AMD Radeon R9 290X 4 GB

[crazyeyesreaper]

Heres the kicker

Almost every single GTX 780 with an aftermarket cooler is faster than Titan, thus right now Nvidia and their partners offer a cheaper equally performing GPU. AMD only has loud obnoxious reference design that will eventually shine once aftermarket versions with a game bundle arrive.

Heres the problem tho. Would you wait a couple more months now? to get a solid overclockable aftermarket cooled 290X with a possible game bundle or take a GTX 780 with exceptionally cooling right now at $50 less?

Money talks bullshit walks and right now at $499 GTX 780 is the more attractive option. R290X with aftermarket cooling and a never settle bundle will eventually prove to be a better deal by far however thats not the case right now.

The GTX 780 is available right now its got a price drop there is no wait. Nvidia will captialize on that to gain some quick sales and thus boost market share.

 

[N3M3515]

But certainly does not kill the reason to buy the 290 non "x" which in my opinion was always going to be the key player at the even lower price.

lol, i was going to say that.
Besides, that doesn't stop amd from lowering 290x to $500 (still, i think the 780 is a better choice at the same price) and 290 vanilla to $400, and that would be a better buy than the gtx 780 imho(equal performance for $100 bucks less).

Especulation: I see non reference 290x hitting $550 - 600 while being some 10 ~ 15% faster than stock.

GTX 780ti will cost $700
So, once 290x non ref arrives at $550 - 600, they slash a hundred bucks? seems predictable.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

And in comes Nvidia with big price drops to stomp on the parade.....

 

[The Von Matrices]

But certainly does not kill the reason to buy the 290 non "x" which in my opinion was always going to be the key player at the even lower price.

That announcement also showed that NVidia is cutting the GTX 770 to $329, which now leave a huge gap between the $329 GTX 770 and $499 GTX 780. The R9 290 would fit nicely in that gap.

The lack of supply of R9 290X isn't giving me hope for the R9 290. It might be a great card, but if AMD can't provide enough supply the card won't matter. The biggest advantage NVidia has at the moment is a huge supply of their cards compared to AMD.

NVidia is killing AMD with the game bundles too. If you buy a GTX 780 (or 770 or 780Ti) you get Assassin's Creed IV, Batman: Arkham Origins, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist at no extra cost. That is far better than paying $30 extra to get a BF4 bundle with the R9 290X.

 

[sweet]

NVidia just announced price cuts for GTX 780 to $499 effective tomorrow. I'm sure they'll be an official press release later and it will be posted in TPU news.

This basically kills any reason to buy a R9 290X.

The most important reason to buy R9 290X is: it is holding the performance crown. Guys with LN2 have been proving that fact with world records set by that Hawaii chip.

The price is just the cream on the crop. 780 is brought down to $500? There are still 290 at $450 can match its performance. The price of 290 may be less thanks to nVi's attack

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

SO R9 290 is your counter point a GPU that is around $450 and again has no bundle?

How about just sell the 3 games that come with the 780 which again in your own chart most of them perform at the level of the 780 HOF.

Sell those games and the 780 drops by around $70-80 drops the 780 down to $420 So no game bundle $450 vs game bundle dropping cost top $420 ish.

Seems like the GTX 780 is still the better deal

 

[Tatty_Two]

That announcement also showed that NVidia is cutting the GTX 770 to $329, which now leave a huge gap between the $329 GTX 770 and $499 GTX 780. The R9 290 would fit nicely in that gap.

The lack of supply of R9 290X isn't giving me hope for the R9 290. It might be a great card, but if AMD can't provide enough supply the card won't matter. The biggest advantage NVidia has at the moment is a huge supply of their cards compared to AMD.

NVidia is killing AMD with the game bundles too. If you buy a GTX 780 (or 770 or 780Ti) you get Assassin's Creed IV, Batman: Arkham Origins, and Splinter Cell: Blacklist at no extra cost. That is far better than paying $30 extra to get a BF4 bundle with the R9 290X.

Availability here is quite good although I am more interested in the availability of the straight 290 when it arrives, that card will take the biggest part of sales at a guess, and if it really does hit the 780's performance by give or take 5% and comes with non reference cooling then I think everyone wins, those in the green camp get much cheaper 780's, those in the red camp gets near 780 busting performance for less.

 

[The Von Matrices]

The most important reason to buy R9 290X is: it is holding the performance crown. Guys with LN2 have been proving that fact with world records set by that Hawaii chip.

The price is just the cream on the crop. 780 is brought down to $500? There are still 290 at $450 can match its performance. The price of 290 may be less thanks to nVi's attack :toast

You're cherry picking a benchmark by using Firestrike (although granted there's no better data until the R9 290 is released). It's clear that the R9 290X and by extrapolation the R9 290 are the kings of Firestrike by a large margin over NVidia, but that huge advantage evaporates in nearly everything else and is definitely a best case scenario for AMD. Firestrike only matters to competitive benchmarkers, who are but a very tiny fraction of the market. The overall performance charts, like the ones at the ends of TPU reviews, are the best comparison. To state that the R9 290X clearly holds the performance crown based on one benchmark is ridiculous; it's sharing it with Titan at the moment.

 

[erocker]

NVidia just announced price cuts for GTX 780 to $499 effective tomorrow. I'm sure they'll be an official press release later and it will be posted in TPU news.

This basically kills any reason to buy a R9 290X.

Evga GTX 780 cards on Newegg are now $499-$550

$699 tag on the Ti version is pretty awful though.

 

[sweet]

SO R9 290 is your counter point a GPU that is around $450 and again has no bundle?

How about just sell the 3 games that come with the 780 which again in your own chart most of them perform at the level of the 780 HOF.

Sell those games and the 780 drops by around $70-80 drops the 780 down to $420 So no game bundle $450 vs game bundle dropping cost top $420 ish.

Seems like the GTX 780 is still the better deal

I'm not sure about whether the Neversettle bundle will have support for Hawaii cards or not, but AMD knows how to react with the sale record. And, oh wait, now nvidia's fans are talking about bundles. A while ago they still ruled the game bundle out of the 7xxx/6xx comparison

I will just stick to AMD. Next gen consoles belong to them, and the ported games will be boosted on AMD cards with Mantle running behind. No reason to go for green camp in the PS4/XBO era.

You're cherry picking a benchmark by using Firestrike (although granted there's no better data until the R9 290 is released). It's clear that the R9 290X and by extrapolation the R9 290 are the kings of Firestrike by a large margin over NVidia, but that huge advantage evaporates in nearly everything else and is definitely a best case scenario for AMD. Firestrike only matters to competitive benchmarkers, who are but a very tiny fraction of the market. The overall performance charts, like the ones at the ends of TPU reviews, are the best comparison. To state that the R9 290X clearly holds the performance crown based on one benchmark is ridiculous; it's sharing it with Titan at the moment.

Thanks, but about gaming I don't play games like Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft, .. a.k.a DX9 legacy. When you exclude those games, 780/Titan looks even more miserable. In modern DX11 games, nvidia truly lags behind AMD. They told us their card fully support DX 11.1, but Microsoft didn't think so, and the truth was point out through a large number of games.

And as pointed out above, when playing Mantle game next year, AMD cards will lead even further. Just stick to the red and be safe.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Evga GTX 780 cards on Newegg are now $499-$550

$699 tag on the Ti version is pretty awful though.

Do want another for SLI!

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

How does Nvidia lag behind?

780 cards available now all beat Titan\

Right now in quiet mode AMD is 1% faster compared to a stock 780 and in uber mode its 3-5% faster than Titan not to mention 3% tends to be the accepted as the nominal margin of error.

As such the 290X is pretty much on par with the non reference 780s in the majority of games. has a game bundle is now priced lower. I fail to see AMD's upside

Mantle has support in 1 title thats it and its not even available for testing untill December. Till then Mantle is an unknown and one I don't expect to be a game changer either.

You can believe what you want Sweet but the truth is

Nvidia / AMD are on par with each other this time. Prices are in relative parity currently Nvidia is the more attractive option AMD will be more so come December overall it doesn't matter. People can drink the red or green Kool aid.

I go where performance is TODAY not 3 years from now when the 290x is just another previous generation product. Mantle if it takes off wont be an instant amazing game changer. I love how people are hailing this product like its amazing when in another year it will be just a footnote as a newer faster product takes it place.

IF the card had launched with better cooling and noise profile I might sing a different tune but right now there are to many unknowns / drawbacks to offset its 1-5% performance lead which is lets face it in truth non existant when compared with the GTX 780s on offer right now.

the GTX 780 HOF semi proves that its no better or worse then other pre OCed 780s and yet it matches the OCed 290X so again it comes down to picking and choosing benchmarks. In the end they are roughly even in performance and price. I for one just can't stand the noise Testing coolers here at TPU 50 dBA + is loud and I test 10cm away the fact the card does that at nearly 3 friggin feet is ridiculous.

 

[Xzibit]

As such the 290X is pretty much on par with the non reference 780s in the majority of games. has a game bundle is now priced lower. I fail to see AMD's upside

Upside of AMD is potential OC. A ref cooler = Non-reference cooling 780. As for the bundle it end Nov 26. Nvidia hasn't said if it will continue with it so the window is narrow for purchases.

the GTX 780 HOF semi proves that its no better or worse then other pre OCed 780s and yet it matches the OCed 290X so again it comes down to picking and choosing benchmarks.

You can go look at a few OC forums and see how effortlessly these cards are overclocking with no mods yet.

Which will change once the 780 Ti gets here

I for one just can't stand the noise Testing coolers here at TPU 50 dBA + is loud and I test 10cm away the fact the card does that at nearly 3 friggin feet is ridiculous.

Might want to tell W1zzard that since he posted the review with 100cm = 50dBa

 

[erocker]

Crazy, change your avatar to a fish, cuz you're takin' the bait bro!

Hahaha. Okay seriously though, things in video card land seem pretty competitive now. Good right?

Though, I would love it if people reject the price of the Ti. It's a bad precedent that Nvidia keeps running with.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Might want to tell W1zzard that since he posted the review with 100cm = 50dBa

I test at 10CM for coolers

W1zz tests at 100cm

100cm = 3.2 feet todays math lesson is now over

@Erocker

they are competitive its nice to see. I just like arguing and since I am current sick I have nothing better to do

If the 290X was quieter and cooler I would buy one Hopefully with both cards actually being close a price war will start.

 

[PatoRodrigues]

This card actually looks more awesome now.

It made Nvidia cut 780's price by $150.

The best of it: The customers leave with the advantage. Except for the dudes that bought two 780's for $650. Maybe get a third one (and a new PSU?)

 

[erocker]

If the 290X was quieter and cooler I would buy one Hopefully with both cards actually being close a price war will start

It looks like "late November" according sites around the web this morning for non-reference stuff. I'm interested in seeing some better PCB/power delivery designs.

 

[MxPhenom 216]

It looks like "late November" according sites around the web this morning for non-reference stuff. I'm interested in seeing some better PCB/power delivery designs.

Like a DirectCU card with a EK DirectCU block!

 

[N3M3515]

Like a DirectCU card with a EK DirectCU block!

Or a MSI lightning! Military Class 5

 

[Xzibit]

This might of factored into the price dip.

R9 290X @ 1100mhz Limit

i7-3770k @ 4.3ghz
780 @ 1254mhz Boost (No Tesselation)

780 has a lot more dips with less of a workload

 

[MxPhenom 216]

This might of factored into the price dip.

R9 290X @ 1100mhz Limit
http://cdn.overclock.net/c/cc/cc8685ef_MetroLL290x.png

i7-3770k @ 4.3ghz
780 @ 1254mhz Boost (No Tesselation)
http://cdn.overclock.net/3/3c/3c99457e_Metro.jpeg

780 has a lot more dips with less of a workload

Price drop had to happen regardless. Though and dips on the 780 could be a driver thing.

 

[Steevo]

No tessellation on either?

 

[Xzibit]

No tessellation on either?

The R9 290X has it set to Very High

The 780 says Not supported

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

That benchmark looks like BS,

considering Nvidia's GPUs are still miles ahead in tessellation performance. When looking at Tess bench from Microsoft anyway so pure tessellation Nvidia still has more grunt.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/10/23/amd_radeon_r9_290x_video_card_review/8#.Um7fKlzCRzw

Here same settings theres 2 FPS apart from a 780 vs a 290X ooooooo 2 FPS

 

[Steevo]

Just wanted to be sure that was pointed out.