AMD Radeon R9 280
Built for 1080p with settings turned down. It outscores 27% of the 179 cards in our index and meets the recommended graphics card of 100 of 232 released games that name one.
- Index
- 9/100
- Rank
- #125
- VRAM
- 3 GB
- Power
- 250 W
- Launch price
- $279
How much of the PC library it covers
Against the 232 released games whose publisher names a graphics card we can place.
- 100 at the recommended spec 43%
- 90 at the minimum only 39%
- 43 below the minimum 19%
The most demanding game it meets the recommended card for is Risk of Rain 2. The least demanding one it falls short of is Hitman: Blood Money.
Upcoming releases on the AMD Radeon R9 280
Unreleased games whose publishers have already posted a graphics card requirement.
Recommended spec 1
- Pony Island 2: Panda Circus Apr 27, 2027
Minimum spec 1
- Outward 2 2027
Below minimum 17
- Gears of War: E-Day Oct 6, 2026
- Phantom Blade Zero Oct 28, 2026
- Sagas of Lumin Feb 4, 2027
- Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis Feb 12, 2027
- Fable Feb 23, 2027
- HUMANKIND™ 2 2027
- Monster Hunter Wilds: Ascendance 2027
- PVKK: Planetenverteidigungskanonenkommandant 2027
- Sea of Remnants 2027
- SPINE - This is Gun Fu 2027
- Chrono Odyssey To be announced
- El Paso, Elsewhere 2 To be announced
- Guild Wars 3™ To be announced
- Lords of the Fallen II Coming soon
- SAW: Genesis To be announced
- Star Trek: Shadow Frontier Coming soon
- The Talos Principle 3 Coming soon
In the heaviest games we track
Modelled at the High preset with upscaling off, next to a processor fast enough not to limit it. Estimates, not recorded runs — how the model works.
| Game | 1080p | 1440p | 4K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 | 13 | 8 | 5 |
Spec card
- Maker
- AMD
- Released
- 2014
- Video memory
- 3 GB
- Rated power
- 250 W
- PSU to plan for
- 650 W
- Tier
- D
- Ray tracing
- No
- Upscaling
- FSR
The cards either side of it
Nearest in our index. Pick one to put them side by side.
AMD Radeon R9 280: quick answers
Will the AMD Radeon R9 280 run 2027 games?
Of the 19 upcoming games whose publishers have named a graphics card, it meets the recommended card for 1, only the minimum for 1, and falls short of 17.
Is 3 GB of VRAM enough?
It is below what many recent releases expect, so plan on lower texture settings.
What power supply do I need for the AMD Radeon R9 280?
It is rated at 250 W. With the rest of a typical gaming PC and headroom for power spikes, a good 650 W unit is a safe choice; the PSU calculator works it out for your exact parts.
Is the AMD Radeon R9 280 faster than the AMD Radeon HD 7970?
No. The AMD Radeon HD 7970 scores 10/100 against 9/100 in our index.