R9 290

[WyvernAbstracts]

msi lighting and sapphire ! 

[VSG]

msi lighting and sapphire ! 

 

I said this already on page 1 but there is no MSI Lightning 290! At this point the Sapphire Vapor-X R9-290 seems like the go-to for this particular card.

[Humbug]

How does preferring a product make me a fanboy? I don't get your logic. I don't feel a need to talk down to AMD. Their cards are hot. It's a fact, not an opinion.

The cards were only hot with the crappy reference coolers, this is a solved problem- no longer a factor for buyers purchasing the partner cards. In the Toms hardware roundup of non-reference 290x cards only the gigabyte cards ever hit >80 degrees C under load. The problem was only on the reference coolers because AMD tried to re-use the same cooler from their lower TDP parts such as the 270x and 280x. That's history now- not relevant anymore. Below is the recent test from kitguru- the only two hot cards are the reference models.

[DoubleY]

The cards were only hot with the crappy reference coolers, this is a solved problem- no longer a factor for buyers purchasing the partner cards. In the Toms hardware roundup of non-reference 290x cards only the gigabyte cards ever hit >80 degrees C under load. The problem was only on the reference coolers because AMD tried to re-use the same cooler from their lower TDP parts such as the 270x and 280x. That's history now- not relevant anymore. Below is the recent test from kitguru- the only two hot cards are the reference models.

 

While yes, 3rd part card manufacturers have done a great job designing coolers. That doesn't change the fact that the card uses more power.

 

Theoretically, if you put a AMD and Nvidia GPU under the same EXACT cooler, with nothing different. Fan speed the same and everything, the AMD chip would just run hotter because it uses more power.

[Humbug]

Theoretically, if you put a AMD and Nvidia GPU under the same EXACT cooler, with nothing different. Fan speed the same and everything, the AMD chip would just run hotter because it uses more power.

Nope the difference would not be much. A 290's TDP is only 10% higher than a 780. The reason for the stigma is not the TDP but the fact that AMD's reference cooler was so badly designed.

 

And anyway what matters to the end buyer of partner cards is their running temperatures; not the ability to rip off the cooler and get better temperatures on a difference GPU.

[Humbug]

That doesn't change the fact that the card uses more power.

It uses a bit more but for most of us it is not relevant. For example for me I have a 550 watt seasonic gold PSU. This is more than enough for me to power my 3770K CPU, 2 x 4GB DDR3 1866Mhz RAM, LED fans, SSD, hard drive, optical drive and my 290 which I will get next week. I will even have enough headroom for overclocking and a corsair h100i in future- all this on a 550W PSU. So It's not like I need to go out and buy a 750 watt PSU to accommodate my 290.

[DoubleY]

It uses a bit more but for most of us it is not relevant. For example for me I have a 550 watt seasonic gold PSU. This is more than enough for me to power my 3770K CPU, 2 x 4GB DDR3 1866Mhz RAM, LED fans, SSD, hard drive, optical drive and my 290 which I will get next week. I will even have enough headroom for overclocking and a corsair h100i in future- all this on a 550W PSU. So It's not like I need to go out and buy a 750 watt PSU to accommodate my 290.

That isn't what I was saying, but I get your point

 

Also, thanks for being the ONLY person in this thread to not have a hostile approach. 

[MrTomnus]

OP, if you're still looking for suggestions for a card, you should consider the ASUS DirectCU II card, the Gigabyte Windforce card or the MSI Gaming Card. I have the MSI 290 and it is awesome I can max out every game at 1080p and get higher than 70fps aveerage. In Borderlands 2 I get around 140fps, in Tomb Raider I get 95fps and in BF4 the framerate stays at 75-80. And temperature are fine, the hottest it's gone was 80 degrees, and that was playing for an hour in a room with no ventilation

 

It's a really nice card for the price if it hasn't been hit by coin mining in your area.

[SpaghettiCarbonara]

Well... This thread has definitely turned to crap.

 

Sorry OP, I was part of this.

 

To answer your question, the Vapor-X cooler by Sapphire is an excellent choice if you don't mind waiting a little bit and forking out a little bit extra. If you can't wait and need something a bit cheaper, Tri-X is also an excellent choice. If you hate the colour of the Tri-X, I don't blame you.

[DIV1D3]

Nice guys, you pretty much wrecked this thread. I'll try to be helpful, I suggest you get the cheapest one out of the Tri-X, DCUII Gaming 4G and Windforce cards. 

[WyvernAbstracts]

I said this already on page 1 but there is no MSI Lightning 290! At this point the Sapphire Vapor-X R9-290 seems like the go-to for this particular card.

is there no sapphire toxic? 

[VSG]

Not yet announced or released, still in the making I believe. It has been seen in the wild though!

[GamerDude]

At TS, sorry for derailing your thread somewhat, you'd asked specifically about the R9 290, I got derailed when some nV boy started talking smack about AMD cards. My sincere apologies, won't happen again as I've put the nV guy into my ignore list. 

 

Now, with regards to which is best among the R9 290, I lean towards the Asus DCU II model simply because my nephew has the DCU II version of the 290X and his temps' about 70C after more than an hour of BF4. But really, the cooler on the Sapphire Tri-X OC, MSI Gaming 4G, and the few others with 3rd party coolers look good. Heck, there's even the PC TurboDuo model that's going for 400USD now after rebate. One thing they are guaranteed to give you....temps that are a fair bit lower than reference models, and quieter as well.

[Sonefiler]

Nice guys, you pretty much wrecked this thread. I'll try to be helpful, I suggest you get the cheapest one out of the Tri-X, DCUII Gaming 4G and Windforce cards. 

I wouldn't get Windforce or DCU. They only have 3 eggs, and there are known issues with both cards with the 290.

 

I personally have the PowerColor PCS+. It runs really cool

I can also recommend the MSI, and the Sapphire. Don't get XFX, their cooler is the worst of them all. Almost as bad as reference.

[sacredl]

Sapphire Tri-X is pretty much the best one out there. Superb cooling (if not counting Vapor) and noise. MSI is second but it's got cheaped on some parts like magic inductors instead of coiltronic, and gathers heat easier (though it's still an awesome gpu).

[Virgule]

The MSI Lightning.

Not a 290

[DIV1D3]

I wouldn't get Windforce or DCU. They only have 3 eggs, and there are known issues with both cards with the 290.

 

I personally have the PowerColor PCS+. It runs really cool

I can also recommend the MSI, and the Sapphire. Don't get XFX, their cooler is the worst of them all. Almost as bad as reference.

Well I have heard that the DCUII 290 have had issues but you can simply RMA it but the Windforce I've heard no bad remarks about. I've seen that the PCS+ does allow the 290 to be quite cool and I agree that the XFX cooler is not good. 

[Ashratt]

i can also recommend the PowerColor PCS+; it was one of the cheaper cards when i bought it for a friends build; has a massive metal frame cooler; a backplate and great cooling performance at a decent sound level 

(with some fan profile tweaking you can get it very silent)

the sapphire tri-x is probably even better but hard to find in stock and more expensive