A tale of a used 290x

[shadowbyte]

A few months ago, I purchased an ultrawide monitor on Black Friday. With a 2560x1080 resolution, an IPS panel, and an incredible gaming experience, it was perfect. Or was it?

 

When I first built frostbyte, my personal rig, during the summer, I chose the GTX 960 from MSI, as I thought AMD cards were terrible from biased reviewers. The 960 was a great card at 1080p, but after my upgrade, I began to notice severe frame drops and performance issues, especially in games such as Far Cry 4, which only ran at 40fps on medium settings, with frame drops everywhere. I eventually realized that the problem was that my GPU was running out of VRAM and using system RAM instead, causing the stutter. Armed with this (in hindsight, apparent) information, I began to hunt for a new GPU for less than 300 dollars. In the new market, I found things like the R9 380x and GTX 970. Still having the bias against AMD, I considered the 970. Nvidia's blatant lie about the 4gb of VRAM just didn't sit right with me, though. In the future, I reckoned that games would begin to tap into that much slower 500mb of VRAM, causing the same stutter I was trying to avoid. So back to the 380x. Although it had a full 4gb of VRAM, performance tests showed marginal improvement over a 960 at 1440p. The 380x would have set my back 250 dollars. So I began to look into the used market. I saw cards like the GTX 780 and 780ti for around 240 and 300 dollars respectively, but they only had 3gb of VRAM. In the interest of futureproofing, I started to look at cards like the AMD R9 290 and 290x. After watching this amusing video about AMD's reference cooler design, I decided that I definitely needed an aftermarket cooler, as I wanted my family to be able to hear each other when I ran a game. I always liked Sapphire's coolers, as they delivered great cooling performance while looking incredible. One day, I found a 290x tri-x model for 300 dollars on ebay. Immediately, I was interested. "Just for the LOL's," I offered him 230 dollars. He countered at 270, so I offered 250. He offered 265. I offered 260, which was accepted. I now had my 290x. (I also paid 17.50 for expedited shipping, which was ridiculous).

 

For those who have never even thought of buying a used GPU, here are my thoughts. Never buy off Craigslist unless you have proof (video footage or seeing the card on a testbench), of the card successfuly completing a benchmark (firestrike, heaven, valley, etc.). If an offer is too good to be true, it probably is (a Titan X for 200 dollars? Sign me up!). Buying from Ebay, you have more protection if the card is DOA. Since you probably paid for the GPU through Paypal, you can demand a refund if the card doesn't work.

 

On Wednesday, I recieved my card

 

Cracking open the box, I found...GASP....ANOTHER BOX!! WHAT IS THIS????

BOXCEPTION!!

Inside this box, luckily, was one pristine Sapphire R9 290x tri-x. What a gorgeous card...

Here are some more photos of the card.

When I got it, the first thing I noticed is how BIG this card was. Seriously. This thing was almost as big as the national debt.

Here's just how big the card is. GTX 960 and NZXT S340 for scale.

Yeah. It's a pretty big card. But that cooler is definitely necessary for a card of this power and TDP.

 

Naturally, the first thing I did was uninstall my display drivers. I used DDU, which you can download here. It's a pretty simple process, as I had done it before to fix some performance issues I encountered.

 

After I did this, I encountered the most feared obstacle when installing a new graphics card. The PCI-E lock. Now if you don't know, most (if not all) modern motherboards have a clip that holds onto the GPU so it doesn't pop out during intense gaming sessions. This one lock took my 15 minutes to release. I had to eventually resort to a screwdriver, which wasn't the best idea, but I had to put an uncomfortable amount of force on this tiny lock to finally release my gpu from its resting place.

 

nce I finally released my 960 from its prison, I had to attach another PCI-E power connecter to power the 290x. I didn't really have to, but it makes the cables look soooooo much nicer. As I have written before, I bought a Corsair HX750i to replace my CX500m. The HX unit is fully modular, which is a pain in a case this small with a psu shroud. Basically, I tied my cables down so tight to the motherboard tray to allow the side panel to close that the PSU would not come out unless I disconnected the motherboard, PCI, molex, and cpu connecters, which is very hard in an S340 (first world problems). Once I finally severed the Cthulu's maw of cables, I attached another PCI-E power cable, reconnected all cables, and stuffed the psu back under its shroud of shame.

After about 30 minutes of failing to do simple tasks, it was finally time to install the 290x. I firmly grasped the thickest part of the card, and pushed it down into its slot until it uttered a moan as it connected with the PCI slot. The final click occured, and the 290x was so overcome with excitement that it overheated.

With this...shall we say...delicate procedure complete, I reconnected my 2 PCI connecters, one 6 pin, and one 8 pin connecter, closed my side panel, and hoped that I didn't have a 260 dollar paperweight.

 

And, lo and behold, the PC booted and the BIOS screen flashed up on my monitor. As soon as I got into the OS, I installed AMD'S drivers.

 

As soon as this completed, I immediately opened up MSI afterburner and started to see how much of an overclock I could get out of the card. The card comes stock clocked at 1010 MHz on the core, and 1250 MHz on the core. At first, I got the card to 1100 MHz on the core, with 1400 MHz on the memory with no extra voltage. But I knew I could push the card further, unlike a reference 290x, which runs into a thermal limit more quickly than Chris Christie dropped out of the Presidential race. I managed to get 1150 MHz out of the card with 100 mv added to the voltage, but kept the memory at 1400 MHz. Unfortunately, I was clockblocked when I tried to go any higher than 1150 MHz, getting artifacting and random crashes. So, how much performance did I get?

You can check out my spreadsheet here, but overall, I was blown away by both the fan speed of the card and the performance.

 

In 3DMark Fire Strike Normal, we saw

9495 at stock (1010 core/1250 memory)

10060 at 1100 core/1400 memory

10308 at 1150 core/1400 memory

 

You see an improvement of 565 points between stock and 1100 core, and 248 more points at 1150 compared to 1100.

I must also mention temparatures and noise. The 290x is a hot-running card, as I'm sure you're aware, hitting around 80 degrees at stock during FireStrike. At 1100/1400, I saw temps about 5 degrees higher, but the card was noticebaly louder, as the fan speed was much greater to keep the card cool. At 1150/1400, the fan noise was almost unbearable, and temperatures hit almost 90 degrees during my tests. So far, 1100/1400 seems like the best balance of performance and acoustics.

 

In Tomb Raider 2013's benchmark utility on the Ultimate Preset at 2560x1080, we saw

 

At stock (1010/1250)

Minumum: 54.3

Maximum: 86

Average: 70.7

 

At 1100/1400

Minimum: 58

Maximum: 96

Average: 79.8

 

At 1150/1400

Minumum: 60

Maximum: 102

Average: 79.8

 

As we can see here, you get about 10 more fps with 5 minutes of work. Does it make or break the gameplay experience? No. Temps and noise were high on all clocks, but stayed under 90 degrees, hovering in the mid to high 80s in all runs. Noise was high on all clocks, but especially so on 1150/1400, which is a continuing trend.

 

In Far Cry 4, I ran the opening mission from when the doors open until the point your truck gets pushed off the cliff. I ran the game at the Ultra preset at 2560x1080.

 

At Stock (1010/1250)

Minimum: 54.3

Maximum: 81

Average: 67

 

At 1100/1400

Minimum: 50

Maximum: 83

Average: 70.2

 

At 1150/1400

Minimum: 54

Maximum: 88

Average: 71.5

 

Unlike Tomb Raider, you only get about 4 fps more with 5 minutes of work. In my opinion, running any overclock in Far Cry 4 is not worth the extra heat and noise you generate as a result. Temps were reasonable, staying again in the 80s and never going above 90. My max overclock was noticably louder than the other 2 clocks.

Moving on to GTAV, a difficult game to run on any hardware, especially at 2560x1080, performance was mind-blowing compared to my old 960, which would run out of VRAM faster than Usain Bolt. I ran tests at 2560x1080, all settings maxed except grass, which I ran at very high, and AA, where I used FXAA. No advanced setting were used.

 

At Stock (1010/1250)

Average: 65.6

 

At 1100/1400

Average: 67.8

 

At 1150/1400

Average:69.7

 

I only listed averages as max and minimum framerates were all over the place. As we can see, the 290x produces incredibly enjoyable framrates in one of the best open world games ever made. Similar to Far Cry 4, we see about 4 more fps overclocked compared to stock. Temperatures were in the low to mid 80s, never hitting more than 90 degrees. As for noise, it was loud on all three clocks, with stock being (slightly) quieter.

 

In Metro: Last Light, I ran the built-in benchmark utility with everything maxed except Phys-x.

 

At Stock (1010/1250)

Minimum: 2.7

Maximum: 78

Average: 36

 

At 1100/1400

Minimum: 2.3

Maximum: 69.2

Average: 38

 

At 1150/1400

Minimum: 2.6

Maximum: 78

Average: 39

 

Metro: Last Light was an interesting benchmark. You can see the incredibly low minimums, although I could not percieve any stutter when the benchmark ran. We got 3 more fps albeit at the penalty of higher temps and noise, which is probably not worth it if you value your eardrums.

 

And finally rounding out our benchmarks is Unigine's Valley. I ran the benchmark at 2560x1080 with everything maxed out.

 

At Stock (1010/1250)

Minimum: 17.6

Maximum: 93.3

Average: 48

Score: 2008

 

At 1100/1400

Minimum: 13.4

Maximum: 100.1

Average: 51.6

Score: 2160

 

At 1150/1400

Minimum: 14.9

Maximum: 103.6

Average: 53

Score: 2218

 

As we can see, you gain about 5 fps and 210 points by overclocking. Is it worth it? If you want to show all your friends (real or virtual, I won't discriminate) your amazing benchmark scores, then you can live through the 5 loudest minutes of your life.

 

There we have it. The Sapphire R9 290x Tri-X. A massive card with a massive TDP and massive performance.

So what can we determine from this large quantity of numbers? The 290x is an incredible deal for a card that will deliver an incredible gaming experience at 1440p, if you don't mind high temperatures and noise. But please, if you decide to Crossfire two of these beasts, run a custom loop. But if you spent all your money on your 290x and had to sell your oven, never fear. The 290x can cook your dinner while you enjoy a great gaming experience.

 

 

 

[sushisharkjl]

Your story is pretty much identical to mine, except I got a 290x, put the fans on max to cool it down, didn't work, dealt with it, it started artefacting badly, opened it up to put in a Kraken G10, shorted it out, sold it, and go ta 390x off of Craigslist. 

 

Actually I got both off of CL, without proof of operation. Karma must be in my favour.

[shadowbyte]

Just now, sushisharkjl said:

Your story is pretty much identical to mine, except I got a 290x, put the fans on max to cool it down, didn't work, dealt with it, it started artefacting badly, opened it up to put in a Kraken G10, shorted it out, sold it, and go ta 390x off of Craigslist. 

 

Actually I got both off of CL, without proof of operation. Karma must be in my favour.

wow

you are one lucky person

[sushisharkjl]

Just now, shadowbyte said:

wow

you are one lucky person

And I scored the 290x for $150, and sold it for $150.

 

i should stop now

[shadowbyte]

Just now, sushisharkjl said:

And I scored the 290x for $150, and sold it for $150.

 

i should stop now

holy hell

[thekeemo]

Mine literally lit on fire.. oh and sapphire denied me RMA.

[shadowbyte]

Just now, thekeemo said:

Mine literally lit on fire.. oh and sapphire denied me RMA.

holy shit

did you at least roast a marshmallow before all hope was lost?

[thekeemo]

Just now, shadowbyte said:

holy shit

did you at least roast a marshmallow before all hope was lost?

I didn't want to die from the carcinogens in the PCB thank you very much. I did after realizing what had happened to me though.

[arnavvr]

11 hours ago, thekeemo said:

Mine literally lit on fire.. oh and sapphire denied me RMA.

They should have denied you a RMA. You put Thermal Paste where it should have had thermal pads.

[afyeung]

11 hours ago, sushisharkjl said:

And I scored the 290x for $150, and sold it for $150.

 

i should stop now

Scored a liquid cooled 290 for $165 and a 390x for $150. 

[afyeung]

11 hours ago, shadowbyte said:

 

Nice review! The 290x is a really good card for most games at 1440p and really great for 1080p. You got it for a bit pricey, but I guess it also depends where you live. 

[sushisharkjl]

14 minutes ago, afyeung said:

Scored a liquid cooled 290 for $165 and a 390x for $150. 

The god?!

Nice! 

[thekeemo]

1 hour ago, arnavvr said:

They should have denied you a RMA. You put Thermal Paste where it should have had thermal pads.

I put a drop of paste on the thermal pads.

[minibois]

This was a good read  

[shadowbyte]

32 minutes ago, Minibois said:

This was a good read  

thanks!

[ybriK]

I scored an XFX R9 290X 8GB for $250 USD. So good, nothing can beat this thing in price to performance. I was going to buy a brand new 390/970 but I was lucky enough to find a used deal.

 

http://xfxforce.com/en-us/products/amd-radeon-r9-200-series/amd-radeon-r9-290x-double-dissipation-edition-r9-290x-8dfd

[shadowbyte]

Just now, ybriK said:

I scored an XFX R9 290X 8GB for $250 USD. So good, nothing can beat this thing in price to performance.

noice deal

 

[BurblingBarbacoa]

Good read on the bus home

[shadowbyte]

10 hours ago, BurblingBarbacoa said:

Good read on the bus home

thanks