Buy R9 290 or wait for non-reference model ones ?

[AndyCapets]

Ok guys, I have a choice to make, do I wait for AMD to announce non-reference card (logically after thursday, the day the 780 TI is launched or something in that sort that I heard) and wait till probably the end of the month to get a better card, I mean, it's great as of now, but I hate having loud and hot components in my systems, so what do I do ?

[iSuzak]

Wait

[TheSLSAMG]

Wait for a non-ref. They will look better, cool better, sound quieter, be around the same price and whoop the GTX 770 Classified's ass to hell.

[Joshyy]

A good cooler on the 290 will allow it to boost up to 290x reference speeds and maybe titan even speeds 

[TheSpaceLion]

Better wait. But only if you can wait another month or two.

 

I ******* hate waiting >.> Why didn't they just release 3rd party solutions at launch... sigh.

 

No one, outside watercooling ppl, will buy this crap.

 

(ps: i either want a non ref 780ti or 290x...whichever one releases first, so i'm not being partisan.)

[AndyCapets]

A good cooler on the 290 will allow it to boost up to 290x reference speeds and maybe titan even speeds 

Haha that's what I plan to do!

 

Wait for a non-ref. They will look better, cool better, sound quieter, be around the same price and whoop the GTX 770 Classified's ass to hell.

Already had two 770, both failed on me, first time in my life that an Nvidia failed, so that's why I heading for more perf at AMD.

[Wolfur]

Haha that's what I plan to do!

 

Already had two 770, both failed on me, first time in my life that an Nvidia failed, so that's why I heading for more perf at AMD.

 

You bought Gainward... It's among the 'least respected' manufacturers when it comes to 'warranty that you card works' since they only offer 2 year warranty which DOES imply their cards will not last the three years offered by other manufacturers...

 

It's not Nvidia's fault.

[MJSBLUES]

Bit of a silly question, aftermarket will blow the stock out of the water.

[AndyCapets]

You bought Gainward... It's among the 'least respected' manufacturers when it comes to 'warranty that you card works' since they only offer 2 year warranty which DOES imply their cards will not last the three years offered by other manufacturers...

 

It's not Nvidia's fault.

Yeah ok, but the card was so motherf**king powerful though, and they were good, well built and stuff, but meh, they're a part of Palit, and yeah Palit isn't good.

[MrPete1985]

If your water cooling get the reference card now, if you are air cooling wait for non-reference cards.

[AndyCapets]

If your water cooling get the reference card now, if you are air cooling wait for non-reference cards.

Well, I'm gonna wait for a non-reference, since I only plan on watercooling my system next year in the summer break, so yeah...

[Torand]

The R9 290/290x seem to benefit, as with GPU Boost 2.0, from better coolers. Which is self explanatory.

 

It will be worth the wait if you are not water cooling.

[MrPete1985]

If you plan to water cool over the summer, I would get a reference card that way you can get a full cover block when you switch.

[AndyCapets]

If you plan to water cool over the summer, I would get a reference card that way you can get a full cover block when you switch.

Meh, 7months of constant "wooooooosshhhhhhh" in my system isn't really my thing.

[lhikari]

any info when non refrence r90 is coming/? can someone quote me

[AndyCapets]

any info when non refrence r90 is coming/? can someone quote me

AMD says that they are going to annouce stuff after the GTX 780Ti is launched, so tomorrow, but we don't know when and what they are going to announce, only that they will say, "stuff"

[Humbug]

Wait, it's a no brainer.

All the 290s and 290Xs are currently throttling under load. The thottling will stop with the aftermarket coolers and they will stay at 1Ghz or 947Mhz respectively. So not only are they going to be cooler and quieter but they are going to be faster at stock too. That's even before you start overclocking.

[SpenceSouth]

Wait, it's a no brainer.

All the 290s and 290Xs are currently throttling under load. The thottling will stop with the aftermarket coolers and they will stay at 1Ghz or 947Mhz respectively. So not only are they going to be cooler and quieter but they are going to be faster at stock too. That's even before you start overclocking.

 

They are certainly throttling under load no doubt about that.... I'm almost certain that most reviewers are finding that the 290 is a little faster than the 290X just because the 290 puts off a little less heat than its sibling.  Anyways, lets hope that a reference cooler is up to the job.  Right now I am almost of the opinion that both of these cards should just be watercooled lol. 

[Humbug]

They are certainly throttling under load no doubt about that.... I'm almost certain that most reviewers are finding that the 290 is a little faster than the 290X just because the 290 puts off a little less heat than its sibling.  Anyways, lets hope that a reference cooler is up to the job.  Right now I am almost of the opinion that both of these cards should just be watercooled lol. 

All they need is a decent air-cooler.

 

Check out below link last paragraph. He changed the stock air-cooler for an HIS one and suddenly it's running cooler than a 7970.

http://www.techspot.com/review/736-amd-radeon-r9-290/page8.html

That's all it took, just shows somebody in AMD dropped the ball.

[SpenceSouth]

All they need is a decent air-cooler.

 

Check out below link last paragraph. He changed the stock air-cooler for an HIS one and suddenly it's running cooler than a 7970.

http://www.techspot.com/review/736-amd-radeon-r9-290/page8.html

That's all it took, just shows somebody in AMD dropped the ball.

 

Great find.  Yeah these reference coolers certainly leave a lot to be desired. 

[maximilian4o]

Pffff. Wait ! You have no idea how loud and hot the reference model is. TOT made a video, measuring the temps, and the fan noise. At 75% I thought that the rig was about to fly away