Is the reference 290x bearable at $175?

[Megahurt]

First off, after running the card for 30 seconds, I could already tell that a simple switch of TIM would not solve the heat issue. You can tell that the cooler itself is the problem because the card heats up like a wildfire once you put it under load and the idle temps are already at 45 degrees.

High idle temperatures and quickly rising temps are both consequences I would expect from having bad TIM. It probably wouldn't make the card cool or quiet, but might make it bearable.

[WereCat]

Wouldn't it be better and cheaper to buy non reference cooler for reference PCB (Gigabyte Windforce for example) from someone who water cooled his 290x?

[Dietrichw]

Wouldn't it be better and cheaper to buy non reference cooler for reference PCB (Gigabyte Windforce for example) from someone who water cooled his 290x?

Good luck finding one. I've been looking for a long time and haven't found anything reasonable. The best I saw was a broken 290x tri-X, but the guy wanted over $100 for it. It sucks because I have a really good 290 that can OC to 1170Mhz but I have to have the fan so high that it isn't worth it. I could watercool it as I have a loop of the CPU but I would need a block and another radiator to add in the GPU ~$200

[afyeung]

High idle temperatures and quickly rising temps are both consequences I would expect from having bad TIM. It probably wouldn't make the card cool or quiet, but might make it bearable.

I've already decided that the cooler needs to be replaced. And that basically just sums up the reference 290x cooler. It does it's job but it's very irritating. I've replaced TIM on different gpus before and its knocked off 5 degrees at most. Even at 40% the cooler annoys me, so I don't think that will do the trick

[Notional]

It's dirt cheap. Spend a little money on the corsair aio bracket, and get a cheap aio for your card. It will be quieter than any after market cooler, and be frosty too. Sure it ads a hundred bucks or so, but the aio can always be reused.

[SkilledRebuilds]

I got a Kraken G10 for $10 on ebay, everything was in the box, I considered myself lucky.

The fan included is quiet, and I ran it at full speed the entire time, and didn't hear it. But HAD to use full speed, because it keeps the VRM's around 90-100*c without the GELID vrm kit, with the kit, it managed 1080p > 75-85*c< 4K vrm temps (depending on if I was using VSR 4K, it produces higher VRM temps)

 

 

The Gelid kit cost me ($26),.... more than the G10, but was WAY worth it.

 

My Windforce 290 maxed at 76*c, but this 290x Windforce is the reason I got the Kraken, it LOVED being at 85-90*c temps... a really hot core.

[afyeung]

I got a Kraken G10 for $10 on ebay, everything was in the box, I considered myself lucky.

The fan included is quiet, and I ran it at full speed the entire time, and didn't hear it. But HAD to use full speed, because it keeps the VRM's around 90-100*c without the GELID vrm kit, with the kit, it managed 1080p > 75-85*c< 4K vrm temps (depending on if I was using VSR 4K, it produces higher VRM temps)

 

 

The Gelid kit cost me ($26),.... more than the G10, but was WAY worth it.

 

My Windforce 290 maxed at 76*c, but this 290x Windforce is the reason I got the Kraken, it LOVED being at 85-90*c temps... a really hot core.

Really eyeing the corsair hg10 because it uses the reference fan to cool the VRMs. The reference cooler actually does a decent job of cooling the VRMs. But it sucks at cooling the core

[Nup]

-snip-

 

hahaha that video is excellent, but at that price id be all over a 290 in a faster then you can say "Loud", hard to find in europe tho :L 

 

Also nice post, thanks for sharing OP.; 

[Sauron]

try installing a 12000 rpm delta fan in it for the lolz

[byalexandr]

Liquid cool it like I did.

 

Edit:

[afyeung]

Liquid cool it like I did.

 

Edit:

WP_20151024_11_22_16_Pro1.jpg

Woah. How did you do that? Which cooler did you use? What did you have to use to cut through the reference cooler?

[byalexandr]

Woah. How did you do that? Which cooler did you use? What did you have to use to cut through the reference cooler?

You want a Seidon 120M, I just used a cooler that had the same mounting holes as the 120M. You have to disassemble the card, take off all the plastic and stuff on the heatsink then bake it to remove the soldered copper plate and the aluminum heatsink. After that you cut a larger square out of the remaining aluminum plate to clear the mounting holes, then you just get some screws that fit through the mounting holes and are long enough, and bolt on the Seidon 120M. The mounting holes line up perfectly and hold onto the card very well. To make the shroud fit back on you can cut it with a Dremel.

Use this guide (it's a two part thing but I only linked one, I'm sure you can find the other part):

​

My mod is similar but I did it slightly differently, with a different cooler, cutting, etc. I idle at 30C and load never exceeds 60C and on top of that the fans for the rad (I used a Gentle Typhoon) and the blower never go over idle. I OC'd the card a little today, just to see what it could do, still didn't go over idle speed.

[afyeung]

-SNIP-

Lol. I don't have enough time or dremel skills to do that. Thinking of the accelero extreme 3. My current 290 can't clock high enough to match an overclock 290x anyways. 

[byalexandr]

Lol. I don't have enough time or dremel skills to do that. Thinking of the accelero extreme 3. My current 290 can't clock high enough to match an overclock 290x anyways. 

I really just want a stock cooler again, as this mod makes the card take up like 3 or 4 slots with the tubing sticking out like that. Too bad I can't find many on eBay, I might have to sell the liquid cooler to get a $40 one or something.

 

Edit: If you aftermarket cool that 290X and don't want the stock cooler laying around I'll be happy to put it to use...

[Dive5885]

When I had a Reference R9 290 it was bearable to me and It never hit 70c but that depends on how good your case cooling is. 

 

I had 5 intakes & 3 exhaust fans at that time.

[afyeung]

I really just want a stock cooler again, as this mod makes the card take up like 3 or 4 slots with the tubing sticking out like that. Too bad I can't find many on eBay, I might have to sell the liquid cooler to get a $40 one or something.

 

Edit: If you aftermarket cool that 290X and don't want the stock cooler laying around I'll be happy to put it to use...

How are the temps and noise with your mod? If you send me your cooler I'll happily send you my stock cooler and new thermal paste as a bonus   My noctis 450 can handle the rad and the tubing. Might throw in money too if you want to cover shipping costs

[byalexandr]

How are the temps and noise with your mod? If you send me your cooler I'll happily send you my stock cooler and new thermal paste as a bonus   My noctis 450 can handle the rad and the tubing. Might throw in money too if you want to cover shipping costs

Oh wow, awesome! Yeah I keep the pump on full speed just because I was too lazy to set a fan curve in the BIOS, but it's inaudible anyway. Right now it's idling at 38C since it's in my tiny case, and the load temps never go above 60C. Fans never spin up above idle at load as well. I use a Scythe Gentle Typhoon, just hooked up to a 3-pin to molex adapter (1450RPM @12V so the fan is silent), and the blower absolutely never spins up over 20%. I'm sure the temps would be even lower with a faster fan or two. Do message me if you want to trade, I'll definitely do it! Heck, I'll pay for shipping on my end.

[afyeung]

Oh wow, awesome! Yeah I keep the pump on full speed just because I was too lazy to set a fan curve in the BIOS, but it's inaudible anyway. Right now it's idling at 38C since it's in my tiny case, and the load temps never go above 60C. Fans never spin up above idle at load as well. I use a Scythe Gentle Typhoon, just hooked up to a 3-pin to molex adapter (1450RPM @12V so the fan is silent), and the blower absolutely never spins up over 20%. I'm sure the temps would be even lower with a faster fan or two. Do message me if you want to trade, I'll definitely do it! Heck, I'll pay for shipping on my end.

PM'ed. You can keep the gentle typhoon if you want. My friend just got a batch of EK Vardars 

[GodSpoon]

Lol to sum up this entire thread...

 

No

 

​Maybe if you watercool it

[s3ns3]

no. that cooler gave amd a very bad rep that will persist for eternity

[flibberdipper]

I think my GTX 480 is quieter and cooler lel That makes me happy.

[AverageHardware]

Psh. People and their reference 290Xs. So lightweight. I have 2 Delta intake fans. Now that's some noise. *sarcasm*

[Rarity]

using a refrence 290x here .. i find the cooler to be quiet enough , case fans louder then the card ... 

 

 

This wasn't made for no reason.

nvidia fx 5800 anybody ?  

[GzeroD]

using a refrence 290x here .. i find the cooler to be quiet enough , case fans louder then the card ... 

 

nvidia fx 5800 anybody ?  

I had a reference card and while the sound wasn't abysmal it was pretty bad by most standards. What fans are you using that are louder than a 290 stock cooler?

[afyeung]

I had a reference card and while the sound wasn't abysmal it was pretty bad by most standards. What fans are you using that are louder than a 290 stock cooler?

I think any case fans running close to 290x fan speeds will be louder but less annoying because of they're bigger size. An 1800rpm 120mm fan could probably drown out the 290x under regular load, but the 290 is far more high pitched