Reviewed: MSI R9 380 Gaming 4G

Pricing

Let’s be clear, the MSI R9 380 Gaming 4G is aimed at the mid-range for quality gaming at 1080p or 1440p and retails for $349-359. FreeSync makes 2560×1440 a better experience than the same resolution under straight V-Sync but obviously you need a monitor with the capability to take advantage of it.

The price is right for what it is and the performance that you get. I wouldn’t call the card cheap but I think it’s good value at under $350. There are a wide range of R9 380 cards out there and if the noise levels are important to you, the MSI Gaming 4G version is a safe purchase. 

The logical comparison for the R9 380 Gaming 4G is a GTX 960 4GB and the price difference is about $10-$20 – based on performance, I’d say they are about even but it depends on what you play so it’s fair to say that the R9 380 is probably marginally better value for your dollar.

From my experience, I’d be happy with either GPU but I’d be going with a 4GB version of whatever I bought. 4GB of video memory isn’t overkill, just look at GTA V where 2GB just won’t cut it anymore – the situation won’t be getting any better anytime soon. I can’t see the point of buying a 2GB mid range card anymore and the chance of a decent resale on a second hand 2GB is shrinking too. 

Final Thoughts

First up, the R9 380 GPU itself didn’t wow me – it met my expectations, performed as I’d anticipated in the benchmarks and provided a thoroughly enjoyable experience in general gameplay. For the price point, it’s bang on and gives the NVIDA GTX 960 some healthy competition. Overclocking gave around a 10% performance lift which is about average and should be considered a nice bump for a factory overclocked card – keep in mind that individual results here can be highly variable.

It feels strange to write this but as far as I’m concerned the hero of the MSI R9 380 Gaming 4G is not actually the GPU – it’s the cooler. The Twin Frozr V is a fantastic GPU cooler and implements a ‘good’ GPU into a ‘very good’ overall graphics card. The card is quiet and the temperature stayed under 70C for the whole time that I tested the card. Sure, idle temperatures are around 60C but this is for a card that is operating in a passive mode. The LED on the Twin Frozr V shroud is also a really nice touch.

Don’t forget the backplate! I wish all graphics cards came with a backplate like the one we saw on our review sample. If a card costs around $350 or more, then backplates are not an expensive way (relatively speaking) to protect your eye-candy engine.

This graphics card really provided a gaming experience without distraction. There was no fan noise, the drivers installed without issue and were rock solid, FreeSync smoothed out the frame rates at 2650×1440 and the 4GB meant that high resolution textures where on the menu.

If your budget is $350, this card won’t disappoint. I had a quality gaming experience with the card and would be really happy to have the MSI R9 380 Gaming 4G in a middle tier build.

	MSI R9 380 GAMING 4G
PROS	Quiet under load, silent at idle Good performance Dual DVI for those of us still rocking a pair of older monitors FreeSync at 2560×1440 gives an immersive experience Good All-Rounder for todays games Sensibly priced
CONS	None noted
Awards