Best R9 270X Model?

EDIT: Bought the MSI R9 270X Gaming Edition, thanks for the input.

 

So, at the moment, I'm in the process of building a PC for one of my friends for Christmas after convincing him how much better a gaming pc is than a PS4. He gave me a budget of £600 maximum with OS and Wireless network adapter and, within that budget, I have managed to select all the parts but the GPU.

At the moment, I've been thinking of choosing an R9 270x as it has DirectX 11.2 support and they cost the same, if not less, than the 7870s at the moment in the UK.

So, on to my question, which brand of R9 270x is best? I've had experience with both HIS models (IceQ and IceQ X2) and they were both very quiet and had fairly low temps, but they were near impossible to overclock to even a stable 1200MHz, which is a bit embarrassing to be frank. 

Currently, I'm considering these models;

  • HIS IceQ X2 As I've previously stated, this is a really solid card that is very quiet, has good temps and great factory OC, but is very hard to OC.
  • HIS IceQ This is the other HIS model I've had experience with in the past and it was very similar to the X2, but I personally like the aesthetics more and the cooler is a bit quieter.
  • MSI Gaming Never used this one before, but I've heard great things about it. Apparently it's very quiet, overclocks well and has good temps, don't know about this though.
  • Gigabyte Windforce 3X Heard some good things about this one too. 

I've read reviews on all of these (apart from the IceQ), but I still cannot make up my mind :( . If anyone has anything to share on any of these cards, it would be greatly appreciated.

I remeber watching a dutch review of all the different 280x s, I think the cooler on the 270x shouldn't be much different. From what they said the msi one seems to be the most silent (and to me the best looking one) but ovviously doesn't overclock aswell as a triple fan one does. It is really what you want to do and what you like in the sense of looks. A bigger cooler is going to cool better... and the msi one really seems to be really silent :D So for me msi all the way :) ( so basicly It doesent matter really)

The msi card its cool oc's well and its very quiet 100% fan speed (you will never need 100%) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OU5kDhFodo

The ice q cards are nice when thay work....

Thanks for the quick reply! I'm pretty much set on getting the MSI card for him next weekend then. Personally, I don't like the way it looks, but it is quieter and overclocks better than the IceQ X2 I was going to get him, so I'm going to go with it.

Again, thanks for such a quick reply.

Thanks for the quick reply! As I have said in response to another comment, I will be getting him an MSI card due to your recommendations. Thanks :D

From everything that I've read the Sapphire Toxic R9 270x is the TOP performer, hands down. 

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/5816/sapphire-radeon-r9-270x-2gb-toxic-video-card-review/index.html

Sapphire is better dude, but to each their own... Even a quick google search of head to head benchmarks shows the Sapphire as king, but again, each their own.

I know that Sapphire's Toxic cards are insane performers, but, here in the UK, they cost around the same as 7970s, which is why I didn't list it. I could only fit the listed cards in his budget and their lower end cards are absolute crap (the Dual-X is just... no). 

At the moment he's considering the MSI Gaming Edition Card.

Just get a 7870 (same card, 270X is just rebranded) DirectCU II or HIS IceQ. Both are really good cards and they'll be cheaper then the new generation

msi is best bet. completely agree overclocks very well while still keeping cool and quiet. can get it up to 7950 performance without the extra £60

As I said in the post, R9 270Xs are cheaper where I live at the moment....

Thanks for the input :) I think he'll be happy with the MSI model then :3

Just get this 7870 GHZ, it's on sale right now.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/powercolor-video-card-ax78702gbd5m2dh

 

270x is just a 7870 GHZ edition, so it'll have the same performance. I wouldn't get 270x if you're on a budget like that, it's just not worth it when you can get a 7870 ghz for same performance for less (even when not on sale)

270s are just downclocked 270xs, they have the same shaders, ROPs texture units and what not

Can any of them achieve similar clock speeds (stable) to their 270X counterparts? At the moment the only 270 released in the UK is the Dual-X variant and I'm staying away from those things.

beacuse of theyr clock speeds? performance, IF everything is set the same HAS to be the same on all the cards, since they all use the same pcb layout, accept if its has been changed, so sir this makes no sense :)

Yep