AMD Radeon R9 290X 4 GB

[sweet]

Physx On vs 290 being off scroll down to Apples vs Apples its 2 fucking FPS at the same resolution and settings.

As for no SSAA yes because everyone plays games that run like shit with a minimum that regularly drops to unplayable levels On that graph posted i can count at least 12 occassions where the 290X drops to unplayable rate many times it happens back to back thus unplayable. Fun to look at but worthless as a comparison because I don't know anyone that plays games at unplayable settings just for Lulz.


2560x1600 Max settings SSAA off PhysX off = 38 vs 37 on the minimum and 54 vs 52 on the avg vs a Stock GTX 780

Honestly doesnt matter what benchmarks anyone pulls depending on the review and the reviewer the cards trade blows they are equals and it shows.

It seems that u missed this part on Hardocp

For our comparison we are comparing the R9 290X to the GTX TITAN, GTX 780 and Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition, all stock reference video cards. We are using the default "Quiet Mode" setting on the R9 290X for our normal highest playable settings and apples-to-apples testing.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Your conclusion was correct at the time of the R9 290X launch, but with the GTX 780 at $499 I don't see any reason for the mass market (people who don't modify cards, just insert and turn on) to get a reference 290X anymore.

Thing is.... most mass market people don't buy top end cards, exactly why in relative terms these cards make little impact on overall sales pictures.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

It seems that u missed this part on Hardocp

Well I can't see using Uber mode, you can say what you want but not a damn person on here is running a GPU that is that loud when gaming.
At this point you would have to go water cooling or buy an after market cooler thus far more expensive to get a decent gaming experience. For those that water cool everything this isnt a big deal. However for those that just want to plug and play this cooler fucking blows no matter what you say that wont change and its still over a month away untill custom cards arrive even then good luck managing to actually GET ONE before stock runs out.

Setting the fan to 100% so it the card stays pegged at the proper clock speed has the the noise levels climbing to 70 dBA

 

[Tatty_Two]

I just counted the blade rotations and did some math, I reckon thats at 75% fan speed, either that or the guys Mom was vacuming in the background!

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Like i said above video is 55% = 50 dBA at 100% fan speed the Cooler hits 70+ dBA sound levels. It requires the fan speed to be around 70-80% to keep the card pegged at 1000 MHz core clock in all games benchmarks etc.

Which means to get the maximum possible performance from the 290x requires dealing with noise levels in the 60+ dBA range.

 

[erocker]

Wear headphones.

 

[Xzibit]

Like i said above video is 55% = 50 dBA at 100% fan speed the Cooler hits 70+ dBA sound levels. It requires the fan speed to be around 70-80% to keep the card pegged at 1000 MHz core clock in all games benchmarks etc.

Which means to get the maximum possible performance from the 290x requires dealing with noise levels in the 60+ dBA range.

Just like in W1zzards performance summary and many others like the Hardocp link.

It doesn't require it to be out of silent mode to best a 780.

 

[de.das.dude]

70dba? that sounds too much considering lodspeakers are 80dba :/

 

[radrok]

Wear headphones.

I do, but it would still kill me as I use open back headphones.

Stock cooler is just unbearable imo, I can still remember my 6990s lol.

Sometimes people would ask me if I was playing with my hairdryer.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Just like in W1zzards performance summary and many others like the Hardocp link.

It doesn't require it to be out of silent mode to best a 780.

hmm okay.. lets just pull up a previous post here.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3003131&postcount=227

Lets see where a 780 custom card comes in out of box

I fail to see on a broad set of games how the 290X is that amazing. With clock scaling being what it is if the card pegged 1000 mhz during gaming. It would be on average another 5-7% faster giving it a greater lead and one that can be felt not just seen in benchmarks on the first run.

As it stands knowing performance drops over time slightly means in reality Quiet mode = 780 and Uber mode = Titan its not as much faster as its on par and everyone acts like beating titan is some insane feat? Every GTX 780 reviewed on TPU other than reference card beats Titan.


So from what I see here the difference between a GTX 780 you can buy now that runs quiet and the 290X in uber mode is pretty much a crap shoot.

R9 290x = 7-14% faster then a reference GTX 780
GTX 780 custom = 9-11% faster than a reference GTX 780

That gives the 290x a -2% to + 3% spread not exactly amazing performance but no people can keep deluding themselves, and again thats if we dont take the performance drop into consideration a few FPS slower means its % lead evaporates a little bit more.

Today right now you can buy and after market cooled GTX 780 for $20-30 less than a R9 290x and get a bunch of games, quieter cooler, better temps all with no dicking around. The debate rages on best part thats not the fastest 780 you can buy, it is however a fairly solid card the Jetstream that is in that the ASUS / Gigabyte / MSI gaming series etc perform similar.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Not sure why we are going over old ground, you can go back to about page 3 to determine that most people think the GPU is good, the price is good, the reference design leaves something to be desired...... or have I missed something? Of course since then we see the NVidia price drops.... all good, the 290 and 290X will adjust no doubt and if the 780Ti is really the fastest single GPU in a few weeks time, then it will stay pricier.

Those that don't care about the noise (and I do) will buy it anyway, those that do care will wait for non reference cooler solutions that will be more efficient and quieter, by which time prices will have come down most probably, NVidia will probably re-adjust theirs and everyone wins again.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

Can't help myself Tatty just can't help myself the truth is there but so many are blind. I must show them the light the truth is in the banana pudding at the salad bar seriously just trust me.

That said i do agree with you Tatty but sometimes you just have to drill home the facts.

 

[Tatty_Two]

Can't help myself Tatty just can't help myself the truth is there but so many are blind. I must show them the light the truth is in the banana pudding at the salad bar seriously just trust me.

That said i do agree with you Tatty but sometimes you just have to drill home the facts.

Ahhhh but he who leads the blindman ends up carrying the white stick and feeding the guide dog

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

haha indeed good sir indeed.

 

[Crap Daddy]

It seems you can't actually buy a 290x right now. Hmmm. I totally agree with crazyeyes. Galaxy 780 HOF is $540 with three games and it spanks Titan out of the box. Furthermore overclocking the card towards 1300Mhz seems achievable. At those speeds it should be 10% faster than a stock Titan.

 

[HTC]

That's why i said AMD shot themselves in the foot with a cannon ball: with a price adjustment, nVidia is now the better buy.

If they bothered to have better cooler (no need for a good one: just not a super crappy one), the current prices nVidia's offering would not favor them as much and i would consider it more of a tie, IMO.

I mean, why would anyone buy a very loud card if they can get roughly the same performance for around the same price but way more silent and more energy efficient too?

 

[The Von Matrices]

With the custom coolers on 290X, how would power consumption change? I would assume lower temperatures would produce lower leakage and result in the card using less power. However, AMD has made a big deal about reducing leakage in the Hawaii silicon and justifies 95°C because of that, so I don't know if in this case the lower temperature would reduce power draw all that much. The card would definitely boost higher though, so would consume more power. Plus you have axial fans instead of a blower. What would the net result be?

 

[HTC]

With the custom coolers on 290X, how would power consumption change? I would assume lower temperatures would produce lower leakage and result in the card using less power. However, AMD has made a big deal about reducing leakage in the Hawaii silicon and justifies 95°C because of that, so I don't know if in this case the lower temperature would reduce power draw all that much. The card would definitely boost higher though, so would consume more power. Plus you have axial fans instead of a blower. What would the net result be?

What is the bigger drawback: noise of power consumption?

If card A and card B have similar performance (and price) but one uses a bit more "juice", the difference could probably swing to the one that overclock's better BUT if one of these cards is noisy as hell, odds are it's the other one that will be chosen.

 

[Fourstaff]

With the custom coolers on 290X, how would power consumption change?

Don't think it will decrease, because everyone will be clocking higher.

 

[The Von Matrices]

I guess there still is the same powertune limit, now that I think of it. Even if it boosts higher the powertune limit would keep it from consuming more power. I guess I just answered my own question.

I asked because I have an air conditioner that has a low, fixed cooling rate, so heat generation and power consumption matters more to me than temperature. If I put power guzzling components in my PC then the room becomes way too hot; I made that mistake in the past.

 

[sweet]

Some guys from overclock.net only need 70% fan speed (set by Afterburner) to maintain 1100/1300 Mhz at 83 Celcius degree. GPU had been working fullload in BF4.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1436497/official-amd-r9-290x-290-owners-club/1540

And for your information, W1zz's review failed to address the new CCC overdrive, which let you lower that notorious 95 celcius degree with a simple tweak.

 

[The Von Matrices]

Some guys from overclock.net only need 70% fan speed (set by Afterburner) to maintain 1100/1300 Mhz at 83 Celcius degree. GPU had been working fullload in BF4.

Did they use the stock cooler? If so, I hope they have hearing protection. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but at that fan speed the reports shows around 70dBA. You may be playing BF4, but you certainly won't hear very much of the game.

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

70 dBA is at 100%

so at 70% dBA level would be around 60 ish dBA

still thats ridiculously high

 

[sweet]

Did they use the stock cooler? If so, I hope they have hearing protection. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but at that fan speed the reports shows around 70dBA. You may be playing BF4, but you certainly won't hear very much of the game.

As if you owned the card, lol.

70% fan in a close case is just around 55 dba at your seat. That guy said that the card is noticeable, but it is not a big deal when he wears his headphones. Of course he is using the stock coooler.

For your information, a normal conversation is 60 dba, and when wearing headphones you barely notice it.

 

[Fourstaff]

For your information, a normal conversation is 60 dba, and when wearing headphones you barely notice it.

Its less of how loud it is but how intrusive it can be, and from my experience the blower sound can be very annoying. I wouldn't accept cooling solutions which is much more than 40db, let alone 55. Same can't be said to others who are more tolerant (or slightly deaf) of course.