Noise
We first measure each graphics card's noise level in different workloads using the same studio microphone and calibration seen in our audio reviews. The microphone is positioned perpendicular to the middle of the graphics card at a distance of 50 cm.
| Radeon R9 290 | Idle | Gaming, Open-Air Bench | Gaming, Closed Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sapphire Tri-X OC R9 290 | 31.4 dB(A) | 39.4 dB(A) | 40.5 dB(A) |
| Gigabyte GV-R929OC-4GD R9 290 Windforce OC | 30.9 dB(A) | 39.5 dB(A) | 42.7 dB(A) |
| Radeon R9 290 Reference + Arctic Accelero Extreme III | 37.8 dB(A) | 37.8 dB(A) | 37.8 dB(A) |
| Radeon R9 290 Reference + NZXT Kraken G10 + X40 | 34.2 dB(A) | 37.2 dB(A) | --- |
| Radeon R9 290X | Idle | Gaming, Open-Air Bench | Gaming, Closed Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asus R9290X-DC2OC-4GD5 R9 290X DirectCU II OC | 32.5 dB(A) | 42.3 dB(A) | 44.3 dB(A) |
| Sapphire Tri-X OC R9 290X | 32.1 dB(A) | 40.9 dB(A) | 42.8 dB(A) |
| Gigabyte GV-R929XOC-4GD R9 290X Windforce OC Press Sample | 30.9 dB(A) | 41.5 dB(A) | 43.6 dB(A) |
| Gigabyte GV-R929XOC-4GD-4GD R9 290X Windforce OC Mass Production | 30.9 dB(A) | 39.6 dB(A) | 43.2 dB(A) |
| HIS R9 290X IceQ X² Turbo | 31.2 dB(A) | 46.2 dB(A) | 48.8 dB(A) |
| MSI R9 290X Gaming 4G | 30.9 dB(A) | 41.2 dB(A) | 43.9 dB(A) |
Fan Speed
The number, diameter, and rotational speed of the fans are mainly what determine the cooler's noise level. We present the RPM curves for each graphics card separately; we tried, and putting them into one graph is too cluttered.
Both of the models that we modded up (using Arctic's Accelero and NZXT's Kraken) were not measured. Their numbers are not comparable.
Radeon R9 290 Fan Speed


Radeon R9 290X Fan Speed





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Summary
- Cooling The Radeon R9 290 And 290X
- Technical Specifications
- Dimensions And Weight
- Gaming Power Consumption
- Gaming Performance
- Temperatures
- Noise And Fan Speed
- Video Comparison
- Sapphire Tri-X OC R9 290
- Gigabyte GV-R929OC-4GD R9 290 Windforce OC
- Radeon R9 290 + Arctic Accelero Extreme III
- Asus R9290X-DC2OC-4GD5 R9 290X DirectCU II OC
- HIS R9 290X IceQ X² Turbo
- Gigabyte GV-R929XOC-4GD R9 290X Windforce OC
- MSI R9 290X Gaming 4G
- Sapphire Tri-X OC R9 290X
Ask a Category Expert
I would like to know this more precisely please... I can't found any rage in my articles, only a chip with a very high temperature density and a lot of unusable coolers because the engineers were not able to build a matching cooler for this cards. This high density will be a global problem for all next-gen chips too. Without a vapor chamber this won't work.
Coupled with other recent reviews, Sapphire's Tri-X OC series looks to be great cards, especially when you make a custom fan curve to further reduce idle and load noise.
I can not wait to see the 20nm updates, especially if AMD gets around to pulling a Titan with their reference coolers!
I would like to know this more precisely please... I can't found any rage in my articles, only a chip with a very high temperature density and a lot of unusable coolers because the engineers were not able to build a matching cooler for this cards. This high density will be a global problem for all next-gen chips too. Without a vapor chamber this won't work.
Coupled with other recent reviews, Sapphire's Tri-X OC series looks to be great cards, especially when you make a custom fan curve to further reduce idle and load noise.
I can not wait to see the 20nm updates, especially if AMD gets around to pulling a Titan with their reference coolers!
It is nice that a company has paid attention and we have a solution that doesn't involve a series of carefully engineered zip ties...
A good PSU has a lot of primary caps inside to compensate this peaks without any problem. The question should better be: What's about the life-span of this caps under this conditions? This is one of the reasons to buy a PSU with good and not with so-called "bad" caps. If you buy cheap you buy twice...
But Nvidia is not much better. I've checked this in another article:
A good PSU has a lot of primary caps inside to compensate this peaks without any problem. The question should better be: What's about the life-span of this caps under this conditions?
But Nvidia is not much better. I've checked this in another article:
FormatC your avatar gave me cancer...
Ok, use 8x MSAA to prevent you before edge flares