VAPOR-X! More Poisons From Sapphire...

[MacClipper]

Yeap it is, no problem with this card too! 1080p Ultra BF4 MP 60ish fps...

OK, can double confirm that the 280X Vapor-X card runs just as well on my AMD FX-8350 test rig, a constant green 60 fps at 1200p with Vsync on BF4 SP stock Ultra settings.

Very nice!

 

[shawntyq]

nice card~

always been a fan of vapor-x (5770 n 7950)

good temp and oc.

 

[MacClipper]

Psst, besides the effective Vapor-X cooling system... this card has an unfair advantage over others in that it has rather overkill power and voltage capabilities which it can draw upon when needed...


Power/Voltage Limits




Not really needed for the moment cos at stock clocks, BF4 already runs superbly at all Ultra settings 1200p native resolution on my 24" LCD. Wickedly fast enough liao, for now.

 

[MacClipper]

@DriftKing, I have been trying to listen hard to the Vapor-X on load during BF4 gaming but still do not encounter much noise.

Check out this quantitative review which didn't find the card noisy either
Sapphire R9 280X Vapor X Review | KitGuru - Part 19

The review concluded with this

Pros:
• Vapor X cooler is fantastic.
• Dual bios.
• relatively quiet under load.
• fantastic performance at 2560×1600.

btw, I usually give any new card a quick check and tighten any loose screws I can find too (nil on this card). Go check yours or get it checked by the distro, anyway it's safe to DIY cos there are no wty void stickers on this card.

HTH

 

[hlots123]

Weird, my card shows its running 1200mV at stock with 1070/1550, but yours 1143, should I downvolt it so it wont eat so much power?

maybe ur card's ASIC value lower than mac's... eg. 60% vs 80% +/-
can check in gpuz.

 

[danxiaogui86]

any news for r290x vapor x?

 

[bhtan83]

any news for r290x vapor x?

Based on convergent, it should be this coming week.

 

[DriftKing]

maybe ur card's ASIC value lower than mac's... eg. 60% vs 80% +/-
can check in gpuz.

Can you educate me on this ASIC value?

Anyway MacClipper, I've tried running my card on 1144mW, ran BF4 ultra 1080p no problemo! I'm thinking if actually 1200mV is just a safe setting for the manufacturer for allowance of their stock OC.

 

[danxiaogui86]

Based on convergent, it should be this coming week.

Don't mind me, is it just a reference cooler change or there is changes to the PCB too?
Reason im asking is because i've intention to install a full waterblock over it.

 

[ballastic90]

Nice card maybe will try soon for moi

 

[MacClipper]

Can you educate me on this ASIC value?

Anyway MacClipper, I've tried running my card on 1144mW, ran BF4 ultra 1080p no problemo! I'm thinking if actually 1200mV is just a safe setting for the manufacturer for allowance of their stock OC.

Congrats!

ASIC quality is apparently scored according to amt of voltage leakage thus the default VID...
X-bit labs

The ASIC Quality screenshot on the right can be evoked from GPU-Z's context menu and is individual for each graphics card and GPU. This feature has been developed for Nvidia’s Fermi (GX10x and GF11x) and AMD’s Southern Islands chips (Radeon HD 78xx and HD 79xx) and is supposed to indicate the quality of the specific GPU, in percent, based on electrical leakage data. The GPU of our sample of the card has an ASIC quality of 76.6%. The higher this number, the lower voltage the GPU needs to work at the default clock rate and the higher overclocking results you can get with it by increasing its voltage.

According to Alexey Nikolaichuk (the author of RivaTuner and MSI Afterburner), the correlation between voltage and quality is like follows:
ASIC quality < 75% - 1.1750 V;
ASIC quality < 80% - 1.1125 V;
ASIC quality < 85% - 1.0500 V;
ASIC quality < 90% - 1.0250 V;
ASIC quality ≤ 100% - 1.0250 V.

Others note that this is not quite the same as the overclocking capability of each card though and opinions vary wildly as a result. My specific sample at hand scores 64.8%, lower than the Toxic 270X. Personally, I prefer higher ASIC scores since I mostly stick to the default HSF and prefer not to water cool the cards if I can help it.

HTH

 

[MacClipper]

BF4 on AMD R9 280X
Guru3D testing triple confirms running Ultra settings at 1200p is no problemo for the AMD R9 280X cards
Battlefield 4 VGA graphics performance benchmark review - DirectX 11 class graphics card performance up-to Full HD

Think the default game Ultra setting is actually 4x MSAA which my test rig maintains at a rather constant 60 fps Vsync on.

 

[royfrosty]

Nice card and i love the color. Thinking may be can add it to my amd rig collections lol

 

[MacClipper]

Hmm, maybe consider the flashier Toxic card cos your Corsair 540 Air has a nice big window to show off all that bling!

 

[MacClipper]

280X Video RAM Voltage - 1.5V or 1.6V?

This little discussion may help out those with borderline unstable cards with crash issues (and "driver issues" ) regardless of card brand so read on if you are an affected owner.

In addition, it may also help boost the out of the box stable cards to reach higher o'c levels too.

Some 280X owners have noted that some cards have their VRAM set at 1.60V in the card BIOS (eg. Toxic) while others have theirs set at 1.50V (eg. Vapor-X). You can check this in GPU-Z under its MVDDC sensor reading.

Both cards are apparently using RAM from Hynix model reportedly H5GQ2H24AFR-ROC which are apparently specced at 1.50V for 1500MHz speed by SK Hynix themselves.

Data sheet
SK Hynix

So depending on your luck, factory QC and the card voltage droop under load... if your card has factory o'ced RAM, 1.50V may or may not be sufficient for the o'c speeds. If you run into stability issues, you can try to either...

1. lower the memory clock speeds to see if stability increase, differentiating between RAM and "driver issues" (Easier to do)

2. increase the RAM voltage to stabilise the factory o'c speeds as well as to o'c the RAM further (See below)


Option 2 needs a few extra steps in Afterburner optional settings though

This screenshot was captured on my Sapphire R9 280X Vapor-X card so YMMV.

If all these steps fail to stabilise your card then you may want to consult the local distro or shop or it may only be "driver issues" according to the forum reseller...

Yeah, kinda WOT post but.. really hope this effort helps someone out there.

 

[MacClipper]

btw, when googling the terms "AMD R9 280x crashes", an interestingly consistent pattern may be seen...
Google


HTH

 

[MacClipper]

BIOS Modding
For the more adventurous tinkerers only eg.
VBE7 - techPowerUp! Forums

In the end, like what some affected owners have already done... those with confirmed problematic cards may want to return them to the shops/distros/resellers for one which works as it should have in the 1st place like this Vapor-X model.

GL

 

[MacClipper]

New Stress Test... Incoming!
Batman AO, BF4 stress tests passed.

COD-G... tomorrow 05/11/13, who's waiting for this too?

 

[MacClipper]

R9 280X Vapor-X - Primary BIOS Dump
Sapphire R9 280x VaporX

Strictly only for those who know what they are doing.

 

[MacClipper]

You Really Cracked Me Up...
Finally mustered the internal strength to lay it bare on the table





Note the discrete VRM heatsink and vapour chamber bulge on the HSF assemby, close-ups of the nitty gritty components coming in a while.