R9 200 Series vs R9 300 Series

[megamawman]

This subject has been a hot debate for a while now and most people seem to say that the R9 390x barely performs better than the R9 290x. The R9 390x does perform better by about 7-10 fps in most situations.

Witcher 3:

R9 290x: 50.5 fps

R9 390x: 57.4 fps

 

To see the full review of the card click here.

 

I agree with Linus that AMD really should have put the 300 series on a new architecture rather than using an old one. However, I don't agree with Linus when he calls it "a rebrand." Clearly, AMD has made changes to the card other than the extra 4gb of VRam added. We can see that from the benchmark in the link above. I am not saying that I am okay with AMD just making a few changes and calling it a new card but I don't think we should be bashing on them for it since the R9 390x is up there with the GTX 980 at a much lower price tag. With the new 14nm manufacturing coming out soon, AMD also might be using this as an opportunity to take full advantage of it with a better architecture and so on.

 

Tell me what you think about the card. Please don't start any flame wars because that is no fun. This is just meant to be a simple debate. ;D

[Johannes_Lazor]

Meh, It is kind of a rebrand, But i dont mind it too much.
This time their focus was on Fiji and HBM. I can let them get away with it.
The 400 series will probably have the flagchip card with the Fiji architecture and HBM.

[Razarza]

Get whatever is cheaper, I don't think the extra $100+ is worth it for a slightly more efficient GPU with extra memory that it will hardly ever use. Over clocking a 290X will yield very similar results for cheaper.

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

Please don't start any flame wars because that is no fun.

 

I'll just tell you this, that statement never works. People will just take it as someone insulting their pride or whatever.

 

Anyway, all the benchmarks have certainly proved that AMD didn't just change the sticker. And comparing it with a 4GB 290x really shouldn't be the case. Some 8GB 290x can actually cost more than the 390x. Although it is quite disappointing that there is no new architecture in the 300 series, with the limited resource that they have... That's the best business route they can take.

 

Also pcper made a test to see if AMD was intentionally nerfing the 200 series through drivers: http://www.pcper.com/news/Graphics-Cards/AMD-Catalyst-155-1515-Performance-Check-Validating-AMD-R9-390-Testing  

[Grrizz]

...Clearly, AMD has made changes to the card other than the extra 4gb of VRam added....

Yea they bumped the clocks a tiny bit, clock for clock it performs exactly the same as a 290X: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/06/18/msi_r9_390x_gaming_8g_video_card_review/9#.VZaIOo0w_Dc

It shouldn't have been a new series IMO, they should have called it a 295X or something, hell even 290X OC would be more reasonable, calling it a 300 series just confuses things.

[Lotus]

It's a rebrand. They're the exact same cards. 8GB versions of the 290x already existed, and board partners were even already doing the beefier power delivery. The only difference is chip binning.

 

Can you spot which one is the 290x and which one is the 390x? Didn't think so. They're the exact same.

 

Getting an R9 300 series card is just stupid IMO. If the difference of binning is so important, you can get a high binned R9 200 series card and still save money.

[megamawman]

It's a rebrand. They're the exact same cards. 8GB versions of the 290x already existed, and board partners were even already doing the beefier power delivery. The only difference is chip binning.

 

Can you spot which one is the 290x and which one is the 390x? Didn't think so. They're the exact same.

 

-Pic-

 

Getting an R9 300 series card is just stupid IMO. If the difference of binning is so important, you can get a high binned R9 200 series card and still save money.

 

I believe that the similarities between the R9 290x and R9 390x are due to them being on the same architecture. Correct me if I am wrong.

[TheConverter]

I think the 390 is the best high class card that you can get at the moment.

 

And the 980Ti is the best for enthousiasts.

 

 

However if you want to buy a second hand card, definitely go for a R9 290 at 200-250$

[Lotus]

I believe that the similarities between the R9 290x and R9 390x are due to them being on the same architecture. Correct me if I am wrong.

It's not just the same architecture. It's the exact same chip. AMD claims they reworked power deliver and swapped the GDDR5 memory for higher perfoming stuff, and that's true if you're comparing reference designs, but add-in board partners were already on top of power delivery. Basically, this is the difference between an i5-4670k and an i5-4690k (not including the whole TIM fail). It's just binning.