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290x, Deal or No Deal.

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Hello all,

 

As much as it pains me to start a topic, I need some advice. 

 

I have been looking to upgrade from my old GPU (660), to a r9 290/x. The plan is to water cool it. 

 

I have found a very interesting deal on a 290x (175 GBP, 230 Euro, 262 USD) on eBay, the seller has a good reputation and claims the card is unused. However AMD cards did go through a mining phase, which makes me hesitant as to its origins and use history, has to been damaged, etc etc (And also eBay just being eBay)

 

What are your thoughts, worth going for it? too risky? Is it worth waiting for the 3xx series and hope for a price drop on retail sales of the 290x? 

 

Thanks in advance guys, 

 

Nup. 

Bleigh!  Ever hear of AC series? 

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If i had to wager money i would definitely put it on that is a former mining card 

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No unopened box? No deal. It's from the right time period, its missing the box, and the seller refers to it as a motherboard (?) so might be trying to target nontech savy? (possibly?)

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'New and unused'.... comes with no box. Well how is that unused then? That seems very fishy to me.

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Right, the verdict seem pretty clear, thanks guys :) 

 

@Frankie, as am I, I have very little experience with eBay, so i figured that it was worth asking around. 

Bleigh!  Ever hear of AC series? 

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Right, the verdict seem pretty clear, thanks guys :)

 

@Frankie, as am I, I have very little experience with eBay, so i figured that it was worth asking around. 

 

I believe the fact that sometimes you can catch a pretty good deal on sites like eBay and similar, but I would not go for anything electronics related (Maybe if it was really cheap :D )

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As far as I am concerned. The AMD cards are always a no-no to buy used due to possible Mining.

 

A friend of mine bought a Miner's card that was 'somewhat used' that gave him some artifacts while gaming.

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Stick with the NVIDIA mate, at least you know it won't have been raped. I'd look around and get another GTX 660 and SLI.

 

Not sure on the exchange rate but I bought another MSI GTX 660 Gaming (this one with Samsung memory) for only £100 + £10 shipping, she is still running strong.

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'New and unused'.... comes with no box. Well how is that unused then? That seems very fishy to me.

 

Exactly, it could as well be a 280 and you won't be able to tell the difference until it's too late. Good luck making a claim to ebay and trying to explain to them the difference between two identical looking cards.

 

Besides, the reference 290X sucks anyway. You'll be better off with a non-reference 290 for just two or three moar bucks.

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Exactly, it could as well be a 280 and you won't be able to tell the difference until it's too late. Good luck making a claim to ebay and trying to explain to them the difference between two identical looking cards.

 

Besides, the reference 290X sucks anyway. You'll be better off with a non-reference 290 for just two or three moar bucks.

 

You would be able to tell, they have labels on them with the model on them. :P

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You would be able to tell, they have labels on them with the model on them. :Pt

Yes, but they're not visible on the photos that are shown on the page. Only way to know for sure is to buy.

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Well, I hate to break it to you, it it sure doesn't sound like un-used, but if your ever wary, just remember that eBay has buyer protection, so if he sends u a crap card you can always get your money back

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I've actually bought three AMD cards used, all of which were most likely used for mining.

 

I bought two 7950s plus a Gigabyte R9 290. One of the 7950s arrived with damaged fans which were exhibiting clicking noise and were too loud in general. I replaced the fans for $20 from ebay. The 7950 with defective fans overclocks like a monster. The other 7950 arrived in its original box with very little signs of ware. Finally the R9 290 was epic. It's the best overclocking R9 290 out of all the R9 290s that my friends own.

I've had no stability or heating issues with any of the cards. The 7950 with defective fans I believe was actually damaged in shipping rather than mining abuse. The card was brought in from abroad by a friend who packed it without the box in his suitcase. The fans probably took a few hits which is why they started clicking.

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A new 290 can be found for around 270 dollars i think. It would probably be best to not risk it and get a new 290 and oc it

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Right, seem pretty clear then :P thanks a million! :D  

 

Do you guys think that a 290 is worth getting compared to a 290x?, i realise that with a good OC it's more or less the same, but thats not guaranteed. 

Bleigh!  Ever hear of AC series? 

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Hello all,

As much as it pains me to start a topic, I need some advice.

I have been looking to upgrade from my old GPU (660), to a r9 290/x. The plan is to water cool it.

I have found a very interesting deal on a 290x (175 GBP, 230 Euro, 262 USD) on eBay, the seller has a good reputation and claims the card is unused. However AMD cards did go through a mining phase, which makes me hesitant as to its origins and use history, has to been damaged, etc etc (And also eBay just being eBay)

What are your thoughts, worth going for it? too risky? Is it worth waiting for the 3xx series and hope for a price drop on retail sales of the 290x?

Thanks in advance guys,

Nup.

Fyi

290 and 290x has litte difference

If i were you

Ill go for a 970 and water cool it later when i get more $$$

“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”


 


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Fyi

290 and 290x has litte difference

If i were you

Ill go for a 970 and water cool it later when i get more $$$

 

Pointless. If the difference between the 290 and the 290X is extremely small, the difference between the 290X and the 970 is even smaller. In fact, the 290X outperforms the 970 in many games. Except 4K, which is where the 970 does do a lot better. But still, the difference in price is everything but subtle.

i7 4790K || R9 290X + R9 290 || 16GB G.Skill TridentX 1866 || Gigabyte Z97MX Gaming 5 || Crucial MX100 256GB || WD Caviar Blue 1TB

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Fyi

290 and 290x has litte difference

If i were you

Ill go for a 970 and water cool it later when i get more $$$

 

Thanks :)

 

Personally id don't think the 970 needs the water cooling, its a really efficient card! So if i were to buy a Nvidia solution i would most likely save a little more with the water cooling money and buy a 980 :) 

 

And there are deals for 290/x that really give great performance per dollar, which is why these cards are so intriguing to me!  

Bleigh!  Ever hear of AC series? 

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