ASUS Radeon R9 295X2 Graphics Card Pictured, Pricing Revealed

[btarunr]

Here's the first picture of an AMD add-in board (AIB) branded Radeon R9 295X2 dual-GPU graphics card, ASUS in this case. The card ships in a huge cubical box, although we're not sure if that paperboard box hides a metal suitcase inside. ASUS did away with the perforated metal grille over the central fan on the card, and plastered a couple of stickers, although the rest of the card sticks to AMD's reference board design. According to leading Turkish tech publication DonanimHaber, AMD is planning to price the Radeon R9 295X2 at US $1,499. According to older reports, the R9 295X2 is a dual-GPU CrossFire-on-a-stick graphics card, featuring two 28 nm "Hawaii" GPUs, with all 2,816 stream processors, 176 TMUs, 64 ROPs, and 512-bit wide memory interfaces enabled on each chip, and 4 GB of memory per GPU system, totaling the amount to 8 GB.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[THE_EGG]

Dayum, I guess the price isn't toooo bad considering what it is (especially compared to the estimated price of the TITAN Z). Miners will love it I think, just because it doesn't take up much room for all the computing power it makes.

 

[HumanSmoke]

Miners will love it I think, just because it doesn't take up much room for all the computing power it makes.

Might be a case of diminishing returns with Scrypt ASIC's starting to enter the market. If you're mining and gaming it would hold some value, since even doing both at the same time is probably an option

Dayum, I guess the price isn't toooo bad considering what it is (especially compared to the estimated price of the TITAN Z).

That seems like a false economy. An exorbitantly priced card isn't good value simply because it represents better value that an extortionately priced one. A better comparison might be two vendor OC'ed 290's for $940, or even a couple of OC'ed 290X's at $1140

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

Oh I don't know about that add four to a mining rig and you will need more psu power 2500watts then it is possible to buy and before you say it they don't have to be xfired to mine so four x2 is technically possible for folding or mining.
Looks ok but id go dual 290xs with custom blocks for that kind of money , to game on obv.

 

[radrok]

Just watch it sink in price after 1 month of being in the market without buyers.

Dual GPUs are pointless if they aren't equal or slightly less priced than a couple of single cards and please do not defend it with small format builds because those are a niche in our niche which does not make up for decent sales.

 

[robert3892]

What will the heat be with that setup I wonder?

 

[Relayer]

Doesn't it get the "Fastest card on the planet premium"? Even if it doesn't get the "1/2 the price of the competition" allowance. /sarc

Seriously though, this card has a good chance of being faster than 2x 290X in crossfire. Considering there are 290X's out there still going for ~$700 I can see where the $1500 price could come from. Assuming that's correct. I hope that it's less though, of course.

 

[AsRock]

Dayum, I guess the price isn't toooo bad considering what it is (especially compared to the estimated price of the TITAN Z). Miners will love it I think, just because it doesn't take up much room for all the computing power it makes.

Hell better than nVidia's 3k price tag that's for sure lol ( as you said ).. How ever price is high before release so what is actually going on here.

 

[Prima.Vera]

This is just stupid. A dual GPU card should ALWAYS cost LESS than 2 video cards with the same GPU! This is BS marketing ala nVidia. But i guess there will always be suckers to buy this...
Oh, how I miss the good ol' 4870X2 and its 550$ price at launch...

 

[erixx]

''AMD add-in board (AIB) ''

Great clarification right before adding a useless abbreviation.

 

[Bytales]

Just watch it sink in price after 1 month of being in the market without buyers.

Dual GPUs are pointless if they aren't equal or slightly less priced than a couple of single cards and please do not defend it with small format builds because those are a niche in our niche which does not make up for decent sales.

It cannot be and it isnt the same or sligthly less than 2 cards together, because there is more stuff and engineering and R&D involvet in making it. THe custom cooling loop also costs money, allthough that shouldnt be to expensive.

On the other hand, compared to two cards, this is a single card, but as it is, i think the price is fair in my opinion at 1500 USD, seeing as the 290x go for as high as 700 because of the mining spree.

The question is, should i get 2 of these babies, or wait for ARES III, that is the question.

 

[radrok]

It cannot be and it isnt the same or sligthly less than 2 cards together, because there is more stuff and engineering and R&D involvet in making it. THe custom cooling loop also costs money, allthough that shouldnt be to expensive.

On the other hand, compared to two cards, this is a single card, but as it is, i think the price is fair in my opinion at 1500 USD, seeing as the 290x go for as high as 700 because of the mining spree.

The question is, should i get 2 of these babies, or wait for ARES III, that is the question.

4870x2 - 5970 and 6990 would have a word with you.

 

[buildzoid]

It cannot be and it isnt the same or sligthly less than 2 cards together, because there is more stuff and engineering and R&D involved in making it. THe custom cooling loop also costs money, allthough that shouldnt be to expensive.

To be honest dual GPU cards have very little R&D behind them compared to GPU cores. The Crossfire functionality is already in the chips all they have to do is add in a PCI-e switch and and double the VRMs phase count and boom dual GPU is born. As for cooling you could easily cram a small pump between 2 universal GPU blocks and stick a metal plate over the VRAM chips and MOSFETs. So no R&D wise dual GPU cards are a joke compared to the actual GPU cores. So really dual GPU cards should cost only a little more than 2 individual cards not 400$ more.

 

[THE_EGG]

To be honest dual GPU cards have very little R&D behind them compared to GPU cores. The Crossfire functionality is already in the chips all they have to do is add in a PCI-e switch and and double the VRMs phase count and boom dual GPU is born. As for cooling you could easily cram a small pump between 2 universal GPU blocks and stick a metal plate over the VRAM chips and MOSFETs. So no R&D wise dual GPU cards are a joke compared to the actual GPU cores. So really dual GPU cards should cost only a little more than 2 individual cards not 400$ more.

That being said though, there is the benefit of having the power of two cards on one card such as an insane ITX build or a micro-atx build that has a nice sound card and/or TV tuner etc. Also the ability of having quad-crossfire (not that 4X crossfire makes much sense but for mining it might be handy) that takes up much less space.

 

[Akrian]

Well, that's better than $3k for Titan "Zombie", but still, $1500 for a 2x290x sandwich? no thank you, I'm sticking with my 3x290 for $1200.

 

[radrok]

Well, that's better than $3k for Titan "Zombie", but still, $1500 for a 2x290x sandwich? no thank you, I'm sticking with my 3x290 for $1200.

Having directly dealt with AMD/ATI in the past, you'd be better sticking with no more than a dual setup

 

[GSG-9]

Just watch it sink in price after 1 month of being in the market without buyers.

Dual GPUs are pointless if they aren't equal or slightly less priced than a couple of single cards and please do not defend it with small format builds because those are a niche in our niche which does not make up for decent sales.

If the demand is that low they will not make enough for the price to sink.

They are not pointless, because people like me eat them up (second hand) a year after launch. I defend it with usability, and the joy I get from tinkering with obscure electronics.

Also It's not very objective to disregard a point of view because you don't align with it. I would argue the small form factor community is more innovative than the stale overclocking community these days.
/End rant​

 

[Akrian]

Having directly dealt with AMD/ATI in the past, you'd be better sticking with no more than a dual setup

I've dealt with 2x 4870x2, 4x 7970, and now 3x r9 290, so I know what I'm getting myself into =)

 

[JBVertexx]

I don't see how a single 120mm radiator will cool two R9-290x's.

 

[GSG-9]

I don't see how a single 120mm radiator will cool two R9-290x's.

I do, it won't hit any crazy cool temps like a dual 240mm radiator or anything... but it will do its job. Maybe it will keep them below 85c?

 

[Sasqui]

With a glut of reference 290x's fetching a measly $400 (and less) on FLEAbay, it's certainly a price no brainer to go CF with aftermarket air or water cooling.

 

[Nordic]

At that price this card will not be touched for mining. All these miners who you have complained who recently jumped on the bandwagon have made mining less profitable. This gpu is so expensive its roi is 30 months.

 

[Sasqui]

At that price this card will not be touched for mining. All these miners who you have complained who recently jumped on the bandwagon have made mining less profitable. This gpu is so expensive its roi is 30 months.

Yes, as evidenced by the price of $900 for a card on Newegg 4 months ago now going for $600. Like I mentioned, used 290x's fetching sub $400 on eBay... I wonder how many miner wanna-be's have thrown in the towel. I just wish I was in the market for a 290x right now, the 7870 is still good for everything I play.

 

[DRDNA]

I like ...I like a lot! I would love two of them!
I also like dual gpu cards and never had any real issues so I'm not scared.

 

[radrok]

I've dealt with 2x 4870x2, 4x 7970, and now 3x r9 290, so I know what I'm getting myself into =)

I have the highest respect for you, after 3 gens of fails I had to jump ship and I'll say I've been rewarded by doing so.