AMD’s GTX 760 Killer? MSI Radeon R9 285 Twin Frozr IV Review

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by Rob Williams on September 2, 2014 in Graphics & Displays

It may be a year late, but with its Radeon R9 285, AMD claims that it’s come up with the perfect recipe for taking on NVIDIA’s GeForce GTX 760 – a card that hasn’t seen much of a price drop since its release. Featuring an updated GCN architecture, the R9 285 is an interesting card even outside of its elected battle, so let’s check it out.

Page 6 – Game Tests: Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Total War: SHOGUN 2

Tom Clancy is responsible for a countless number of video games, but his Splinter Cell series has become something special, with each game released having been considered “great” overall. The latest in the series, Blacklist, is no exception, and thankfully for us, its graphics are fantastic, and not to mention intensive. For those who love a stealth element in their games, this is one that shouldn’t be skipped.

RIP, Tom Clancy.

Splinter Cell Blacklist - 1920x1080 Single Monitor

Manual Run-through: From the start of the ‘Safehouse’ level in Benghazi, Libya, we progress through until we reach an apartment building that must be entered – this is where we end the FPS recording.

MSI Radeon R9 285 Twin Frozr IV - Splinter Cell: Blacklist (1920x1080)

MSI Radeon R9 285 Twin Frozr IV - Splinter Cell: Blacklist (2560x1440)

Once again, the R9 285 places itself right in the middle, falling behind the R9 280X and GTX 770.

Total War: SHOGUN 2

Strategy games are well-known for pushing the limits of any system, and few others do this as well as Total War: SHOGUN 2. It fully supports DX11, has huge battlefields to oversee with hundreds or thousands of units, and a ton of graphics options to adjust. It’s quite simply a beast of a game.

Total War: SHOGUN 2 - 1920x1080 Single Monitor

Manual Run-through: SHOGUN 2 is one of the few games in our suite where the built-in benchmark is opted for. Strategy games in particular are very difficult to benchmark, so this is where I become thankful to have the option of using a built-in benchmark.

MSI Radeon R9 285 Twin Frozr IV - Total War: SHOGUN 2 (1920x1080)

MSI Radeon R9 285 Twin Frozr IV - Total War: SHOGUN 2 (2560x1440)

SHOGUN 2 helps wrap-up our gaming results with the same sort of deltas we’ve seen across them all.

Next up, I’ll tackle our “Best Playable” results.

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Rob Williams

Rob founded Techgage in 2005 to be an 'Advocate of the consumer', focusing on fair reviews and keeping people apprised of news in the tech world. Catering to both enthusiasts and businesses alike; from desktop gaming to professional workstations, and all the supporting software.

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