PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390 Video Card Review (HardOCP)

[Mr_Troll]

Conclusion:

 

At $800 PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390 competes with two AMD Radeon R9 390X video cards in CrossFire. If you can get R9 390X CrossFire at the same price, and you have the room for two video cards, honestly this is the smartest way to go. There might be a saving grace if the PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390 overclocks well, it does have the potential to at least perform as well as R9 390X CrossFire through overclocking.

 

It would be nice to have a more stripped down version of the PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390. In that we mean subtract the bonus deluxe package, subtract the included $149 mouse and instead knock off $100 from this video cards price. If PowerColor would provide a stripped down version for $100 less, or more, then the PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390 would be the killer deal of a video card. It is too bad such a beast doesn't exist because there is a lot of potential there to be had.

 

That said the PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390 does sit in its own category. It is a single video card with dual-GPUs on board. It also has the unique ability of being able to CrossFire with another PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390 for Quad-GPU R9 390 performance, which is much easier to do with two video cards versus four. That is a configuration possibility worth keeping in mind for those that can afford such things. We know AMD hardware scales well with XDMA, we just aren't sure how the drivers would handle Quad-GPUs.

 

PowerColor has built a fun and unique video card with the PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390 that certainly fills a specific certain niche. If this video card appeals to you it is available and in-stock. Obviously, this Devil 13 R9 is not for everyone, however it is a great piece of engineering from PowerColor and that should be commended. The PowerColor Devil 13 Dual Core R9 390 offers a unique option for those looking for something different and capable for 4K gaming. Certainly this video card would be much more desirable if AMD got its act together when it comes to CrossFire driver and profile performance.

 

 

 

Looks big. Draws a lot of power, Can break your mobo lol?. Performs as expected. You could get CF setup for cheaper. But it comes packaged with a 100 dollar mouse. My opinion : dont like it, CF setup looks better than this.

 

Graphs are in the links bellow.

 

Source: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/10/19/powercolor_devil_13_dual_core_r9_390_video_card_review/13#.ViUaQX7hDIU

 

Project Cars http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/10/19/powercolor_devil_13_dual_core_r9_390_video_card_review/4#.ViUa_n7hDIU

The Witcher 3 http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/10/19/powercolor_devil_13_dual_core_r9_390_video_card_review/5#.ViUbGX7hDIU

GTA 5 http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/10/19/powercolor_devil_13_dual_core_r9_390_video_card_review/6#.ViUbRn7hDIU

Dying Light http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/10/19/powercolor_devil_13_dual_core_r9_390_video_card_review/7#.ViUbh37hDIU

Far Cry 4 http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/10/19/powercolor_devil_13_dual_core_r9_390_video_card_review/8#.ViUbqH7hDIU

Battlefield 4 http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/10/19/powercolor_devil_13_dual_core_r9_390_video_card_review/9#.ViUb6X7hDIU

 

[Higgl3]

Nice! Would rock for a mini-itx mega-beast build

Pity about the crossfire issues tho

[cesrai]

So 395X2 ?

[Nacho Marco Segui]

So,you are doing a review of something you dont own?

[Bloodyvalley]

wrong section m9

[Mr_Troll]

its not my review.... read the source....

[cesrai]

wrong section m9

Teach news and reviews.

[Bloodyvalley]

Teach news and reviews.

nobody posts reviews but i guess technically the section is called "...and reviews"

[Tataffe]

its not my review.... read the source....

 

You make it look like it was yours though, at least a bit. Y u no use the quote button? ...

[cesrai]

nobody posts reviews but i guess technically the section is called "...and reviews"

Yeah they do m8, and if they didn't he isn't in the wrong either like you said.

[Mr_Troll]

You make it look like it was yours though, at least a bit. Y u no use the quote button? ...

fixed

[cesrai]

You make it look like it was yours though, at least a bit. Y u no use the quote button? ...

NVM.

[Tataffe]

fixed

 

Much better now! Thank you

[Sauron]

Nice! Would rock for a mini-itx mega-beast build

 

except it wouldn't fit in a mini itx case, it's triple slot

[Higgl3]

except it wouldn't fit in a mini itx case, it's triple slot

 

a watercooled mini-itx build then? This card would benefit heaps from being on water too, probably

[Suika]

Curious how it compares to the 295X2.

[Sauron]

a watercooled mini-itx build then? This card would benefit heaps from being on water too, probably

 

but then you might as well get a much cheaper 295x2 (provided the case you're using is even long enough which isn't a given)

[Curufinwe_wins]

Curious how it compares to the 295X2.

should be basically identical except hotter and fatter. They put the 300 series tesselation improvements on the 290 already so it should be the same.

Still waiting for 980ti x2. Not that I'd buy that but I'd like to see nvidia's take on dual aio graphics cards.

[SubTract]

I have a little trouble with these guys reviews. They're inconsistent in their benchmarks. For example in the GTA 5 one they're using highest settings and Grass settings at ultra on the AMD configs and Very high settings and High grass settings on the nVid config. Leading to the misleading results that they show. (Anyone who's played the game has seen the impact ultra grass has on performance.

Then on the Witcher 3 Benchmark they have the Powercolor devil 13 on low settings with the 970 SLI and 390X CFX at medium settings.

 

It's very hard to do an accurate comparison with this crap going on.

[xAcid9]

I have a little trouble with these guys reviews. They're inconsistent in their benchmarks. For example in the GTA 5 one they're using highest settings and Grass settings at ultra on the AMD configs and Very high settings and High grass settings on the nVid config. Leading to the misleading results that they show. (Anyone who's played the game has seen the impact ultra grass has on performance.

Then on the Witcher 3 Benchmark they have the Powercolor devil 13 on low settings with the 970 SLI and 390X CFX at medium settings.

 

It's very hard to do an accurate comparison with this crap going on.

Scoll down and you can see apples to apples result.

[SubTract]

Scoll down and you can see apples to apples result.

Yes but this is not what you see when you first go to the page. That is what most people are seeing. They should completely remove the top part. It has no relevance especially when all cards are capable of running the same settings.

[SkilledRebuilds]

Yes but this is not what you see when you first go to the page. That is what most people are seeing. They should completely remove the top part. It has no relevance especially when all cards are capable of running the same settings.

I also agree, apples to apples setting comparisons should be on top, then a 'most playable settings' section could be under that,.... for finetuning the particular GPU for a more fluid experience.

[Dabombinable]

Problems with the "review"

• It is poorly written
• The same settings weren't used across the different set-ups.