• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

The Cause Of And Fix For Radeon R9 290X And 290 Inconsistency

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,865 (2.89/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Reading this article, I so wouldn't get a reference 290x/290. You're forever getting short-changed on the clock speed and it runs so damned hot and noisy. TPU's reviews pointed out the shortcomings of the stock cooler, so it's not just me saying it.

Those 290x/290 third party coolers can't come soon enough, then we'll see what that Hawaii GPU can really do.

We first observed differences between the Radeon R9 290X cards that AMD sent out for review and the ones being sold online just before our R9 290 coverage went live. After additional testing, we have answers, feedback from AMD, and more questions.

Leading up to the Radeon R9 290X launch, I had two cards in the lab, both supplied by AMD. They ran at slightly different core frequencies in single-card configurations. No big deal, right? That was just PowerTune doing its job. But paired up in CrossFire, even with plenty of space between them, heat build-up forced the pair to drop to even lower clock rates. Right away, I was able to establish that AMD’s Hawaii GPU operates within a range of clock rates, determined by a number of variables. For R9 290X, that range starts at 727 and ends at 1000 MHz. As an aside, I do have an issue with vendors simply advertising this as a 1000 MHz GPU.

The discussion that so badly requires clarification, however, is a derivative of Hawaii’s inherent behavior. Because the GPU is always trying to run as fast as possible, and then adjusting down to obey certain power, temperature, and fan speed settings, every card is going to be just a little bit different. This is expected, and applies also to Nvidia’s GPU Boost-capable cards. But when I got my hands on a retail card purchased from Newegg, it was way slower. Like, 20% slower in many cases.

So that left me wondering: were the press boards just lower-leakage parts able to sustain higher clocks? Without a definitive answer, and with AMD insistent that my results couldn’t be right, I approached the Radeon R9 290 review much more cautiously, presenting data from both the sampled and store-bought 290X cards.

Read the rest at Tom's Hardware
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 29, 2012
Messages
1,927 (0.44/day)
Location
UK
System Name TITAN Slayer / CPUCannon / MassFX
Processor i7 5960X @ 4.6Ghz / i7 3960x @5.0Ghz / FX6350 @ 4.?Ghz
Motherboard Rampage V Extreme / Rampage IV Extreme / MSI 970 Gaming
Cooling Phanteks PHTC14PE 2.5K 145mm TRs / Custom waterloop / Phanteks PHTC14PE + 3K 140mm Noctuas
Memory Crucial 2666 11-13-13-25 1.45V / G.skill RipjawsX 2400 10-12-12-34 1.7V / Crucial 2133 9-9-9-27 1.7V
Video Card(s) 3 Fury X in CF / R9 Fury 3840 cores 1145/570 1.3V / Nothing ATM
Storage 500GB Crucial SSD and 3TB WD Black / WD 1TB Black(OS) + WD 3TB Green / WD 1TB Blue
Display(s) LG 29UM67 80Hz/Asus mx299q 2560x1080 @ 84Hz / Asus VX239 1920x1080 @60hz
Case Dismatech easy v3.0 / Xigmatek Alfar (Open side panel)
Audio Device(s) M-audio M-track / realtek ALC 1150
Power Supply EVGA G2 1600W / CoolerMaster V1000 / Seasonic 620 M12-II
Mouse Mouse in review process/Razer Naga Epic 2011/Razer Naga 2014
Keyboard Keyboard in review process / Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2014/Razer Blackwidow Ultimate 2011
Software Windows 7 Ultimate / Windows 7 ultimate / Windows 7 ultimate
Benchmark Scores cinebench 15.41 3960x @ 5.3ghz Wprime32m 3.352 3960x @ 5.25ghz Super PI 32m: 6m 42s 472ms @5.25ghz
Just buy an aftermarket cooler like the MK-26 you can use it again on your next GPU and it beat any of the custom cooling solutions that come out. Or you can zip tie a AIO water cooler to the core. And if you have a WC loop you can get a water block(universal or full cover) and an extra radiator.
I'd rather have a hot card with a VRM good for the next 10years and unlocked voltage than a cool card with an explosive VRM and locked voltage. Because you can fix the cooler yourself but you can't fix a crap VRM (GTX 590 insta kill at 1.2v, GTX 680 insta kill at 1.5v, GXT TITAN insta kill at 1.5v, GTX 780 insta kill at 1.5v, GTX 780Ti insta kill at 1.5v).
BTW the voltage of instant death is just a few percent higher than the voltage of rapid degredation. There are cases of people running reference GTX 780s at 1.35v and frying them up in a few days so at 1.25-1.3v the cards will survive 2 years at best.

I'm sorry to say it, but NVIDIA cards really are a lot better in terms of build quality, features and overall performance. Not surprising they cost significantly more.
Really better quality? I had a GTX590 that would shut down from overheating. I RMAed it and all that happend is that it now has a louder fan profile. I'm considering replacing the cooler and paralleling the VRM so it doesn't blow up when I try to OC it.
The reason Nvidia cards are pricier is because Nvidia has much better PR(That's the reason I own a GTX 590).
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
19,371 (3.57/day)
Benchmark Scores Faster than yours... I'd bet on it. :)
I'm sorry to say it, but NVIDIA cards really are a lot better in terms of build quality, features and overall performance
Do tell...

How can you determine build quality?
What features do they have that AMD does not that actually matters?
Overall performance? Really?

Please explain in more detail your assertions...

EDIT: BZ hit it on the head really. This was mentioned in damn near every review and everyone that has half a clue simply says to buy an aftermarket cooler or put them under water. What new things is this thread mentioning that the others have not already.
 
Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
12,062 (2.63/day)
Location
Gypsyland, UK
System Name HP Omen 17
Processor i7 7700HQ
Memory 16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) GTX 1060
Storage Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s) 1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s) Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply 230W
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD+
Software Win 10 Pro
Do tell...

How can you determine build quality?
What features do they have that AMD does not that actually matters?
Overall performance? Really?

Please explain in more detail your assertions...

I think he just prefers the magnesium alloy reference cooler.
Also AMD stating 1000mhz core on their cards (which they don't do), and doing weird and wonderful things for review cards and retail cards so they appear to perform better than they did for customers day 1. I think he's irritated because review cards performed considerably better than retail cards, which puts shame to AMD.
All in all, AMD reference is terrible, wait for AIB partners.
 

Fourstaff

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
10,074 (1.85/day)
Location
Home
System Name Orange! // ItchyHands
Processor 3570K // 10400F
Motherboard ASRock z77 Extreme4 // TUF Gaming B460M-Plus
Cooling Stock // Stock
Memory 2x4Gb 1600Mhz CL9 Corsair XMS3 // 2x8Gb 3200 Mhz XPG D41
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570 // Asus TUF RTX 2070
Storage Samsung 840 250Gb // SX8200 480GB
Display(s) LG 22EA53VQ // Philips 275M QHD
Case NZXT Phantom 410 Black/Orange // Tecware Forge M
Power Supply Corsair CXM500w // CM MWE 600w
I'm sorry to say it, but NVIDIA cards really are a lot better in terms of build quality, features and overall performance. Not surprising they cost significantly more.

I am still waiting for my replacement of the borked 8xxxM graphics card. So much for build quality.
 
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
19,371 (3.57/day)
Benchmark Scores Faster than yours... I'd bet on it. :)
I take exception to them listing the 1GHz core clock as well. Outside of that, NVIDIA cards work the same way (throttle under temperature and power). This is a simple cooler issue to me. It is an issue, a good one, but just a wait for 3rd party type situation as was mentioned earlier.

If they handed out samples that perform better, than shame on them. On the flip side, what if the retail sample they bought is extraordinarily leaky?

Good one fourstaff, because one GPU, that isn't even based off the same core (Aren't 8xxx Oland based GPUs?), makes the story true. :p
 

Fourstaff

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
10,074 (1.85/day)
Location
Home
System Name Orange! // ItchyHands
Processor 3570K // 10400F
Motherboard ASRock z77 Extreme4 // TUF Gaming B460M-Plus
Cooling Stock // Stock
Memory 2x4Gb 1600Mhz CL9 Corsair XMS3 // 2x8Gb 3200 Mhz XPG D41
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570 // Asus TUF RTX 2070
Storage Samsung 840 250Gb // SX8200 480GB
Display(s) LG 22EA53VQ // Philips 275M QHD
Case NZXT Phantom 410 Black/Orange // Tecware Forge M
Power Supply Corsair CXM500w // CM MWE 600w
Good one fourstaff, because one GPU, that isn't even based off the same core (Aren't 8xxx Oland based GPUs?), makes the story true. :p

Counterexamples are needed to refute OP ;)
 
Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
12,062 (2.63/day)
Location
Gypsyland, UK
System Name HP Omen 17
Processor i7 7700HQ
Memory 16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) GTX 1060
Storage Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s) 1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s) Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply 230W
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD+
Software Win 10 Pro
I take exception to them listing the 1GHz core clock as well. Outside of that, NVIDIA cards work the same way (throttle under temperature and power). This is a simple cooler issue to me.

If they handed out samples that perform better, than shame on them. On the flip side, what if the sample they bought is extraordinarily leaky?

Good one fourstaff, because one GPU, that isn't even based off the same core (Aren't 8xxx Oland based GPUs?), makes the story. :p

Pffft took NVidia 3 months to replace my GTX 780 which i accidentally tore the inductor off after glue-pasting a heatsink to it and using pliers to get it off. If only they were velcro'd on.
 

Fourstaff

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
10,074 (1.85/day)
Location
Home
System Name Orange! // ItchyHands
Processor 3570K // 10400F
Motherboard ASRock z77 Extreme4 // TUF Gaming B460M-Plus
Cooling Stock // Stock
Memory 2x4Gb 1600Mhz CL9 Corsair XMS3 // 2x8Gb 3200 Mhz XPG D41
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570 // Asus TUF RTX 2070
Storage Samsung 840 250Gb // SX8200 480GB
Display(s) LG 22EA53VQ // Philips 275M QHD
Case NZXT Phantom 410 Black/Orange // Tecware Forge M
Power Supply Corsair CXM500w // CM MWE 600w
Pffft took NVidia 3 months to replace my GTX 780 which i accidentally tore the inductor off after glue-pasting a heatsink to it and using pliers to get it off. If only they were velcro'd on.

Isn't that Gigabyte's fault?
 
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
19,371 (3.57/day)
Benchmark Scores Faster than yours... I'd bet on it. :)
RMA replacement is another story... has nothing to do with build quality, your user error.

Isn't that Gigabyte's fault?
Perhaps coffee is in order? How it is the MFG fault that this dude glued a heatsink to an inductor and in the process of trying to remove it pulled off a part? :confused:

Maybe I need some java... am I missing something there?
 
Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
12,062 (2.63/day)
Location
Gypsyland, UK
System Name HP Omen 17
Processor i7 7700HQ
Memory 16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) GTX 1060
Storage Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s) 1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s) Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply 230W
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD+
Software Win 10 Pro
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
19,371 (3.57/day)
Benchmark Scores Faster than yours... I'd bet on it. :)
That's the point I was making :laugh:
Ok, good, that is what I thought...ish. :rockout:.

I didnt catch the sarcasm...written word and all. Probably missed it in Fourstaff's too! Im going to get some coffee... :p
 
Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
12,062 (2.63/day)
Location
Gypsyland, UK
System Name HP Omen 17
Processor i7 7700HQ
Memory 16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) GTX 1060
Storage Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s) 1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s) Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply 230W
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD+
Software Win 10 Pro
Ok, good, that is what I thought...ish. :rockout:.

I didnt catch the sarcasm...written word and all. Probably missed it in Fourstaff's too! Im going to get some coffee... :p

Back to the point in hand, if you direct yourself to the final page in OP's reference (I assume people read it?), you can see how the review card performed, how the day 1 retail card performed, and how the retail card + new driver (100rpm fan increase) performed. Kinda made me a little bit irritated, but then I never buy reference unless I intend to watercool/SLIXfire.
 
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
19,371 (3.57/day)
Benchmark Scores Faster than yours... I'd bet on it. :)
Either way... waiting for the OP to stop thanking people and back up his own assertions here...this is like the news articles all over again... LOL!

(sorry, everything is coming out WAY more grumpy from me than it needs to be. To me the issue has been mentioned in many reviews and is a problem mostly everyone knows about, so that point ((and this thread)) is a complete rehash of the long arse threads on the 290 and 290x reviews).
 
Joined
Apr 19, 2012
Messages
12,062 (2.63/day)
Location
Gypsyland, UK
System Name HP Omen 17
Processor i7 7700HQ
Memory 16GB 2400Mhz DDR4
Video Card(s) GTX 1060
Storage Samsung SM961 256GB + HGST 1TB
Display(s) 1080p IPS G-SYNC 75Hz
Audio Device(s) Bang & Olufsen
Power Supply 230W
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD+
Software Win 10 Pro
Either way... waiting for the OP to stop thanking people and back up his own assertions here...this is like the news articles all over again... LOL!

I don't visit GPU reviews or GPU news articles anymore. It's bad for my health, like passive smoking.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,865 (2.89/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

AsRock

TPU addict
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
19,066 (3.00/day)
Location
UK\USA
I would just get a reference XFX card being in the US with it's lifetime warranty and just put 3rd party cooler on it..

Having to wait anyways till next year i guess i will see if the non ref are better or not.
 

brandonwh64

Addicted to Bacon and StarCrunches!!!
Joined
Sep 6, 2009
Messages
19,542 (3.53/day)
Everyone remember fermi? Those cards ran hot as hell! My 7970 on stock cooler and clocks ran super hot to the point it throttled. After getting a aftermarket cooler it runs no more than 56 deg with an OC. Yes the 290 runs hot cause for one its a reference card and the reference cooler is quite crap! I remember 4870's run hot as hell on stock coolers.

 

fullinfusion

Vanguard Beta Tester
Joined
Jan 11, 2008
Messages
9,909 (1.61/day)
Do tell...

How can you determine build quality?
What features do they have that AMD does not that actually matters?
Overall performance? Really?

Please explain in more detail your assertions...

EDIT: BZ hit it on the head really. This was mentioned in damn near every review and everyone that has half a clue simply says to buy an aftermarket cooler or put them under water. What new things is this thread mentioning that the others have not already.
We all know qubit is an nvidia fan boi, 690 this 690 that lol. To each there own.. at least amd don't get snap crackel pop haha. Just having fun with the op ;)
I thought it was a good read till I seen toms hardware link :/
 

the54thvoid

Super Intoxicated Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 14, 2009
Messages
12,997 (2.39/day)
Location
Glasgow - home of formal profanity
Processor Ryzen 7800X3D
Motherboard MSI MAG Mortar B650 (wifi)
Cooling be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4
Memory 32GB Kingston Fury
Video Card(s) Gainward RTX4070ti
Storage Seagate FireCuda 530 M.2 1TB / Samsumg 960 Pro M.2 512Gb
Display(s) LG 32" 165Hz 1440p GSYNC
Case Asus Prime AP201
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply be quiet! Pure POwer M12 850w Gold (ATX3.0)
Software W10
AMD rolled out a fan speed driver fix for the 290's. Anandtech did i review of it and i posted the link in another thread.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7501/amd-changes-290-series-fan-algorithms

Basically, reference 290x gets louder but has more stable clocks. The 290 is largely unchanged as it had higher fan rpm anyway.

On a decidedly relevant front, I'll be sticking with my Titan for quite some time, unless something awesome happens from the 290X or 780Ti (Lightnings or Classifieds that go really high.)

I recently checked Afterburner after a couple of hours of BF4 and it had hit 2.9Gb memory usage at peak. Obviously not a concern on 6GB memory but on a £550-£600 ($700) card the 780Ti should have been given more memory.

I've swung back to preferring the 290X, given that in my world, I'd slap a water block on either card. I think for people on higher resolution (1440p or above), it would be worth thinking about the Vram after all.

I guess at 1600p (i'm at 1440p) there will be cases that the 3GB will suffer. But yeah, who has 30" monitors anyway.
 
Joined
Jul 10, 2011
Messages
797 (0.16/day)
Processor Intel
Motherboard MSI
Cooling Cooler Master
Memory Corsair
Video Card(s) Nvidia
Storage Western Digital/Kingston
Display(s) Samsung
Case Thermaltake
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply Seasonic
Mouse Glorious
Keyboard UniKey
Software Windows 10 x64
qubit, don't compare Nvidia and AMD in treads where AMD has problems.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,865 (2.89/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
19,371 (3.57/day)
Benchmark Scores Faster than yours... I'd bet on it. :)
We all know qubit is an nvidia fan boi, 690 this 690 that lol. To each there own.. at least amd don't get snap crackel pop haha. Just having fun with the op ;)
I thought it was a good read till I seen toms hardware link :/
I could care less where his loyalty is at the moment. I would just like to see some support of the points I mentioned... still nada.......... :shadedshu

AS it stands... Recycled recycle bin material here. :(
 
Last edited:
Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
13,791 (1.88/day)
I never had any problems with AMD cards apart from HD5850 ratling of the blower fan. That's why i prefer WindForce 3X and TwinFrozr III+ coolers. I hated the Vapor-X Toxic thing on Sapphire card. It was pathetic and noisy.
 
Top