Raijintek's new Morpheus VGA cooler is the solution for all users who are plagued by high Radeon R9 290X temperatures and fan noise levels (which can also be an issue with other cards). This cooler offers amazing temperatures and noise levels when configured optimally. In our testing, we saw temperatures between 60° and 70°C under full load, which depend on the fan speed used. Also dependent on fan speed is noise, although it can be tuned to be nearly inaudible in both idle and load, potentially offering an amazing low-noise experience to users of high-end graphics cards. The cooler will also improve Radeon R9 290/290X performance as the card won't throttle anymore because of high temperatures.
However, getting there is not easy. Since Raijintek does not include any fans with their cooler, you'll have to buy some yourself. Based on our testing, I recommend fans that run a low RPM profile without stalling at very low voltages. Our testing shows that there is no significant gain in using high-powered, noisy fans that move a lot of air as the additional benefits are simply too small. The sweet spot for the Raijintek fans we used sits at around 6 to 7 Volts, which runs the card at around 65°C and a low 30 dBA (under full load). This is a good starting point to further refine fan speed depending on whether you prefer low temperatures or low fan noise. But how do you run the fans at such a voltage? The fans do not connect to the graphics card's fan header, which is temperature controlled. Instead, you'll connect the fans to your motherboard's fan headers. These provide some static speed options in the BIOS. But many motherboards, ASUS boards included, don't come with the range to reach that sweet spot, which makes buying a fan controller a must if you want to use the Morpheus optimally. If you want temperature-based control, you'll have to buy a more expensive model and position its temperature probe near the GPU, but I found a cheap speed controller to do just fine. There is no need for temperature-based control if you can find a setting that is very quiet yet cool enough when the card is loaded; the card will simply run cooler at the same quiet noise levels in idle.
Installation is pretty easy, and Raijintek's illustrated manual with instructions in multiple languages will certainly help with that. You'll have to disassemble your graphics card, which some people might have issues with, although Raijintek provided mounting holes for the most popular GPUs and the individual RAM heatsinks of varying heights work well. I'm a bit concerned with the larger VRM heatsink that assumes that all VRM components are situated inside of an unobstructed, narrow, and straight line. Some non-reference designs might beg to differ.
The biggest drawback of the Morpheus is probably its epic size. Equip it with fans that are no thicker than the norm and it will require five slots in your system: four for the cooler and its fans and one for some airflow. Rajintek is developing slim 13 mm thick fans to address this issue, which will have the cooler fit into just three to four slots. However, the tested configuration means that multi-GPU users and users who rely on a discrete sound card will be out of luck. The cooler is obviously also not for small form-factor cases. If you have plenty of space in your case, though, the Morpheus will shine by providing both amazing temperatures and noise levels. But I wonder whether temperatures and noise wouldn't have been great from the get-go had AMD only designed a four-slot cooler for their card instead.
The cooler currently retails for around 55 euros, and you could quickly reach 100 euros if you add the cost of fans and a fan controller to the tally, which is a lot to just keep your card quiet and cool. While the cost could be acceptable as a post-buy deal, it might be too expensive for users buying new card. 100 buck is the difference between a quiet custom GTX 780 Ti instead of a R9 290X, which would solve your problems just as well while providing better performance and taking up less space. Another option could be aftermarket watercooling which starts at roughly the same price and requires less space on the card, but you'll have to fit the watercooling radiator somewhere. Either way, the Raijintek Morpheus could definitely be for you if you are fed up with the noise of your high-end graphics card and finally want some peace of mind in the regard.