MSI R9 290 Series Gaming 4G Graphics Cards Available Now

By Niels Broekhuijsen
published

MSI is bringing its custom R9 290 cards to the market.

MSI is among the first, not to reveal, but to bring a custom Radeon R9 290 series graphics card to the market. The MSI R9 290 GAMING 4G and R9 290X GAMING 4G are now both available in stores.

The graphics cards feature MSI's TwinFrozr IV cooler, as well as a custom PCB design that carries the company's Military Class 4 Components. These components offer a longer lifetime and more stable performance.

The MSI R9 290 GAMING 4G card will feature clock speeds of 1007 MHz under OC mode, 977 MHz in gaming mode, and 947 MHz (reference frequency) in silent mode. The memory will always be clocked at 5.0 GHz.

In addition, the MSI R9 290X GAMING 4G will feature an OC mode clock speed of 1040 MHz, a gaming mode frequency of 1030 MHz, and a silent mode frequency of 1000 MHz, which is also the AMD reference frequency. Like the R9 290 GAMING 4G, the memory will be clocked at 5.0 GHz under all circumstances unless manually overclocked.

Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

30 Comments Comment from the forums
  • azzazel_99
    Interesting.
    Reply
  • rad666
    But can it, unlike the reference models, SUSTAIN those numbers?
    Reply
  • derekullo
    Extreme Heat is too cool.
    We're gonna have to go right to ludicrous heat.
    Reply
  • -Fran-
    12271874 said:
    Extreme Heat is too cool.
    We're gonna have to go right to ludicrous heat.

    Whats the matter Colonel Sanders? CHICKENNNN?

    Cheers! xD

    PS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygE01sOhzz0
    Reply
  • eklipz330
    so i haven't seen any 290's going out of stock in the past week or so.. i wonder if the litecoin bubble popped.

    im gpu-less at the moment, but selling my 7970 for twice what i paid for was a no-brainer
    Reply
  • jimmysmitty
    12271865 said:
    But can it, unlike the reference models, SUSTAIN those numbers?

    It should. There are reviews that show the Asus R9 290X DCUII keeping its 1050MHz core without breaking a sweat. It only would drop between level loads which is normal.

    What is weird is that I cannot find anything except the Gigabyte Windforce for sale. I have not seen this or the DCUII yet and the Windforce has been on Egg for over a week.
    Reply
  • maxiim
    Here is a nice video to demonstrate that the 290s are still crap compared to the 780 even with water, and being almost 600$ for non reference models, there is no point to these anymore
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqaHh-y51us

    Edit: Keep downvoting fanboys, results are there regardless of your own biased opinion, the 290 was a decent card at 400$, with all thermal limitations removed the gtx 780 IS STILL BETTER, and now cheaper.
    Reply
  • moto nack
    Where is this available?
    Reply
  • yyk71200
    12273138 said:
    Here is a nice video to demonstrate that the 290s are still crap compared to the 780 even with water, and being almost 600$ for non reference models, there is no point to these anymore
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqaHh-y51us

    Edit: Keep downvoting fanboys, results are there regardless of your own biased opinion, the 290 was a decent card at 400$, with all thermal limitations removed the gtx 780 IS STILL BETTER, and now cheaper.

    The reason 290s are expensive is because people actually buy them in good amounts.
    Reply
  • maxiim
    12273651 said:
    12273138 said:
    Here is a nice video to demonstrate that the 290s are still crap compared to the 780 even with water, and being almost 600$ for non reference models, there is no point to these anymore
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqaHh-y51us

    Edit: Keep downvoting fanboys, results are there regardless of your own biased opinion, the 290 was a decent card at 400$, with all thermal limitations removed the gtx 780 IS STILL BETTER, and now cheaper.

    The reason 290s are expensive is because people actually buy them in good amounts.

    Miners buy them for litecoin mining, not gaming use, which they were intended for, either way price is price, and the 290 is no longer good value or better than a 780.
    Reply