# Sapphire R9 290X Tri-X OC 4 GB



## W1zzard (Feb 3, 2014)

Sapphire's custom design R9 290X Tri-X OC impresses with low noise levels that still run the card at cool temperatures. The card is also overclocked out of the box, which makes it faster than the GTX Titan. In Europe, the price over reference is just 10%, which makes the choice a no-brainer.

*Show full review*


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## Eroticus (Feb 4, 2014)

Thanks for the review =)

but you should add " no back plate to the half of the last reviews" on another cards =)

and about the price . is US problem >.< here it's normal ! =)

", I'd still go for the ASUS card, because it has higher clocks, "

10 MHZ + 94*c - 42 dba 


-10mhz - 73*c - 37dba


Normal room temps + winter.

Go with asus guys ! =)


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## human_error (Feb 4, 2014)

Nice job - interesting that the price is so high considering end-user experience isn't any better than some of the other 3rd party cooled cards.

As you seem to have the msi gaming card in the overclocking comparison does that mean there's a review coming for that card? Would be great to see a chart comparing the fan noise levels at idle and load between all the 290x variants you've reviewed/got your hands on.


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## W1zzard (Feb 4, 2014)

Eroticus said:


> Go with asus guys ! =)


MUCH lower noise, too


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## Sah7d (Feb 4, 2014)

This should´ve been the perfect card but well... a little too late maybe for some ppl

Now the price is going to kill this option for must of the users and to be honest that was the candy on this cards.
Nice review, great card but not a good option any more since the price is too high in comparison when it was launched.


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## eidairaman1 (Feb 4, 2014)

Why does the Ref Model still OC higher? Wouldnt it be more plausible to get the ref model and strap a cooler on it anyway?

Its Nice but I miss the Blue Color Scheme of Sapphire.

Cant wait for MSI to launch a LightningII 290 and 290X to compare these 2


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## W1zzard (Feb 4, 2014)

eidairaman1 said:


> Why does the Ref Model still OC higher? Wouldnt it be more plausible to get the ref model and strap a cooler on it anyway?



luck has some effect on max. oc


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## Casecutter (Feb 4, 2014)

Yea, the Litecion frenzy is still cause stupid pricing for everything from 270's on up, here in the States!  For gamers here it stinks, but these still everything fly's out of stock.  It could actually good for AMD AIB to really have a strong/high profit stream, sure not like they were hurting before, but rebates and AMD not needing move/return prices (kickbacks) is a wildly different market(ing) for them. You know Nvidia AIB's are wanting in on that action.


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## W1zzard (Feb 4, 2014)

Casecutter said:


> It could actually good for AMD AIB to really have a strong/high profit stream



what happens when gpu mining dies down and all these cards go on the used market with low pricing?


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## Suka (Feb 4, 2014)

W1zzard said:


> what happens when gpu mining dies down and all these cards go on the used market with low pricing?


I think they must be cautious about this


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## Brusfantomet (Feb 4, 2014)

W1zzard said:


> what happens when gpu mining dies down and all these cards go on the used market with low pricing?



They compete with both AMD and nvidia cards, as the ones going on the used marked usually go for the most bang for the buck.

The only group it takes away is people that want to add an extra card.


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## W1zzard (Feb 4, 2014)

Brusfantomet said:


> They compete with both AMD and nvidia cards, as the ones going on the used marked usually go for the most bang for the buck.


yup, so why would anyone buy a brand-new card at that time? revenue's gonna crash for manufacturers


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## west7 (Feb 4, 2014)

thanks for the review as for the card i think every gamer will be better of with 780ti if this card was selling at 600$ it will be a great deal


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## MxPhenom 216 (Feb 4, 2014)

That price is a little steep. I feel like people would just get a 780Ti, unless they are running multi monitor.


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## W1zzard (Feb 4, 2014)

MxPhenom 216 said:


> That price is a little steep. I feel like people would just get a 780Ti, unless they are running multi monitor.


Custom GTX 780 Tis, which are overclocked out of the box, run much faster than the 780 Ti ref. It's not uncommon to see +10% over 780 Ti


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## erixx (Feb 4, 2014)

No Mantle tests, W1z?


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## eidairaman1 (Feb 4, 2014)

Waiting on finalized driver. Not some beta. If you wanna know now run yourself lol.


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## Brusfantomet (Feb 4, 2014)

W1zzard said:


> yup, so why would anyone buy a brand-new card at that time? revenue's gonna crash for manufacturers


Because most people would not look at the used market, and if there comes new cards before people stop mining with them the urge to upgrade would bee even bigger.

this is mostly how things work here tho, guess Scandinavia is a small market...


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## Casecutter (Feb 4, 2014)

W1zzard said:


> what happens when gpu mining dies down and all these cards go on the used market with low pricing?


Yeah, that’s something to have trepidation for, and I’m sure AMD does, but for AIB's it's 'Carpe diem'... at least for now!  Especially for those that build/supply both AMD and Nvidia!  I don't see AMD jumping much to increase their production just holding to “steady as it goes”.  While you know Nvidia wants some of that action, however AMD probably isn’t liking that this situation disenfranchise gamers and their initiatives they’ve built and spent to entice gamers (Gaming Evolved, Mantle) aren’t doing what they intended.  But do you kill a “golden goose”?  It’s a weird market…




Brusfantomet said:


> if there comes new cards before people stop mining with them the urge to upgrade would bee even bigger.


That's the best hope... new cards that don't raise mh/s matrix, while moving the gaming matrix. Making the cost to move to newer cards not as enticing. 

Hey want to ask does that use a vapor chamber, or just a standard copper base?


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## 15th Warlock (Feb 5, 2014)

> If you were to ask me whether I would buy the Sapphire Tri-X or ASUS DC II, I'd still go for the ASUS card because it runs higher clocks, has a dual BIOS that includes AMD's quiet/performance mode, and is shorter, and it includes a backplate.



Thank you! 

Not only that but you can get the DCUII for $598 + free shipping (and no tax in most states) from ShopBLT


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## Pixrazor (Feb 5, 2014)

don't forget that overclocking here is with default voltage so no voltage tweaking
so maybe the different cards have different load voltage, then overclock is proportionally to this


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## W1zzard (Feb 5, 2014)

Pixrazor said:


> don't forget that overclocking here is with default voltage so no voltage tweaking
> so maybe the different cards have different load voltage, then overclock is proportionally to this


voltages are listed on the "temperatures and clock profiles" page


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## buggalugs (Feb 5, 2014)

Whats going to happen when Mantle is final as far as reviews go. Mantle changes things and makes the 290X faster than 780Ti in some games. I'm still going with a 290X, its a good time to be on an AMD card. Now that AMD has fixed frame pacing issues , and with mantle,  I think a lot of people are ready to go back to AMD.

 I cant see that the 780Ti is a better deal than 290X. They are around the same price and mantle evens things up further, Lets not forget, its meant to be $549, the retail price is higher because of bitcoin miners and AIB partners/retailers are inflating the price. Bottom line is, people want these cards and they're selling like hotcakes so the price is higher than it should be. This always happens with popular new cards, in a couple of months the prices will ease a little.


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## qubit (Feb 5, 2014)

Clearly the MSI GTX 780 Ti Gaming is better, especially at this price. I'm thinking about the superior cooler, especially.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_780_Ti_Gaming/


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## Fluffmeister (Feb 5, 2014)

One of the better custom 290X's doing the rounds for sure, but for that money a 780 Ti is clearly the better option.


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## adulaamin (Feb 5, 2014)

Thanks for another awesome review. Lucky for me the prices are normal here in the Philippines. I hope your review of the MSI Gaming OC card would come out soon as I've got some cash waiting to be spent.


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## Cheeseball (Feb 5, 2014)

The prices here are normal because no one wants to run mining rigs due to Meralco (our local power company) currently screwing us over. LOL.


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## Ravenas (Feb 5, 2014)

Great review. Can anyone tell me if this card supports 4K resolution through the HDMI port? There are several 290x cards that do.


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## Casecutter (Feb 5, 2014)

It interesting how this "value proposition" is now skewed.  It used to be guys said they’d pay Nvidia’s self-infected "premium" on top-tier because of drivers, Physx, better multiple card performance etc.  Now that AMD has gotten such advantages minimized, while have even moving technology with Mantle it's okay sidestep and fall-back to the "value proposition". 

This is not AMD’s fault, they probably aren’t placing any price change to AIB’s as most of those have written delivery contracts.  As a gamer sure I see this stupid Litecoin frenzy unfortunate..., but I’d beat for every perturbed AMD consumer there’s 3-5 Litecoin consumer licking their chops to plunk down this price to grab 3 or more.

One place I find interesting is the whole 512-bit and 4Gb memory that AMD provides garners no accolades to the construction and cost, while if it was Nvidia and it cost more it would be the icing on the cake for attractive increase in price. (something not mentioned in W1zzard's Value and Conclusion)

But yes with a MSI GTX 780Ti Gaming at Newegg with today an “In-Cart” pricing of $670 it's good, but Nvidia must stay aggressive. Nvidia can’t maintain their "premium" or all gamers take a look at the stagnation in the market and just say pass!


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## N3M3515 (Feb 5, 2014)

W1zzard said:


> yup, so why would anyone buy a brand-new card at that time? revenue's gonna crash for manufacturers



I for one wouldn't buy a card that has been used 24/7


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## W1zzard (Feb 5, 2014)

N3M3515 said:


> I for one wouldn't buy a card that has been used 24/7


you would never know


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## Casecutter (Feb 5, 2014)

I'll ask again...


Casecutter said:


> Hey want to ask does this use a vapor chamber, or just a standard copper base?





N3M3515 said:


> I for one wouldn't buy a card that has been used 24/7.


That bodes well for buying a Nvidia now, as a gamer can use it till the high-end Maxwell shows and sell it to someone and that buyer can trust the story, which should mean good residual value.  AMD not so much.


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## W1zzard (Feb 5, 2014)

Couldn't find a higher res version, but it looks like normal heatpipes. Also Sapphire's website doesn't mention vapor chamber, whereas on other product pages it does.


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## Brusfantomet (Feb 5, 2014)

Cheeseball said:


> The prices here are normal because no one wants to run mining rigs due to Meralco (our local power company) currently screwing us over. LOL.


its a bit weird that it has not taken off here, considering power is one of the few things thats not expensive here. Also most houses use electricity for heating in 2/3 of the year.

also, some OTish; looks like the card uses a reference PCB, is there any Hawaii cards that does use custom PCB?


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## Bender (Feb 6, 2014)

Great review W1zzard.

Any news, when we can expect a review of MSI R9 290X Ligtning?


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## buildzoid (Feb 6, 2014)

Brusfantomet said:


> its a bit weird that it has not taken off here, considering power is one of the few things thats not expensive here. Also most houses use electricity for heating in 2/3 of the year.
> 
> also, some OTish; looks like the card uses a reference PCB, is there any Hawaii cards that does use custom PCB?


The DCUII has a custom PCB but since the product numbers are removed you can't say that it is better than the reference PCB(it's really good)


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## the54thvoid (Feb 6, 2014)

buggalugs said:


> Whats going to happen when Mantle is final as far as reviews go. Mantle changes things and makes the 290X faster than 780Ti in some games. I'm still going with a 290X, its a good time to be on an AMD card. Now that AMD has fixed frame pacing issues , and with mantle,  I think a lot of people are ready to go back to AMD.



While I like the 290X for what it brings, the Mantle argument isn't yet valid.  Mantle isn't on every game.  So as soon as there is no Mantle support, that advantage is gone.  Also crossfire is currently not working with Mantle.  While i'm quite sure this will be addressed, I must be alone in thinking if XDMA(?) works for DX11 with the 290 cards, why does it not work in Mantle, AMD's own implementation?  As good as Mantle is at being low level, the fact it was announced in October and it's 4 months on with only a beta driver should be a wee bit alarming.  Announcing a new tech with a new product and releasing the new product (albeit it in Dec?) without the new tech is a bit of an 'oopsy' in PR.

Until Mantle is mature, it can't be considered a value proposition.  In much the same way I'd scoff at someone saying Physx is a value proposition for Nvidia.  

As for pricing, I'd rather spend a few bucks more for a 780Ti that will run faster in almost all DX11 games and even in Mantle, a 780Ti on a good cpu will probably still end up faster with decent clocks.  AMD seem to take too long to deliver things.  In the meantime Nvidia are rolling on as always, churning stuff out and asking a premium for it 'just because'.  

After the 780 quickly followed Titan at a fraction of the price I was left a bit 'meh' with Nvidia.  Unfortunately, the one card I'd like to play with, the 290x Lightning seems to be vaporware for now.  

I went from AMD to Nvidia (7970's to Titan).  Mantle isn't enough to make me want to go back and at the same time, I resent Nvidia for their pricing.

Aside from the 290X, I'm very keen to see what the games for this year bring to system requirements.  Maybe then at my res (1440p) the 780Ti with 3GB will look a bit rubbish and that 4Gb 290X will look a whole lot more useful?


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## Casecutter (Feb 6, 2014)

the54thvoid said:


> Announcing a new tech with a new product and releasing the new product (albeit it in Dec?) without the new tech is a bit of an 'oopsy' in PR.


Nvidia has G-Sync, fixing a hardware problem that has existed since almost the beginning, and their fix is for you to buy more proprietary hardware?  Do I get the feeling Mantle was pushed-up (sure somewhat), was BF4 and its' problems with DICE release beneficial to implementing Mantle (nope).  I’m sure PR (for both AMD/DICE) wanted something to talk about at the Hawaii release and probably moved it up, but you/we don’t know who’s caused more of the delays.  While this is something that's is never really ready and perfected out of the gate.  It would be hard enough to coordinate this in one company let alone two, at some point they both have to be willing to cut the umbilical cord.



the54thvoid said:


> Until Mantle is mature, it can't be considered a value proposition.  In much the same way I'd scoff at someone saying Physx is a value proposition for Nvidia.


Mantle isn't any much a value for High-end enthusiasts (at this point) it meant for those who have older, mediocre CPU’s that bottle neck the GPU.  As for those High-end CPU’s the gains are there and free, but nothing to be called value add, or at least until more titles adopt it.
Do we know if new consoles/game will incorporate a Mantle like API… well the PS4?  If game developers can or will include Mantle for PS4, then many PC releases are sure to follow. 



the54thvoid said:


> AMD seem to take too long to deliver things.  In the meantime Nvidia are rolling on as always, churning stuff out and asking a premium for it 'just because'. .


You forget that GK100 was killed off, and GK110 was late and even later to gaming.  I think we can pick and choose from either side.



the54thvoid said:


> Aside from the 290X, I'm very keen to see what the games for this year bring to system requirements.  Maybe then at my res (1440p) the 780Ti with 3GB will look a bit rubbish and that 4Gb 290X will look a whole lot more useful?


There's the real issue, such a card(s) where to be the first 4k useable offering judging them at 2560x isn't giving the whole story.


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## the54thvoid (Feb 10, 2014)

Casecutter said:


> Nvidia has G-Sync, fixing a hardware problem that has existed since almost the beginning, and their fix is for you to buy more proprietary hardware?  Do I get the feeling Mantle was pushed-up (sure somewhat), was BF4 and its' problems with DICE release beneficial to implementing Mantle (nope).  I’m sure PR (for both AMD/DICE) wanted something to talk about at the Hawaii release and probably moved it up, but you/we don’t know who’s caused more of the delays.  While this is something that's is never really ready and perfected out of the gate.  It would be hard enough to coordinate this in one company let alone two, at some point they both have to be willing to cut the umbilical cord.



Let me help you there.  DICE.  It's DICE.  If getting in a tank crashes my game, I wouldn't trust DICE with any other software. 



Casecutter said:


> Mantle isn't any much a value for High-end enthusiasts (at this point) it meant for those who have older, mediocre CPU’s that bottle neck the GPU.  As for those High-end CPU’s the gains are there and free, but nothing to be called value add, or at least until more titles adopt it.
> Do we know if new consoles/game will incorporate a Mantle like API… well the PS4?  If game developers can or will include Mantle for PS4, then many PC releases are sure to follow.



I'm sure Ruskisniper(?) on the Mantle/oxide thread says it's not put on consoles - it's only a PC thing.  Consoles don't need it.



Casecutter said:


> You forget that GK100 was killed off, and GK110 was late and even later to gaming.  I think we can pick and choose from either side.



Yup, GK100 was unmanageable but look at it now in all it's GK110 glory.  The GK110 fully unlocked and with it's good clocks is the fastest gaming card out there.  GK110 is over a year old and it doesn't matter - it's very fast and very good with power in consideration.



Casecutter said:


> There's the real issue, such a card(s) where to be the first 4k useable offering judging them at 2560x isn't giving the whole story.



Did you know CoD Ghosts uses all the VRam on my Titan!!!! Logs in at over 6000 Mb.  Silly really.  Next gen should give us cards tha can do single card 4K.  I think by then Nvidia will offer more than 3GB memory standard on the high end.


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## EarthDog (Mar 26, 2014)

I'm curious how a reference card with a different cooler that costs $150 over MSRP (not even considering its $750) gets such high scores...

What would you rather have for $750, a MSI Lightning or this reference model? Or for $100 less, the ASUS DC2OC....

EDIT: I see at the time this was published (damn I need to pay attention to dates. I have not frequented this joint since the forum changed since it sucks for how I navigate) reference cards were $650. Now you can find 290x with a different cooler for $580... $30 over MSRP for reference. So this card still holding at $750 is a joke. WTF Sapphire and Newegg????


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## Casecutter (May 14, 2014)

Now at what's... 4 months having past this Tri X at Egg is under $500 (with code) although *No Rebate! * So the price has moved almost 30%!   Today the MSI 780Ti Gaming is $640 after a $30 rebate, so that price has moved but 4.5%
nough-said.


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