[NewEgg - US]MSI R9 290X LIGHTNING 4GB [$310]

[wyattzx]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127787

 

On NewEgg's Daily Deal, you can buy an MSI R9 290x LIGHTNING edition 4GB card for $310 after MiR. ($340 otherwise.) 

 

This is a great deal for those who missed out on the XFX Double D 290x that was on sale yesterday.

[The Pizza Thief]

Is this card the equivalent to a gtx 970?? or is it better?

[Aniallation]

This is a great deal for those who missed out on the XFX Double D 290x that was on sale yesterday.

Praise to those people who passed on it.

[Aniallation]

Is this card the equivalent to a gtx 970?? or is it better?

Same performance.

[Lays]

Is this card the equivalent to a gtx 970?? or is it better?

 

 

Same performance.

 

 

290x is faster @ 1440p when they're both overclocked by 3-6 FPS in 80% of the benchmarks I tested them with.

[arnavvr]

Same performance.

 

It is inbetween 980 and 970, MSI's Lightning cards are way faster

[arnavvr]

290x is faster @ 1440p when they're both overclocked by 3-6 FPS in 80% of the benchmarks I tested them with.

 

Then why did you go to 970.

[Vitalius]

I would consider Tri-Crossfire, but non-reference with reference isn't something I'd do personally.

[Aniallation]

290x is faster @ 1440p when they're both overclocked by 3-6 FPS in 80% of the benchmarks I tested them with.

Well generally when you get as good of FPS as you would with a 290X/970, 3-6FPS isn't that huge of a difference.

 

 

It is inbetween 980 and 970, MSI's Lightning cards are way faster

Not necessarily. Lightning 290X can be overclocked a lot more then most others but out of the box performance is similar

[GzeroD]

 

It needs to said that your getting a card with MSI lightning level build Quality at this price. which is much much better than an average card.

[arnavvr]

 

Well generally when you get as good of FPS as you would with a 290X/970, 3-6FPS isn't that huge of a difference.

 

 

Not necessarily. Lightning 290X can be overclocked a lot more then most others but out of the box performance is similar

 

 

That's what I mean.

[The Pizza Thief]

290x is faster @ 1440p when they're both overclocked by 3-6 FPS in 80% of the benchmarks I tested them with.

wow, and here I am using a 970 with its defects and a 1440 monitor...

[Laederem]

Then why did you go to 970.

because the difference between 100 and 102 is insignificant, benefits being 100 outputs much less heat

[Aniallation]

That's what I mean.

Also depends what 970 you get as well. Gaming G1 for example overclocks a lot better then the others.

[Vitalius]

Well generally when you get as good of FPS as you would with a 290X/970, 3-6FPS isn't that huge of a difference.

Yep. Especially considering how Nvidia handles Frame Latency compared to AMD. (for more info regarding this, see the link to the post below).

 

because the difference between 100 and 102 is insignificant, benefits being 100 outputs much less heat

Raw FPS, yes, but user experience? Not so much. 

See this post (Read the TL;DR). Admittedly, it's a bit old, but until I can find new benchmarks to say otherwise, I'll stick with that.

[helping]

Yep. Especially considering how Nvidia handles Frame Latency compared to AMD. (for more info regarding this, see the link to the post below).

 

Raw FPS, yes, but user experience? Not so much. 

See this post (Read the TL;DR). Admittedly, it's a bit old, but until I can find new benchmarks to say otherwise, I'll stick with that.

The user experience for both are good and bad in different ways. They're close enough to not bother with that either aside from some niche software.

[The Pizza Thief]

Are MSI Lightning cards that better? Is there a 970 or 980 lightning card?

[Lays]

Then why did you go to 970.

 

It made more since to buy 2 970's than 2 290x lightnings, since the lightning is a triple slot card

 

wow, and here I am using a 970 with its defects and a 1440 monitor...

 

it's still a great choice either way, I don't use above 3.5gb until I start using games with DSR at like 5k res.

 

Also depends what 970 you get as well. Gaming G1 for example overclocks a lot better then the others.

 

I have 2 G1's and I compared one at 1600 mhz vs the 290x lightning at 1200, the lightning was still faster.

 

Are MSI Lightning cards that better? Is there a 970 or 980 lightning card?

 

The lightning is hands down the best 290x you can get.

[Vitalius]

The user experience for both are good and bad in different ways. They're close enough to not bother with that either aside from some niche software.

Explain. In what way is AMD's user experience bad, such that it is built into the cards? Heat/noise?

I give you that, and I guess we are agreeing here as I'm saying in that post that what setup you have and what you prefer decides which manufacturer is best for you. At the time, AMD was best for me because I was going to be pushing a 4K display in the future (I still am), I didn't care about sound (headphones plus I just don't care about background noise anyway) or heat (I'd be underclocking them a bit), so it made sense. If I were to only be using 1080p with speakers, then I'd prefer Nvidia as it'd be better for that setup. 

[helping]

Explain. In what way is AMD's user experience bad, such that it is built into the cards? Heat/noise?

I give you that, and I guess we are agreeing here as I'm saying in that post that what setup you have and what you prefer decides which manufacturer is best for you. At the time, AMD was best for me because I was going to be pushing a 4K display in the future (I still am), I didn't care about sound (headphones plus I just don't care about background noise anyway) or heat (I'd be underclocking them a bit), so it made sense. If I were to only be using 1080p with speakers, then I'd prefer Nvidia as it'd be better for that setup. 

?

I'm saying that they have their own pros and cons and the user experience is a moot point, what I meant by that is software/drivers.

 

Heat is a bigger deal than most people realize, especially in now popular silence optimized cases. If I'm not constrained by budget, I would be willing to put a premium on efficiency, because inefficiency pretty annoying to me since you have to find ways to deal with it. I wouldn't really consider that user experience.

[arnavvr]

It made more since to buy 2 970's than 2 290x lightnings, since the lightning is a triple slot card

 

 

it's still a great choice either way, I don't use above 3.5gb until I start using games with DSR at like 5k res.

 

 

I have 2 G1's and I compared one at 1600 mhz vs the 290x lightning at 1200, the lightning was still faster.

 

 

The lightning is hands down the best 290x you can get.

 

You have a R4 with 7 pci slots, you would have enough room, with an extra slot as breathing room

[helping]

You have a R4 with 7 pci slots, you would have enough room, with an extra slot as breathing room

christ no, I die a bit everytime I see someone use an R4 or H440 with an 83xx and AMD GPU's, god forbid two of them.

 

I speak from experience having used all vendors in one.

[Lays]

You have a R4 with 7 pci slots, you would have enough room, with an extra slot as breathing room

 

 

I have an Air 540, and the way my motherboard spacing is laid out, the cards would be sandwhiched together.

[arnavvr]

christ no, I die a bit everytime I see someone use an R4 or H440 with an 83xx and AMD GPU's, god forbid two of them.

 

I speak from experience having used all vendors in one.

 

These are not the reference editions of the card, but the MSI Lightning, so they run cooler. Also @Lays has a 4790K, not a FX Series Chip.

[GzeroD]

You have a R4 with 7 pci slots, you would have enough room, with an extra slot as breathing room

Simply opening up the spacing between the cards is not enough if there is not enough air flow to get the card exhaust out of the case. For to high end R9's it take quite a bit of airflow for that. Though my Air 540 handles it with ease, it is not exactly a silence optimized case.

 

 

I have an Air 540, and the way my motherboard spacing is laid out, the cards would be sandwhiched together.

 

 

 Air 540 master race!