r9 290x

[CalumGiff]

Ok so surmising i choose to go for an r9 290x over a gtx 970 which particular brand should i go for with a £280 budget

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

Sapphire or msi lightning is what I would consider when going amd  

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Ok so surmising i choose to go for an r9 290x over a gtx 970 which particular brand should i go for with a £280 budget

 

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-273-MS

 

Look no further.

[BarisERY]

Lightning is the best but expensive

 

Sapphire ones are 2nd best and cheap

 

XFX DD's has the best looks ive ever seen on a GPU imo

[CalumGiff]

how is the cooler on the lightning?

[Nup]

If i remember the sapphire cards have the best air coolers for those cards. 

[Shaqo_Wyn]

how is the cooler on the lightning?

 

As good as any of the Sapphire AMD GPU's. The 290X Lightning is indeed overbuilt and expensive.

 

However, with AMD lowering prices to capitalize on the 970's VRAM fiasco you can get one for 290 pounds when just a few months ago they were 400 (on Amazon they still are)!

It's an absolute steal, you get a pretty unique and very well preforming 290X which has been hailed by many (even Linus) as the fastest 290X on the market.

 

It is at the very least on par with the other amazing after-market 290X's. I.E. the Sapphire Vapor-X and Sapphire Tri-X. 

Plus the coolers fans can be individually controlled and even turned off via PWM control.

[Zweihander]

Sapphire is AMD's premiere manufacturer of GPUs. 

 

However, as others have suggested, the MSI Lightning is a solid choice. 

[Shaqo_Wyn]

Its £408 in the UK and $300 in the US.

 

Makes sense!

 

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-273-MS

[CalumGiff]

is £290 fort he lightning in the UK if u buy from overclockers uk instead of amazon, but im gonna run an antec tp650W in my system so if i do buy an r9 290x ill get the sapphire one i think or the msi non lightning with twin frozr

[Shaqo_Wyn]

is £290 fort he lightning in the UK if u buy from overclockers uk instead of amazon, but im gonna run an antec tp650W in my system so if i do buy an r9 290x ill get the sapphire one i think or the msi non lightning with twin frozr

 

Up to you of course which model of the 290X you get, but what does the PSU you have, have to do with it? All the 290X's have the same 275W TDP.

 

AFAIK the 2x 8-pin + 6-pin config of the Lightning does not mean it draws more power than the other 290X's. The 6-pin is optional and the 2x 8-pin is probably just to provide the most stable current to the card, helpful especially if you're an avid overclocker.

[CalumGiff]

OK that explains that much more clearly to me, thanks I still dont know if im gonna go down the r9 290x route or stick with the gtx 970 keeping in mind that i game at 1080p