MSI launched a wave of new AMD R9 300 series graphics cards, six of which are in MSI’s enthusiast Gaming series of computer parts.
MSI’s Gaming series GPUs all come with the same cooler, the dual fan Twin Frozr V cooler in a red and black color scheme. These cards also feature a metal backplate which helps with cooling the GPU, in addition to adding support and durability to the card. The other cards released outside of the Gaming series instead opt for the Armor 2X or Armor coolers which are black and white, and they do not get a metal backplate.
MSI’s new flagship AMD graphics card is the MSI AMD Radeon R9 390X Gaming 8G. The GPU is clocked at 1100 MHz and comes loaded with 8 GB of GDDR5, which will help the card when gaming at higher resolutions as 4K displays become more and more common. The MSI AMD Radeon R9 390 Gaming 8G is similar, with a slightly slower 1060 MHz clock speed, but it maintains the 8 GB of GDDR5 to improve performance at high resolutions.
Next are the MSI AMD Radeon R9 380 Gaming and the MSI AMD Radeon R7 370 Gaming GPUs. There are two R9 380 and two R7 370 GPUs each in the Gaming series, which differ primarily in the amount of vRAM on the card. One model of each has 4 GB of GDDR5, while the other model of each only has 2 GB of GDDR5. Clock speeds are a little lower on the 2 GB variants of the cards, but the difference is subtle. The R7 370 GPUs are also the only Gaming series GPUs released that lack a metal backplate.
Outside of the Gaming series, MSI also released an additional R9 380 and R7 370 GPU with only 2 GB of GDDR5. These utilize the Armor 2X cooler instead of the Twin Frozr V cooler and feature some minor clock speed reductions.
Finally, there is the R7 360 2GD5 OC, which is the lowest performance part released today by MSI. This GPU only features a single fan cooling solution, but still comes with 2 GB of GDDR5 and should provide adequate performance for entry level gaming.
| GPU | Core Clock | Memory Speed | Memory Size | Cooling | Connectivity | Backplate | Dimensions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R9 390X GAMING 8G | 1100 MHz | 6100 MHz | 8 GB/ GDDR5 | Twin Frozr V | DisplayPort / HDMI / DL-DVI-D x2 | Yes | 277x129x51 mm |
| R9 390 GAMING 8G | 1060 MHz | 6100 MHz | 8 GB/ GDDR5 | Twin Frozr V | DisplayPort / HDMI / DL-DVI-D x2 | Yes | 277x129x51 mm |
| R9 380 GAMING 4G | 1000 MHz | 5700 MHz | 4 GB/ GDDR5 | Twin Frozr V | DisplayPort / HDMI DL-DVI-I / DL-DVI-D | Yes | 268x138x40 mm |
| R9 380 GAMING 2G | 1000 MHz | 5500 MHz | 2 GB/ GDDR5 | Twin Frozr V | DisplayPort / HDMI DL-DVI-I / DL-DVI-D | Yes | 268x138x40 mm |
| R7 370 GAMING 4G | 1020/ 1070 MHz |
5700 MHz | 4 GB/ GDDR5 | Twin Frozr V | DisplayPort / HDMI DL-DVI-I / DL-DVI-D | No | 258x132x37 mm |
| R7 370 GAMING 2G | 1000/ 1050 MHz |
5700 MHz | 2 GB/ GDDR5 | Twin Frozr V | DisplayPort / HDMI DL-DVI-I / DL-DVI-D | No | 258x132x37 mm |
| R9 380 2GD5T OC | 980 MHz | 5500 MHz | 2 GB/ GDDR5 | Armor 2X | DisplayPort / HDMI DL-DVI-I / DL-DVI-D | No | 254x128x37 mm |
| R7 370 2GD5T OC | 970/ 1020 MHz |
5500 MHz | 2 GB/ GDDR5 | Armor 2X | DisplayPort / HDMI DL-DVI-I / DL-DVI-D | No | 255x124x35 mm |
| R7 360 2GD5 OC | 1100 MHz | 6500 MHz | 2 GB/ GDDR5 | Armor | DisplayPort / HDMI DL-DVI-I | No | 165x110x37 mm |
As of today, all of these GPUs are now available and can be purchased from various online retailers.
