VisionTek is announcing a new graphics card; this one is a bit interesting to say the least. The interesting thing about it is not so much the Radeon R9 290 graphics card or the EKWB water block that VisionTek has decided to equip it with, but rather the way it has been priced.
VisionTek's CRYOVENOM series cards are simply reference AMD Radeon R9 290 cards but with a water cooling block from EKWB slapped onto them. The clock speeds are set at 1175 MHz GPU, while the memory runs at an effective speed of 5.8 GHz. AMD reference clocks are 947 MHz GPU with memory clocked at an effective speed of 5.0 GHz.
We are used to seeing manufacturers sell graphics cards with water blocks on them, but normally when this happens you find a notable premium above the purchase price of both the graphics card and the appropriate water block. VisionTek has decided to take a different approach by pricing the set for less than that. It claims that its CRYOVENOM R9 290 graphics card is over $100 cheaper than doing it yourself, though that's assuming a $400 graphics card, $140 for the water block, $36 for the backplate, and testing and overclocking verification valued at $75. VisionTek even gives you a one-year warranty, which you won't have if you do it yourself.
The graphics card is already listed on VisionTek's website with an MSRP of $550.