Why is everyone hating on the R9 290X?

[Cs342]

Everyone says the cooler sucks, too loud etc, but I think we have to remember that even though the reference GTX 770 and GTX 780 cooler is a lot nicer, it is so hard to find a model with that reference cooler instead of an aftermarket one (especially the GTX 770 - there are virtually no cards on the market with a reference cooler) that it doesn't even matter. I would rather get an aftermarket cooler that is both quieter and cooler than the reference version. The reference cooler doesn't even matter once board partners start coming out with their own designs. What are your thoughts?

[miyabwah]

Well, people say it's too hot even though it was designed to run hot...

[CoolBeans]

Because the cooler sucks

[Kuzma]

Well, people say it's too hot even though it was designed to run hot...

question, who are these girls that you're making your picture?

[miyabwah]

question, who are these girls that you're making your picture?

Emma Blackery.. She just dyes her hair every month or something.

[Kuzma]

Emma Blackery.. She just dyes her hair every month or something.

ty

[Cs342]

To be honest the reference cooler for the 780 is even more expensive that the aftermarket versions

[Saladin]

Before I begin let me say I am NOT an Nvidia fan-boy, I do currently have an Nvidia GPU but have owned AMD CPUs and GPUs in the past and am a huge fan of AMD.

• First, the concerns over the cooler are amplified by the fact that there are no non-reference cards or coolers yet (I know they are coming but it is months after launch).
• Second, the temperatures high, as were the temps on the GTX 480, both companies have released stupid hot GPUs this time it was AMD.
• Third, given the fact that the card is essentially overclocked out of the box (see previous point about temperatures), it doesn't overclock that well in comparison to Nvidia GPUs such as the 780 and 780 ti (the later of which overclocks like a beast).
• Finally, given the hype from AMD over the R9 290x, it was disappointing, it is only slightly faster than a stock 780 (slower when both were overclocked) and is killed by the 780 ti (even worse when the 780 ti is overclocked).

The 290x isn't a bad card. Actually it is a pretty good card, it has good price to performance (though the 780 has better price to performance if you overclock it). The problem is that we the consumer wanted and AMD needed a great card, not just a good card. Hopefully Mantle will improve the performance (in some, but not all games) and drivers will help. Any way just my two cents.

[TEDWARDS]

IMO i think it was because it was hyped up to be the ultimate card (the titan killer) but it wasnt.... 

Also it being designed for running 4k.. christ that is a couple years away anyway

[IGJoe2192]

Reference cards are for watercooling. Only that. Ever. Don't even think about running a reference cooler. Ever. No. Ever.

 

HD5970 worked awesome with its reference cooler...

[FellTheSky]

power is not everything. The old gtx 480 had more raw power than the 5870. But still, when i was building rigs at that time, i never used one unless the customer ask for it specifically. 

The 5870 even though slightly less powerfull, had better cooling, less noise, and less heat. Also had less power consumption. It was, overall, more balanced.

 

The story is similar now. The 290x has the power? of course. But at what price. To me, it wasnt worth at all.

Sure, "its ment to be running at 95c", but the truth is we were accustomed to 80c max. You cant expect the crowd to receive it happy like notthing happened

 

 

I will say, im not buying anything yet. I will like to see a 290/290x direct cu triple slot from asus. Also, mantle

[EpicGeekonFire]

Either they just are haters of AMD and are Nvidia Fan boys or they just dislike the reference design? Well the reference design runs pretty hot, but the aftermarket coolers are coming anyways... 

[TheMissxu]

People are hating on the reference cooler.

 

Just watch OC3Ds youtube video... For 75% of the video, he was saying how ugly the stock cooler looked and how super loud it was. Then the other 25% was about how horrible it overclocked (which shows how poor the reference cooler [HardOCP and Tom's agree]).

 

The price of the 290 is where it's at though.

[Blake]

Rocking a 290x and an MK-26, silence is great. I should really connect the fans to a 12v rail as @100% i can't even hear them, and keep my temps even better.

 

TBH, I think AMD needs to go back a little with their Stock cooler, like 58X0 days, when the baseplate and the GPU HSF where seperate parts. so you could throw a custom cooler on the card and continue to use the base Plate for the VRMs and RAM. There is nothing better then the stock base plates (excluding water blocks).

[MbV93]

When saying everyone you mean nvidia fanboys.

[MegaTechPC]

Hawaii is a fantastic and powerful GPU and the 512-bit GDDR5 memory on this card is absolutely top of the line.  For $550 the 290X is an absolute steal, regardless of the cooler.  At $400 the 290 is simply one of the best values in video cards EVER!  Again, screw the crappy cooler, AMD had to save money some where and I personally am gratified they did so with something so easily replaceable rather than skimping on the hardware.  Just slap on a water block and you will have performance rivaling the 780Ti/Titan for far less $$$ (though you will be sacrificing Nvidia specific exclusives like CUDA, PhysX, etc).  I personally prefer my Titans for my usage but am seriously considering a 290 for my folding rig to replace my aging GTX 580 Lightning.  The best advice I can give is simply hold off for a couple weeks until the non-reference cooler cards start showing up.  That should fix all of the 290X's issues while not really adding too much to its amazing price...

[SGS_Raven]

It's a simple matter of the cooler being unable to keep up with the card. The card throttles to 70-80% performance during a regular gaming session. Benchmarks take about 15 minutes at the most - I don't think that allows the card enough time to reach its throttled state, hence the higher gaming (benching) performance. More throttling will kick in once your case and ambient temperatures rise. Tack that with a cooler that sounds like a Boeing 747 taking off, and you'll know understand why people are hating on it.

 

Sure, it could be argued that the card was "designed to run hot" but so what? It throttles and reduces your performance to 70-80% once it hits what it was "designed" to run at. I'm fairly certain that the majority won't bother slapping a water block on it either; that's a niche within the high-end niche - people are assuming that the other water cooling parts are accounted for. If they are, then good for you - but you cannot say the same about the majority of people who purchase enthusiast cards.

 

The AIB's custom cooling solutions will work wonders for the card but until then, the (in my opinion, justified) hate will continue and desirability will be lower than what it should have been.

 

Source for 70-80% throttling: http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/R9_290X/30.html

[swifty7]

power is not everything. The old gtx 480 had more raw power than the 5870. But still, when i was building rigs at that time, i never used one unless the customer ask for it specifically. 

The 5870 even though slightly less powerfull, had better cooling, less noise, and less heat. Also had less power consumption. It was, overall, more balanced.

 

The story is similar now. The 290x has the power? of course. But at what price. To me, it wasnt worth at all.

Sure, "its ment to be running at 95c", but the truth is we were accustomed to 80c max. You cant expect the crowd to receive it happy like notthing happened

 

 

I will say, im not buying anything yet. I will like to see a 290/290x direct cu triple slot from asus. Also, mantle

YEP!!!  that's the way to go at the moment.......wait and see!!!

[Humbug]

Everyone says the cooler sucks, too loud etc, but I think we have to remember that even though the reference GTX 770 and GTX 780 cooler is a lot nicer, it is so hard to find a model with that reference cooler instead of an aftermarket one (especially the GTX 770 - there are virtually no cards on the market with a reference cooler) that it doesn't even matter. I would rather get an aftermarket cooler that is both quieter and cooler than the reference version. The reference cooler doesn't even matter once board partners start coming out with their own designs. What are your thoughts?

All the criticism of Hawaii has been justified. This coming from an AMD fanboy. People are not criticizing the architecture or the silicon which is rock solid. It's just that we do not want a GPU that boils while screaming. We want a GPU that can maintain it's clockspeeds over the course of a gaming session without having to slow down in order to stay cool. The point about aftermarket coolers is moot because AMD has failed to give their partners notice and instead they have settled for a reference only launch.

[WoodenMarker]

Reference cards are for watercooling. Only that. Ever. Don't even think about running a reference cooler. Ever. No. Ever.

What about the Titan reference cooler?

All the criticism of Hawaii has been justified. This coming from an AMD fanboy. People are not criticizing the architecture or the silicon which is rock solid. It's just that we do not want a GPU that boils while screaming. We want a GPU that can maintain it's clockspeeds over the course of a gaming session without having to slow down in order to stay cool. The point about aftermarket coolers is moot because AMD has failed to give their partners notice and instead they have settled for a reference only launch.

Well I'm pretty sure AMD had to do that to make sure the 512 bit memory bus bomb dropped as hard as it did. 

[Cs342]

At this point, do you guys see AMD giving up on the GPU market in the near future?

[Humbug]

At this point, do you guys see AMD giving up on the GPU market in the near future?

no

 

All that will happen is that APUs will make low end GPUs redundant.

But the thing is whatever technology gets put into an APU, we will always be able to extract 3x more performance by putting that same technology on a dedicated GPU with a massive die size and no power restrictions etc...

[GamerDude]

When saying everyone you mean nvidia fanboys.

Perhaps they don't appreciate the fact that when the R9 2X0 series was launched, nVidia 'magnanimously' dropped the prices of the GTX780 and GTX770......they'd been laughing all the way to the bank at their previously inflated prices.

[Umeshwarnath]

well, the thing is...........we all hate to see a card not being able to perform to its fullest because of a stupid cooler, despite having the capability to do so! hence the hate!

[TheProfosist]

Before I begin let me say I am NOT an Nvidia fan-boy, I do currently have an Nvidia GPU but have owned AMD CPUs and GPUs in the past and am a huge fan of AMD.

• First, the concerns over the cooler are amplified by the fact that there are no non-reference cards or coolers yet (I know they are coming but it is months after launch).
• Second, the temperatures high, as were the temps on the GTX 480, both companies have released stupid hot GPUs this time it was AMD.
• Third, given the fact that the card is essentially overclocked out of the box (see previous point about temperatures), it doesn't overclock that well in comparison to Nvidia GPUs such as the 780 and 780 ti (the later of which overclocks like a beast).
• Finally, given the hype from AMD over the R9 290x, it was disappointing, it is only slightly faster than a stock 780 (slower when both were overclocked) and is killed by the 780 ti (even worse when the 780 ti is overclocked).

The 290x isn't a bad card. Actually it is a pretty good card, it has good price to performance (though the 780 has better price to performance if you overclock it). The problem is that we the consumer wanted and AMD needed a great card, not just a good card. Hopefully Mantle will improve the performance (in some, but not all games) and drivers will help. Any way just my two cents.

I agree with all of this.