AMD Radeon R9 295X2 8 GB

[W1zzard]

I think the score is a little to low, perhaps a 9.2 or so I think would be fair

I had something above 9 at first, but then thought about the price, the coil noise, the form factor inconvenience (when looking from a beginner's perspective).

 

[Steevo]

I agree with that, but still believe any user capable or with enough understanding to purchase this should be able to use it properly, much like buying a fast car, and yet idiots buy them too I guess.

 

[Recus]

so actually, with 337 drivers nvidia just overclocked their card silently?bs about the dx11 optimization?

No. Payed troll quoting pro-AMD site.



As for card, I think custom R9 290X CF would be better and cheaper but since AMD is not robbing their customers it ok.

 

[W1zzard]

W1zzard, there is a serious wrong thing with your setup. Why did you put the radiator THAT CLOSE to the VRM cooling??? Those guys on Guru3d just put the radiator far away from the card, and VRM never hit 80 C.

I redid the test without the radiator on top:

Same result

 

[Xzibit]

W1zzard

Did AMD provide specs on the radiator fan ? Looks like a generic one like the ones that comes in last gen Antec AIO CPU Coolers.

 

[LAN_deRf_HA]

TPU said it has coil whine doesn't mean your card will definitely get coil whine. My 7990 is dead silent for example.

That's not typically how it works. You probably just have one that's pitched too high for you to hear or you constantly have v-sync on. Look at threads and reviews where people RMA over coil whine where every new card they get still has it. Even Asus cards with their bullshit about eliminating coil whine still have it. Now maybe some are higher pitched and that cuts down on the % of people that hear it, but it's there. There are a few reviewers out there who manufactures listen too and I wish they'd start pushing this issue more vigorously because they seem to ignore consumer complaints and frankly it's absurd that this problem has gone on for so many years.

 

[W1zzard]

Did AMD provide specs on the radiator fan ? Looks like a generic one like the ones that comes in last gen Antec AIO CPU Coolers.

Haven't seen anything, maybe it's part of the bundle that Asetek provides to AMD

 

[Ferrum Master]

Haven't seen anything, maybe it's part of the bundle that Asetek provides to AMD

FIRST DEAD

 

[Mathragh]

Its nice to see them fulfilling their promise when it comes to crossfire scaling and for a change also provide a truly adequate cooling solution on their stock cards.
I doubt many people a year ago would've believed you when you told them AMD now successfully made a dual-chip card with proper scaling, insane power use but still decent cooling/noise.

 

[DRDNA]

I want two of these. I would also like to see a hi speed controllable fan mod for the VRMs, which should be pretty darn easy. Nice review W1zzard as usual!

 

[yogurt_21]

well it seems you've found the new "yeah but..." in the crysis 3 test. "Yeah,, but can it play crysis 3 at 4k?"

 

[ndtoan]

I redid the test without the radiator on top:

Same result

why do you not lock temp at 95 degree?

 

[the54thvoid]

yeah!!! PLEEEEEEAAAAAASE AMD, give us a $1350 "Naked Edition"

I cant wait to see somebody overclock this once a custom water block gets released



Powercolor glues their chokes down to cut down on coil whine. I wonder what kind of (non-conductive) glue they use???

Not on all their cards, unless it's a new thing. My LCS 7970 from Powercolor had pretty bad whine - I RMA'd my first because of it - 2nd had it but not quite as bad. Cheap components and poor power circuitry can cause it. Hell, my Titan had/has a smidge of it.

 

[radrok]

I enjoyed the review, fap fap fap.

In all seriousness though, I would have loved to see a waterblocked version from AMD, the majority of people buying this will be using a custom waterloop.

54thvoid, my titans yell like schoolgirls under load, probably because I abused them with voltage

 

[btarunr]

In all seriousness though, I would have loved to see a waterblocked version from AMD, the majority of people buying this will be using a custom waterloop.

You may hear about a PowerColor LCS+ card soon.

 

[radrok]

You may hear about a PowerColor LCS+ card soon.

Yeah I figured but usually PowerColor charges twice what a waterblock would cost you on top of the graphics card alone.

 

[Tonduluboy]

I had something above 9 at first, but then thought about the price, the coil noise, the form factor inconvenience (when looking from a beginner's perspective).

W1zzz, obviously this card not for a beginner... anybody buying this expensive card, will not care about how pricey or how much their Electricity bill go up... they only care about how many FPS they can get out of this card. Like buying Ferrari, u cant complaint the car insurance fee or the gas usage...

 

[btarunr]

W1zzz, obviously this card not for a beginner...

Rich kids?

 

[refillable]

Well, Niche cards like these comes with things that are expected. It's a power sucker, runs noisy and hot (although the hybrid cooling helps the temps to 70 C and noise now), bpazing fast and has tons on CF scaling issue. Yes it's faster than the pointless Titan-Z. Perhaps what's worrying for me is only the VRM temps, which affects the lifespan of course. But sure, only rich freaks buy these and they'd replace their cards before theirs gone off. We will stick with the 290 (horray for no price jumps in non USA country!).

And, anyone who's buying this for 1080p gaming is a Nobo.

 

[cadaveca]

Well, Niche cards like these comes with things that are expected. It's a power sucker, runs noisy and hot (although the hybrid cooling helps the temps to 70 C and noise now), bpazing fast and has tons on CF scaling issue. Yes it's faster than the pointless Titan-Z. Perhaps what's worrying for me is only the VRM temps, which affects the lifespan of course. But sure, only rich freaks buy these and they'd replace their cards before theirs gone off. We will stick with the 290 (horray for no price jumps in non USA country!).

And, anyone who's buying this for 1080p gaming is a Nobo.

I am neither rich, nor a noob. I will buy one, just to show it off and piss off people like you. I got dual 780 Ti to push a single panel @ 1200p already. I use a 4960X, and spent $800 on 32 GB of custom-built Avexir ram. All I do is surf the internet..I don't even PLAY games anymore. So what?

Why anyone would seem to care...is beyond me. AMD and other tech companies make products like this for marketing, and because they WILL sell, just like the original Titan, and the forth-coming Titan-Z.


The cost of things doesn't matter unless money matters to you, and although I have very little money, and no job, I still get the things I want, no problem, and you won't hear me complaining about what someone decides something is worth, or calling people that buy expensive hardware noobs...

High-power computing today is excessive, and as such, it SHOULD be priced high, and stupid. No-one needs even a single 290, nevermind a dual GPU card... Not one person. Nobody needs to play videogames, watch TV, or troll the internet. Yet here we are...

 

[Suka]

That is an awesome overclock particularly the memory, if only the vrms were cooler it would be perfect no?Or maybe if it was 1200$

 

[sweet]

That is an awesome overclock particularly the memory, if only the vrms were cooler it would be perfect no?Or maybe if it was 1200$

AMD's engineers need to feed their wife

At least they didn't rob our kidneys with a 3000$ card

 

[HumanSmoke]

AMD's engineers need to feed their wife

AMD's engineers share a wife?
You'd think with all that extra spare time they could have come up with more than two GCN 2.0 based GPUs

At least they didn't rob our kidneys with a 3000$ card

Technically, it would be kidney sale. Theft implies the deceitful removal of property. As far as I'm aware, to obtain a $3000 card you'd have to willingly part with the cash (biologic equivalent?) rather than have body organs removed against your will. A bad deal? Yes. Theft? No.

 

[razzaQ]

so actually, with 337 drivers nvidia just overclocked their card silently?bs about the dx11 optimization?

that's BS on your part, i got 100% boost in some games, and i tested this on different cards, i monitored the max gpu freq with the last whql and the new beta, it's all the same, but different gains, BUD!

 

[Vario]

This card with a full waterblock would be quite nice. The dual gpu cards always have problems with heat.

They could have stacked a 3rd PCI-E power cable by doubling up the connectors like on my PNY 770.