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Best R9 290

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  • Cooling
  • PowerColor
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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June 10, 2014 4:26:51 PM

So, Im upgrading my PC and am looking a R9 290. Whats the best one? Im limited on money so nothing above $430. I was looking at the ASUS 290 but read about the VRM cooling problems and that moved me away. So now im looking at the XFX and PowerColor. I like the Lifetime warrenty of the XFX but the PowerColor seems to run cooler and has the highest OC out of the box. I think even a hot card would run cool in my PC cause of my big case a number of fans. What do yall say? I was told 750 watt PSU would be fine for these 290's.

Specs:
i5-3570k
8GB of Vengance ram.
500watt Corsair PSU ( Gonna be a CX750M )
Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Case

More about : 290

June 10, 2014 4:37:09 PM

Sapphire Tri-X
MSI Gaming

avoid the Asus Direct CUII and Gigabyte Windforce, both card's coolers do not actually cool the vrms on the card.
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June 10, 2014 4:41:00 PM

Pyrofan said:
So, Im upgrading my PC and am looking a R9 290. Whats the best one? Im limited on money so nothing above $430. I was looking at the ASUS 290 but read about the VRM cooling problems and that moved me away. So now im looking at the XFX and PowerColor. I like the Lifetime warrenty of the XFX but the PowerColor seems to run cooler and has the highest OC out of the box. I think even a hot card would run cool in my PC cause of my big case a number of fans. What do yall say? I was told 750 watt PSU would be fine for these 290's.

Specs:
i5-3570k
8GB of Vengance ram.
500watt Corsair PSU ( Gonna be a CX750M )
Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Case


Hi - In terms of performance they (< $430) will be close, I would lean towards the Gigabyte windforce at $400,
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/gigabyte-video-card-g... with the 3 free games.

The MSI Twin frozr @ $419 would be next:
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/msi-video-card-912v30...

My personal fav would be the Sapphire Tri-X $ 425, but I'm biased as I've been very happy with my Sapphire card.
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/sapphire-video-card-1...

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June 10, 2014 5:00:08 PM

ingtar33 said:
Sapphire Tri-X
MSI Gaming

avoid the Asus Direct CUII and Gigabyte Windforce, both card's coolers do not actually cool the vrms on the card.

Yea, i read about that. What about the PowerColor? Never heard of them before but have good reviews.
toyftw said:
Pyrofan said:
So, Im upgrading my PC and am looking a R9 290. Whats the best one? Im limited on money so nothing above $430. I was looking at the ASUS 290 but read about the VRM cooling problems and that moved me away. So now im looking at the XFX and PowerColor. I like the Lifetime warrenty of the XFX but the PowerColor seems to run cooler and has the highest OC out of the box. I think even a hot card would run cool in my PC cause of my big case a number of fans. What do yall say? I was told 750 watt PSU would be fine for these 290's.

Specs:
i5-3570k
8GB of Vengance ram.
500watt Corsair PSU ( Gonna be a CX750M )
Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Case


Hi - In terms of performance they (< $430) will be close, I would lean towards the Gigabyte windforce at $400,
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/gigabyte-video-card-g... with the 3 free games.

The MSI Twin frozr @ $419 would be next:
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/msi-video-card-912v30...

My personal fav would be the Sapphire Tri-X $ 425, but I'm biased as I've been very happy with my Sapphire card.
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/sapphire-video-card-1...



The Sapphire had mixed reviews. The MSI seems a little more constant on the reviews.
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June 10, 2014 5:41:57 PM

Pyrofan said:
ingtar33 said:
Sapphire Tri-X
MSI Gaming

avoid the Asus Direct CUII and Gigabyte Windforce, both card's coolers do not actually cool the vrms on the card.

Yea, i read about that. What about the PowerColor? Never heard of them before but have good reviews.
toyftw said:
Pyrofan said:
So, Im upgrading my PC and am looking a R9 290. Whats the best one? Im limited on money so nothing above $430. I was looking at the ASUS 290 but read about the VRM cooling problems and that moved me away. So now im looking at the XFX and PowerColor. I like the Lifetime warrenty of the XFX but the PowerColor seems to run cooler and has the highest OC out of the box. I think even a hot card would run cool in my PC cause of my big case a number of fans. What do yall say? I was told 750 watt PSU would be fine for these 290's.

Specs:
i5-3570k
8GB of Vengance ram.
500watt Corsair PSU ( Gonna be a CX750M )
Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Case


Hi - In terms of performance they (< $430) will be close, I would lean towards the Gigabyte windforce at $400,
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/gigabyte-video-card-g... with the 3 free games.

The MSI Twin frozr @ $419 would be next:
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/msi-video-card-912v30...

My personal fav would be the Sapphire Tri-X $ 425, but I'm biased as I've been very happy with my Sapphire card.
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/sapphire-video-card-1...



The Sapphire had mixed reviews. The MSI seems a little more constant on the reviews.


Go with it, it's in your budget and a good card.
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June 10, 2014 5:51:13 PM

toyftw said:
Pyrofan said:
ingtar33 said:
Sapphire Tri-X
MSI Gaming

avoid the Asus Direct CUII and Gigabyte Windforce, both card's coolers do not actually cool the vrms on the card.

Yea, i read about that. What about the PowerColor? Never heard of them before but have good reviews.
toyftw said:
Pyrofan said:
So, Im upgrading my PC and am looking a R9 290. Whats the best one? Im limited on money so nothing above $430. I was looking at the ASUS 290 but read about the VRM cooling problems and that moved me away. So now im looking at the XFX and PowerColor. I like the Lifetime warrenty of the XFX but the PowerColor seems to run cooler and has the highest OC out of the box. I think even a hot card would run cool in my PC cause of my big case a number of fans. What do yall say? I was told 750 watt PSU would be fine for these 290's.

Specs:
i5-3570k
8GB of Vengance ram.
500watt Corsair PSU ( Gonna be a CX750M )
Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Case


Hi - In terms of performance they (< $430) will be close, I would lean towards the Gigabyte windforce at $400,
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/gigabyte-video-card-g... with the 3 free games.

The MSI Twin frozr @ $419 would be next:
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/msi-video-card-912v30...

My personal fav would be the Sapphire Tri-X $ 425, but I'm biased as I've been very happy with my Sapphire card.
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/sapphire-video-card-1...



The Sapphire had mixed reviews. The MSI seems a little more constant on the reviews.


Go with it, it's in your budget and a good card.


Oh, ok. Thought it may be a off brand with fake reviews.

EDIT: When looking at this card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... the memory is clocked WAY below other cards. I mean 1350 Mhz vs 5000 Mhz. Is this a typo or real?
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June 10, 2014 6:23:46 PM

i vote for the Sapphire Tri x! good price,comes overclocked!,nice cooling solution and it looks like it got taken out of kill bill vol 1! so go for it
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June 10, 2014 6:58:35 PM

+1 for Sapphire Tri-x. It is very quiet and very cool running, even when pushed to 100% with watchdogs.
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June 10, 2014 7:29:08 PM

The sapphire is $30 more then PowerColor. What advantage does it have that adds the $30?
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Best solution

June 10, 2014 7:51:26 PM

Pyrofan said:
toyftw said:
Pyrofan said:
ingtar33 said:
Sapphire Tri-X
MSI Gaming

avoid the Asus Direct CUII and Gigabyte Windforce, both card's coolers do not actually cool the vrms on the card.

Yea, i read about that. What about the PowerColor? Never heard of them before but have good reviews.
toyftw said:
Pyrofan said:
So, Im upgrading my PC and am looking a R9 290. Whats the best one? Im limited on money so nothing above $430. I was looking at the ASUS 290 but read about the VRM cooling problems and that moved me away. So now im looking at the XFX and PowerColor. I like the Lifetime warrenty of the XFX but the PowerColor seems to run cooler and has the highest OC out of the box. I think even a hot card would run cool in my PC cause of my big case a number of fans. What do yall say? I was told 750 watt PSU would be fine for these 290's.

Specs:
i5-3570k
8GB of Vengance ram.
500watt Corsair PSU ( Gonna be a CX750M )
Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Case


Hi - In terms of performance they (< $430) will be close, I would lean towards the Gigabyte windforce at $400,
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/gigabyte-video-card-g... with the 3 free games.

The MSI Twin frozr @ $419 would be next:
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/msi-video-card-912v30...

My personal fav would be the Sapphire Tri-X $ 425, but I'm biased as I've been very happy with my Sapphire card.
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/sapphire-video-card-1...



The Sapphire had mixed reviews. The MSI seems a little more constant on the reviews.


Go with it, it's in your budget and a good card.


Oh, ok. Thought it may be a off brand with fake reviews.

EDIT: When looking at this card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... the memory is clocked WAY below other cards. I mean 1350 Mhz vs 5000 Mhz. Is this a typo or real?


the 5000mhz your seeing is the effective speed. all video cards you are going to see usually show two numbers.... the base clock.... say 1250-1750mhz and the effective which for gddr5 is four times the base, which would equal out to 5000-7000mhz.

so the card that you see 1350mhz is effectively 5400mhz so its faster. also, for modern video cards running a single monitor 1440/1600p or below, the memory speed of 5000mhz or 7000mhz is going to net you about 1-2 fps difference in the real world, not enough to be noticeable. now the core clock speed is a different story. say 1000mhz vs 1100mhz, that 100mhz jump scales very well and is roughly a 10% fps boost and can definitely add maybe say, 2-6 fps, which is can possibly be a noticeable difference.

i would say either the sapphire tri-x or the msi twin frozr 290s are the best for the price, and since the msi is cheaper right now, i would lean toward it. they both do a very good job at the tough task of managing the hawaii chips temps. i think last i saw the tri-x has slightly lower core temp while the twin frozr/gaming has slightly lower vrm temps.

if you are on a budget and have no interest in high overclocks, the 290 is a great deal and out the box is slightly faster than out the box gtx780s... though admittedly even the sapphire/msi 290s dont have very much overclocking headroom in them before they get right back to 90c+. similarly cooled 780s, especially a few like the classified and lightning, have huge overclocking headroom on air and will effectively be noticeably faster after a thermally limited overclock on compared to the 290s thermally limited overclock.
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June 10, 2014 8:39:03 PM

nikoli707 said:
Pyrofan said:
toyftw said:
Pyrofan said:
ingtar33 said:
Sapphire Tri-X
MSI Gaming

avoid the Asus Direct CUII and Gigabyte Windforce, both card's coolers do not actually cool the vrms on the card.

Yea, i read about that. What about the PowerColor? Never heard of them before but have good reviews.
toyftw said:
Pyrofan said:
So, Im upgrading my PC and am looking a R9 290. Whats the best one? Im limited on money so nothing above $430. I was looking at the ASUS 290 but read about the VRM cooling problems and that moved me away. So now im looking at the XFX and PowerColor. I like the Lifetime warrenty of the XFX but the PowerColor seems to run cooler and has the highest OC out of the box. I think even a hot card would run cool in my PC cause of my big case a number of fans. What do yall say? I was told 750 watt PSU would be fine for these 290's.

Specs:
i5-3570k
8GB of Vengance ram.
500watt Corsair PSU ( Gonna be a CX750M )
Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Case


Hi - In terms of performance they (< $430) will be close, I would lean towards the Gigabyte windforce at $400,
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/gigabyte-video-card-g... with the 3 free games.

The MSI Twin frozr @ $419 would be next:
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/msi-video-card-912v30...

My personal fav would be the Sapphire Tri-X $ 425, but I'm biased as I've been very happy with my Sapphire card.
http://pcpartpicker.com/mr/newegg/sapphire-video-card-1...



The Sapphire had mixed reviews. The MSI seems a little more constant on the reviews.


Go with it, it's in your budget and a good card.


Oh, ok. Thought it may be a off brand with fake reviews.

EDIT: When looking at this card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... the memory is clocked WAY below other cards. I mean 1350 Mhz vs 5000 Mhz. Is this a typo or real?


the 5000mhz your seeing is the effective speed. all video cards you are going to see usually show two numbers.... the base clock.... say 1250-1750mhz and the effective which for gddr5 is four times the base, which would equal out to 5000-7000mhz.

so the card that you see 1350mhz is effectively 5400mhz so its faster. also, for modern video cards running a single monitor 1440/1600p or below, the memory speed of 5000mhz or 7000mhz is going to net you about 1-2 fps difference in the real world, not enough to be noticeable. now the core clock speed is a different story. say 1000mhz vs 1100mhz, that 100mhz jump scales very well and is roughly a 10% fps boost and can definitely add maybe say, 2-6 fps, which is can possibly be a noticeable difference.

i would say either the sapphire tri-x or the msi twin frozr 290s are the best for the price, and since the msi is cheaper right now, i would lean toward it. they both do a very good job at the tough task of managing the hawaii chips temps. i think last i saw the tri-x has slightly lower core temp while the twin frozr/gaming has slightly lower vrm temps.

if you are on a budget and have no interest in high overclocks, the 290 is a great deal and out the box is slightly faster than out the box gtx780s... though admittedly even the sapphire/msi 290s dont have very much overclocking headroom in them before they get right back to 90c+. similarly cooled 780s, especially a few like the classified and lightning, have huge overclocking headroom on air and will effectively be noticeably faster after a thermally limited overclock on compared to the 290s thermally limited overclock.


I mean, I would do some OC'ing but when comparing this PowerColor to a MSI, the PowerColor had lower temps. I would get a 780 but its just out of my range in price.
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June 10, 2014 8:59:48 PM

not to knock powercolor, but msi is an elite level company and likely offers better warranty and obviously better overall support. when it comes to graphics cards evga, sapphire, and msi are the leaders with gigabyte and asus rounding out the rest of the tier 1 board partners. all the rest are tier 2 and dont get first pick of the binned choice silicon. they also likely can afford to cut costs somewhere, either in parts or warranty or support. its really up to you. compare the length of warranty and the fine print. evga is one who is known to "allow" you to strap on a custom waterblock and flash the bios and even if you kill your card by doing that, they will honor the warranty. most will not allow you to do such things. if you dont plan on doing that then its not much use, but it is a perk and a sure sign of confidence when a company is so sure of their product that they will allow you to do such things.
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June 10, 2014 9:22:10 PM

nikoli707 said:
not to knock powercolor, but msi is an elite level company and likely offers better warranty and obviously better overall support. when it comes to graphics cards evga, sapphire, and msi are the leaders with gigabyte and asus rounding out the rest of the tier 1 board partners. all the rest are tier 2 and dont get first pick of the binned choice silicon. they also likely can afford to cut costs somewhere, either in parts or warranty or support. its really up to you. compare the length of warranty and the fine print. evga is one who is known to "allow" you to strap on a custom waterblock and flash the bios and even if you kill your card by doing that, they will honor the warranty. most will not allow you to do such things. if you dont plan on doing that then its not much use, but it is a perk and a sure sign of confidence when a company is so sure of their product that they will allow you to do such things.


Could I clock the MSI or Sapphire to what the powercolor is or will it reach its thermal limit to quick?


EDIT: I have $500 to spend between a GPU and PSU. The PowerColor and PSU im getting total at 499.98.
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June 11, 2014 12:34:12 PM

Yes, well while you rag on powercolor (and it is deserved to a degree), did you know that almost every single power color r9-290 sold with the stock cooler could be unlocked to be a full r9-290x? They actually put the 290x chips on them and used software to disable it to make it work like a 290. pretty wild really... they weren't the only ones... xfx did the same thing... some sapphires were like that too.

haven't seen anything about that since... they probably don't do it for their current cards, but for a few months...
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