We’d rather be testing new hardware really than rebrands but its always nice to see what’s going on in the other spectrum of the hardware stack. Gaming performance is really subjective when it comes to PC and not everyone will want maxed-out details on 1080p. After all, games are about the experience.
That said, HTPCs and SFF builds have opened up the living room for PC gaming and many builders want to retain the benefit of a an always-on system with minimal power consumption even on load. The Sapphire R7 250 GPU manages to offer a solid of adequate performance with an unbeatable price. Let’s break down the score further:
Performance. The Sapphire R7 250 2GB with Boost manages to score nicely on the 720p tests, putting out playable frame rates on max details on most of our games. Jacking up the resolution to our standard 1080p test, we see the card starting to choke with higher details set but still manages to push playable frame rates on some games when OC’d. Those that would use this card would best compromise detail for performance, settling for medium for some decent frame rates.
Build Quality. Sapphire has definitely improved their game in recent times and even this lower-tier product receives the black PCB treatment, something reserved usually for high-end products. The plastic shroud is ok but has a tinge of cheap to it. Still its well made and the heatsink itself does its job well. Components used are also very good.
Functionality. The card is set for the entry-level market and thus offers performance for lower resolution. Games will be alright when set to low-to-medium settings on HD but at 720p, the card can really stretch. That said, the Sapphire R7 250 2GB is a good choice for a family HTPC or living room PC with limited gaming action.
Bundle. Average. Nothing worth mentioning.
Value. At just above Php4000 pesos, this card offers serious value and competes with an older GT640 and GTX650 from NVIDIA.
With above said, the Sapphire Radeon R7 250 2GB with Boost is in a tough market. Performance will be roughly with a GTX650 so it will boil down ultimately to brand preference. Sapphire offers a discrete card with a small footprint, perfect for small PC builds that will see minimal maintenance during its lifetime.
Performance-wise the Sapphire Radeon R7 250 2GB offers decent figures on 1080p and is quite respectable at 720p. For home theater use, the card will output HD just fine. On the negative side, Sapphire could’ve opted for a lower-profile cooler keeping it to a single slot design.
The Sapphire Radeon R7 250 2GB with Boost is a solid option for gamers with a very restricted budget. At around Php4100, the Sapphire Radeon R7 250 2GB with Boost offers decent frame rates for the popular 1366×768 resolution up to maybe 1600×900 at fairly higher detail settings. Those looking for a DOTA2 or MMORPG machine with a tight budget will be happy to know the Sapphire Radeon R7 250 2GB is a good choice for such a gaming rig and you can use AMD’s Gaming Evolved app to automatically set the best detail settings for your card so you can get the best out of it.
Read our article on AMD Gaming Evolved
Sapphire backs the Radeon R7 250 2GB wtih Boost with a 2-year warranty. We give the Sapphire Radeon R7 250 2GB with Boost our B2G Value Award.
hm kaya to?
4k par, nakalagay jan ung price sa review
walang crossfire bridge yan no?
wala bro, bridgeless na crossfire ni amd sa new cards nila eh
ah ok katulad ng 290 bridgeless din
yup! parang mas malinis pag walang bridge. pero amporma nung SLI bridge ni EVGA
pwede po ba ito i dual graphics sa A10-5800k? :) !
Sa kaveri bro pwede. Sa 5800K di eh :(
much better to upgrade :) ! switching to kaveri soooooooon :) !
Di pwede dual gfx sa 5800k mo yan.
240 lang sakin pero ang cool ng R7 series :))
raffle na yan dapat! di ba Mhelzee S***m? :D
onga kuya e. Raffle na ituuu Back2Gaming ! hahaha
ah? hahaha
can this run dx 11? pasok kaya toh sa board ko asrock n68c-s ucc? ano po kaya mas ok gt730 o r7 250 – in search of a budget ddr3 2gb na playable fps sa watchdogs and witcher 3 sana .. Thanks
Parehas high-end and optimized for nvidia yang games mo bro. I suggest sticking sa GT730 pero pag ganyan kasi case, best recommendation ko is save until kaya mo na mag-midrange like gtx960 although kung ok lang sayo stick sa rig mo muna GT730 tol oks ka na, low-med sa 720p
bossmac thank you sa input!! ill take your advice save muna then palit mas ok na VC tpos baka sabay ko na mobo and proc… baka d na kaya ng 2yr old mobo ko eh.. hehehe…. para kahit papano malaro ko ung mga palabas pa ng games… salamat ng marami boss!!!
you’re welcome bro
boss eh kung mag gtx750 kaya pede na? mas mura eh.. heheheh
Pwede na rin bro, iba lang talaga performance nya sa 750ti pero di naman malayo.
bro maayos ba dota2 dito? 21′ monitor ko. Salamat :)
Plan ko din prang ito bilhin ko.pro…ngaalangan pa,ksi ung monitor ko prang my sira na..kea.ito ba o ung monitor(BENQ 15.6″ BQ G615HDPL LED WIDESCREEN BLK monitor) gpu na gamit ko ngayon is palit gt730 2gb ddr3,96cuda core,700-850(overclocked) ok pa nmm display ng monitor na gmit ko.pro luma na tingnan,so monitor ba o r7 250 nlng? Gamit ko procie athlon x2 250 3ghz.tia po :-)
kung matitiis mo pa bro, irecommend ko pagsabayin mo na. Hindi na ba enjoy sa GT730, mejo bottlenecked ka ng processor mo baka dahil dun kaya di mo naeenjoy masyado ung performance ng gpu?
sir a6-6400k procie and a68-fm2 gigabyte unit ko. swak ba to dito?
sakto lang bro, ano ba games mo?
sir nakabili na ako nito at ok naman ang performance. pero mejo may mga small waves sa screen eh, tapos pag on board ko wala naman. pinalitan namin ng ibang vcard tapos wala na yung parang mga waves na mga lines pero pag r7 ginagamit ko meron na nman. posible po ba na sa power supply ko ang prob? genericpsu lang kasi gamit ko
dota 2 lang naman nilalaro ko sir. gusto ko lang kasi mawala yung lags kasi ang sakit sa mata
hmmm nainstall mo na yung latest drivers and na-set ung optimal resolution?
opo sir,. latest drivers na po lahat. try ko nalang muna to ng dvi cable, sana maging ok
sige bro iniisip ko baka sa VGA cable lang yan, ganyan din kasi ung mga lumang LCD monitors ko. may waves pag VGA.
R7 250 2gb nlng…at cguro add nlng ko 4gb ddr3 1333 pra maging 2×4 na ram ko.. sana d magblema ung athlon x2 250 ko..la na talaga budget eh :-( oonga ..prang d contented sa gt730 dti sana ung gt730 (300+) cuda core nlng binili ko… :-( pro amd nlng muna mahilig ksi ako mga emu katulad ng ps2 psp ps1 etc..try ko performace bka mas bumilis :-) anyway bro bossmac salamat :-)
welcome bro, feedback na lang sa results. mahirap talaga mamili sa ganyang price range kasi konti lang talaga choices. talagang naglalaro sa upper 5k onwards ang magaganda vidcards eh.
sa mga user po nitong r7 250, anu po gamit ninyong power supply mga sir? please reply po