VisionTek's Liquid Cooled CryoVenom R9 290LE Revealed

By Niels Broekhuijsen
published

VisionTek's CryoVenom R9 290LE has pretty packaging.

When the AMD Radeon R9 290 was announced, VisionTek was the first manufacturer to offer the graphics card with a water block on it as standard kit. While you could buy a reference card yourself along with a water block and do the work yourself, at the time it would cost you more and you would have voided your warranty.

Now, VisionTek has come with a new graphics card: the CryoVenom R9 290LE. No, LE doesn't stand for "Lowest Edition;" it stands for "Limited Edition."

The card itself is identical to the original CryoVenom R9 290LE. The card features an EKWB water block with custom markings, along with raised clock speeds of up to 1175 MHz on the GPU and up to 5.8 GHz on the memory. Reference cards run at 947 MHz and 5.0 GHz, respectively.

What comes extra with the card is different packaging material, this one being packaged in a wooden crate with laser-etched markings of danger, along with a CryoVenom branded t-shirt. VisionTek recommends that you use the box to store gaming gear for when you go to LAN-parties.

"For over two decades, VisionTek has been creating unique solutions for gamers and modding enthusiasts seeking to obtain maximum performance from their rigs," said Mark Bilson, Executive Vice President of VisionTek. "If you want to take your gaming to the next level and have some exclusive swag to show off to your friends, our CryoVenom R9 290LE is the coolest, high-performance graphics bundle on the market."

Pricing for the CryoVenom R9 290LE is set at $650.

Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

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

11 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Lutfij
    Does this mean the EK block's warranty isn't voided if we used a silver kill coil and distilled as loop liquid ? :)
    Reply
  • nexians
    oh the sound of that word "CRYOVENOM" so damn cool, this is why PC assembling is so much fun!! and always will be :)
    Reply
  • ammaross
    Hope this is a 290X for $650. Sadly though, it likely is not. On the upside, based on reviews of the 290 and 290X, they're practically the same when both are OCed. :D
    Reply
  • fooad333
    WTF

    first relaze was actually 550$

    and now its available for 600$

    and also this 650$ but no different
    Reply
  • fooad333
    Hope this is a 290X for $650. Sadly though, it likely is not. On the upside, based on reviews of the 290 and 290X, they're practically the same when both are OCed. :D


    at this clock the 290 is better than even gtx 780ti
    Reply
  • Optimus_Toaster
    Hope this is a 290X for $650. Sadly though, it likely is not. On the upside, based on reviews of the 290 and 290X, they're practically the same when both are OCed. :D


    at this clock the 290 is better than even gtx 780ti
    But if you WC a 780ti and overclock the snot off of it then it'll pull ahead.

    Also I wish that Tom's would wake up and smell the coffee, lots of manufacturers don't mind you putting waterblocks on their cards. MSI specifically stated that as long as you put it back together before sending it back then the warranty still stands.
    Reply
  • fooad333
    Hope this is a 290X for $650. Sadly though, it likely is not. On the upside, based on reviews of the 290 and 290X, they're practically the same when both are OCed. :D

    yea but the price will go too high i consider here price/performance

    and even a normal r9 290 is almost 430$ add 120 for arctic waterblock boom 550$

    overclock it and you have a powerfull card for only 550$ cheaper by 150$ than gtx 780ti

    4 days ago there was powercolor 290x at stock fan sold for 384$ at newegg.com WOW


    at this clock the 290 is better than even gtx 780ti
    But if you WC a 780ti and overclock the snot off of it then it'll pull ahead.

    Also I wish that Tom's would wake up and smell the coffee, lots of manufacturers don't mind you putting waterblocks on their cards. MSI specifically stated that as long as you put it back together before sending it back then the warranty still stands.
    Reply
  • fooad333
    Hope this is a 290X for $650. Sadly though, it likely is not. On the upside, based on reviews of the 290 and 290X, they're practically the same when both are OCed. :D


    at this clock the 290 is better than even gtx 780ti
    But if you WC a 780ti and overclock the snot off of it then it'll pull ahead.

    Also I wish that Tom's would wake up and smell the coffee, lots of manufacturers don't mind you putting waterblocks on their cards. MSI specifically stated that as long as you put it back together before sending it back then the warranty still stands.




    yea but the price will go too high i consider here price/performance

    and even a normal r9 290 is almost 430$ add 120 for arctic waterblock boom 550$

    overclock it and you have a powerfull card for only 550$ cheaper by 150$ than gtx 780ti

    4 days ago there was powercolor 290x at stock fan sold for 384$ at newegg.com WOW


    at this clock the 290 is better than even gtx 780ti
    Reply
  • WyomingKnott
    Reminds me of my old favorite cognac. For some reason, it came in a wooden box packed with excelsior (wood shavings to you younglings).

    Didn't make the brandy taste any better, but it was eye-catching.
    Reply
  • Lutfij
    Aesthetics is the name of the game with stuff like that...and this :)

    Who says things need to be only orientated towards beauty? function is what counts too. On a second note, I'd like to squish the guy who gave me a thumbs down on the post.

    :lol:

    Kidding, but some should take a look at this
    http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/266834-29-before-nickel-block
    http://www.ekwb.com/support/index.php?act=article&code=view&id=23
    http://www.ekwb.com/support/index.php?act=article&code=view&id=24
    Reply