MSI Radeon R9 290X Lightning 4 GB

W1zzard · Apr 15, 2014

The $700 MSI R9 290X Lightning is MSI's latest flagship card geared toward overclockers and enthusiasts. It comes with a large overclock out of the box, higher than any other custom R9 290X available today. The board is cooled by a large triple-slot, triple-fan cooler that yields excellent temperatures.

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LeonVolcove · Apr 22, 2014

wow $699, lets give them couple a week and those price will really coming down

vega22 · Apr 22, 2014

already fell to £420 over here dude.

LeonVolcove · Apr 22, 2014

what? really?

Razorfang · Apr 22, 2014

Thanks for the review, W1zzard.

One question: do you use a third party automatic fan speed adjuster (with or without fan curve) like EVGA Precision, for example, or is it adjusted out of the box by CCC?

fullinfusion · Apr 22, 2014

Razorfang said:
Thanks for the review, W1zzard.

One question: do you use a third party automatic fan speed adjuster (with or without fan curve) like EVGA Precision, for example, or is it adjusted out of the box by CCC?

W1zzards showing how the fans ramp up in speed on there own, as the card generates heat. The fans profile is pre-programed in the cards bios.
There is software to control the fans if one desires and I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong but if I read the review I'm sure that's how it works.

Frogger · Apr 22, 2014

Was really hoping the 'Lightning' might have been the Hawaii to buy. But guess not

. Might as well wait for the next Gen.
Thanks W1zz for Another great read :lovetpu:

Durvelle27 · Apr 22, 2014

Not bad but was hoping for better overclockability

fullinfusion · Apr 22, 2014

Durvelle27 said:
Not bad but was hoping for better overclockability

Stock voltage and an overclock like that is nothing to frown about.

I'm sure with a bump in voltage, that thing will take off like a jet. Plus look at the memory clock :eek:

, it will scale with the voltage too :peace:

Id be all over this gpu in a heart beat...

@Frogger
Why you say that :confused:

Durvelle27 · Apr 22, 2014

fullinfusion said:
Stock voltage and an overclock like that is nothing to frown about.

I'm sure with a bump in voltage, that thing will take off like a jet. Plus look at the memory clock , it will scale with the voltage too

Id be all over this gpu in a heart beat...

@Frogger
Why you say that

well my reference R9 290X can do 1160/1500 at stock

fullinfusion · Apr 22, 2014

Durvelle27 said:
well my reference R9 290X can do 1160/1500 at stock

And is it under water? Id assume so, but if not hows the temps?

For a NON reference gpu I wouldn't complain at all for clocks like what the lightning is doing

That's not a run of the mill aftermarket gpu by any means... Love they have the sammy mem chips on board and hope they don't cheap out and slap some shitty ones on shortly

acupalypse · Apr 22, 2014

Durvelle27 said:
well my reference R9 290X can do 1160/1500 at stock

On water? If not, how does the gpu graph look when stressing the gpu? how's the temp?

Durvelle27 · Apr 22, 2014

fullinfusion said:
And is it under water? Id assume so, but if not hows the temps?

For a NON reference gpu I wouldn't complain at all for clocks like what the lightning is doing
That's not a run of the mill aftermarket gpu by any means... Love they have the sammy mem chips on board and hope they don't cheap out and slap some shitty ones on shortly

No it still has the Reference cooler on it. Temps are ok I've seen 73°C so far at 65% Fan speed and it also has Eplidia VRAM

fullinfusion · Apr 22, 2014

Durvelle27 said:
No it still has the Reference cooler on it. Temps are ok I've seen 73°C so far at 65% Fan speed and it also has Eplidia VRAM

Ok cool, seems like the earlier Eplidia chips are good clockers but the newer Hynix SUCK!

Durvelle27 · Apr 23, 2014

fullinfusion said:
Ok cool, seems like the earlier Eplidia chips are good clockers but the newer Hynix SUCK!

Wish it had samsung though. My GTX 780 had sammys and did 1850 without breaking a sweat. Hopefully will see what this card can really do once ppl start adding water.

acupalypse · Apr 23, 2014

Durvelle27 said:
No it still has the Reference cooler on it. Temps are ok I've seen 73°C so far at 65% Fan speed and it also has Eplidia VRAM

Nice temps!

Frogger · Apr 23, 2014

fullinfusion said:
Stock voltage and an overclock like that is nothing to frown about.

I'm sure with a bump in voltage, that thing will take off like a jet. Plus look at the memory clock , it will scale with the voltage too

Id be all over this gpu in a heart beat...

@Frogger
Why you say that

I'm Praying that the 28nm Hawaii refresh hinted
"AMD senior vice-president Lisa Su, responding to a question by Wells Fargo, in its Q1 investors call, confirmed that her company will stay on 28 nm throughout 2014"
will yield some chips that really shine .. If not waiting for the 20nm just feels right for a full rebuild with the latest

fullinfusion · Apr 23, 2014

Frogger said:
I'm Praying that the 28nm Hawaii refresh hinted
"AMD senior vice-president Lisa Su, responding to a question by Wells Fargo, in its Q1 investors call, confirmed that her company will stay on 28 nm throughout 2014"
will yield some chips that really shine .. If not waiting for the 20nm just feels right for a full rebuild with the latest

Man I dont know what to think :eek:

Lisa SU

I think AMD are waiting for green team to do there thing and then... AMD to follow suit but with better tech!??

but slap me upside the head and call me stupid or whatever but Please don't wake me from this dream :fear:

Durvelle27 · Apr 23, 2014

acupalypse said:
Nice temps!

Thx

LeonVolcove · Apr 23, 2014

I think only HIS R9 290x/290(custom cooling i mean) that not have been reviewed yet

fullinfusion · Apr 23, 2014

LeonVolcove said:
I think only HIS R9 290x/290(custom cooling i mean) that not have been reviewed yet

What are you talking about, that gold and silver thing they call a cooler?

If so I had one and tested it.

LeonVolcove · Apr 23, 2014

fullinfusion said:
What are you talking about, that gold and silver thing they call a cooler?

If so I had one and tested it.

gold and silver thing :laugh:

fullinfusion · Apr 23, 2014

LeonVolcove said:
gold and silver thing

Well take what I say with a grain of salt ok.

#1 the card in person looks great
#2 the cards cooler works fine at idle
#3 place a slight OC to it and it's mid 90's man

I had one, I sold it to a local on the 3rd day... It wasn't my cup of tea :shadedshu:

Relayer · Apr 23, 2014

Have to see what it does with some added voltage. The Powercolor PCS+ @ $579.99 matches it (beats it slightly).

Tatty_Two · Apr 23, 2014

Relayer said:
Have to see what it does with some added voltage. The Powercolor PCS+ @ $579.99 matches it (beats it slightly).

1190mhz, he has added voltage, see the bottom of page 27.

Processor	Ryzen 7 5700X
Memory	48 GB
Video Card(s)	RTX 4080
Storage	2x HDD RAID 1, 3x M.2 NVMe
Display(s)	30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software	Windows 10 64-bit

System Name	First Gaming PC
Processor	AMD APU Kaveri A10-7850k
Motherboard	MSI A88XM-E45
Cooling	Stock Cooler
Memory	Kingston HyperX 8 GB 1866MHz
Video Card(s)	Intergrated with CPU
Storage	Kingston Hyperx 3k 120 GB(OS) + 1 TB WD Blue
Display(s)	LG 20EN33V 1920 x 1080
Case	Infinity Rave
Audio Device(s)	Intergrated Sound Card
Power Supply	Enermax NAXN 500w
Software	Windows 8.1 64-bit

System Name	panda
Processor	6700k
Motherboard	sabertooth s
Cooling	raystorm block<black ice stealth 240 rad<ek dcc 18w 140 xres
Memory	32gb ripjaw v
Video Card(s)	290x gamer<ntzx g10<antec 920
Storage	950 pro 250gb boot 850 evo pr0n
Display(s)	QX2710LED@110hz lg 27ud68p
Case	540 Air
Audio Device(s)	nope
Power Supply	750w superflower
Mouse	g502
Keyboard	shine 3 with grey, black and red caps
Software	win 10
Benchmark Scores	http://hwbot.org/user/marsey99/

System Name	First Gaming PC
Processor	AMD APU Kaveri A10-7850k
Motherboard	MSI A88XM-E45
Cooling	Stock Cooler
Memory	Kingston HyperX 8 GB 1866MHz
Video Card(s)	Intergrated with CPU
Storage	Kingston Hyperx 3k 120 GB(OS) + 1 TB WD Blue
Display(s)	LG 20EN33V 1920 x 1080
Case	Infinity Rave
Audio Device(s)	Intergrated Sound Card
Power Supply	Enermax NAXN 500w
Software	Windows 8.1 64-bit

System Name	MONEY PIT
Processor	i7-3770K @ 4800 1.20v batch #3231B415 Delided
Motherboard	ASrock Z77 OC Formula w onboard waterblocks
Cooling	Apogee HD, MCP655,rad MCR320-XP,Micro Rev2 res
Memory	G,skill Trident X F3-2400C10D-16GTX
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX 980 Ti Classified with EK nickel/acetal waterblock installed
Storage	2x120gig Wildfire raid0 2x120gig VERTEX3 raid0
Display(s)	3/ Samsung2343bwx + 65in LG 4K
Case	NZXT Phantom White w/red
Audio Device(s)	ReCon3d fatal1ty pro, Logitech z906 THX
Power Supply	corsair AX860i
Mouse	Rat7
Software	64bit ++++ win 10

System Name	Black Prometheus
Processor	\|AMD Ryzen 7 1700
Motherboard	ASRock B550M Pro4\|MSI X370 Gaming PLUS
Cooling	Thermalright PA120 SE \| AMD Stock Cooler
Memory	G.Skill 64GB(2x32GB) 3200MHz \| 32GB(4x8GB) DDR4
Video Card(s)	ASUS DirectCU II R9 290 4GB
Storage	Sandisk X300 512GB + WD Black 6TB+WD Black 6TB
Display(s)	LG Nanocell85 49" 4K 120Hz + ACER AOPEN 34" 3440x1440 144Hz
Case	DeepCool Matrexx 55 V3 w/ 6x120mm Intake + 3x120mm Exhaust
Audio Device(s)	LG Dolby Atmos 5.1
Power Supply	Corsair RMX850 Fully Modular\| EVGA 750W G2
Mouse	Logitech Trackman
Keyboard	Logitech K350
Software	Windows 10 EDU x64

Processor	Intel Core i9 11900KF @ -.080mV PL max @220w
Motherboard	MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
Cooling	DeepCool LS520SE Liquid + 3 Phanteks 140mm case fans
Memory	32GB (4 x 8GB SR) Patriot Viper Steel Bdie @ 3600Mhz CL14 1.45v Gear 1
Video Card(s)	Asus Dual RTX 4070 OC + 8% PL
Storage	WD Blue SN550 1TB M.2 NVME//Crucial MX500 500GB SSD (OS)
Display(s)	AOC Q2781PQ 27 inch Ultra Slim 2560 x 1440 IPS
Case	Phanteks Enthoo Pro M Windowed - Gunmetal
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek ALC1200/SPDIF to Sony AVR @ 5.1
Power Supply	Seasonic CORE GM650w Gold Semi modular
Software	Win 11 Home x64

MSI Radeon R9 290X Lightning 4 GB

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