AMD Launches The Radeon R9 290X Graphics Card

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AMD today launched the AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics card, introducing the ultimate GPU for a new era in PC gaming. As the top AMD Radeon™ R9 Series graphics card, the AMD Radeon™ R9 290X GPU delivers breathtaking performance while pushing the boundaries of audio and visual realism for gamers who demand the best.

“As the pinnacle of our new AMD Radeon R9 Series graphics cards, the AMD Radeon R9 290X GPU embodies AMD’s leadership as the ultimate graphics solution for an exceptional gaming experience, affirming that Radeon™ is gaming,” said Matt Skynner, general manager and corporate vice president, AMD Graphics Business Unit. “The formidable combination of Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture, Mantle and AMD TrueAudio technology raises the bar for breathtaking audio and graphics, and powerful performance, giving enthusiasts an unprecedented gaming experience.”
 
This means the Radeon R9 290X sits in-between the GTX 780 and GTX TITAN on performance a lot of the time
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That's disappointing for a new architecture.
 
TheMadHatterXxX said:
How is it disappointing when it's priced $450 cheaper than a Titan and goes toe to toe with it at anything past 1920x1080? :rolleyes:
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Agreed. I've seen this "disappoint" echoed several times and I'm completely flabbergasted that anyone would be disappointed by "Performs as well or better than $1k card for $450 less". :confused:
 
Guys, its a valid argument.

On that same note, I'm also really disappointed with Nvidia's new Tegra 4 architecture. I can't believe they launched it knowing that it was slower than a Titan.....
 
TheMadHatterXxX said:
How is it disappointing when it's priced $450 cheaper than a Titan and goes toe to toe with it at anything past 1920x1080? :rolleyes:
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If all the competition has to do to beat your latest and greatest achievement, is a simple price cut. That's a disappointment.

NVIDIA should have to respond with a brand new architecture of their own. Instead they can just slap 'ti" onto a 780 and call it a day.
 
PRIME1 said:
If all the competition has to do to beat your latest and greatest achievement, is a simple price cut. That's a disappointment.

NVIDIA should have to respond with a brand new architecture of their own. Instead they can just slap 'ti" onto a 780 and call it a day.
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But will they be able to slap "ti onto a 780" and call it day for less than the price of the new AMD card? The 780 is still $100 more than a card which now outclasses it. Don't get me wrong, I see the point you're making but I think the larger point, above all others is: "NV can take their inflated pricing horse-shit and shove it up their collective asses"

On a personal level, I'm happy. I look forward to buying 780s at heavily reduced pricing in the near future.
 
cortexodus said:
But will they be able to slap "ti onto a 780" and call it day for less than the price of the new AMD card? The 780 is still $100 more than a card which now outclasses it. Don't get me wrong, I see the point you're making but I think the larger point, above all others is: "NV can take their inflated pricing horse-shit and shove it up their collective asses"

On a personal level, I'm happy. I look forward to buying 780s at heavily reduced pricing in the near future.
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I don't care either way either...I'm just looking to buy a top-end card at a great price from either. But it's hilarious reading how the NVidia fan boys try to explain everything away and put their own spin on things.
 
The only bad part is that the benchmarks I have seen are around 30 FPS at 1440P ... I would like to see single card performance approach 60 FPS at 1440P/1600P and 30 FPS at 4K (with all the settings maxed out) ... even at the $600 price range that would be a bargain :)
 
kbrickley said:
The only bad part is that the benchmarks I have seen are around 30 FPS at 1440P ... I would like to see single card performance approach 60 FPS at 1440P/1600P and 30 FPS at 4K (with all the settings maxed out) ... even at the $600 price range that would be a bargain :)
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7990 :)
 
I can see the disappointment. I'd like to see a new high end card come out and beat the high end card from the competition in speeds. But, price is the key thing here, not performance (which is still nice). Bang for the buck. I do think that Titan was a bit of a fluke, though. Huge, amazing card, but very niche market. Usually, you don't see cards like that (Ultra, outside the normal lineup and being so niche). $1000 for a gaming video card? Wow. $600 is still high, but a bit more realistic and more of an audience.
 
dr.stevil said:
7990 :)
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In a single GPU configuration I have no problem with AMD cards but in crossfire ugh.

This card is a nice deal - cheaper for Titan equivalent performance (single screen). AMD has lost the power issue though that thing gulps power. If I didn't have a Titan already I would get one but I'll stick with a Titan for now and wait.
 
nvidia is only pricing the titan at 1000 bucks because they could. This is why competition is important. It's too bad AMD's CPU division couldn't be doing as well as their graphics division to give intel reason to push the newer hardware out there faster.
 
cortexodus said:
Agreed. I've seen this "disappoint" echoed several times and I'm completely flabbergasted that anyone would be disappointed by "Performs as well or better than $1k card for $450 less". :confused:
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To be blunt, Titan's not a $1000 card. Sure - Nvidia sold it as one, but it's no $1000 card. Going toe-to-toe with it is nice. I would have preferred a smack down. At the very least, we can finally expect price drops and more realistic video card pricing.
 
We have to give kudos, or blame, to nvidia's marketing.

When AMD introduced the 7970 at $500, people complained. After nvidia released the $650+ 780 and $1000 Titan, AMD's R9 290x at $550 is now an awesome pricepoint deal!

Sigh....
 
jbltecnicspro said:
To be blunt, Titan's not a $1000 card. Sure - Nvidia sold it as one, but it's no $1000 card. Going toe-to-toe with it is nice. I would have preferred a smack down. At the very least, we can finally expect price drops and more realistic video card pricing.
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the 290 will be half the price of Titan here.
290x 60% or so.
the 290 might be a deal of the year right there.
 
Good card, thanks amd for finally bringing some sense to the pricing structure.
 
Wow the temps and power consumption is ghastly. I'm glad there's competition to put some price pressure on Nvidia, but no thanks.
 
cortexodus said:
Agreed. I've seen this "disappoint" echoed several times and I'm completely flabbergasted that anyone would be disappointed by "Performs as well or better than $1k card for $450 less". :confused:
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Because the Titan is an enthusiast part like the Intel Extreme addition CPU's, and so the comparison is a little misguided because people that buy a Titan have other considerations that they wouldn't give an R9 290X a second look because of.

The R9 290X is also a brute force card with no OC headroom out of the gate, the thing runs at a frightening 95C and way louder than the NV's . Performance-per-watt is poor relative to the NVIDIA 7 series cards. I'd be most worried about lifespan and longevity with these overcranked AMD offerings.
 
Well, I see they are already listed on Fleabay for profit mongers and jerks. (Those who sell them, not buy them. ) The joke is, these people do not even have the cards in their possession yet and they bleed newegg dry. (Hope they lose out big time.) I want a card but not for the stupid prices these dirtbags are selling them for.
 
Benchmarks (skip to 8:45)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djvZaHHU4I8#t=581

Noise test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQhqOKKAq7o

ZNUvf8O.jpg
 
The takeaway for me after reading the reviews at Anand, HardOCP, etc is that once the GTX780 drops in price to <=$599 its still the way to go versus a $550 R9 290x, because the 780 draws less power, quieter, cooler and therefore has more headroom (the R9 290x is basically already overcranked to its ability-limit out of the box).

Still its good to see a fire lit under NVIDIA for the moment.
 
I've had my 780 for a few months now and I'm pleased with how it is faring. AMD can knock $100 off the price, but I've got to think they're a bit late to the party if that's all they've got. How many people are there willing to spend $550 on a video card that didn't already drop $650 on a 780 when it came out?
 
brinstar117 said:
A little disappointing, but at least it's cheaper and there should be headroom for improvements during revisions.
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If it wasn't for the fact that the AMD driver team has really let themselfs go in recent years I would jump on board. But now Nvidia has some cool new tech coming out and their drivers are generally rock solid.

I wish AMD would invest more money into the PC driver team and get up to Nvidia's level.
 
TheMadHatterXxX said:
But it's hilarious reading how the NVidia fan boys try to explain everything away and put their own spin on things.
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AMD "fanboys" are equally bad.

That said, this does look like a nice card at a good price from AMD. I just wish we were getting $400 top-end cards like back in the day...
 
The reason why the 290X runs so hot is that the fan won't go any faster then 55% unless the temps go over 95C, if you manually set the fans to be at a higher speed then it will run much cooler.
 
Spazturtle said:
The reason why the 290X runs so hot is that the fan won't go any faster then 55% unless the temps go over 95C, if you manually set the fans to be at a higher speed then it will run much cooler.
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That's treating the symptom rather than the cause.
 
I'm really hoping that board partners will release aftermarket versions similar to this:
http://www.hisdigital.com/ca/product2-683.shtml

I currently have a Silverstone FT02 case that works particularly well with blower style coolers. If I can get a 290X with an upgraded cooler like that HIS model, I'll be getting the best performance and lowest noise that the 290X could provide.
 
If you can only afford a single 1080p monitor, why are you shopping 290's/780's/Titans? A 7970 can be had for $275 if you shop around which is plenty for low cost hipo rigs.
 
Qinsp said:
If you can only afford a single 1080p monitor, why are you shopping 290's/780's/Titans? A 7970 can be had for $275 if you shop around which is plenty for low cost hipo rigs.
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Why man, talk about judgemental. Ok, point me towards an affordable 1600p 50 inch display and I will bite. Better yet, you buy it for me, right? :rolleyes: Children in basements and all that.........
 
Qinsp said:
If you can only afford a single 1080p monitor, why are you shopping 290's/780's/Titans? A 7970 can be had for $275 if you shop around which is plenty for low cost hipo rigs.
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Better to have and not need than to need and not have.
 
I think most people forget that Pirate Islands is AMD's new architecture that's being released early 2014. The 290X is basically just a reason for Nvidia to wake up.
 
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