Sapphire R9 290 Vapor-X vs Gigabyte R9 290 Windforce

[Bit8xPr0]

I'm thinking about buying a used card to Crossfire with my XFX R9 290 Black Edition that I currently have. My options at the moment are a used Gigabyte 290 for $190 and a Sapphire R9 290 Vapor-X for $215. Benchmarks show that the Tri-X *I think* is better than the Gigabyte and that the Vapor-X is better than the  Tri-x. Of course I think it would be held back in Crossfire anyway by my XFX card. I was also planning on doing a black and white build but if the Vapor-X is worth it over the Gigabyte for the money?!?

[thekeemo]

The 290 brand new (used to) cost that much

the tri-x comes out on top though the GB card doesn't require a receipt to RMA but both will take your soul to get a replacement.

find better deals..

Edited February 2, 2016 by thekeemo

[lukerox2002]

Idk I take looks over performance any day, but if your looking for performance i think the Vapor X is the winner

[Bit8xPr0]

26 minutes ago, thekeemo said:

The 290 brand new (used to) cost that much

the tri-x comes out on top though the GB card doesn't require a receipt to RMA but both will take your soul to get a replacement.

find better deals..

I don't ever recall a 290 costing that much new. I paid $400 for mine -40 rebate and like a gift card on newegg or something.

[thekeemo]

43 minutes ago, Bit8xPr0 said:

I don't ever recall a 290 costing that much new. I paid $400 for mine -40 rebate and like a gift card on newegg or something.

Just after the 970 came out 290 prices TANKED

[Ex14]

tbh idk if the higher performing card really matters...isnt it going to be held back by your XFX card?

[App4that]

12 minutes ago, Ex14 said:

tbh idk if the higher performing card really matters...isnt it going to be held back by your XFX card?

No, not how crossfire works. You can run them at different clock speeds and one performing better than the other does little to the performance. If you use 1x1 it will usually run better if you match the clocks. I ran a 390 and 290 in crossfire.

[Bit8xPr0]

36 minutes ago, App4that said:

No, not how crossfire works. You can run them at different clock speeds and one performing better than the other does little to the performance. If you use 1x1 it will usually run better if you match the clocks. I ran a 390 and 290 in crossfire.

Yeah idk. I would assume it would make my computer quieter though. Having the vapor as the main card with its good cooling and the xfx being used in crossfire games. I have my xfx at 1095 1395 right now actually

[App4that]

The Vapor X 290 is a big card, it takes up more slots than most cards. So what you might find is that you have to run the Vapor as the bottom card so you have enough room between the two cards. But you can still make the Vapor your primary card in the bios even if it's on the bottom. 

[afyeung]

10 hours ago, Bit8xPr0 said:

I'm thinking about buying a used card to Crossfire with my XFX R9 290 Black Edition that I currently have. My options at the moment are a used Gigabyte 290 for $190 and a Sapphire R9 290 Vapor-X for $215. Benchmarks show that the Tri-X *I think* is better than the Gigabyte and that the Vapor-X is better than the  Tri-x. Of course I think it would be held back in Crossfire anyway by my XFX card. I was also planning on doing a black and white build but if the Vapor-X is worth it over the Gigabyte for the money?!?

Upgrade your CPU first please. The 290 is already a very powerful card as it is. 

[Bit8xPr0]

7 hours ago, afyeung said:

Upgrade your CPU first please. The 290 is already a very powerful card as it is. 

I have an i5 4590. Doesn't perform much better than my overclocked 6300 did.

[afyeung]

14 minutes ago, Bit8xPr0 said:

I have an i5 4590. Doesn't perform much better than my overclocked 6300 did.

Should be a huge difference in games. IMO, neither are fit for a cf 290 setup. But since 290s are dirt cheap you might as well. 

[Bit8xPr0]

Just now, afyeung said:

Should be a huge difference in games. IMO, neither are fit for a cf 290 setups. But since 290s are dirt cheap you might as well. 

Next upgrade will be an i7 4790k overclocked.

[afyeung]

12 minutes ago, Bit8xPr0 said:

Next upgrade will be an i7 4790k overclocked.

The 6300 will be severely bottlenecking the 290s. Not to mention there will be more powerful, much more efficient, GPUs coming out soon. I'd save up for the 4790k.

[Bit8xPr0]

Just now, afyeung said:

The 6300 will be severely bottlenecking the 290s. Not to mention there will be more powerful, much more efficient, GPUs coming out soon. I'd save up for the 4790k.

I don't even own a 6300 anymore. Planning on getting an 8350 with a H75 watercooler for $115 tho.

[afyeung]

Just now, Bit8xPr0 said:

I don't even own a 6300 anymore. Planning on getting an 8350 with a H75 watercooler for $115 tho.

It's in your sig lol. 8350 would bottleneck still. But that's a pretty good deal if the 4790k is expensive in your area. 

[Bit8xPr0]

Just now, afyeung said:

It's in your sig lol. 8350 would bottleneck still. But that's a pretty good deal if the 4790k is expensive in your area. 

I live in the United States. I have like $350 total and R9 290s are like $190 and i7 4790ks are $250 used so those aren't even worth picking up at the moment. I have the motherboard already so I figured why not. It won't even get any use till I can find a cheap GPU to plop in it. I'm currently running my sig but with 32GB RAM and an i5 4590 instead. 

[afyeung]

1 minute ago, Bit8xPr0 said:

I live in the United States. I have like $350 total and R9 290s are like $190 and i7 4790ks are $250 used so those aren't even worth picking up at the moment. I have the motherboard already so I figured why not. It won't even get any use till I can find a cheap GPU to plop in it. I'm currently running my sig but with 32GB RAM and an i5 4590 instead. 

What resolution are you gaming at? Higher resolutions like 1440p and up isn't much of an issue. If you are looking for high refresh rate 1080p then the CPU will be a major issue and you'll be losing 20+ frames vs something better.

[Bit8xPr0]

Just now, afyeung said:

What resolution are you gaming at? Higher resolutions like 1440p and up isn't much of an issue. If you are looking for high refresh rate 1080p then the CPU will be a major issue and you'll be losing 20+ frames vs something better.

1080P. I'm assuming an i7 4790k would bottleneck as well since it's literally a multi threaded version clocked a little higher.

[afyeung]

1 minute ago, Bit8xPr0 said:

1080P. I'm assuming an i7 4790k would bottleneck as well since it's literally a multi threaded version clocked a little higher.

It wouldn't. The 4790k can basically handle 99.99% of GPU setups. I'd OC it as well to maybe 4.6ghz because why not. 

[Bit8xPr0]

Just now, afyeung said:

It wouldn't. The 4790k can basically handle 99.99% of GPU setups. I'd OC it as well to maybe 4.6ghz because why not. 

I'd push it as far as it'd let me

[afyeung]

1 minute ago, Bit8xPr0 said:

I'd push it as far as it'd let me

Yep. How's your experience with the XFX 290? Did you get one with the VRM cooling issue? 

[Bit8xPr0]

1 minute ago, afyeung said:

Yep. How's your experience with the XFX 290? Did you get one with the VRM cooling issue? 

Not really sure how to tell. I had to boost it from stock voltage in MSI because it can only reach 900 with the new drivers for some reason. I have it overclocked to 1095/1395 as well

[afyeung]

1 minute ago, Bit8xPr0 said:

Not really sure how to tell. I had to boost it from stock voltage in MSI because it can only reach 900 with the new drivers for some reason. I have it overclocked to 1095/1395 as well

In GPU Z which you can leave in the taskbar while you game, it'll monitor your VRM temps. At stock, people were getting like 115c on the VRMs. That's not too bad since they are good up to 125c, but it'll cause instability for higher clocks. 

[Bit8xPr0]

13 minutes ago, afyeung said:

In GPU Z which you can leave in the taskbar while you game, it'll monitor your VRM temps. At stock, people were getting like 115c on the VRMs. That's not too bad since they are good up to 125c, but it'll cause instability for higher clocks. 

Dying Light max settings doesn't go above 80 on VRM 1 and 70 on VRm 2