AMD Radeon R9 290 4 GB

[Zen_]

Really impressive results and price on both the 290 cards, but too bad AMD cheaped out on the heatsink to hit a price point, or whatever the reason is for it. How long will it take for non-reference cards to come to market? If you look at the PCB layout of both 290 cards and a 7970 they look almost the same, so it couldn't be that hard for card partners to slap heatsinks they already have on the 290. Or do they wait until they can produce a custom PCB as well?

 

[BarbaricSoul]

Really impressive results and price on both the 290 cards, but too bad AMD cheaped out on the heatsink to hit a price point, or whatever the reason is for it. How long will it take for non-reference cards to come to market? If you look at the PCB layout of both 290 cards and a 7970 they look almost the same, so it couldn't be that hard for card partners to slap heatsinks they already have on the 290. Or do they wait until they can produce a custom PCB as well?

don't know about the 290, but non-ref 290X cards should be available towards the end of next month.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=193358

And considering 290x water blocks are compatible with the 290, I'd bet the non-ref heat sinks will also be compatible.

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=193891

 

[Shihab]

Probably not as hot as Sudan...

That's what worries me, if the card idles at 47c in a -supposedly- cold environment, what should people in areas such as mine expect? Throttling in 2D mode? :|

 

[Mussels]

That's what worries me, if the card idles at 47c in a -supposedly- cold environment, what should people in areas such as mine expect? Throttling in 2D mode? :|

oh please. down here it hits 45C in summer and then your card turns out to be spiders.

 

[BarbaricSoul]

and then your card turns out to be spiders.

huh?

 

[Mussels]

huh?

everything is spiders in australia.

 

[qubit]

everything is spiders in australia.

Black widow spiders?

 

[Pandora's Box]

Well it seems once you overclock the 290/290X/GTX 780 the 780 comes out on top:

AMD Radeon R9 290 Unboxing & Review - YouTube

 

[RCoon]

Well it seems once you overclock the 290/290X/GTX 780 the 780 comes out on top:

AMD Radeon R9 290 Unboxing & Review - YouTube

That's because the 780 doesn't throttle nearly as much because it has a more expensive and better reference cooler.

 

[Big_Vulture]

Is it the Radeon HD8950 if stupid new naming scam not coming, yeah? Good to see AMD back in business with budget prices, hope Nvidia fans regret that they paid twice the money what their card actually worth. Nvidia is very greedy!

Oh, never mind, I found an another site the explanation;

290x = HD8970
290 = HD8950
280x = HD8870
280 = HD8850
270x = HD8770
270 = HD8750
260x = HD8670
260 = HD8650

 

[jormungand]

great review WiZZ once again! now waiting for non-reference, lets see what Asus, GA and MSI have prepared to cooled and OC this card correctly. Dont mind if they come ghz versions for $10-$20 more will be a great offer considering 780 prices. 94c doesnt interest me at all! any card above 81C temp.
Nvidia, now is when the real fight begins!

 

[Durvelle27]

Is it the Radeon HD8950 if stupid new naming scam not coming, yeah? Good to see AMD back in business with budget prices, hope Nvidia fans regret that they paid twice the money what their card actually worth. Nvidia is very greedy!

Oh, never mind, I found an another site the explanation;

290x = HD8970
290 = HD8950
280x = HD8870
280 = HD8850
270x = HD8770
270 = HD8750
260x = HD8670
260 = HD8650

You do know that the HD 8000 series were rebadges that was only for OEMs. The R7/R9 are mostly new chips except the R9 280X & R9 270X

 

[scmpj]

Don't know why this 290 doesn't appear in the main search (Newegg) but here is the link for what I think is the last 290 available online.

PowerColor AXR9 290 4GBD5-MDH/OC Radeon R9 290 4GB...

 

[Steevo]

So far in this thread I have read.

Nvidia fanbois angry cus their precious Nvidia has competition, and has made their purchase of a drastically overpriced Titan seem foolish to the tune of almost $600. So now they are crying about how the 290 has made the "X" redundant and stupid. congrats on catching that, did you not notice it when the 780 and Titan were overpriced? Or do the tears help you see better?

People complaining about AMD tweaking drivers and fan speeds, cause they aren't allowed to since it makes it not fair!!!

People complaining about the 49Db noise in a massively under priced card makes when it shatters the price/performance ratio by 30%.

People complaining about he lack of VGA? I threw mine away, and if I really needed a VGA ready card I keep one around for older computers or when I played with BIOS on cards.

Spend the $399, $60 for a awesome cooler, and love it, or underclock it and enjoy the performance and silence.

 

[Fairlady-z]

I wonder if we are able to flash 290x bios on the 290? That would be killer like in the 6950/6970 reference cards.

 

[[Ion]]

Well, at a full 50% faster than the HD7950, this is a very tempting upgrade indeed

 

[jormungand]

So far in this thread I have read.

Nvidia fanbois angry cus their precious Nvidia has competition, and has made their purchase of a drastically overpriced Titan seem foolish to the tune of almost $600. So now they are crying about how the 290 has made the "X" redundant and stupid. congrats on catching that, did you not notice it when the 780 and Titan were overpriced? Or do the tears help you see better?

People complaining about AMD tweaking drivers and fan speeds, cause they aren't allowed to since it makes it not fair!!!

People complaining about the 49Db noise in a massively under priced card makes when it shatters the price/performance ratio by 30%.

People complaining about he lack of VGA? I threw mine away, and if I really needed a VGA ready card I keep one around for older computers or when I played with BIOS on cards.

Spend the $399, $60 for a awesome cooler, and love it, or underclock it and enjoy the performance and silence.

I agree with you in that amd have done a great job bringing down prices and a great card for the price but

1 noise is problem
2 temp is problem
3 throttling is another
4 drivers is a problem too
5 power comsuption once again a problem here

so when people are spending $400 plus on a card they dont look for troubles or spending more money on a new psu or an aftermarket cooler of $60 or more, many here like me, enjoy this card/price and performance but they nearly hit the $400 so 5 problems against money, it bounce the balance and your pocket. the smartest wait for the bigbang, like i said before , hope asus, gigabyte, msi and others make a good job an this card and gave us what we want.

performance-cooling-oc-and a good price.
i really enjoy amd and nvidia battle it makes us all happy.

 

[Steevo]

Will a MCW60-R fit it?

I happen to have one hanging around on my old 5870.....

 

[MT Alex]

It makes me mad to even look at the 770 in my case

 

[NeoXF]

W1z, can you confirm this, or is he over exaggerating to sell more plasma hoovers? I'm fairly certain 60% fans are not "reasonably" quiet.

Even if he could (confirm it), why would I, or anyone, take his word for it, best scenario is to test it yourself.

Really impressive results and price on both the 290 cards, but too bad AMD cheaped out on the heatsink to hit a price point, or whatever the reason is for it. How long will it take for non-reference cards to come to market? If you look at the PCB layout of both 290 cards and a 7970 they look almost the same, so it couldn't be that hard for card partners to slap heatsinks they already have on the 290. Or do they wait until they can produce a custom PCB as well?

It's not their decision, it's AMDs. Not sure why, maybe something related to emptying reference stock first (and the fact that reference ones suck so much when compared to custom =/= no sales then).

 

[Steevo]

1 noise is problem
2 temp is problem
3 throttling is another
4 drivers is a problem too
5 power comsuption once again a problem here

so when people are spending $400 plus on a card they dont look for troubles or spending more money on a new psu or an aftermarket cooler of $60 or more,

1) If you look at the $400 market you could underclock the card and it will remain silent and still provide better price/performance.
2) Temp, not sure how it is a problem, card has been designed to run at 95C, and I am sure you will not need to bake it every few months like a Nvidia card to keep it working.
3) This card doesn't throttle, read, comprehend, post.
4) Drivers? Oh like when Nvidia killed cards, and has as many issues, I look in their forums too.
5) If you are running a PSU with only 40W to spare you don't need a new PSU, you need to choose another hobby.


Your post reminds me of someone who buys a sports car but can't afford to drive it.

 

[Pandora's Box]

It makes me mad to even look at the 770 in my case

having used amd cards in the past, I look at it this way: I have had zero issues with my 780 sli setup. sure I paid a premium for it but I think it was worth it. I wish the guys buying these cards luck. Myself? never will I buy amd cards again. way too many driver issues.

 

[Rebel333]

I agree with you in that amd have done a great job bringing down prices and a great card for the price but

1 noise is problem
2 temp is problem
3 throttling is another
4 drivers is a problem too
5 power comsuption once again a problem here

Only power consumption is the real problem from the list, all the others can be fixed with custom cooler or maybe a re-paste with IC Diamond can make it really good! Driver is why problem?

 

[NeoXF]

[...]
4 drivers is a problem too
5 power comsuption once again a problem here
[...]

Sorry, but that's an instant red flag for me in regards to you. You're either a). a nVidia fanboy or (more likely) b). an regular, level-headed person that's been indoctrinated by one.

Drivers problems are waaay blown out of proportion, especially in this day and age, get with the times. I've seen and had way more problems with GeForce drivers than with anything else.

And anyone who is commenting on power usage for enthusiast level hardware is kind of in the wrong league... Not to mention, the so called "issue" is way overblown, half the reviews I've seen (ie, the half the generally isn't biased or have a clue about fair power tests), show a Uber BIOS R9 290X barely exceeding 10W more than a TITAN.

 

[Steevo]

Sorry, may have been wrong, does the card actually throttle W1zz?