Looking at moving up to r290x, feedback.

Thanks for the initial answers guys.

1) I have a Windforce 7870 right now, and any card I do get will have an advanced (non-reference) cooler.
2) Sapphire Tri x is apparently a reference pcb with tri x cooler, Windforce is a custom pcb, I will do more research on any differences over the next 6 weeks. Though from what I can tell there is very little real world performance difference.
3) This has been a long term upgrade path for over a year, starting with a very cheap base AMD rig. Staying with AMD has allowed me to replace one component at a time, while gaming the whole time. My budget constraints over time mean spending $600 ish or more on a mobo/cpu in one shot keep me from using Intel based systems. Also their habit of changing sockets constantly.
4) A 780ti is $800 ish dollars right now on Newegg. A 290x is $600. This matters to me far more than the difference between 100 fps and 110 fps, or whatever I might get in game x, y, or z. The difference meant i got a 500 Gb Samsung Evo, as opposed to not having an ssd at all.
5) Someone has to support AMD. Can you imagine what prices would be like if Intel/Nvidia had no competition at all?

Seriously though, looking forward to hearing from other 290/290x users, about any issues they may have encountered, and any work arounds used, etc.

Will keep an eye on 880GTX benchmarks when available. And comparative pricing at that time, along with new driver releases that may eliminate any issues some users are having. Tom's has not mentioned any in it's reviews of various R290's, making me think that it is not as common as some sources would indicate. There are quite a few threads on the AMD forums as well. I would prefer to stay with a Windforce Radeon, since my 7870 has been such a champ for well over a year.

Issues I am referring to are reviews on Newegg from owners such as this.
Quotes from Newegg reviews on Sapphire Tri x R290x

Pros: Cool, Quiet, and works great, for a while...

Cons: Black Screens galore, worked ok for about 2 weeks, then started to get black screens, now just a bunch of black screens, stay away from this thing until AMD figures out how to write a graphics driver.

Other Thoughts: I've had no problems with Sapphire products until now, so not really blaming Sapphire, because I know a lot of people with ASUS and MSI r9 290 cards that are doing the same thing. I guess I should have went Nvidia.....


Pros: R9 series specs are great when they are working.

Cons: Card failed just under two months. Seems everyone is having this failure. You have been warned.

Pros: ** NOTHING.
Please google search R9 290x before you buy this card.
BLACK SCREEN which will not post to BIOS is a common problem

Cons: This card will not post even to bios. I've spent 8 hours trying to make this work.
1. Different PSU's will not work, including a 1050w PSU, 850w PSU and a 750w PSU.
2. This card does not work in other systems, even with lower PCIE 2.0
3. This card does not work in PCIE3.0
4. Does not work with Maximus hero 7.
5. This card sucks.

Other Thoughts: I've built about 40-50 Pc's for myself and friends and family. I recently spent about 3k on my newest machine. This card just simply sucks.

I know that AMD has good hardware, but bad drivers.. and nvidia has decent hardware with awesome drivers... welll.... AMD just lost their "good hardware" mark. They simply suck now.

End quotes



Was hoping to cast a wider net on feedback. Thousands upon thousands of R290's have been sold, so I wondered whether the negative reviews were atypical.

Yes, keeping a eye on benchmarks and prices, not in a big hurry. In the interim I am paying attention to feedback here, and forums other places.
A $600 plus video is a very major purchase for me, and will not be replaced for a few years.

Thanks again for all the feedback.