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Is an R9 290 worth it?

BMARX123
By BMARX123
in Graphics Cards
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Posted

Hey forum,

 

With the price drop of the R9 290 down to $299, I was wondering if one of these (http://amzn.to/1rfTgI0) would be a worthwhile upgrade from a Gigabyte Windforce 7970 Ghz Edition? If not, what would be another good option?

 

Thanks in advance!

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Holy crap! That's a great deal! I would pull the trigger.

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for $50 dollars more you can get a GTX 970 

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I love my 290.

 

Go for it! I would buy a second 290 for that price....if I had an ATX mobo that is. But still! Do it!

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maybe wait for the 390 and then youll get an even better price

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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Looks pretty nice, if you have the money why not.

Same here, a nice price to consider getting a 2nd.

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100% worth it unless you want a gtx 970

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no you can get a gtx 970 for a little bit more and the 970 performs a bit better and a lot cooler then a r9 290x

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no you can get a gtx 970 for a little bit more and the 970 performs a bit better and a lot cooler then a r9 290x

And all the new technologies from nvidia

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for $50 dollars more you can get a GTX 970 

 

And just waste $50 because they perform pretty much the same...

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And just waste $50 because they perform pretty much the same...

yeah, but the electricity bill will be much less

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yeah, but the electricity bill will be much less

Here we go with this electricity bill bullshit again.

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yeah, but the electricity bill will be much less

As long as he is not paying $100 for every kW it wont make a difference .... stop with this bullshit please.

 

 

Yes it is worth it.

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yeah, but the electricity bill will be much less

 

Over the course of like a year, maybe.

 

And face it, most of the kids on this forum dont pay their own bills.

 

Also, the price drops for AMD cards aren't temporary, so don't feel like the need to buy a 290 is urgent.  

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Here we go with this electricity bill bullshit again.

Agreed, Like I even care about a few dollars here and there...

If I did care about Power used VS Performance I wouldn't be overclocking either......and I'd 'try' to SLI 750TI's or the equivalent Power>Performance profile cards.

But I don't care about a few dollars so yeah...

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Agreed, Like I even care about a few dollars here and there...

If I did care about Power used VS Performance I wouldn't be overclocking either......and I'd try to SLI 750TI's.

But I don't care about a few dollars so yeah...

You can't SLI 750s

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You can't SLI 750s

No kidding... Wasn't a full serious statement.

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No kidding... Wasn't a full serious statement.

Sorry misunderstood you.

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Sorry misunderstood you.

S'allright, I often misunderstand myself.

Maximums - Asus Z97-K /w i5 4690 Bclk @106.9Mhz * x39 = 4.17Ghz, 8GB of 2600Mhz DDR3,.. Gigabyte GTX970 G1-Gaming @ 1550Mhz

 

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it is worth it, i manage to get (a very good condition) used 290 tri-x for 265usd(including postage)

and if u ask me, the cheapest 970 here is 390usd ..

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A 970 doesn't really perform that much better than a 290, especially at higher resolutions, most of the benchmarks you see online are a reference 290 vs a 970. Replace that with a non reference 290 and the gap closes substantially. I saw a comparison of a 970 and a powercolor pcs+ 290 and even at 1080p the difference was usually like 2-3 fps and temp wise both cards never got above the 60s in furmark. At 4k the 290 beat the 970, not that you are gonna use a single 290 or 970 for 4k. You can now get a 290x for the same price as a 970, and pcs+ or sapphire 290x will probably beat the 970 in most games unless you overclock the shit out of the 970..

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Since you have a 7970 I would not upgrade. Yes a 290 or 970 is faster.

But there is no point upgrading each time something faster comes along. Game for another year with the 7970Ghz, you can overclock it too, spend your money elsewhere.

Skip this generation and then think about upgrading to the following generation at the end of 2015 or early 2016.

7970Ghz is still a good card for 1080p and unlike the geforce 770 / 680 it can handle large textures.

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@BMARX123 - I've heard and read a lot of negative things about the Windforce R9-290's. Apparently despite the 3 fan design, they still run quite hot and quite a few customer have reported card failures. 

 

This is a better one at newegg and is $269 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161459 These apparently run cooler and quieter and are, overall, a better made card vs. the Gigabyte windforce 290s.

 

And at these prices, yes, they are most definitely worth it! 

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@BMARX123 - I've heard and read a lot of negative things about the Windforce R9-290's. Apparently despite the 3 fan design, they still run quite hot and quite a few customer have reported card failures. 

 

This is a better one at newegg and is $269 after rebate: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161459 These apparently run cooler and quieter and are, overall, a better made card vs. the Gigabyte windforce 290s.

 

And at these prices, yes, they are most definitely worth it! 

I've built three machines with dual GPU GB WF3 cards and many single gpu setups, so far no calls about issues (besides drivers)

 

My 290 is a Gigabyte model, and only gets over 85*c when its clocked @ 1175/1550mhz, when at my normal gaming overclock of 1100/1333 it never gets over 76*c

Stock is about 70-72*c (My room is getting hotter each day as summer gets closer, today was 28*c in my room, usually a little less than that)

 

I had to RMA a card that was a Gigabyte 947mhz model, any HW acceleration = BSOD, yet it would game fine, and do everything but that okay. (RMA went fine, replaced in 22days (+1 Gigabyte)

 

So far I think I've had at least 25 Windforce 290 cards, none of them have been 'excessively' heated above average to the point of needing a investigation.

 

I'm not saying they don't fail, but I have had my hands on a few and haven't had any calls cept the one RMA.

 

I'd still recommend them.

Maximums - Asus Z97-K /w i5 4690 Bclk @106.9Mhz * x39 = 4.17Ghz, 8GB of 2600Mhz DDR3,.. Gigabyte GTX970 G1-Gaming @ 1550Mhz

 

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