MSI R9 390 8GB GAMING came in!

[Aquinus]

As I promised to several people, I'm typing this very post on the fancy new R9 390. It had no issues starting up however, it was a very close squeeze between my hard drive and GPU (I tried to take a picture, but lighting sucks.) I haven't done anything with it yet other than boot and get the latest drivers installed.

I have pictures to get started with, as in photos and a screenshot of GPU-Z. I plan on doing some more heavy lifting with it once I got the formalities out of the way.

So lets start from the beginning, shall we?

First we have the basic unboxing of the product. Nothing too spectacular short of the GPU itself. The box itself felt kind of like cheap cardboard but, good thing I don't run the cardboard.


More coming in more posts. I'm limited by how much I can upload.

 

[Aquinus]

...and the two that have lasted me so long...

Lastly, GPU-Z! I'm even surprised that my 3820 will do PCI-E 3.0.

Multi-monitor usage is not as bad as reviews state. Only when 2D on the desktop is actually occurring, will the VRAM power up full throttle. If you're just looking at a web page or doing nothing in particular, it does downclock memory and my idle usage drops by 50 watts. At idle, I'm using 50 watts less than my 6870s together and 25 less than one of them alone at idle. Fully loaded puts me close to similar power consumption as stock.

TL;DR: The R9 390 is better at idle than even one 6870 and far better than two.

Initial impressions with Elite: Dangerous are: It's a fucking awesome card.

 

[RealNeil]

It's a fucking awesome card.

LOL! Glad that you like it.

 

[Lionheart]

That's a sexy looking card, quality looking pics too

 

[Aquinus]

LOL! Glad that you like it.

I was skeptical about it being able to drive all 3 displays with a more recent game at 60FPS but, man was I wrong. This is a damn nice card.
I'll just put these there to describe what kind of fun I've been doing with the card.

Best part about this is that AA is still on and the GPU isn't running full tilt to hold 60FPS. I "overclocked" it (really setting upper limit,) to 100mhz higher (1140mhz) and it's smooth as butter and stable. GPU temp barely went over 60*C. Best part was that ED didn't even need to use that much power. This is most definitely, a nice card. It's big (physical size,) but it's nice.

That's a sexy looking card, quality looking pics too

I used my phone (an iPhone 4S.) At some point I plan on pulling everything out and redoing the entire machine. I'll take pictures when I do that but, I'll use my wife camera instead. It's not DSLR, but it gives me a better shot. I have a dream that is liquid cooling but, money is always a thing. Much planning is in order.

 

[xvi]

I was thinking about some kind of 3x1080 setup. Nice to know the 390 will power it.

 

[theonedub]

Long live TwinFrozr

 

[Aquinus]

I was thinking about some kind of 3x1080 setup. Nice to know the 390 will power it.

It was handling ED at 60FPS flawlessly. I can't say how it will run with other games. I'll begin exploring as I have time to.

 

[Aquinus]

Quick update. Today I managed to find the eyefinity fix for Skyrim and downloaded the high res textures. Runs smooth as could be and in the rare cases when it drops to ~50FPS, it's a CPU limitation since I'm running at stock and I can see a CPU ceiling when it occurs. Either way, another game that I'm 100% satisfied with the GPU on. I suspect Minecraft will run well.

 

[RealNeil]

Solitaire?

 

[AsRock]

Solitaire?

Yes in case mother comes around haha.

What made ya pick MSI ?.

 

[RejZoR]

The cooler I'm guessing. Same reason why ppl pick Strix cards. These go into passive mode on light loads and they are freaking silent even at higher RPM. Even on otherwise hot R9-390 cards!

 

[Xzibit]

The cooler I'm guessing. Same reason why ppl pick Strix cards. These go into passive mode on light loads and they are freaking silent even at higher RPM. Even on otherwise hot R9-390 cards!

I don't think there is a hot R9 390 card out there. Most of the reviews show them pretty even regardless of cooler. Below 74C during stress testing and below 64C during gaming.

 

[RejZoR]

Look at the coolers they have and compare them to those found on R9-290X's...

 

[64K]

Very nice upgrade from those two 6870s. You have a good upgrade path in the future too if you decide to Crossfire that 390. 8 GB is more than enough VRAM for this console cycle. Enjoy.

 

[Aquinus]

Solitaire?

What made ya pick MSI ?.

Both of my 6870s were MSI and the lasted fairly well. It was also the best rated 390 on NewEgg while also being the cheapest. I've had dealings with their RMA department and wasn't disappointed, so that's a motivation as well. I've also had very few problems with MSI products.

The cooler I'm guessing. Same reason why ppl pick Strix cards. These go into passive mode on light loads and they are freaking silent even at higher RPM. Even on otherwise hot R9-390 cards!

I haven't heard the fans on this card over any other noise. It is most definitely more quiet than either of my 6870s prior.

Also, given how many people on the forums have been complaining about ASUS' RMA process, I decided to not tempt fate like I did with my motherboard.

I don't think there is a hot R9 390 card out there. Most of the reviews show them pretty even regardless of cooler. Below 74C during stress testing and below 64C during gaming.

My exact observation. At 100% load in a benchmark I don't see more than 66*C and in a game it's usually between 58-64*C without a custom fan profile. In fact I don't want to screw with the fan profile because it's pretty good already.

Look at the coolers they have and compare them to those found on R9-290X's...

This GPU is pretty big and is most certainly heavy. I tried to take some pictures of the top and bottom of the card so you can see the cooler. They really crammed as much heatsink in there as they could, and it works.

Side note: The whole thing about AMD's multi-monitor usage being high is a little bit of a hoax. Most of the time when the 390 is sitting around doing nothing, is does downclock memory and my entire system draws <150 watts when with a single 6870 I was drawing 175 and 200 with two at idle. The only exception to this is when you're moving a window or actually causing an animation to occur, in which case the memory will clock back up and go back down then the load disappears.

Very nice upgrade from those two 6870s. You have a good upgrade path in the future too if you decide to Crossfire that 390. 8 GB is more than enough VRAM for this console cycle. Enjoy.

That was the intent. I was having an issue with my 6870s because of the 1GB. I debated getting a 290 and decided to just pay a little extra and get the 8GB and tweaked card. I have to say, I don't even need to overclock it because most of the time it doesn't even reach full clocks because I don't have a game that will tax it 100%.

Honestly, the hardest thing I had to do was move wires so the GPU could fit next to my hard drives. Other than that, it has been smooth sailing.

 

[Devon68]

Wow it looks great. The thing it made me Lol is the Release date from GPU-Z 5 Nov 2013 for a brand new card. I know why it shows that but still it's kind of silly for a new card.

 

[Aquinus]

Wow it looks great. The thing it made me Lol is the Release date from GPU-Z 5 Nov 2013 for a brand new card. I know why it shows that but still it's kind of silly for a new card.

In reality, it's just a tweaked 290 with extra VRAM. It's important for anyone to recognize that before investing into it. So long as that doesn't bother you, it's a good card.

 

[rooivalk]

I'm torn between this MSI or PowerColor.

MSI probably has lower noise while gaming but I don't dig the whisker design (worse, my pc theme is black/blue).
PowerColor is cheaper by about ~$30 (could translate into several pizzaz), the 3 fans maybe better in the long hours of gaming (although noisier), the design is also neutral, but PowerColor is kinda B-grade brand for me.

 

[Aquinus]

I'm torn between this MSI or PowerColor.

MSI probably has lower noise while gaming but I don't dig the whisker design (worse, my pc theme is black/blue).
PowerColor is cheaper by about ~$30 (could translate into several pizzaz), the 3 fans maybe better in the long hours of gaming (although noisier), the design is also neutral, but PowerColor is kinda B-grade brand for me.

Yeah, I don't exactly like the red on the MSI card however, aesthetics were an afterthought. However, I am debating putting my machine under water in the winter. The idea of heating and molding rigid acrylic tubing intrigues me. I thought copper would be cool but, it would cost a lot of money to do it and would require me building parts of the loop outside or in the basement. Anyways, I agree that the coloring sucks for blue/black as mine is similar but with a bit of white as well. The PowerColor card might not protrude into a third slot as well which would be a perk. I had a PowerColor card before but was unimpressed with its ability to overclock but, that was some time ago (a 4850 iirc.)

 

[AsRock]

Still think a TIR4\5 would make your brain explode.

 

[vega22]

Look at the coolers they have and compare them to those found on R9-290X's...

the 390x in the op is the same cooler as the 290x gamer. even down to still being a pain in the arse to press the release on the power in cables....

temps are in line with the 290x with the good aftermarket cooling but everyone ignored those reviews choosing to only focus on the piss poor showing the initial reviews gave with teh amd ref cooler.

@Aquinus i would say go for the water if you can. since i changed my blower to an antec 920 all in one jobbie it is like a new card again. silent and overclocking....win:win

 

[Aquinus]

the 390x in the op

I corrected that for you.

@Aquinus i would say go for the water if you can. since i changed my blower to an antec 920 all in one jobbie it is like a new card again. silent and overclocking....win:win

Eventually. I want to think it through a bit first. Do some measurements, concoct some ideas, consider how I would have to modify my chassis (if I don't just get a new one,) stuff like that. Putting it under water would be nice but, I don't plan on rushing into it. I want to give it some serious thought.

 

[rooivalk]

The PowerColor card might not protrude into a third slot as well which would be a perk. I had a PowerColor card before but was unimpressed with its ability to overclock but, that was some time ago (a 4850 iirc.)

IIRC PowerColor is also 3 slot. I thought MSI is 2 slot until I saw your card.

What coincidence, I also bought PowerColor 4850 for my office PC last year (actually rebranded Mobility Radeon 4850). Rather meh, but it works and it's cheap (~$50 back then).

 

[Aquinus]

IIRC PowerColor is also 3 slot. I thought MSI is 2 slot until I saw your card.

Yeah, the card and heat sink alone takes up the first 2 slots. The protrusion into the third is really just the plastic shroud and the fans.