Anandtech advises against R9 290 because of it's noise levels

[mr moose]

If you want reference that's what you want, can't argue with that.

My issue is not that it's reference, it's not fair to compare a reference to a none reference really, however until we see a non-reference we have no choice. Hence why I said in the very beginning why buy this card? I probably should have added: either get the 780 or wait.  But in my experience he who waits does not always get a better deal.

[Derangel]

My issue is not that it's reference, it's not fair to compare a reference to a none reference really, however until we see a non-reference we have no choice. Hence why I said in the very beginning why buy this card? I probably should have added: either get the 780 or wait.  But in my experience he who waits does not always get a better deal.

 

Some people have a higher tolerance for noise than others and in a case it will be a little quieter than tests show. That said, I couldn't handle it. I would have to buy a waterblock while buying the card. My loop is using some old Yate Loon fans at the moment and even the mild noise they make is annoying. I can't wait until I have the money to redo my loop, get quieter fans and remove the cooler from my 780.

[N7_Zer0]

Doesn't people buy reference AMD card to watercool and overclock them to the max?  :mellow:  

 

Exactly

[Warcony]

I highly doubt non-reference coolers will "fix" the noise/heat issue.  And by fix I mean bring the levels down to a tolerable amount.  Non reference will help for sure, but not enough.  I actually care about noise and heat and the more heat my graphics card puts out, the louder its cooling system gets and the louder my chassis cooling system gets (especially with non reference coolers that exhaust air inside your case). A loud PC is disruptive to me, but more importantly disruptive to the people around me.

[alicskysareblue]

I'll wait for the non referance cards to come out, but  if it is anything like the 6950  that I am using it is still going to be really loud, I may end up buying the gtx 770

[TheMissxu]

I highly doubt non-reference coolers will "fix" the noise/heat issue.  And by fix I mean bring the levels down to a tolerable amount.  Non reference will help for sure, but not enough.  I actually care about noise and heat and the more heat my graphics card puts out, the louder its cooling system gets and the louder my chassis cooling system gets (especially with non reference coolers that exhaust air inside your case). A loud PC is disruptive to me, but more importantly disruptive to the people around me.

There isn't much you can do about heat, but I don't think that is the issue. The issue is the reference/stock cooler.

 

Here is something you can do to get a nice overclock with better noise levels.

[Warcony]

There isn't much you can do about heat, but I don't think that is the issue. The issue is the reference/stock cooler.

 

Here is something you can do to get a nice overclock with better noise levels.

 

I actually have that cooler installed on my 6950 toxic It works quite well, though my gtx 770 twin frozer card is much quieter and generates less heat so I find I can squeeze more performance out of it before the noise gets annoying.  The main issue with installing the Arctic cooler is that most card vendors will not honor their warranty any time after.  I contacted the Sapphire customer support to inquiry about this and they said that regardless of the situation the card will no longer be covered.

[Stonep11]

No offense but geeze, noise?

Is there any whinier reason?

Looks could be considered whinier...

[onionring]

well a 290 with a waterblock is the card to buy.

it would be a better buy than a 290x, it would be faster, cooler, quieter and cheaper...

and lets not compare to a titan...

and btw noise is a concern if you do any kind of work on your comp.

[Mooshi]

You could always get it now then grab a water block later on to use with your custom loop or Swiftech/Cooler Master unit.

[TheMissxu]

Don't people usually only buy reference AMD cards for watercooling anyways? Why put a shiney cooler on it when people just strip it off anyways. That would seem like such a waste.

 

If you want a 290 and don't want to have the poor cooler you can wait for non-reference cards or use the aforesaid DIY coolers.

 

Remember the card is $100 cheaper that a 780...

[Wulfgar]

It's a fair review for the card in stock form. Of course, anyone spending that much money on a GPU should understand the benefit of board partner's solutions, and waterblocks. Hopefully those start rolling out before something else comes in to upset the market.

 

[H]ardOCP did a favorable review because they expect their readers to take their cards to their max capabilities. Hence the [h]ard.

[fojacko]

That analogy does not work, I did not have to mod my case in order to get it functioning suitably.   Why would I want to wait for a non-reference design to "fix it" when nvidia already has a card that is fixed?

 

Yes, I only buy pc parts that can do the job they are intended for, I did not pay for an aftermarket cooler because the stock one intel designed works fine.

 

 

Why buy a card that requires you to unnecessarily spend more money and effort in order to get it to perform just like another card that already performs better out of the box?

 

Well there's nothing broken with the card (it doesn't run loud to the point of deafining people, or running so hot your motherboard melts), just because it runs loud, doesn't mean it's broken, it just means it's flawed. Also, aftermarket gpu's tend to be £5 more than a reference card anyway, hell on scan, the 780 reference isn't the cheapest option.

 

Point is, AMD isn't forcing people into only being able buying the reference card, just be patient (wait for aftermarket cards to be released) and complain about something worthwhile in the meantime, like the NSA or something.

[ajoy39]

AMD setting new records in bad priorities. What a turd. Gotta love the comments as well, with people yelling about how aftermarket coolers will fix all it's problems - yet there's barely any headroom on this card.

The temperatures are not indicative of what the actual headroom is on the card, it TRIES to run at 95 by turning clocks up and fans down, so the fact that it runs 95 at stock doesn't mean it's already maxed out it just means that it has succeeded in it's goal of turning fans down to hit that mark. 

[Tataffe]

Why buy a card that requires you to unnecessarily spend more money and effort in order to get it to perform just like another card that already performs better out of the box?

 

Because the 290 + proper aftermarket cooler still deliver a better price/performance ratio if you factor in noise (which I do). I would be surprised if a stock 780 was nearly as quiet as the Arctic cooler mounted to my 6950.

 

The situation you describe in the quoted statement rarely exists.

[theroflcopta]

well in Australia the 780 comes in at a price of 599 and the 290x is 659

Considering the better overclocking and noise and performance when overclocked of the 780. why would you get a 290x?

I was interested in 290x until the temps noise was shown. Yes i'm going to be watercooling when i upgrade but i'm limited to 4x120 for a dual GPU rig, and the 290x just runs to hot for me to put in such a small loop and feel comfortable

It might OC better with waterblocks or after market coolers but yeah the 290 is such great value for money at this point. It's a lot like the 7950 for last gen. Once overclocked was pretty damn close to a 7970 and came in at a much lower price point.

[ltguy]

Wow, I actually think that review was kind of harsh. At $400, the R9 290 with a third party cooling solution will be a pretty beast card.

[TheMissxu]

Don't people only buy reference cards for watercooling anyways?

[Tr3vor]

That analogy does not work, I did not have to mod my case in order to get it functioning suitably.   Why would I want to wait for a non-reference design to "fix it" when nvidia already has a card that is fixed?

 

 

Well maybe if you were buying a card right now, you wouldn't wait (unless you want a better card).

 

When the aftermarket coolers come out, there will be no reason not to buy it. Who buys reference AMD coolers anyway, the 7000 series coolers were also ass. Or you could just deal with a little bit of noise.

 

The product isn't broken, you don't have to fix it.

[Tataffe]

See also this thread: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/72580-r9-290-compatible-with-arctic-cooling-accelero-xtreme-iiiincludes-overclocking-results/

[mr moose]

Well there's nothing broken with the card (it doesn't run loud to the point of deafining people, or running so hot your motherboard melts), just because it runs loud, doesn't mean it's broken, it just means it's flawed. Also, aftermarket gpu's tend to be £5 more than a reference card anyway, hell on scan, the 780 reference isn't the cheapest option.

 

Point is, AMD isn't forcing people into only being able buying the reference card, just be patient (wait for aftermarket cards to be released) and complain about something worthwhile in the meantime, like the NSA or something.

 

The 780 option I was refering to is actually only $30 more than the reference 290. which makes it very comparable and given the 780 does what we want it to out of the box that makes it cheaper.

Because the 290 + proper aftermarket cooler still deliver a better price/performance ratio if you factor in noise (which I do). I would be surprised if a stock 780 was nearly as quiet as the Arctic cooler mounted to my 6950.

 

The situation you describe in the quoted statement rarely exists.

 

That situation exists right now. We're only talking a couple of frames, but to get it you have to mod the r9 or just buy a stock 780.

Well maybe if you were buying a card right now, you wouldn't wait (unless you want a better card).

 

When the aftermarket coolers come out, there will be no reason not to buy it. Who buys reference AMD coolers anyway, the 7000 series coolers were also ass. Or you could just deal with a little bit of noise.

 

The product isn't broken, you don't have to fix it.

I guess you guys didn't realise that non-reference designs are not available right now, hence why I said earlier that you'd have to either wait, fix the broken thermal design or suffer a lower card that cost almost as much as a 780. 

 

I have said it before and I'll say it again:  People keep telling me to wait, wait for r9 series, wait for the non-reference, wait for mantle. Sorry, If  you don't like hearing the facts but we can only compare what is available and at the moment that is a hot noisy card that throttles itself. When non reference designs come out we will compare them. If the toms hardware results are going be anything to go by it'll  be a good conversation.

[Tr3vor]

The 780 option I was refering to is actually only $30 more than the reference 290. which makes it very comparable and given the 780 does what we want it to out of the box that makes it cheaper.

 

That situation exists right now. We're only talking a couple of frames, but to get it you have to mod the r9 or just buy a stock 780.

I guess you guys didn't realise that non-reference designs are not available right now, hence why I said earlier that you'd have to either wait, fix the broken thermal design or suffer a lower card that cost almost as much as a 780. 

 

I have said it before and I'll say it again:  People keep telling me to wait, wait for r9 series, wait for the non-reference, wait for mantle. Sorry, If  you don't like hearing the facts but we can only compare what is available and at the moment that is a hot noisy card that throttles itself. When non reference designs come out we will compare them. If the toms hardware results are going be anything to go by it'll  be a good conversation.

 

I'm aware that there is no non reference coolers.

 

It doesn't throttle itself, Its designed to run at 95c by AMD. It probably can go faster, but that's just the way it is right now.

 

Not everyone minds noise and heat. Performance is performance to some. If you're not one of those people, buy Nvidia or wait.

[mr moose]

I'm aware that there is no non reference coolers.

 

It doesn't throttle itself, Its designed to run at 95c by AMD. It probably can go faster, but that's just the way it is right now.

 

Not everyone minds noise and heat. Performance is performance to some. If you're not one of those people, buy Nvidia or wait.

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/AMD-Radeon-R9-290X-Hawaii-Review-Taking-TITANs/PowerTune-and-Variable-Clock-R

Yes it does.

 

I am in a fortunate position were I can wait as my build is still in the planning process, So I am going to wait for non-reference and see how it stacks, however if I was ready to buy right now I would probably go Nvidia.

[ltguy]

For all you WOW fans out there, its seems nothing has changed with the games preference for NVIDIA.

[Canoas]

That analogy does not work, I did not have to mod my case in order to get it functioning suitably.   Why would I want to wait for a non-reference design to "fix it" when nvidia already has a card that is fixed?

Because a "fixed" 290 may be both better and cheaper. Not to mention the 290 already works, it's just loud. Quite honestly what you're saying is simply illogical and hypocritic. A lot of people buy good radiators/heatsinks with crappy fans and then just replace the fans with aftermarket ones, it's a very very very very very common thing to do. Liquid cooling on graphics cards or getting aftermarket coolers is the exact same fucking thing. Do you start saying the same thing every time you see a liquid cooled pc?