Custom R9 290 Cards Expected Before Custom R9 290Xs

When the Radeon R9 290 and the R9 290X launched, it quickly became apparent that they were very powerful cards. Unfortunately, they were also rather noisy and designed to run at 95 C. Luckily, our test proved that with decent cooling, the cards have the potential to run a lot quieter and cooler. Of course, this required an aftermarket cooler, and not everyone is prepared to void their warranty in this way.

We all know that the AIBs will eventually come out with their own cooling solutions, though there has been a big lack of clarity as to when that will be. Sources have told the German website ComputerBase.de when this might happen, and sadly, it seems there is a good chance Santa won't be able to help you out.

The report indicates that the Radeon R9 290 with custom cooling solutions is expected to hit around mid/late December, or early next year. Also, it seems that the R9 290X cards with custom cooling solutions will follow later. One of the sources told ComputerBase.de that it blames AMD for not providing the required data on time. Thus, manufacturers did not have enough time to make their own custom solutions.

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Niels Broekhuijsen

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

  • Ceee9
    yes
    Reply
  • Dmitriy Kuzmich
    The only thing keeping me from buying this is the cooling. Im sure alot of people like me are waiting for non refrence cards.
    Reply
  • yyk71200
    12115409 said:
    Gotta wonder if the delay on the 290X cards with custom cooling is due to AMD tweaking something to make it faster to compete with the 780ti.

    Nah. Cooling the card enough to prevent throttling will make it pretty much even with 780ti by itself. I think that AMD prevented custom cooling to make sure that results are more or less even across the board in introductory benchmarks. Wrong decision in my opinion.
    Reply
  • vmem
    LAME!!!

    and word is the delay is due to a shortage of supply of the 290X chips from AMD for manufacturers to tweak/playwith
    Reply
  • RupertJr
    I wonder when AMD will stop shooting at it's own foot?! This is so incredible!
    Reply
  • Derbixrace
    i found a good deal on a reference VTX3D 290, only paid 352€ shipped so i have to live with the noise i guess, anyhow theres a chance it might unlock into a 290X. that you cant expect from the aftermarket ones because the chips will be laser cut :)
    Reply
  • smile9999
    I have definetly been waiting for the manufacturers to release their own custom solutions, I am very excited for the R9 290 and I will grap it as soon as the customs hit the market and they prove to reasonably reduce the noise, improve the cooling and minimize the variance in performance
    Reply
  • smile9999
    I have definetly been waiting for the manufacturers to release their own custom solutions, I am very excited for the R9 290 and I will grap it as soon as the customs hit the market and they prove to reasonably reduce the noise, improve the cooling and minimize the variance in performance
    Reply
  • Dragonzeanse
    Okay, I may be wrong, but this would never happen with Nvidia's graphics cards. Why the hell is it taking so long for AMD's one flagship product to get a halfway decent cooling system? This is unacceptable to the point that I will not be buying an R9 290 even when the custom cooling comes out. I'm sorry AMD, but you missed your change to sell me on that. I've already bought a new card and you and your OEMs waited too long. The one thing that could have made you compete with Nvidia and it seems you've done everything in your power to sabotage it.

    If AMD wasn't holding back OEMs, the coolers would probably be out already. Nvidia's cards certainly got custom cooling solutions early, and even if they didn't, at least Nvidia's cooler isn't a plastic turd with the worst fan ever designed in the history of mankind.
    Reply
  • 16bit
    I am very excited for this! I will be picking one up when they come out.
    Reply