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Is the reference 290x bearable at $175?

afyeung

*Should have posted in member reviews*  :unsure:

Just yesterday I picked up the powercolor oc reference cooled 290x for $175. I was telling myself that maybe the cooler isn't as bad as people say and it would be quieter inside of a closed case. I was dead wrong.

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.

Unlike my twin frozr r9 290, which takes a full loop of heaven to even touch 80c, the reference 290x heats up from 45- 70 in a matter of seconds. Then, after you think it's finished at 89 degrees, it climbs about 1 degree c every 2 seconds until it hits 94c. At this point, the card literally sounds like a hair dryer.

I don't know which genius came up with the idea of one 6cm fan spinning at 3500+ rpm to cool a card a stock speeds. Anyways, you get my point, the reference 290x is loud at anything above 30% fan speed and has a very shrill sound. It is more annoying than any modern cooler running at 100%.

If you use headphones, then you probably can't hear the thing even under full load, because most headphones are designed to block high pitched whine(much like a jet engine). However, everybody else in your home will hate you every time you game. Luckily, I still have budget left to get an arctic xcelero extreme III which should make the card even quieter than my twin frozr 290. 

In conclusion, do not pick up the reference 290(x) unless you have plans to cool it some other way. The card itself is very good, providing consistent ultra 1080p performance at 60+ fps and even some games getting 60fps at ultra 1440p. I would recommend the card if you can find it from an unused mining rig for around $100-150. At under $180 a reference 290x destroys all the lower end cards and might be worth it if you live alone. But if you care anything about noise, at least another $60 investment is needed to quiet down the card. So brand new reference 290x's for $240 on sites like newegg are a definite nono because after you factor in the price of quieting the thing down, you are already in r9 390 price range. I am still satisfied with my purchase because the card does what it's supposed to do and also has superior Hynix memory which is a plus. 

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Current PC: Origin Millennium- i7 5820K @4.0GHz | GTX 980Ti SLI | X99 Deluxe 

 

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Good post, nice insight in how the AMD reference cooler are.

I have to agree with you reading it, for the price it was probably worth it as you can try watercooling or putting another aircooler on it

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For $175 strapping a (~$55) Corsair H55 to it would make it worth it even with the $30 bracket.

Case: Thermaltake Versa H35 | CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 1700x (@4.0Ghz) Cooling: Cooler Master MasterLiquid Lite 240 | MOBO: Gigabyte AB350M-DS3H | RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB 16GB (2x8GB) 3333Mhz | GPU: MSI ARMOR 8GB OC GTX 1070 | Storage: SAMSUNG 970 EVO 250GB, 1TB Seagate 2.5" 5400RPM | PSU: Corsair CX750M

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For that price I'd make it bearable

I got my twin frozr R9 290 for $143 at micro center. Sort of bought the card on an urge. $235 total still isn't too bad for the card once it has the xcelero extreme 3 which cools the card up to 40 degrees c. 

Current PC: Origin Millennium- i7 5820K @4.0GHz | GTX 980Ti SLI | X99 Deluxe 

 

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I got my twin frozr R9 290 for $143 at micro center. Sort of bought the card on an urge. $235 total still isn't too bad for the card once it has the xcelero extreme 3 which cools the card up to 40 degrees c. 

$143.

How the devil.

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This wasn't made for no reason.

When UBER Mode came, It fucking started to fly xD

CPU: A8-5600K GPU: MSI RX 480 GAMING X 4GB MOBO: ASUS A55BM-PLUS 

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Good post, nice insight in how the AMD reference cooler are.

I have to agree with you reading it, for the price it was probably worth it as you can try watercooling or putting another aircooler on it

Thanks! I just wanted to sort of make a psa because I saw a slick deals not to long ago for a reference 290 non x at $230. The reference cooler is annoying at 40% speed. And it has to go all the way to 55% to cool itself down. A hairdryer on low settings is actually a very accurate description of what the card is like gaming out of the box

Current PC: Origin Millennium- i7 5820K @4.0GHz | GTX 980Ti SLI | X99 Deluxe 

 

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Excellent review. Great job :D

 

All of it only makes me want to get one more.

 

I have an urge to buy a couple, actually.

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$143.

How the devil.

Lol. At first the guy put in $99. But then the manager said that the clearance markoff wasn't eligible for the card so they took off 60% instead. These r9 290s have been basically sitting there after the mining craze died and the 970 came out. Nobody wanted these $450 cards anymore. 

Current PC: Origin Millennium- i7 5820K @4.0GHz | GTX 980Ti SLI | X99 Deluxe 

 

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Lol. At first the guy put in $99. But then the manager said that the clearance markoff wasn't eligible for the card so they took off 60% instead. These r9 290s have been basically sitting there after the mining craze died and the 970 came out. Nobody wanted these $450 cards anymore. 

lol

i need to move to atlanta

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Is there something wrong with your card? Mine is quiet until the fan speed is over 50%

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This wasn't made for no reason.

R9 290X became a damn Fire Pro

CPU: A8-5600K GPU: MSI RX 480 GAMING X 4GB MOBO: ASUS A55BM-PLUS 

RAM: 2x 4GB Samsung DDR3-1600 1.25V PSU: Corsair CX430 CASE: Enermax Ostrog Windowed STORAGE: PNY CS1111 120GB / Hitachi 1TB 7200RPM OS: Windows 10 Pro & macOS Sierra 10.12.3

 

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Excellent review. Great job :D

 

All of it only makes me want to get one more.

 

I have an urge to buy a couple, actually.

Redditors in my area got former mining rigs for $400 with 4 290x's. You literally have a jumbojet with all of those running at 70% fan speed to keep from throttling. You must be insane to want more. Me, I never want to hear the sound of a reference 290x again in my life. I'm holding off gaming until the cooler comes  :(

Current PC: Origin Millennium- i7 5820K @4.0GHz | GTX 980Ti SLI | X99 Deluxe 

 

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Is there something wrong with your card? Mine is quiet until the fan speed is over 50%

No. The card is not particular loud at under 50%, it's just extremely high pitch which makes it stand out above the rest of the components in your system which use like 12cm fans. 

Current PC: Origin Millennium- i7 5820K @4.0GHz | GTX 980Ti SLI | X99 Deluxe 

 

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Too expensive for my taste. If I could 3d print a bracket then I probably wouldn't even need the kraken. $35 for a bracket + a 92mm fan is not worth it especially considering asetek style coolers are getting more expensive 

Current PC: Origin Millennium- i7 5820K @4.0GHz | GTX 980Ti SLI | X99 Deluxe 

 

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No. The card is not particular loud at under 50%, it's just extremely high pitch which makes it stand out above the rest of the components in your system which use like 12cm fans.

I don't get a high pitch at all. I've been playing the Witcher enhanced edition at 1440p max settings while using speakers. Completely silent, no noises disrupting the game.
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Redditors in my area got former mining rigs for $400 with 4 290x's. You literally have a jumbojet with all of those running at 70% fan speed to keep from throttling. You must be insane to want more. Me, I never want to hear the sound of a reference 290x again in my life. I'm holding off gaming until the cooler comes  :(

I might be insane. You're right. But that's okay.

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I don't get a high pitch at all. I've been playing the Witcher enhanced edition at 1440p max settings while using speakers. Completely silent, no noises disrupting the game.

I was running without speakers to test the noise. With speakers you probably can't hear it if you turn the volume up. The problem is, using the card annoys people in the room next to me because I live in a rather quiet house. 

Current PC: Origin Millennium- i7 5820K @4.0GHz | GTX 980Ti SLI | X99 Deluxe 

 

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Its bearable 

I do however think $170 is a bit high

Thats that. If you need to get in touch chances are you can find someone that knows me that can get in touch.

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I might be insane. You're right. But that's okay.

I used to own a vantec tornado. Even 4 290x's isn't as annoying as the vantec tornado. And the vantec tornado has 5 stars and like 700 reviews on newegg. I would say you have good company. 

Current PC: Origin Millennium- i7 5820K @4.0GHz | GTX 980Ti SLI | X99 Deluxe 

 

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Its bearable 

I do however think $170 is a bit high

You're right. I thought I could handle the card so it wouldn't be too bad. But now I have to invest more money to quiet it down. Not the worst price in the world

Current PC: Origin Millennium- i7 5820K @4.0GHz | GTX 980Ti SLI | X99 Deluxe 

 

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Moved to Member Reviews.

"It pays to keep an open mind, but not so open your brain falls out." - Carl Sagan.

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you" - Edward I. Koch

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