is a 390 a good upgrade? coming from a 680 Lightning.

[crouchgod]

Will i see a performance increase?

Im trying to keep it cheaply as possible on the GPU, as i'm waiting to upgrade to the new gen cards coming out next year,which is in a few months already

 

Current 1080P btw.

 

I will upgrade to 1440P when the new cards arrive.

[DarkBlade2117]

A 680 Lightning is still a good card. But for 1440p a 390 is worth it to me.

[JustCallMeVlad]

PM me.. I'll buy that Lightning 

[thekeemo]

I would wait another gen

[CapricaBuccaneers]

I still have my 680. You have a better one from the same manufacturer - if you're sticking with 1080p don't bother upgrading to a 390 just to upgrade again in another 9 months.

Just upgrade the whole shebang at the same time. You might be able to get a Gsync 1440p monitor by then for a reasonable price (don't hold your breath).

[LiamApex]

ide wait tbh. 

[JustCallMeVlad]

970 Now, Pascal in Q1 2016

[Jacktastic-Mofo]

Wait to see what pascal has to offer, for all we know the 60 and 70 series cards could be absolute monsters.

[TheNeutraliser]

r9 390 ? are u insane?
OFC ITS GOOD UPGRADE! ITS A BEAST!

[xAcid9]

Will i see a performance increase?

Of course you will though depend on what game u will be playing.

Try find a used R9-290 preferably Vapor-X or PCS+ or Tri-X.

[crouchgod]

Of course you will though depend on what game u will be playing.

Try find a used R9-290 preferably Vapor-X or PCS+ or Tri-X.

You can upgrade these with a script to a 390x if i read correctly? right?

 

But overall is a 290 the sweetspot then?

im building from scratch btw..

 

Dont wanna spend any money on a 980ti or fury x.

 

I just want to max out the current gen games at 60 fps without AA, As pasqall will arrive soon

 

PM me.. I'll buy that Lightning 

Had two of these boys in SLI 2 years ago, with the flashed bios.

Sold one @ buddy at overclock.net and the other one was sold with the system itself.

Currently on a laptop....

[xAcid9]

You can upgrade these with a script to a 390x if i read correctly? right?

 

But overall is a 290 the sweetspot then?

im building from scratch btw..

 

Dont wanna spend any money on a 980ti or fury x.

 

I just want to max out the current gen games at 60 fps without AA, As pasqall will arrive soon

Depend on the chip itself, if you're lucky you will be able to unlock all the CUs or none if bad luck. 

Yeah the 290 is the sweet spot if you can find one for under $250 or under $200 for a used one. Make sure to find one with good aftermarket cooler like the Sapphire Tri-x  or Vapor-X or PowerColor PCS+.

[crouchgod]

Depend on the chip itself, if you're lucky you will be able to unlock all the CUs or none if bad luck. 

Yeah the 290 is the sweet spot if you can find one for under $250 or under $200 for a used one. Make sure to find one with good aftermarket cooler like the Sapphire Tri-x  or Vapor-X or PowerColor PCS+.

I just looked around and found someone selling a 

 

"sapphire r9 290 4gb gddr5 oc tri-x"

 

For around 200€..

 

Do i take this offer? he says warrent still runs.

 

Its from a website that sells all kinda stuff.

 

 

Also how do i know if my 290 is viable to get unlocked to a 390/390x?

or does it just come down to luck?

I do know some of the later lighting editions did ship with a non-flashble bios..

[Humbug]

You will notice the difference for sure.

But only do it if you are not entirely happy with the 680, cause it's still a good 1080p card.

 

Anyway this will the approximate performance boost

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1494?vs=1438

[App4that]

A 390 is not just a 290 with more VRAM. They both have the same core but that's about it. So even clocked to the same speed a 290 isn't a 390. As for luck, you're correct. I hit a wall at 1125mhz core speed with my 290

[xAcid9]

I just looked around and found someone selling a 

 

"sapphire r9 290 4gb gddr5 oc tri-x"

 

For around 200€..

 

Do i take this offer? he says warrent still runs.

 

Its from a website that sells all kinda stuff.

 

 

Also how do i know if my 290 is viable to get unlocked to a 390/390x?

or does it just come down to luck?

I do know some of the later lighting editions did ship with a non-flashble bios..

 

Sorry i'm not familar with EU pricing. 

 

The program only unlock some disabled Cores/CU in the R9-290/R9-390, you can't simply unlock 290 to 390/390x. Even if you managed to unlock some of it, it won't guarantee stability because these cores didn't meet AMD's QC standard and that's why they were disabled in the 1st place.

You can read here. http://www.overclock.net/t/1567179/activation-of-cores-in-hawaii-tonga-and-fiji-unlockability-tester-ver-1-6-and-atomtool

 

You can however, flash a modded BIOS that improve the timing of the VRAM and slightly increase performance of the card  for free.. if you adventurous enough.

[crouchgod]

Sorry i'm not familar with EU pricing. 

 

The program only unlock some disabled Cores/CU in the R9-290/R9-390, you can't simply unlock 290 to 390/390x. Even if you managed to unlock some of it, it won't guarantee stability because these cores didn't meet AMD's QC standard and that's why they were disabled in the 1st place.

You can read here. http://www.overclock.net/t/1567179/activation-of-cores-in-hawaii-tonga-and-fiji-unlockability-tester-ver-1-6-and-atomtool

 

You can however, flash a modded BIOS that improve the timing of the VRAM and slightly increase performance of the card  for free.. if you adventurous enough.

 

So thats what they are talking about here?

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=400050

[watts300]

Of course you will though depend on what game u will be playing.

Try find a used R9-290 preferably Vapor-X or PCS+ or Tri-X.

@crouchgod

If you're in the US, and you want a 290, wait a month. Last November I got a Powercolor 290 with a free game (which I sold), promo code, and rebate. After all that math it was $180.

[xAcid9]

 

So thats what they are talking about here?

http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=400050

Flashing 390/390x BIOS into 290/290x. 

 

Not really a good idea if you're using a card with custom PCB like mine.

390 series BIOS usually use lower voltage because of the chip is better binned compare to 290 series and that can cause crashes in desktop.

Memory timing for 390 series is different since it use different memory module so you need to manually insert a memory timing suitable for 290 series for better stability.

 

All in all, you need tonnes of experimenting and testing to get a fully stable working 390s BIOS for your 290 card. I spent weeks playing/editing the BIOS but in the end i stick with my card original BIOS but with slight twist.

[crouchgod]

@crouchgod

If you're in the US, and you want a 290, wait a month. Last November I got a Powercolor 290 with a free game (which I sold), promo code, and rebate. After all that math it was $180.

Sadly i live in EUROPE  <_<  <_<