Powercolor R9 270X PCS+ 2GB Graphics Card Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

Powercolor’s R9 270X PCS+ 2GB graphics card more or less sticks entirely to reference AMD pricing of $199/£150~. In the USA Newegg stock this product for $199.99 while in the UK it is stocked by Kikatek for £153.30 and by LambdaTek for £152.44.

Overview 

Powercolor’s R9 270X PCS+ graphics card is another competent offering that adds to an extensive array of R9 270X graphics cards on the market currently. The Powercolor PCS+ comes with a nice memory and factory overclock with a fair bit more overclocking headroom for the more adventurous overclocker who wants to push the card further. With a memory clock it essentially becomes the fastest 270X we have tested as most vendors neglect to overclock the memory – so Powercolor have to be congratulated for taking that step. As far as graphics cards go more broadly it is also a very quiet graphics card thanks to the relatively tame fan profiles. The card itself looks very nice and is relatively compact at 9.65 inches making it ideal for smaller systems running micro-ATX and mini-ITX motherboards. This is all delivered at a rather compelling price of $200/£153 – a.k.a. nothing over reference.

Yet the Powercolor R9 270X PCS+ also leaves something to be desired relative to the competition in terms of cooling. Thermal performance really wasn’t that impressive and stood at around 10 degrees hotter than the competition despite having similar acoustic performance (thought it is still both quieter and cooler than the reference design – 7 dBA quieter and 3 degrees cooler). In the grand scheme of things 10 degrees only takes the temperatures from the high 60s to the high 70s (at maximum sustained load aka Furmark), and from high 50s to high 60s in gaming. Even with overclocking it never managed to climb into the 80s. So as we can see the temperatures aren’t a problem per-sé – there is no underclocking or throttling. However, when other R9 270Xs from the likes of ASUS and Gigabyte are sitting in the mid to high 60s at maximum load, not 70s, you can’t help but feel the Powercolor R9 270X PCS+ is lacking a little something. The higher temperatures do not cause problems but they give you less thermal headroom to play with which could be vital if you have a case with low airflow, or want to keep the fans spinning as low as possible to maintain absolute silence. Another thing that disappoints me a little is the warranty policy – just 2 years. I know we shouldn’t expect too much for a graphics card of this price point but some other vendors (ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI) are offering three year warranties on their R9 270Xs, though many others offer 2 year warranties as well (Sapphire, HIS).

I have to judge products on their merits, but more importantly those merits have to be in relation to the competition, hence why I cannot offer an award today. The cooling performance is a significant aspect of the overall graphics card vendor package (it is the MAIN thing they modify) and our results just don’t offer enough for me to be content. Despite the shortage in the cooling department relative to rival solutions it is still important to recognise that Powercolor’s R9 270X PCS+ graphics card is impressive for the money. For the casual or hardcore gamer there is no reason for you not to consider this R9 270X as one of the leading contenders, especially when you factor in value for money. However, if temperatures are important to you then this may not be the ideal R9 270X.

Pros

• Nice out-of-the-box overclock on memory and core
• Relatively quiet
• Backplate
• Compact
• Competitive pricing

Cons

• Below-average cooling performance for a non-reference design
• Only a 2 year warranty
• No game bundles currently

“Powercolor’s R9 270X PCS+ is an very good offering for the price. It comes in at AMD reference 270X pricing and is cooler, quieter, faster and better looking than the reference R9 270X graphics card. Only the sub-par cooling relative to other non-reference solutions leaves a minor stain on an otherwise excellent product.”

Thank you to Powercolor for providing this review sample.