Radeon HD 5870 vs. R9 280X - Should I upgrade?
Category : Should I Upgrade?
Published by Marc Büchel on 05.02.14
A gamer simply can't get enough graphics power in their rig, which makes the upgrade question omnipresent. To show you whether it makes sense to upgrade from one generation to another we created this series of articles, where we will compare graphics cards from different generations. Today we're having a close look at the differences between the Radeon HD 5870 and the R9 280X.



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Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

Test Setup

Hardware

Mainboard
  • ASUS Maximus V Gene (BIOS 1802)
CPUs
  • Intel Core i7-3770K @ 4.0 GHz (Turbo On / HT On)
Memory
  • G.Skill Ares Dual Channel 2x8GB @ CL11-13-13-31-1T-Auto DDR3-2400 MHz
Graphic Cards (Driver)
  • AMD Radeon R9 280X
  • AMD Radeon HD 5870
Drivers
  • Windows 7 x64 (up to date)
  • NVIDIA ForceWare 331.40 Beta
  • AMD Catalyst 13.11 BetaV1
  • Intel Chipset Driver 9.4.0.1026
Games and OS
  • Windows 7 x64 (Up to date on the ) 01/10/2013
  • All games were up to date on the 01/10/2013
HDD
  • OCZ Technology Octane 512 GB SSD
PSU
  • Seasonic Platinum SS-1000XP / 1000 Watts



Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

3DMark - Fire Strike Performance





Total Score Score Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 7'093 219.46 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 3'232 100.00 %
     
Graphics Score Score Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 7'837 237.56 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 3'299 100.00 %
More is better





3DMark - Fire Strike Extreme





 
Total Score Score Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 3'564 363.58 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 1'005 100.00 %
     
Graphics Score Score Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 3'668 364.98 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 1'005 100.00 %
More is better





Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

Unigine Heaven 4.0 Extreme Preset





Total Score Score Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 1113 232.85 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 478 100.00 %
     
Frames per second FPS Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 44.2 232.63 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 19.0 100.00 %
More is better





Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

BattleField 3





High Preset, 1920x1080, 4xMSAA, Ultra, SSAO FPS Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 76.6 234.97 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 32.6 100.00 %
More is better






Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

Bioshock Infinite - Benchmark





Ultra Preset, 1920x1080, AA, no DDOF FPS Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 75.44 192.06 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 39.28 100.00 %
More is better





Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

Crysis 3





High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA, Very High FPS Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 19.4 237.50 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 8.0 100.00 %
More is better





Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

Call of Duty Black Ops 2





High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA, High FPS Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 102.8 159.13 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 64.6 100.00 %
More is better





Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

DIRT Showdown - Benchmark





High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA, Ultra FPS Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 76.46 209.59 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 36.48 100.00 %
More is better





Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

Far Cry 3





High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA, Ultra FPS Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 30.0 197.37 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 15.2 100.00 %
More is better





Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

Sleeping Dogs - Benchmark





High Preset, 1920x1080, Extreme, High-Res Textures FPS Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 50.7 185.71 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 27.3 100.00 %
More is better





Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim





High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xAA, Ultra FPS Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 106.0 187.28 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 56.6 100.00 %
More is better





Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

Metro: Last Light - Benchmark





Very High, 1920x1080, SSAA, DX11 FPS Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 33.78 253.41 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 13.33 100.00 %
More is better





Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

Grand Theft Auto V






Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

Power Consumption





Power Consumption Idle* Watts Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 48 90.57 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 53 100.00 %
*Entire system Less is better


Power Consumption Load (FurMark)* Watts Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 320 137.93 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 232 100.00 %
*Entire system Less is better






Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

Performance Index, price

  Index
AMD Radeon R9 280X 206.34 %
AMD Radeon HD 5870 100.00 %
More is better


  Geizhals Toppreise
AMD Radeon R9 280X Toppreise.ch
AMD Radeon HD 5870 est. EUR 130 eBay  
 


Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown  
[pagebreak]

Conclusion

Comparing the Radeon R9 280X with the Radeon HD 5870 shows us a rather clear result. Looking at performance differences a bit closer shows, that the R9 280X is about 106 percent faster on average than the Radeon HD 5870, when it comes to ingame performance. The biggest performance differences can be found with Metro: Last Light, in this case, frame rates are about 153 percent higher on a Radeon HD 5870. On the other side there is the Call of Duty Black Ops 2, where the R9 280X is "only" 59 percent quicker.

At this point we also want to have a closer look at power consumption. If we equip our test system with a Radeon HD 5870 we see that it pulls 53 Watts from the plug, whereas the same setup with a R9 280X only needs 48 Watt. Under load conditions there is also a rather big difference between the two cards. Once we plugged the Radeon HD 5870 card into the test system power consumption goes up to 232 Watt and with the R9 280X power consumption is at 320 Watt. In this case it looks like the new card is more energy efficient in idle but on the other hand the old card, needs 98 Watts less than the new one under load conditions.

The new Radeon R9 280X is on average more than 153 percent quicker than the Radeon HD 5870, which makes this conclusion a no-brainer. Upgrading from the HD 5870 to a R9 280X definitely makes sense and quite a few games get playable again at high resolutions. Other than that you might want to consider, that thanks to the mining hype, Radeon HD 5870 cards still go for about 100 Euro on eBay easily. Keeping in mind that an R9 280X card with reference design costs roughly 270 Euro these days will make you invest another 170 Euro to get a really quick, new card.


Page 1 - Introduction Page 10 - Far Cry 3
Page 2 - Test Setup Page 11 - Sleeping Dogs
Page 3 - 3DMark Fire Strike Page 12 - The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Page 4 - Unigine Heaven 4.0 Page 13 - Metro: Last Light
Page 5 - BattleField 3 Page 14 - GTA V
Page 6 - Bioshock Infinite Page 15 - Power Consumption
Page 7 - Crysis 3 Page 16 - Performance Index, price
Page 8 - Call of Duty Black Ops 2 Page 17 - Conclusion
Page 9 - DIRT Showdown