benChemist

Its 115.38 USD with shipping to ontario, canada on massdrop. If i get this off of aliexpress, Its 111.63 shipped. For those who want to buy this at a later date, it would be about the same price with aliexpress. edit: i forgot to include the link http://es.aliexpress.com/store/product/New-Fashion-RGB-Metal-Mechanical-Keyboard-Blue-Shaft-Waterproof-Keyboard-Two-color-Injection-Molding-process-for/1704181_32312317233.html

How does the performance of a reference 290 flashed to a 290x compare with a non reference 290? Specifically, is the gain in FPS from a 290x flash on a reference 290 a better value for "free performance" or would the consistency in FPS seen with non reference 290 cards due to better cooling be a better choice? I plan to overclock the card so I'm also wondering how changes in things like the chokes, mosfets, and VRM in non reference designs (e.g. direct cu ii or tri-x) will also effect OC stability. For reference, the powercolor 290 is currently 479.99 $ (which includes BF4) on NICX.com which is known to be able to be flashed without issue to a 290x (see http://www.overclock.net/t/1443242/the-r9-290-290x-unlock-thread). This is about 48$ over the MSRP of 399.99 $ set by AMD and is currently in stock (shipping is free if I pick it up from the store). The 290 tri-x, which was my first choice before learning about the 290x bios flash, is currently being sold on newegg.ca for 569.99$ + 13.64$ shipping. This is 120.99$ (excluding shipping) over the MSRP of 449$ set by sapphire for the 290 tri-x and is out of stock. Linus' video comparing the water cooled 290 vs 780 showed about 7% increase in performance for the reference 290 specifically and a 7% increase in performance is quoted from oc.net following a bios flash and a mild oc. So a water cooled 290 reference flashed to a 290x and oc'd would hypothetically show a 14% increase in performance if it scales perfectly. The 290 tri-x is about ~1-3% faster than the reference 290 out of the box depending on the game based on http://www.anandtech.com/show/7601/sapphire-radeon-r9-290-review-our-first-custom-cooled-290/3 and overclocking the 290 tri-x spits out about 10% increase in FPS compared to the non oc'd 290 tri-x (also see anandtech). Therefore the 290 tri-x when overclocked should hypothetically give 11-13% greater performance compared to a non-oc'd reference 290. I couldn't find any comparisons between an oc'd 290 ref and the oc'd 290 tri-x. So in summary, if we ignore water cooling (since I don't have a custom loop set up), ~480$ gets me 7% of "free" performance (bios flash+oc) or I can pay an extra 89$ for the tri-x (if it ever comes back in stock) which gets me about >10% increase in FPS when oc'd. This amounts to an approximately 3% increase in FPS for 89$. Which one would you guys pick? Keep in mind the BF4 voucher can be sold to recoup some of the cost of the reference 290, further lowering its cost. Other things to consider: I recall reading a few forums and see users report black screens and crashes due to a voltage issue with the on board memory of the gpu on reference cards. And I also recall the dude from hightechlegion stating that the tri-x 290 shows consistent core clock compared to the reference 290 which has a tendency to throttle. I would ask that no other cards be mentioned since the topic of discussion is ref 290 vs 290 tri-x based on the info above.

Apparently there's an issue with the windforce cooler. I would hold off from buying for now. Source http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tomshardware.de%2Fgigabyte-r9-290x-anderung-kuhler%2Cnews-250136.html Via http://www.overclock.net/t/1455495/tomshardware-de-gigabyte-to-stop-mass-production-of-windforce-r9-290x-immediately-citing-problem-with-fan-sink

does anyone know if the maximus vi formula will ship with the C2 stepping of the z87 chipset? and with regards to the picture of the vi formula posted in this thread, where are the water cooling ports? they seem to be missing on the picture.

Can anyone point me towards a voltage unlocked reference 7970? I plan to get a full cover water block and overclock which is why I'm looking for a reference card. I can't seem to find any non-reference water blocks which is my reasoning for going with a reference card. I originally planned to go with the powercolor V3 7970 since it's on sale and its voltage unlocked. But unfortunately its non-reference. http://ncix.com/products/?sku=70111&vpn=AX7970%203GBD5-2DHV3&manufacture=PowerColor&promoid=1283 A bit of searching led me to the HIS 7970 which I thought was a reference card due to the reference cooler (at this point I didn't know if the HIS card was voltage unlocked). http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161399 But I found a thread on OCN saying that the HIS card is non-reference AND voltage locked. http://www.overclock.net/t/1363436/q-reference-his-7970-voltage-unlocking Any ideas? And btw if it wasn't obvious, I'm from Canada.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ben_Chemist/status/345141935742275584 Hoping to win that gaming pc since I'm due for an upgrade but I'm low on funds.

Linus, please post the video. If not, at least post a video of slick in a bikini or something else of equal or greater entertainment.

Thanks for the contest Linus! Looking forward to E3 coverage. https://twitter.com/ben_Chemist/status/344040061425299456 prolapsed anus