[PcPer] The AMD Radeon R9 295X2 Review

[ExDreamer]

 

Maybe more important for AMD after the headache (literal, figurative) caused by the reference release of the R9 290X and R9 290, the new Radeon R9 295X2 is able to keep all that power dissipated without raising the sound levels any more than a SINGLE GeForce GTX 780 Ti!

There are a couple of things I don't like about the Radeon R9 295X2 that mainly focus on the power requirements. Forcing users, even those willing to shell out $1500 for a graphics card, to understand power supply rails and combined amperage on power draw is just an unnecessary step.

Those issues aside, the Radeon R9 295X2 is the fastest gaming graphics card you can buy and that alone will garner the attention that AMD wants. It offers the power of two full Radeon R9 290X cards in a dual slot design and thanks to frame pacing improvements AMD's driver team has made since the release or the Radeon HD 7990, is able to provide a smooth gaming experience at without compromise (though DX9 users might still debate that).

In only a couple of cases did the pair of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti cards running in SLI outperform the R9 295X2 at 2560x1440 (GRID 2 and Skyrim) and only once did it happen when running at the ultimate flagship resolution, 3840x2160 (Skyrim).

 

 

Graph and more info here : http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/AMD-Radeon-R9-295X2-8GB-Graphics-Card-Review

[Lord_Kitty]

 

Our first set of results with Battlefield 4 at 2560x1440 indicate that the new R9 295X2 is faster than the GeForce GTX 780 Ti cards in SLI not only in terms of average performance (84 FPS vs 79 FPS) but also in smoothness! The Frame Times graph shows that for the first time in a long time, the Radeon multi-GPU experience is a bit better than that provided by SLI in our testing.

 

Well, that's a surprise.

[alepodj]

and there comes the GTX790

[IPCharger]

and there comes the GTX790

At twice the price

[RexinOridle]

Why make a dual gpu when you can sli or crossfire them. They have all kind of problems while gaming. I think multi gpu should be used for CUDA or OpenCL accelerations. They work butter smooth.

[SkilledRebuilds]

Why make a dual gpu when you can sli or crossfire them. They have all kind of problems while gaming. I think multi gpu should be used for CUDA or OpenCL accelerations. They work butter smooth.

Some people buy boards that only have 1 PCIE slot, these usually consist of ITX/M-Atx Mobo's, but some ATX sized mobo's only do 16x/4x, so you can crossfire within a single slot and not lose performance if you want/need.

[MbV93]

It beats Titan Blacks in SLI, I'm impressed!

[RexinOridle]

Why compare a dual GPU with a single one?

[Polyvalent]

Why make a dual gpu when you can sli or crossfire them. They have all kind of problems while gaming. I think multi gpu should be used for CUDA or OpenCL accelerations. They work butter smooth.

 

SLI has its share of issues as do dual GPU cards.  Many games aren't optimized for either.

[SkilledRebuilds]

Why compare a dual GPU with a single one?

They compare it to 780Ti SLI as well...

[Jasmin]

If it wasn't better than stock 780 TIs in SLI then it would be the dumbest product ever, with only use being watered down to power users with small factor PC (though this is still negotiable, considering how large this thing is and that it has the AiO block. Aaaand it's hot)

 

Now try to OC both and see the results (or wait for Linus' review). Not so pretty anymore. Not for this price.

 

SLI if you can, go small factor single gpu. 

[ajoy39]

As someone adding second watercooled 290x at the moment, I am pretty much drooling at these results. 

[ChillKyle]

The only thing I'm concerned about is what about Titan Z benchmarks Vs this? Also, if the Titan Z lowers its price to 1500, then we might see some competition from NVIDIA. 

[SkilledRebuilds]

The only thing I'm concerned about is what about Titan Z benchmarks Vs this? Also, if the Titan Z lowers its price to 1500, then we might see some competition from NVIDIA. 

I doubt it would go lower than whatever two titans cost... ever, or they'd be out of stock before they replenished, and that small reputation change, which contrary to belief, is a bad thing.

[ExDreamer]

I do not think that titan z will receive any price reduction.