Is my gpu holding back my cpu? Thinking of team red.

[fred_mertz]

Hello guys.

I upgraded to an i5 4690k.  Currently I o'cd it to 4.2ghz.  I have a stock cooler so I won't bump it up any time soon.

 

I have a GTX 960 2GB.  I know for sure it's holding me back on GTAV.  I want to get a gpu with a $350 budget.

 

I'm thinking about the 390 or a 970.  I've been team green for about 8 years now.  I've been very upset with them for gimping gpus, lying about ram and keeping their prices sky high.

 

If I go with the 390, do I need a new PSU?  My current is an off brand.  It has 2 12V rails.  Once 18A and the other 19A.  Is this enough for both the 970 or 390?

 

By the way, I read that the 390 may not have the gpu muscle to make full use of its 8gb ram.  Is that true?

[Godlygamer23]

Do you know the brand of the power supply?

[HKZeroFive]

Sounds like the 390 is perfect for you then.

 

I'd say it's probably best to upgrade your PSU. A cheap 620W one from SeaSonic and a R9 390 should be around $350 in total.

 

EDIT: Yep, it is.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

 

Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 390 8GB PCS+ Video Card  ($279.99 @ Newegg) 

Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Total: $344.98

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-18 00:28 EST-0500

[byalexandr]

The 390 is great, and I'd rather have 8GB of usable VRAM instead of 3.5. You will probably need a new PSU that 12V rail sounds quite lacking.

 

If you go used, you can get a very nice 290X Lightning or 290X Vapor-X which will outperform both quite easily. And if you're upset about gimping performance and lying about memory, you're not going to like the 970 because it's the pinnacle of that lie.

 

But then again, the 970 is a not a bad card and performs well. I'm just a bit of an AMD fanboy and I too have had bad experience with Nvidia. 

[fred_mertz]

Do you know the brand of the power supply?

I think it's this.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339012

[byalexandr]

I think it's this.  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817339012

Please. Save your PC from certain doom and buy a quality PSU.

[fred_mertz]

By the way, the $350 is my gpu budget.  I wouldn't mind spending up to $70 for a PSU.

[fred_mertz]

Also, my choices are only between:

Gigabyte: GV-R939G1 GAMING-8GD

MSI: R9 390 GAMING 8G

XFX: R9-390P-8DFG

Asus: STRIX-R9390-DC3OC-8G

 

I have a friend that works at a computer store and can get me a discount.  Those are the only 4 brands of the 390 they sell.

[Morgan MLGman]

Also, my choices are only between:

Gigabyte: GV-R939G1 GAMING-8GD

MSI: R9 390 GAMING 8G

XFX: R9-390P-8DFG

Asus: STRIX-R9390-DC3OC-8G

 

I have a friend that works at a computer store and can get me a discount.  Those are the only 4 brands of the 390 they sell.

NEVER GET ASUS/GIGABYTE AMD GPUS.

Sapphire / MSI / XFX / PowerColor are much better

Here's a good under 70$ PSU: http://pcpartpicker.com/part/xfx-power-supply-pro750wp1750snlb9

Pair it with a R9 390/390X and you're good to go

[Godlygamer23]

NEVER GET ASUS/GIGABYTE AMD GPUS.

Sapphire / MSI / XFX / PowerColor are much better

What's your logic behind that exactly?

[Morgan MLGman]

What's your logic behind that exactly?

Very simple, actually.

Gigabyte: complete crap cooling, poor/or non existant VRM/VRAM cooling, arriving with broken bioses, getting up to 90 degrees without any overclocking applied (Sapphire Nitro doesn't even get to 70), locked voltages, usually poor customer support

ASUS: the STRIX cooler is huge, loud, and bad at that. They snapped a Fury cooler onto the 390/390X without any modifications, VRAM is not cooled properly, same goes for VRMs, with a cooler of that size it should be on par with Sapphire Nitro cooler, it's not even close to that.

Now considering the fact that those two don't even cost less, or by too little if they do, it's simply better to grab an MSI card for example.

[Jer45]

Hello guys.

I upgraded to an i5 4690k.  Currently I o'cd it to 4.2ghz.  I have a stock cooler so I won't bump it up any time soon.

 

I have a GTX 960 2GB.  I know for sure it's holding me back on GTAV.  I want to get a gpu with a $350 budget.

 

I'm thinking about the 390 or a 970.  I've been team green for about 8 years now.  I've been very upset with them for gimping gpus, lying about ram and keeping their prices sky high.

 

If I go with the 390, do I need a new PSU?  My current is an off brand.  It has 2 12V rails.  Once 18A and the other 19A.  Is this enough for both the 970 or 390?

 

By the way, I read that the 390 may not have the gpu muscle to make full use of its 8gb ram.  Is that true?

go for the 390, btw does your name have anything to do with the fred mertz from the i love lucy tv show?

[Godlygamer23]

ASUS: the STRIX cooler is huge, loud, and bad at that. They snapped a Fury cooler onto the 390/390X without any modifications, VRAM is not cooled properly, same goes for VRMs, with a cooler of that size it should be on par with Sapphire Nitro cooler, it's not even close to that.

As far as noise goes, Hardware Canucks says it's rather quiet: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/71044-asus-r9-390x-strix-oc-review-3.html

[Morgan MLGman]

As far as noise goes, Hardware Canucks says it's rather quiet: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/hardware-canucks-reviews/71044-asus-r9-390x-strix-oc-review-3.html

I have to admit I just assumed it was loud, considering it's not even good at cooling despite its size and three-fan design I assumed that the fans have to spin @ high RPM to maintain decent temps.

Here's proof about its bad temps: http://www.ocaholic.co.uk/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=3911&page=17

ASUS STRIX 390X : load temp - 87 degrees, note that it's a HUGE-ASS three-fan design cooler

MSI 390X Gaming 8G: load temp - 75 degrees with a dual-fan design cooler that's more silent, 12 degrees less with a shorter, smaller and more silent card that will overclock better on average, what's the reason to get ASUS? Not to mention Gigabyte which is even worse...

PowerColor 390X: load temp - 66 degrees... (It's relatively loud, but you can tune the fan curve down)

Simply no reason to get those two brands for AMD GPUs, noticed how the pattern in the chart goes? ASUS AMD cards at the bottom due to highest temps...

[Godlygamer23]

I have to admit I just assumed it was loud, considering it's not even good at cooling despite its size and three-fan design I assumed that the fans have to spin @ high RPM to maintain decent temps.

Here's proof about its bad temps: http://www.ocaholic.co.uk/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=3911&page=17

ASUS STRIX 390X : load temp - 87 degrees, note that it's a HUGE-ASS three-fan design cooler

MSI 390X Gaming 8G: load temp - 75 degrees with a dual-fan design cooler that's more silent

PowerColor 390X: load temp - 66 degrees... (It's relatively loud, but you can tune the fan curve down)

Simply no reason to get those two brands for AMD GPUs, noticed how the pattern in the chart goes? ASUS AMD cards at the bottom due to highest temps...

Using the same review I linked, Hardware Canucks had their card reach a maximum of ~71C at the hottest point through thermal imaging. I'm not sure if theirs was isolated or what.

[Morgan MLGman]

Using the same review I linked, Hardware Canucks had their card reach a maximum of ~71C at the hottest point through thermal imaging. I'm not sure if theirs was isolated or what.

Guru3D seems to confirm that ASUS runs hot:

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_radeon_r9_390x_strix_8g_review,9.html

MSI runs 11 degrees cooler under with a smaller, dual-fan cooler that's more silent, and their cards usually overclock better

[Godlygamer23]

Guru3D seems to confirm that ASUS runs hot:

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_radeon_r9_390x_strix_8g_review,9.html

MSI is 11 degrees louder with a smaller cooler that's more silent, and their cards usually overclock better

Do you know if Guru3D tests their cards in a case? I wonder if Hardware Canucks uses a test bench while Guru3D uses a case.

[Morgan MLGman]

Do you know if Guru3D tests their cards in a case? I wonder if Hardware Canucks uses a test bench while Guru3D uses a case.

Unfortunately I have no idea, but it seems that Hardware Canucks might use a test bench, from the review you linked (one page back), here's thermals from their Hitman:Absolution testing, temps seem fairly low for all of the cards, note that Sapphire card has the 0db fan setting and the card ran around 50 degrees with fans not spinning until it got to 70 degrees I believe:

STRIX card reaching 82/83 degrees while PowerColor/Sapphire doing up to 19 degrees better (PowerColor score seems like 64 degrees so 83-64=19)

I researched into AMD cards quite a bit and considering all other options, ASUS and especially Gigabrick are not worth considering for AMD cards simply because there are better alternatives, XFX cards aren't the best but they're better than both of those and they're usually one of the cheapest with Sapphire and MSI being top-of-the-line but usually with a little premium price-tag (not always though)

[fred_mertz]

Thanks guys.  I think I will get the MSI.

I must admit, that Asus Strix is one sexy beast.

[Bouzoo]

Very simple, actually.

Gigabyte: complete crap cooling, poor/or non existant VRM/VRAM cooling, arriving with broken bioses, getting up to 90 degrees without any overclocking applied (Sapphire Nitro doesn't even get to 70), locked voltages, usually poor customer support

ASUS: the STRIX cooler is huge, loud, and bad at that. They snapped a Fury cooler onto the 390/390X without any modifications, VRAM is not cooled properly, same goes for VRMs, with a cooler of that size it should be on par with Sapphire Nitro cooler, it's not even close to that.

Now considering the fact that those two don't even cost less, or by too little if they do, it's simply better to grab an MSI card for example.

 

My 280 WF3 begs to differ. No cooling issues. It gets a bit louder but it's not like my case is that good with noise dampening and I knew what I was getting into so it's not an issue. Mind you if I was thinking of a different card but this one was on a sale and $50 cheaper than the rest. Still nothing wrong with it, and it's OC from the box quite nicely. 

[fred_mertz]

WTH Asus?

The other guy who said to stay away from the Strix is right.

Not only are the gaps on the pipes a no-no (thermal compound lodged between the pipes a heat magnet) but it seems like the outer pipes on both ends aren't even making any contact based on the lack of compound on them.  Holy crap!  That's horrible engineering/quality control.