Sapphire Dual-X R9 285 OC Review

Posted October 20, 2014 by Mike in Video Cards

Overview

Hardware: Video Cards

Release Date: Currently Available

Price at time of Review: $244.99 @ Newegg

WHAT WE LIKED:

Great looking, excellent stock performance, phenomenal overclocking capabilities, quiet fans up to 40% PWM, custom PCB, lower power draw than predecessor

WHAT WE DISLIKED:

Non-reference board makes likelihood of full-cover water block small, still requires two six pin cables instead of one eight pin

BOTTOM LINE:

For the best compromise of cost, performance, and overclocking capability, look no further than the Sapphire Dual-X R9 285 OC.

by Mike

Full Article

Final Thoughts

To be perfectly honest, I really didn’t know what to expect with this card. I knew that Sapphire would do their best to make the most of the new Tonga core, I just wasn’t expecting this kind of runaway success story in the process. Great temperatures, low noise levels, phenomenal overclocking capabilities, smooth game play, XDMA CrossFire, consistent performance at 1080P… is there anything this card doesn’t do well (Smite notwithstanding)?

It’s a good thing I waited to drop this review because had I completed this shortly after getting the card, the release of nVidia’s Maxwell chips might have made this look a bit underwhelming. However, now that we are re-examining the current GPU landscape with all of the wild price drops, we can see that the R9 285 really does offer an incredibly strong value for its price point. With Newegg currently selling the card for $245 USD, it’s a pretty strong value, especially if you want something that’s a bit more energy efficient for your new LAN rig that will still give you excellent performance and tuning ability. No question about it, the Sapphire R9 285 gets PureOC’s Editor’s Choice award. AMD has some great things coming on the horizon, and if this is any indication of the path they are following then I can’t wait to see what’s next!

Sapphire Dual-X R9 285 OC (11235-03)

Thank you to Sapphire for providing us with our review sample, and as always feel free to discuss this and other PC related topics in our forums.

dual fan, dual-x, featured, FreeSync, gaming, gpu, overclocking, pureoverclock, purple, r9 285, review, review links, sapphire, sider, spotlight, video card, XDMA

About the Author

Mike

I am currently studying Computer Engineering. Computers have been my thing for a while, I just didn't realize it until the past year or two. I have done several different builds for several friends and family members, including some mild custom modding with more to come (hopefully in the near future). I'm also very into the craft beer scene and will spend obscene amounts of cash on the finest beers I can get my hands on, from Lagers to IPAs to Stouts and Porters.