PowerColor sent over a second 2.5-slot Hawaii-based card. The first was MSI's R9 290X Lightning. This one, the PCS+ R9 290X is both lighter and less expensive. Does PowerColor out-engineer MSI and score an upset, or is the PCS+ simply less capable?
Recently, we published MSI R9 290X Lightning Review: The Right Way To Cool Hawaii. In that piece, we decided that MSI's cooling solution was among the best we've seen for AMD's Hawaii GPU; it was only a shame that the R9 290X Lightning was selling at such a steep premium. All the while, we had an eye on another graphics card that was bumping around at the bottom of Newegg's price list, and yet topped by what looked like a comparably-capable cooler: PowerColor's PCS+ AXR9 290X.
And now that we have it in our lab, we can compare both 2.5-slot boards to each other. The match-up is an exciting one, for not only is PowerColor's option $100 less expensive (Update: Actually, $150 now), but it's also significantly lighter. Can the PCS+ AXR9 290X really stand up to the flagship R9 290X Lightning for less money?
With prices on all Radeon R9 290Xes coming back down to more palatable levels, it's time to get a little more excited about the quickest Hawaii-based boards. Better still, a lot of them rectify AMD's hot, noisy reference cooler with competent third-party thermal solutions.
Technical Specs in Comparison
First, let’s take a look at this card's most important specs. Its GPU is set to a factory-overclocked ceiling of 1050 MHz. As with other Hawaii-based implementations, this number is an "up to" rating, meaning it can be made to drop if the chip doesn't get enough cooling under load. That 1050 MHz peak puts PowerColor's PCS+ in the upper-mid-range of 290X cards, though; its core and memory clock rates match Asus' R9290X-DC2OC-4GD5.
In the pages to come, we'll measure the PCS+ AXR9 290X's power consumption and determine whether its theoretical performance translates to the real world. But first, have a look at its specs:
| Model | GPU Clock (MHz) | Memory Clock (MHz) | Memory Bandwidth (GB/s) | Pixel Fillrate (GPixel/s) | Texture Fillrate (GTexel/s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asus R9290X-DC2OC-4GD5 R9 290X DirectCU II OC | 1050 | 1350 | 345.6 | 67.2 | 184.8 |
| Sapphire Tri-X OC R9 290X | 1040 | 1300 | 332.8 | 66.6 | 183.0 |
| Gigabyte GV-R929XOC-4GD R9 290X Windforce OC | 1040 | 1250 | 320.0 | 66.6 | 183.0 |
| HIS R9 290X IceQ X² Turbo | 1060 | 1350 | 345.6 | 67.8 | 186.6 |
| MSI R9 290X Gaming 4G | 1040 | 1250 | 320 | 66.6 | 183 |
| MSI R9 290X Lightning | 1080 | 1250 | 320 | 69.1 | 190.1 |
| PowerColor PCS+ R9 290X | 1050 | 1350 | 345.6 | 67.2 | 184.4 |


Well, since you are comparing a non reference GPU, you should take also a non-reference GPU to compare.
Tom's using Gigabyte's 780ti OC which costs the same as the reference card...
So even the non-reference models are on a different tier as well as their reference...
Typical translation errors, the original is in metric
http://www.tomshardware.de/powercolor-r9-290x-pcs-review,testberichte-241519-3.html4
I will clearify with Chris, that we use both in the future. Metric is worldwide more common
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_780_Ti_SC_ACX_Cooler/26.html
With such a HUGE difference in prices, quality, and performance on all top-end cards you really have to do your research.
The R9-290X prices vary from $550 to $780 USD!
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/EVGA/GTX_780_Ti_SC_ACX_Cooler/26.html
With such a HUGE difference in prices, quality, and performance on all top-end cards you really have to do your research.
The R9-290X prices vary from $550 to $780 USD!
Thanks for the response! I thought I had seen reviews elsewhere that showed the 290 series really closing the gap, or even surpassing the 780ti at higher resolutions, but perhaps I was remembering wrong. I recently decided to upgrade to a dual-290 setup, but if I had gone with a single card, the 780ti was at or near the top of my list (until the 290x prices came crashing down, that is).
See these articles for after-market cooling options:
Air cooling:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/r9-290-accelero-xtreme-290,3671.html
Liquid Cooling:
How to:
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Using-NZXT-Kraken-G10-Watercool-Radeon-R9-290
And results:
http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/radeon-r9-290-and-290x,review-32872.html
I was more wondering about the value of getting the 290x for $350. I could buy an after market cooler for $50-75. I'm just not sure if it is a worth while upgrade.
For total upgrade worthwhileness ( is that even a word/term? ) what kind of resolution are you going for? Most of the top-end cards are complete overkill if you're not playing above 1080p. If you're not using 1440p or triple displays, I wouldn't bother going above a GTX 770 / R9 280.
I am questioning Toms review about the temps. Temps on Hardwarecanucks are showing something entirely different giving the PCS+ the best temps of all the 290x cards offered. A wooping 63C... even mines have never reach up 67C...
Not to forget the only viable 4k option right now in Crossfire.