Radeon R9 270X vs R9 285

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Aggregate performance score

We've compared Radeon R9 285 and Radeon R9 270X, covering specs and all relevant benchmarks.

R9 285
2014
2 GB GDDR5, 190 Watt
17.34
+37.2%

R9 285 outperforms R9 270X by a substantial 37% based on our aggregate benchmark results.

Primary details

GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.

Place in the ranking315394
Place by popularitynot in top-100not in top-100
Cost-effectiveness evaluation8.765.82
Power efficiency6.264.81
ArchitectureGCN 3.0 (2014−2019)GCN 1.0 (2011−2020)
GPU code nameTongaCuracao
Market segmentDesktopDesktop
Designno datareference
Release date2 September 2014 (10 years ago)8 October 2013 (11 years ago)
Launch price (MSRP)$249 $199

Cost-effectiveness evaluation

Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.

R9 285 has 51% better value for money than R9 270X.

Detailed specifications

General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.

Pipelines / CUDA cores17921280
Core clock speed918 MHzno data
Boost clock speedno data1050 MHz
Number of transistors5,000 million2,800 million
Manufacturing process technology28 nm28 nm
Power consumption (TDP)190 Watt180 Watt
Texture fill rate102.884.00
Floating-point processing power3.29 TFLOPS2.688 TFLOPS
ROPs3232
TMUs11280

Form factor & compatibility

Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).

Bus supportno dataPCIe 3.0
InterfacePCIe 3.0 x16PCIe 3.0 x16
Length221 mmno data
Width2-slot2-slot
Supplementary power connectors2x 6-pin2 x 6-pin

VRAM capacity and type

Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.

Memory typeGDDR5GDDR5
Maximum RAM amount2 GB4 GB
Memory bus width256 Bit256 Bit
Memory clock speed1375 MHzno data
Memory bandwidth176.0 GB/s179.2 GB/s
Shared memory--

Connectivity and outputs

Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.

Display Connectors2x DVI, 1x HDMI 1.4a, 1x DisplayPort 1.22x DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
Eyefinity-+
HDMI++
DisplayPort support-+

Supported technologies

Supported technological solutions. This information will prove useful if you need some particular technology for your purposes.

AppAcceleration-+
CrossFire-+
FreeSync-+
HD3D-+
LiquidVR-+
TressFX-+
TrueAudio-+
UVD-+
DDMA audiono data+

API compatibility

List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.

DirectX12 (12_0)DirectX® 12
Shader Model6.55.1
OpenGL4.64.6
OpenCL2.11.2
Vulkan1.2.170+

Synthetic benchmark performance

Non-gaming benchmark results comparison. The combined score is measured on a 0-100 point scale.


Combined synthetic benchmark score

This is our combined benchmark score. We are regularly improving our combining algorithms, but if you find some perceived inconsistencies, feel free to speak up in comments section, we usually fix problems quickly.

R9 285 17.34
+37.2%
R9 270X 12.64

Passmark

This is the most ubiquitous GPU benchmark. It gives the graphics card a thorough evaluation under various types of load, providing four separate benchmarks for Direct3D versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 (the last being done in 4K resolution if possible), and few more tests engaging DirectCompute capabilities.

R9 285 6680
+37.2%
R9 270X 4869

3DMark Fire Strike Graphics

Fire Strike is a DirectX 11 benchmark for gaming PCs. It features two separate tests displaying a fight between a humanoid and a fiery creature made of lava. Using 1920x1080 resolution, Fire Strike shows off some realistic graphics and is quite taxing on hardware.

R9 285 8570
+30.6%
R9 270X 6560

Gaming performance

Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.

FPS performance in popular games

Full HD
Low Preset

Cyberpunk 2077 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%

Full HD
Medium Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Battlefield 5 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Far Cry 5 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Hitman 3 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Metro Exodus 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%

Full HD
High Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Battlefield 5 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Far Cry 5 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Hitman 3 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Metro Exodus 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
Red Dead Redemption 2 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%

Full HD
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
Far Cry 5 27−30
+0%
27−30
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 80−85
+0%
80−85
+0%
Hitman 3 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 65−70
+0%
65−70
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 40−45
+0%
40−45
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 30−35
+0%
30−35
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 70−75
+0%
70−75
+0%

Full HD
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 35−40
+0%
35−40
+0%

1440p
High Preset

Battlefield 5 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 18−20
+0%
18−20
+0%

1440p
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Far Cry 5 14−16
+0%
14−16
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Hitman 3 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 24−27
+0%
24−27
+0%
Metro Exodus 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 20−22
+0%
20−22
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 75−80
+0%
75−80
+0%

1440p
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 21−24
+0%
21−24
+0%

4K
High Preset

Battlefield 5 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%
Far Cry New Dawn 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Hitman 3 9−10
+0%
9−10
+0%
Horizon Zero Dawn 60−65
+0%
60−65
+0%
Metro Exodus 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%

4K
Ultra Preset

Assassin's Creed Odyssey 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Assassin's Creed Valhalla 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 6−7
+0%
6−7
+0%
Cyberpunk 2077 2−3
+0%
2−3
+0%
Far Cry 5 7−8
+0%
7−8
+0%
Forza Horizon 4 16−18
+0%
16−18
+0%
Shadow of the Tomb Raider 10−12
+0%
10−12
+0%
Watch Dogs: Legion 5−6
+0%
5−6
+0%

4K
Epic Preset

Red Dead Redemption 2 12−14
+0%
12−14
+0%

All in all, in popular games:

  • there's a draw in 72 tests (100%)

Pros & cons summary


Performance score 17.34 12.64
Recency 2 September 2014 8 October 2013
Maximum RAM amount 2 GB 4 GB
Power consumption (TDP) 190 Watt 180 Watt

R9 285 has a 37.2% higher aggregate performance score, and an age advantage of 10 months.

R9 270X, on the other hand, has a 100% higher maximum VRAM amount, and 5.6% lower power consumption.

The Radeon R9 285 is our recommended choice as it beats the Radeon R9 270X in performance tests.


Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.

Vote for your favorite

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AMD Radeon R9 285
Radeon R9 285
AMD Radeon R9 270X
Radeon R9 270X

Comparisons with similar GPUs

We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.

Community ratings

Here you can see the user ratings of the compared graphics cards, as well as rate them yourself.


4.2 77 votes

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4 744 votes

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Questions & comments

Here you can ask a question about this comparison, agree or disagree with our judgements, or report an error or mismatch.