Sapphire NITRO R9 390 Owners !

[Ddave]

All Sapphire NITRO R9 390 8G GDDR5 TRI-X OC 512bit users !!

I'm looking at this card as it fits my budget.

After doing a massive Google search, I've lost my faith to humanity. haha

Almost every comment section/ thread/ forums are filled with flame wars.

 

To avoid that here are some rules:

- Do not recommend another card, those cardx vs cardy usually starts it (I might start another thread for a separate card).

- Please try to post from your personal experience (as much as possible), not some I've heard from the brother of my bestfriend's cousin's boyfriend type of input.

 

Please input the Pros and Cons of this graphics card.

 

[TheMeatballSwede]

Well, it doesn't use nvidia drivers

[ThatOneRussian]

Well, it doesn't use nvidia drivers

thats a con in case youre wondering

[Ddave]

Well, it doesn't use nvidia drivers

yep. noted.

[lxyfutures]

the brother of my bestfriend's cousin's boyfriend used to say...Ha I'm joking...Sapphire has great quality ,and stock clocking isn't an issue, You can OC as you want ,but this card can't go higher than 1200,so no matter which brand actually. This sapphire one seems doesn't include a backplate but this could be useful because it looks cool and easy to clean. 

[Ddave]

the brother of my bestfriend's cousin's boyfriend used to say...Ha I'm joking...Sapphire has great quality ,and stock clocking isn't an issue, You can OC as you want ,but this card can't go higher than 1200,so no matter which brand actually. This sapphire one seems doesn't include a backplate but this could be useful because it looks cool and easy to clean. 

 

I might just do mild overclocking so that 1200 limit might not be an issue.

My bigger concerns are the temps and power consumption.

My case is an Aerocool GT Black that has 1 120mm filtered intake in front, 1 120mm unfiltered intake in the side  and 1 120mm unfiltered outtake at the rear. Will these be enough to keep it cool ?

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

Pros:

Good overclocking

Silent

Good cooling

Excellent power delivery

Cons:

Big

[don_svetlio]

Pros:

Good overclocking

Silent

Good cooling

Excellent power delivery

Cons:

Big

Go big or go home

[Ddave]

Pros:

Good overclocking

Silent

Good cooling

Excellent power delivery

Cons:

Big

 

 

Go big or go home

 

Hey guys ! I see you also posted on that Zotac 970 topic I did.

I still have doubts with this card because of the temps it might reach, especially with the kind of climate we have here. And the issue with my PSU, though there were graphs on that thread too. I mean, every forum on Google insists a 600w PSU.

[don_svetlio]

Hey guys ! I see you also posted on that Zotac 970 topic I did.

I still have doubts with this card because of the temps it might reach, especially with the kind of climate we have here. And the issue with my PSU, though there were graphs on that thread too. I mean, every forum on Google insists a 600w PSU.

if a PSU is good quality then even 500W is enough - luke used a 290 (which uses more power than a 390) on a 500W and even OCed it as far as he could go.

As for temps - the ONLY reason the 390/290 have a reputation for being hot is the abysmal stock cooler - the 3-fan and 2-fan designs are much better

[Ddave]

if a PSU is good quality then even 500W is enough - luke used a 290 (which uses more power than a 390) on a 500W and even OCed it as far as he could go.

As for temps - the ONLY reason the 390/290 have a reputation for being hot is the abysmal stock cooler - the 3-fan and 2-fan designs are much better

 

Luke ? I'll try to look for that later at home.

My PSU is a Seasonic S12II 520w. I'm pretty sure that's some quality PSU

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

Hey guys ! I see you also posted on that Zotac 970 topic I did.

I still have doubts with this card because of the temps it might reach, especially with the kind of climate we have here. And the issue with my PSU, though there were graphs on that thread too. I mean, every forum on Google insists a 600w PSU.

What do the temps might reach?

[don_svetlio]

Luke ? I'll try to look for that later at home.

My PSU is a Seasonic S12II 520w. I'm pretty sure that's some quality PSU

Luke did it in Scrapyard wars on a Antec VP 500W IIRC.

The S12II will be able to handle a 390 no issues - unless you have an FX processor or are planning on going crazy with power target/voltage on the GPU you'll be fine - you'll likely get 1100 core with ease at stock voltage and power

[Ddave]

What do the temps might reach?

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe AMD runs hotter to some extent. Add that to the naturally hot ambient temperature in my place(most of the time), I'm afraid this might have an effect to the performance.

[don_svetlio]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe AMD runs hotter to some extent. Add that to the naturally hot ambient temperature in my place(most of the time), I'm afraid this might have an effect to the performance.

Sapphire Nitro 390 runs at 74*C average - even if you live in the desert it would still max out at 85*C - the 980 Ti and Titan X also go up to 85*C - they are just as hot. 970 produces less heat, true, but it would still be around 75-78*C. High end components run hot. No escaping it.

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe AMD runs hotter to some extent. Add that to the naturally hot ambient temperature in my place(most of the time), I'm afraid this might have an effect to the performance.

And why do you think this might be a problem?

[Daegun]

thats a con in case youre wondering

Not lately it isn't

[Ddave]

High end components run hot. 

 

For a first time builder, seeing this really felt awesome

Anyway, I guess I'll be starting to add some vents to my room haha

[Ddave]

And why do you think this might be a problem?

 

Wear-and-tear, overheating ?

I'm a first time builder so I'm quite paranoid

[don_svetlio]

For a first time builder, seeing this really felt awesome

Anyway, I guess I'll be starting to add some vents to my room haha

Haha - don't worry - anything under 95*C for a 390 is fine. For a 970 the max is 85*C

Wear-and-tear, overheating ?

I'm a first time builder so I'm quite paranoid

Get used to high temps - When I went from my 6850 that barely hit 60*C to my 280 that runs at 70*C I almost shit myself at first

A friend had it worse - went from a 650 Ti to a 280X - temps were 15*C higher but power was more than double.

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

Wear-and-tear, overheating ?

I'm a first time builder so I'm quite paranoid

Amd cards run at higher temperatures. But they also have a higher throttle limit. 60*C range is ideal for Nvidia and 70*C is ideal for AMD. I live near the equator like you. And my card runs at 71*C max. Of course, I also have excellent airflow in my case.

[don_svetlio]

Amd card run at higher temperatures. But they also have a higher throttle limit. 60*C range is ideal for Nvidia and 70*C is ideal for AMD. I live near the equator like you. And my card runs at 71*C max. Of course, I also have excellent airflow in my case.

Fermi was fine @ 100*C

[Curufinwe_wins]

Fermi was fine @ 100*C

You mean thermi?

[don_svetlio]

You mean thermi?

This fits in

[Ddave]

Amd cards run at higher temperatures. But they also have a higher throttle limit. 60*C range is ideal for Nvidia and 70*C is ideal for AMD. I live near the equator like you. And my card runs at 71*C max. Of course, I also have excellent airflow in my case.

 

 

Haha - don't worry - anything under 95*C for a 390 is fine. For a 970 the max is 85*C

Get used to high temps - When I went from my 6850 that barely hit 60*C to my 280 that runs at 70*C I almost shit myself at first

A friend had it worse - went from a 650 Ti to a 280X - temps were 15*C higher but power was more than double.

 

 

Alright most of my worries are answered. I just hope my power bill won't increase that much since I'll be using this for around 3-4hours a day.

Thanks guys ! :D