MSI's R9 270X GAMING is a truly impressive graphics card for gamers who not only want good performance, but are also looking to do so without much fan noise. The card is overclocked out of the box, giving it a 3% performance advantage over the stock R9 270X, which matches the HD 7950 in performance and is 11% faster than the HD 7870. Unfortunately, memory isn't overclocked at all, which could have provided some free and easy extra performance.
We've seen excellent noise levels from previous MSI GAMING series cards and the R9 270X GAMING is no exception here. The card is truly whisper quiet, no matter what you throw at it. While many cards can achieve such low noise levels in idle, they all ramp up their fan speed to handle the heat during gaming. The MSI R9 270X GAMING does increase its fan speed a bit when you fire up a game, but the difference is very small and barely noticeable. Temperatures are also very good, better than many other cards that are noisier at the same time.
MSI's R9 270X GAMING is currently available online for $220, which is a $20 price increase over the reference design. Consider that other board partners sell their custom designs without a price increase and that is still worth it just for the low noise alone.