MSI Radeon R9 290(X) gaming/lightning card club

[R00kie]

Hah, ive realized why my card was sagging. In fact, all of the cards that I used were sagging, it is because of the way my motherboard is mounted in my case, some of the standoff holes are not aligned properly so the mobo is slightly tilted, and that makes the feeling that my cards are slightly bending out of the slot...
Jeez, I need a new case fast...

 

[Lopez0101]

I don't have to worry about sag in my case the MB lays horizontal.

Well, I like the space saving of my skinny tower case.

I've been thinking about going over to a watercooling setup using an AIO and a Kraken G10 bracket. I've seen a lot of good things for decreasing temps. My MSI 290 Gaming cooler does a good job, until I put the side panel on. I've already got better case fans on order to fix the airflow issue, but I think it would be nifty to switch to an AIO. I've got the space on the front of the case for a 120 or 240mm radiator (unless it has a small reservoir on the bottom like most seem to). I think a double thick 120mm AIO (similar to the H80i, or any other brand). If anything, getting even 10C lower temps would be neat, but I also just kind of want to do it for the hell of it.

Anybody else gone the G10/AIO route?

 

[kevnician]

I have 2 MSI R9 290 Gaming 4G and I find the top card gets 10-15C hotter then the lower card. I also own a MSI R9 280X Gaming 3G and I have noticed it appears to use the Power Logic PLD10010S12HH fan, but for some reason on the 280x it is capable of spinning 1000RPM faster. I'm assuming this is set in the bios for the R9 290. Has anyone come across away of speeding up the R9 290 fans so I can better cool my top card, extra case fans have not really worked.

 

[DZZRtt]

Well, I like the space saving of my skinny tower case.

I've been thinking about going over to a watercooling setup using an AIO and a Kraken G10 bracket. I've seen a lot of good things for decreasing temps. My MSI 290 Gaming cooler does a good job, until I put the side panel on. I've already got better case fans on order to fix the airflow issue, but I think it would be nifty to switch to an AIO. I've got the space on the front of the case for a 120 or 240mm radiator (unless it has a small reservoir on the bottom like most seem to). I think a double thick 120mm AIO (similar to the H80i, or any other brand). If anything, getting even 10C lower temps would be neat, but I also just kind of want to do it for the hell of it.

Anybody else gone the G10/AIO route?

Already got my hands on EK Coolstream XTX 360 rad, ordered EK Supremacy acetal, about to order EK-FC R9 290X and the other stuff.
Also Nils (MDPC) sent me small package a week ago.
Fellow 4G Gaming owners be warned:
The new MSI R9-290X 4G Gaming V308-014 is built around entirely new PCB and is not compatible with any Full Cover water block. And EK have no plans to make one for this card.

V308-001Rs- are fully compatible with EK full cover blocks , just make sure you'll get new EK-FC R9 290X rev 2.0 EAN: 3831109869017 (the old one rev 1.0 EAN: 3831109868546 is not compatible with MSI 290/290X Gaming cards )

MSI R 9 290X 4G Gaming V308-001R PCB

MSI R 9 290X 4G Gaming V308-014 PCB

Another one thing. Looks like I've found a solution to my micro-stuttering problem. Few days ago I stopped using GPU-Z for monitoring. All the problems are gone now.

 

[Lopez0101]

Not going for a full coverage block, so it shouldn't be an issue. Also, looking at pictures of my card vs. reference, the PCB layout looks identical. Plus, I've got a regular 290.

 

[GreiverBlade]

oh well ... any type of R9 well i had a MSI R9 270 gaming but now i have a Gigabyte R9 270X WF3X OC (since i got it pretty cheap, even cheaper than my previous 270)

i go for a +25/+100 core mem atm, temps are pretty good (will try for more, also Gigabyte OC Guru is a pain but Afterburner doesn't allow voltage tweak ... i don't know why)

 

[Lopez0101]

Almost too small to see anything, haha. I can just tell them apart by the location of the caps on the right near the bottom. Mine is definitely ref 290.

 

[DZZRtt]

VRM 1 got some changes too.
Edited last post. Now with bigger pictures

 

[Lopez0101]

Much better! Also, VRM1 is the one closer to the right edge of the card, correct? That's the only one I'm concerned about cooling without a full coverage block. VRM2 didn't seem to notice FurMark was running on the card, only VRM1 started to sweat.

 

[DZZRtt]

Much better! Also, VRM1 is the one closer to the right edge of the card, correct? That's the only one I'm concerned about cooling without a full coverage block. VRM2 didn't seem to notice FurMark was running on the card, only VRM1 started to sweat.

Yes, you are correct, line of mosfets next to solid chokes and capacitors .
Looks like the new PCB got lots of smaller changes too

 

[Lopez0101]

New PCB looks much cleaner and looks like it has fewer parts to it as well. Wonder if it performs better because of that.

 

[iTile]

I bought 2x MSI R9 290's OC Gaming Editions, so I'll be joining the club \/ I currently have a heating issue. Wanted to run them in crossfire, but i had a temperature issue. My one card maxed out at 77 degrees Celsius, the other one was hitting 94 so fast that it slowed the overall performance down to lower than a single card's performance. Now I sold one of my R9 290's within a week (the one that was hitting 94 degrees within 2 minutes and downclocks. I kept the one that ran cooler. But now it ran at 77 degrees @40% fan speed (while my room temperature was around 35 degrees Celsius, so it was doing a very good job cooling the GPU) for a few weeks and all of a sudden I'm hitting 94 degrees celcius like my other card @ 100% fan speed with a room temperature of 18-20 degrees Celsius.

How would I go about solving this issue without losing my warranty.

 

[Lopez0101]

Hmm, could check and see if your idle temperatures seem overly high as well. Is it especially dusty around there? Could be a buildup of dust.

 

[iTile]

Hmm, could check and see if your idle temperatures seem overly high as well. Is it especially dusty around there? Could be a buildup of dust.

It is pretty clean the card is less than 2 months old as well, I clean out my PC every 3 months, idle temps is 36 degrees.. fan speed 18% auto. Idle temps is not an issue, I've never had this issue with it hitting 94 degrees causing it to downclock to <800mhz core speed. Factory OC is 977mhz clock and it was flawless for 4 weeks or so.. then all of a sudden could it be bad TIM application from factory?

 

[Lopez0101]

It could be. Maybe some screws have wiggled loose the keep the cooler in contact with the GPU. One thing I've noticed is my card sags a bit, pulling the card up back to straight lowers temps 2C~. I replaced the TIM on mine, but the factory application wasn't bad. I saw a few degree decrease.

 

[iTile]

It could be. Maybe some screws have wiggled loose the keep the cooler in contact with the GPU. One thing I've noticed is my card sags a bit, pulling the card up back to straight lowers temps 2C~. I replaced the TIM on mine, but the factory application wasn't bad. I saw a few degree decrease.

would I lose my warranty if I remove the cooler and apply new TIM on?

 

[Lopez0101]

From others on the forum, for MSI, typically no, but it depends on what country you're in. You'd have to call/email them and ask.

 

[GreiverBlade]

would I lose my warranty if I remove the cooler and apply new TIM on?

i heard MSI is a bit more easy on that kind of case, but if you look on the screw of the heatsink you see a little sticker "warranty void if removed" still i never had any issue... when i RMA'ed my R9 270 the warranty was off (as i replaced the TIM right after unboxing... a bad habit .. i know)

well with OC Guru II once i figured out how to use it effectively i got that

still stable for the moment

 

[fullinfusion]

For sagging cards remove the card from the system. Place on a flat surface and loosen all the top screws just a bit then starting from the center tighten them up and work outward. I've had my cards apart a number of times and my first complaint on the build was how loose all the bracket screws were. The 6 that hold the cooler on were fine but the rest were just dropped in and tiny thumbs must've screwed them down.

And the guy that said the top card was hotter then the bottom... The top card is doing more work and that's the way it goes so don't worried about it.

 

[kevnician]

Yes it may be doing more work, but it gets too hot and throttles. I ended up putting a sapphire Trix in the top slot. It is able to cool itself. It is louder but it works. If I could convince the fan to spin at 3600 rpm of the 280x I might be able to stick the 2 MSI r9 290s back together. Thanks for the sagging fix I'll try it....I just noticed it last night.

 

[GreiverBlade]

And the guy that said the top card was hotter then the bottom... The top card is doing more work and that's the way it goes so don't worried about it.

i hear it's not only a way of doing more work (since they do half of the part each ... but the master coordinate the slave.) but also a matter of placement ... if you have no space between the cards you need to unscrew both card and let a bit of space between them and re put the screws.

for instance my SLI of GTX580 (Asus Matrix Platinum) the "top card" (in a HAF XB so i should say the "right card" ) was 30° hotter before spacing them a bit more and 10 to 15° hotter instead once i got some space between them (and a fan blowing on them )

 

[iTile]

My Issue was just that even removing the one GPU it still ran at 94... After i move to my new place I"ll have time to take it apart and re-apply TIM.

 

[fullinfusion]

I see my replacement MSI gaming card has changed a bit in how it's been designed

They fliped the power sockets around to make it easy to unplug, also the Vregs are cooled with a large plate sandwitched between the cooler and card.
Has about 10 more fins for better cooling to the regulators which is a nice touch. Ill post a few pix this weekend when I have time.

 

[eidairaman1]

That happened when i had a 9700 Pro Aiw In the day...

I see my replacement MSI gaming card has changed a bit in how it's been designed

They fliped the power sockets around to make it easy to unplug, also the Vregs are cooled with a large plate sandwitched between the cooler and card.
Has about 10 more fins for better cooling to the regulators which is a nice touch. Ill post a few pix this weekend when I have time.

 

[fullinfusion]

heres a few pictures ot the change Msi did to there card.

NEW CARD

OLD CARD