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Radeon HD 7990 or R9 290x

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  • Radeon
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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October 27, 2013 4:08:03 AM

I am stuck between these two cards and I don't know which one to choose. I won't be buying a second card for a minimum of 2 years. They both cost exactly the same price $699 and I really think that the 7990 is the best way for me to go for now, I am getting a card at Christmas as well as the PC and my parents won't let me get two cards when I am living with them. That is why I like the 7990, 2 Cards in disguise and my parents don't know that. I am playing on 1 1080p display and I am doing Gaming, Game Making and 3D Design work.

My PC Specs (Haven't got these parts, Just my thoughts on what to get)

-Intel i7 4820k

-Asus Rampage IV Formula Motherboard

-Corsair Vengeance Pro Series Performance memory 16GB 1600MHz

-Antec HGC-900 900 watt Power Supply

-Thermaltake Level 10GT Gaming Case

-Samsung 250GB EVO Series SSD

-Bitfenix Fan Controller

-Asus DVD Drive

-Thermaltake FRIO Extreme CPU Cooler

-Gigabyte 7990/Gigabyte R9 290x

Any other changes to the Build? I am buying these parts at MSY in Australia which this PC costs $2500.

More about : radeon 7990 290x

October 27, 2013 4:15:14 AM

290X is competing with the All-Mighty-Over-Priced-Titan.

290X without a doubt!
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October 27, 2013 4:20:51 AM

I hoped you say 7990, Why R9 290x? The specs on 7990 are really good and remember i can't upgrade for a long time. I aren't the person who has the mind set on one card, I will change my mind which i am willing to do unless i get a sufficient response if the card is worth it.

I have had a serious look at the R9 290x but I don't know if it will last me as long as if a 7990 would. I would like to play all Games on Ultra getting above 60 FPS at least and needs the grunt for all my other work.
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October 27, 2013 4:21:38 AM

Crysis 3 is one game.
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Best solution

October 27, 2013 4:27:49 AM

Quote:
The coup de grâce is our set of benchmarks across three QHD screens—more than 11 million pixels. With all of our games cranked up to their highest possible settings, two R9 290Xes come close to a pair of $1000 Titans.
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-290x-hawa...

No single card is better than a Titan, not even the 7990. But the only single card that comes at par with it's performance is the 290X.
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October 27, 2013 4:27:56 AM

I have no idea what premium Australians are paying on PC parts, but AMD set the retail price on the 290x at $550US. I'm guessing you have a ~10% VAT and there are probably ridiculous import fees, so maybe $700AUS is about right.

Anyway, I'd go with the 290x. In terms of strict FPS the 7990 is better right now, but 290x is the new high-end stuff. Given two similarly-priced, similarly-performing options, it's better to go with the single-GPU setup. Less heat, less power, and dual-GPU setups can have more issues. Plus getting a dual-GPU setup right away gives you fewer options to upgrade in the future.
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October 27, 2013 4:42:40 AM

OK I am really considering the R9 290x. I like how it is 300W card, That just sounds really cool and really powerful for a single GPU. I think it is the better option for now as well. The 7990 I have read does have some problems with crossfire and that is my drawback. Do you think that they are going to make R9 290x's with different coolers on them? Since it is only just released, The price will drop in a couple weeks and then it will be less. Could you guys give me a bit more information about the R9 290x like FPS Wise and that? I know the 7990 is pretty good at FPS -Not consistent because it is always up and down-. 4GB 512-Bit is also really good for me as that on a single card is monstrous. Does it have 64ROP's as some articles say?. Thanks for the replies.

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October 27, 2013 4:51:39 AM

Thank's so much for the help and decision making IAMEXTREME, Just for the conclusion and best answer, Does The rig specs look good and will that be good for the work that i am going? If the parts do need any changing then the selection will have to be from MSY because I am buying in-store, Because that store is like a heaven, Bringing down the price as low as they can go over here, The 7990 for $699 is a really good deal for over here and hopefully the price of the R9 290x will significantly drop and then that is the true factor of my final choice.
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October 27, 2013 4:54:02 AM

Is the R9 290x 300 watt? it says it is everywhere else.
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October 27, 2013 4:58:39 AM

Gaming, Game Making and 3D Design work

^For gaming any cpu better than or equal to an i5 is appropriate, however for Game making and 3D design work, you need processor with alot more threads (hyperthreading), for that you have selected the i7. You RAM is addequate. Every thing is compatible and good to go.

Except I don't prefer any power supplies other then the XFX and Seasonic! They are the best PSU's in the world.
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October 27, 2013 5:02:02 AM

Unofficialy it is said ~300watts.
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October 27, 2013 5:02:55 AM

The Antec PSU I have chosen has very good reviews and 5 years warranty. I read through the review on the R9 290x and it says that it is under load and gets to 95 degrees pretty fast, That concerns me a little and I don't like the sound of that. Will other companies release different cooler models for that Graphics card?
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October 27, 2013 5:06:13 AM

Obviously they will. Gigabyte, Asus, MSI will be all willing to enhance its cooling and clock rates to boost up their sales.
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October 27, 2013 5:06:59 AM

Other Questions on the 7990, It says on Hardware compare that the bandwidth is 288GB/s, Even though it is double GPU you'd think that it would double to 576GB/s, Why is that so?.

-The R9 290x is 320GB/s and that makes me really consider it for a single GPU. Will the R9 290x have a good overclock capability as well?
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October 27, 2013 5:08:46 AM

Thanks for all the help and I am going to go for the R9 290x, I am only concerned about the temperature and if it can be overclocked more without it getting too hot.
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October 27, 2013 5:10:20 AM

Glad to help you :) 
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October 27, 2013 5:12:51 AM

Thanks for the help and I am now stuck on the R9 290x!!!!!!!!!!!! The 7990 has just left me now even though performance wise it is better. For a single GPU, The R9 290x is unbeatable and I will probably get block coolers on it and defiantly get a second when I possibly can. Thanks.
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October 27, 2013 5:15:37 AM

Two in CF R9 290X, with OC'd i7 and ram, gosh! Your rig can render life!
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October 27, 2013 5:20:33 AM

IAMEXTREME said:
Two in CF R9 290X, with OC'd i7 and ram, gosh! Your rig can render life!


What would be the limit of OC'ing the i7 to, I will probably go for an i7 5930k Haswell-E in the future. I would mind having it at 4.5GHz, Would the Thermaltake FRIO Extreme keep it cool at that clock rate?

-I wanted to play crysis 3 on Max settings, Will a single R9 290x on 1 1080p display be able to achieve 60 FPS without too much trouble?
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October 27, 2013 5:50:11 AM

Yes 60+ fps for crysis 3.

With dark rock pro 2, you can 4.5-4.8 with ease.
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October 28, 2013 4:01:28 AM

IAMEXTREME said:
Yes 60+ fps for crysis 3.

With dark rock pro 2, you can 4.5-4.8 with ease.


Damn! That CPU cooler isn't in Australia and I really like it. I like buying things in store and I can't buy online. Also the parts I am buying are really cheap in-store. The Thermaltake FRIO Extreme has two 140mm fans and 6 heat pipes. Has really good performance and the best Air cooler over here that I like. There is the Noctura NDH-14, Which I like but the FRIO Extreme just suits my case theme better. Love it's 10 year warranty too. I don't really like liquid cooling as I am afraid that it might leak (Which it probably won't) and I don't want to buy the fluid for the cooler.
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October 28, 2013 5:31:32 AM

I still have a strong hunch for the 7990, I just remembered that I can get 8 FREE Games with it for only $699 in Australia, That is a very good deal if you ask me, It will be more powerful than one R9 290x and I won't have to buy the extra games that I want to play either.

-I am buying the Card here:

http://msy.com.au/product.jsp?productId=10788

-In that store do you think that I wold get the 8 free games or is that only if I buy directly from AMD?

-The Prices here are insanely High and for the same price as R9 290x i really don't see the point of getting it over 7990. I'm all over the joint but I don't think I can upgrade for a long (2-3 years) time so I think that I will go 7990. Thanks anyways but the 290x isn't worth the price over here, My parents hate me buying lots of games anyway, so since I get 8 games i like i guess it is the better way to go.
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November 7, 2013 4:17:39 AM

I wouldn't discount the 7990. It does have a bad reputation, but with the newer versions of AMDs drivers that include Frame Pacing the biggest complaint people had is now effectively gone. Unless you play DX9 games or game on multiple monitors, but from your posts I don't think you'll be doing much of either?

The 290X is a great card, but in its current state not worth buying, unless you don't mind the incredible noise it makes when the fans are cranked up. Have a look on youtube etc for proof of this. And to get the card to perform to a level that will give you 60fps in Crysis 3 at maximum settings (including MSAA) it would have to be running with almost 100% fans. Other reviewers have found that they hit 75% fan duty just in a game menu - it really is a great card with a completely inadequate cooling solution. So the best advice if you want a 290X is to wait for Asus, Sapphire and the like to release custom coolers. That should reduce the noise and bring some consistency to the performance. Right now, the reference card struggles to even reach its core speed of 1000Mhz, usually after 30 mins gaming it is around the 850Mhz mark which will not get you the level of performance you crave.

Right now the 7990 outperforms it almost across the board. I can't agree with the poster earlier who said the Titan is the single fastest card - please have a look at some of these benchmarks to see what I mean.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/battlefield_4_vga_...

This one shows the 7990 hit 128fps at 1980x1200, with 2xMSAA. You could probably achieve a similar figure at 1080p with 4x MSAA, but regardless it shows the 7990 is miles ahead of the Titan and any other single-GPU solution. The 290X also out-performs the Titan here, but is over-shadowed by the 7990.

http://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchm...

This one looks at frame times. Again, the 7990 puts in a very strong performance, hitting frame times that are, within margin of error, the same as a Titan. Interestingly the 290X does even better, but this link shows that people who still think the frame times of the 7990 are terrible are mistaken, at least as far as BF4 goes. The 7990 outperforms the GTX 780 in this case!

One more. This time a taxing scene indoors, again at 1920 x 1200:

http://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchm...

The numbers are lower, but the difference remains - the 7990 is clearly the faster card.

And the last one. The 290X is not here, but you can infer its performance from the previous benchmarks.

http://www.bf4blog.com/battlefield-4-retail-gpu-cpu-ben...

I'm not saying the 7990 is for everyone, and it will cause a whole lot of headaches for you if you ever buy another one. But, would you really need to with this kind of performance on tap? I couldn't find much on Crysis 3, but I did see that the 7990 averages around 40fps at 2560 x 1440, so would imagine it'll hit the 60fps mark at 1080p.

The only other thing is coil whine. This isn't exclusive to the 7990, but the worst cases of it can be found on that card. I guess you could always return it for another if it was problematic.

In case you're wondering, I'm in a very similar position to you, OP. Got money saved for a good rig, but am stuck at 1080p due to desk size and although I want to upgrade to SLI or CF in the future it won't be for a while. In the meantime I want as much performance as possible. My options right now are: 780 Classified now, another later; 780 ti soon, probably nothing later(expense); 7990 now, nothing later; custom-cooled 290X now, MAYBE something later (custom 290X is a 4-slot design, so would have to think hard on mobo/case combination); wait for at least a month and buy a AIB 290X from Asus etc, then another later. The latter makes the most sense (I think) but I don't have the patience!

Let us know what you decide!
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November 9, 2013 9:00:22 PM

SuperADJ said:
I wouldn't discount the 7990. It does have a bad reputation, but with the newer versions of AMDs drivers that include Frame Pacing the biggest complaint people had is now effectively gone. Unless you play DX9 games or game on multiple monitors, but from your posts I don't think you'll be doing much of either?

The 290X is a great card, but in its current state not worth buying, unless you don't mind the incredible noise it makes when the fans are cranked up. Have a look on youtube etc for proof of this. And to get the card to perform to a level that will give you 60fps in Crysis 3 at maximum settings (including MSAA) it would have to be running with almost 100% fans. Other reviewers have found that they hit 75% fan duty just in a game menu - it really is a great card with a completely inadequate cooling solution. So the best advice if you want a 290X is to wait for Asus, Sapphire and the like to release custom coolers. That should reduce the noise and bring some consistency to the performance. Right now, the reference card struggles to even reach its core speed of 1000Mhz, usually after 30 mins gaming it is around the 850Mhz mark which will not get you the level of performance you crave.

Right now the 7990 outperforms it almost across the board. I can't agree with the poster earlier who said the Titan is the single fastest card - please have a look at some of these benchmarks to see what I mean.

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/battlefield_4_vga_...

This one shows the 7990 hit 128fps at 1980x1200, with 2xMSAA. You could probably achieve a similar figure at 1080p with 4x MSAA, but regardless it shows the 7990 is miles ahead of the Titan and any other single-GPU solution. The 290X also out-performs the Titan here, but is over-shadowed by the 7990.

http://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchm...

This one looks at frame times. Again, the 7990 puts in a very strong performance, hitting frame times that are, within margin of error, the same as a Titan. Interestingly the 290X does even better, but this link shows that people who still think the frame times of the 7990 are terrible are mistaken, at least as far as BF4 goes. The 7990 outperforms the GTX 780 in this case!

One more. This time a taxing scene indoors, again at 1920 x 1200:

http://www.techspot.com/review/734-battlefield-4-benchm...

The numbers are lower, but the difference remains - the 7990 is clearly the faster card.

And the last one. The 290X is not here, but you can infer its performance from the previous benchmarks.

http://www.bf4blog.com/battlefield-4-retail-gpu-cpu-ben...

I'm not saying the 7990 is for everyone, and it will cause a whole lot of headaches for you if you ever buy another one. But, would you really need to with this kind of performance on tap? I couldn't find much on Crysis 3, but I did see that the 7990 averages around 40fps at 2560 x 1440, so would imagine it'll hit the 60fps mark at 1080p.

The only other thing is coil whine. This isn't exclusive to the 7990, but the worst cases of it can be found on that card. I guess you could always return it for another if it was problematic.

In case you're wondering, I'm in a very similar position to you, OP. Got money saved for a good rig, but am stuck at 1080p due to desk size and although I want to upgrade to SLI or CF in the future it won't be for a while. In the meantime I want as much performance as possible. My options right now are: 780 Classified now, another later; 780 ti soon, probably nothing later(expense); 7990 now, nothing later; custom-cooled 290X now, MAYBE something later (custom 290X is a 4-slot design, so would have to think hard on mobo/case combination); wait for at least a month and buy a AIB 290X from Asus etc, then another later. The latter makes the most sense (I think) but I don't have the patience!

Let us know what you decide!


I have actually decided to get a 7990 and an Intel i7 4930k because of other topics suggesting for the 3D Design work 6 cores would be really handy. I am planning on doing a lot of overclocking on the 4930k as well. What do you reckon is better the 7990 or R9 290x both the same price over here and my parents won't let me upgrade for a long time. They don't want me getting two cards, that is why I like the 7990, Two cards in disguise and they don't know that since it is on a single PCB. 8 free games as well, I don't have any games for PC anyway so it is really worth it for me since in Australia the prices are insanely high and for $699 for Gigabyte 7990, That is a really good price.

Suggestions?
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November 14, 2013 11:18:51 AM

Sounds like you answered your own question! The 290X is a fantastic card, but right now it's hindered by the reference cooler that is not really up to the task, unless you are okay with significant noise. The 7990 isn't exactly a quiet card, but certainly less bothersome than the 290X running at full chat. Performance wise, well the 7990 is ahead in every benchmark I've seen. The old problems with frame times seem mostly fixed, add in the fact you get 8 games free (that perhaps you can sell on?) and pass the one card rule I'd say it's the right choice! The only caveat is the fact you're dependant on Crossfire to out-perform cards like the 290X, but most of the big titles seem to offer a good Crossfire experience. Maybe check on individual games you like to play before you pull the trigger, just to be sure.

Once the custom-cooled 290Xs come out that might end up being the better card, but it'll likely still not perform as well as the 7990 and cost more. I was in a similar position and just ordered the cards I thought were best at the time. I could have waited for the next thing to come out, but by then another new card/solution would be out and I'd never make a decision!
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November 15, 2013 1:51:12 AM

Thanks for that 7990 is the best choice for me considering it's price.
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