4GB Sapphire R9 290 Vapor X Tri X

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
CmdrJeffSinclair

CmdrJeffSinclair

Reputable
Aug 29, 2014
785
1
5,010
Hey guys,

I was wondering what temps I should expect from each of the three versions of this GPU:

Sapphire R9 290 Vapor X
Sapphire R9 290x Vapor X
Sapphire R9 290x OC Vapor X

I just want to know the possible temps I should expect at 1080p/60FPS. I mod a lot and chances are quite high I'll push whichever version I get pretty hard. I want to buy 2 for a crossfire setup but it might not even be necessary since it does seem that either one of the 3 might be overkill for single monitor 1080p/60 gaming. I do not go past 1080p/60 FPS but I do mod like hell and hate loud fan noise. Relevant rig info is below in the fyi.

FYI: I have a Corsair Obsidian 750D with a Corsair Hydro H100i for my AMD FX9590. I installed 5x Corsair AF120mm fans (2 in front intake, 1 at bottom as intake, 3 at the top as exhaust and 1 in the rear as intake. The radiator fits quite snugly at the top and of the 3 fans at the top, 2 belong to the radiator).

The airflow is quite optimal and the processor stays cool enough. If the case gets hot I may need to make the rear fan be exhaust since as an intake it blows hot air around, right?

I've never dealt with such a large GPU though (12" is MASSIVE) but my Corsair RM 1000 PSU should be able to handle 2 R9 290s. I would want 2 in crossfire, so I'm not sure what I should do as far as fans and what to expect the card temps to be. I do hate fan noise but I guess it's going to be unavoidable since no R9 has a radiator block for liquid cooling, right?

I tried to do as much research as I can but I've only found so much info.

PS. I'm not an overclocker
 
Solution
V
All 290/290x cards run hot, and depending on the model will be relatively noisy. That's just how the Hawaii chip is :)

AFAIK, the most silent ones, as I already told you, are the Asus ones. On a closed case and without setting a custom fan profile, even under gaming load they're almost completely silent, but they get relatively hot like that; in Celsius, I registered max temps of 80 degrees for GPU, 110 for VRM1 and 85 for VRM2. The VRMs, from what I've read, are rated for up to 105 degrees before triggering throttling or 115 before triggering a shutdown.
MSI Afterburner helps a lot with that, but if you don't have a headset on at all times, it makes them slightly noisier.
Then comes tri-x, which is the sweet spot. Cool enough...
Sort by date Sort by votes
V

Vynavill

Honorable
Nov 30, 2013
1,555
0
12,460
AFAIK, with a good 1000w PSU you can run a 290 2-way crossfire and have a slight headroom, but a 290x similar setup may be slightly too close to that value. Also, Corsair RM PSU aren't consistent; some are done with cheaper components, some with better, so I would get something better.
To stay on the safe zone, I'd look for a good quality 1000w, 80+ gold minimum. An EVGA Supernova G2/P2 or an Antec High Current Pro/Platinum would be quite the nice choices IMO.

In any case, they are overkill for single monitor 1080p@60hz operation, a 280x is already enough for that. If you plan on going higher (e.g. 1080p@100hz+, like I recently did), a single 290/290x will still be up to the task, or a 280x too if you slightly lower some details. The extra "brains and brawn" of the 290/290x might help in making your rig more future-proof, not to mention help on particularly memory intensive games, like an HEAVILY modded Skyrim gameplay for instance.
Still, they're not mandatory.

Really, crossfire setups right now are useful only if your old card is getting sluggish or if you want to take a ride on the 4k or on the 3D gaming trains. Most of the times single gpu setups will be performant enough for the common or enthusiast player, even with heavy modding in mind :)

As for temperatures, I unfortunately don't know the right values, but AFAIK sapphires are kinda the middle spot. They're not the most silent, nor the most performant, but they hold down temperatures ok. The tri-x/toxic models are an exception, as they're slightly noisier, but sport much better performance and temperatures than their vapor counterparts.
Asus DCUII OC models would be the most silent ones, and keep up a performance close to the tri-x, but they sacrificed fan speed for silent operation, which in turn makes their cards run hotter.
I was forced to put in a MSI Afterburner custom fan profile to avoid VRM temperatures reaching 100+ Celsius degrees...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
CmdrJeffSinclair

CmdrJeffSinclair

Reputable
Aug 29, 2014
785
1
5,010


I appreciate the answer! I have re-chosen my PSU as the Corsair Pro Platinum 1200i so ultra quality!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

Vynavill

Honorable
Nov 30, 2013
1,555
0
12,460
If, as I understand, it's the AX/HX 1200i yes, it's a very fine choice for a 290/290x crossfire.

Even if I sound annoying, I still invite you to keep in mind about the fact that they're extremely overkill for simple 1080p@60hz play. You might end spending up a lot more than you think, with games still not meeting your expectationsuntil you switch to higher resolutions/refresh rates. If you got the money and want to spend it like that, however, you're free to do it, of course :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
CmdrJeffSinclair

CmdrJeffSinclair

Reputable
Aug 29, 2014
785
1
5,010


I actually wanted only to get a good card that was just reallllly quiet with little to no chance to overheat. I wanted to buy the GIGABYTE GV-R929WF3-4GD Radeon R9 290 4GB 512-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP but I've read that they have lots and lots of overheating issues and BSODs. If you can recommend a card that is simply 4GB but runs cool and quiet then I will seriously consider it. Problem is I've done so much homework my eyes are going to bleed and my conclusion is that if I want all 3 (quiet, powerful, cool) then I must pay double.

P.S. I despise Nvidia
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

Vynavill

Honorable
Nov 30, 2013
1,555
0
12,460
All 290/290x cards run hot, and depending on the model will be relatively noisy. That's just how the Hawaii chip is :)

AFAIK, the most silent ones, as I already told you, are the Asus ones. On a closed case and without setting a custom fan profile, even under gaming load they're almost completely silent, but they get relatively hot like that; in Celsius, I registered max temps of 80 degrees for GPU, 110 for VRM1 and 85 for VRM2. The VRMs, from what I've read, are rated for up to 105 degrees before triggering throttling or 115 before triggering a shutdown.
MSI Afterburner helps a lot with that, but if you don't have a headset on at all times, it makes them slightly noisier.
Then comes tri-x, which is the sweet spot. Cool enough operation, good performance, slightly noisy. You can hear the fans under gaming load, but they'll not be leafblowers, that's for sure, and AFAIK the temps are pretty much ok.
I unfortunately don't know anything about XFX models, so I can't tell about them.
All the rest aren't worth taking when it comes to flagships, and gigabyte isn't worth taking in any case. Their cards run ok in terms of temperatures, but performance-wise they lack that slight boost other cards have, not to mention they're incredibly noisy...

Obviously, the lower you go from flagship, the less the noise will be, as fans need to spin slower for slower cards. A 280x will most probably fit your tastes for now, but for better future-proofing, a 290/290x will be a nice purchase.

As a side note, a 290 is literally a 290x with a couple units disabled. Their performance compared to each other is very similar, so if you want the AMD flagship but you're on a tighter budget and can't afford the extra oomph the X provides, the 290 will be the best one for you.
Otherwise, go for a 280x.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
CmdrJeffSinclair

CmdrJeffSinclair

Reputable
Aug 29, 2014
785
1
5,010


I'm very thankful for your experience in these cards! I have read and read and you summed it all up perfectly. I now know that whatever I get will not be an experience of doubt and worry. If by chance you find the time, could you answer one last question?

I have a 7 year old laptop so I'm not familiar with XMP/AMP profiles. I have read two opinions on the matter of underclocking high bandwidth RAM in order to substantially tighten the timings. Is this possible to do or will (for example) 2400MHz RAM have the same CL as 1866MHz RAM if underclocked? I read two opinions that 1) Buying high bandwidth ram will allow it to underclock to achieve much better timings, but 2) that this might only work when underclocking hugely (like 2400MHz to 1333 and still only provide 2-3 lower CL).

I was also told that RAM today being sold over 1600MHz is really just 1600MHz pre-overclocked and sold higher. If this is true than underclocking RAM will do nothing since it's all the same RAM. Thanks so much!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
V

Vynavill

Honorable
Nov 30, 2013
1,555
0
12,460
I'm afraid that goes slightly over my knowledge, I'm sorry. It's actually the first time I hear about such a thing too, but it sounds theoretically correct.

Still, it would depend on how much advantage you can obtain from it. It is, after all, a 7 year old laptop. Lowering the access time to RAM modules may improve the memory's performance, but if the rest of the system can't keep up, what's it good for?

And anyway, yeah, as long as it's DDR3, if it's over 1600mhz it's a factory overclocked ram. The only difference is that they come with good quality metal heat spreaders, rather than what could just be lucid plastic covers; they're specifically made to run at higher frequencies, and they avoid you the need of overclocking them in the first place.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom