyte R9 270 OC is not without its flaws but will be a very good card for a mid-range gamer configuration for those who are not afraid to spend time in the graphics settings in order to achieve a maximum fluidity.

Advantages

• Overclocking performance
• Contained consumption

Disadvantages

• Noise
• Another renaming

A big thank you to Yann from Text100 who allowed me to do this test.

Where to find the Gigabyte R9 270 OC?

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