XFX Radeon R9 290, 290X Have Double Dissipation Coolers

XFX is joining the crowd with its custom Radeon R9 290 series graphics cards by releasing the Radeon R9 290 Double Dissipation and Radeon R9 290X Double Dissipation cards. They carry the model numbers R9-290A-EDFD and  R9-290X-EDFD, respectively.

The graphics cards feature a non-reference PCB as well as a non-reference cooler. The cooler is the most noteworthy part, as it is designed to make the cards run considerably quieter and cooler. Reported numbers are 32 dB under load (vs 57 dB for the reference design) and idle noise levels between only 15 and 20 dB. Also, the 'XFX' text on the cooler is said to light up for those who want some extra bling.

The cards' clock speeds remain at reference clocks, meaning that the R9 290 will have a GPU clock speed of 947 MHz, and the R9 290X will run at 1000 MHz. Both cards will feature a 5.0 GHz effective memory clock speed.

XFX intends for the cards to have street prices identical to that of the reference models.

Niels Broekhuijsen

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

  • osamabinrobot
    hopefully they'll actually be available at msrp or below at some point in the near future, unlike the rest of the r9 series.
    Reply
  • Barantos1
    Yeah AMD really needs to increase production and put the price back to where it was. By increasing the price, they have slowed a lot of the momentum they got from putting out the R9 cards.
    Reply
  • Steveymoo
    I can honestly say, I have absolutely no idea what all the fuss is about over the reference r9 290 cooler. At idle, I can't hear it above ambient room noise (quite a quiet apt,) and at full tilt 50%, it barely even bothers me at all.
    Reply
  • David Dewis
    Desperate for these non reference cards to come out and prices to drop. I have christmas money just sitting waiting to be spent
    Reply
  • osamabinrobot
    same
    Reply
  • burkhartmj
    12307151 said:
    I can honestly say, I have absolutely no idea what all the fuss is about over the reference r9 290 cooler. At idle, I can't hear it above ambient room noise (quite a quiet apt,) and at full tilt 50%, it barely even bothers me at all.

    I've similarly never been convinced or bothered by the sound measurements in situations like these. What bothers me about the reference design is the performance bottleneck caused by the lack of efficiency in the cooler. That's something that just can't be ignored from Tom's review of the reference 290 and 290X. A card shouldn't have to clock down from stock speeds to keep from overheating. That's why all of these major manufacturers keep changing both the cooler and the PCB layout, because the reference doesn't seem to be well designed. I mean, XFX designed a completely custom card with a custom cooler, and it's running at stock and supposed to be sold at reference prices? That screams to me that they were just aiming to fix the card with this custom model, not make any kind of premium or OC model.
    Reply
  • jasonpwns
    It's shocking how many AMDrones are quick to excuse AMD for their heat and sound issues, but still attempt to bring up the 400 series as a way to attatck nvidia.
    Reply
  • burkhartmj
    12307281 said:
    It's shocking how many AMDrones are quick to excuse AMD for their heat and sound issues, but still attempt to bring up the 400 series as a way to attatck nvidia.

    Dude, literally no one did that here. Why are you trying to start a flame war in this thread for absolutely no reason?

    And do we really need MORE derogatory nicknames for people who like stuff more than other stuff?
    Reply
  • SkateZilla
    Prices Identical to Reference Models Before or After -Coin Mining explosion? lol
    Reply
  • rohitbaran
    I would like to see benchmarks of these custom R9 290 and 290X cards, to know how they compare to the press version performance Toms posted earlier and whether they are consistent.
    Reply