MSI R9 290X Lightning Launched

That was literally *days* before the mining explosion.
I remember waking up on Tuesday or Wednesday and all of the 280x's were just GONE. It happened overnight.

I bet Newegg regrets that sale, hehe.

edit // Checked some old posts, it happened on December 1st. Found some posts going back to Nov 29.
 
PureBooYah said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127787

Available now, not surprised at the $750 price
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750$ is 200$ over /reference/ MSRP. The lightning series is normally 100$ over the reference price to cover the advanced cooler and custom PCB, plus all the goodies they throw in like vcheck points and being LN2 ready. So an extra 100$ during this insane price hike time and matching the price of others like the Sapphire Tri-X is not that bad.
 
849 in Canada, booo to the unnamed vendor!
829 at another, still Booo!
 
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I think it's bad timing on this cards release. All the other 290X's are dropping in price and here comes this one at $750. Too big of a price disparity, doesn't help that the reviews so far dont show that much of an overclocking potential (atleast on the core)
 
pandora's box said:
I think it's bad timing on this cards release. All the other 290X's are dropping in price and here comes this one at $750. Too big of a price disparity, doesn't help that the reviews so far dont show that much of an overclocking potential (atleast on the core)
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It's not MSRP'd at 750$, there is still gouging going on. Also there are other cards that perform way less around this price. There have been like 2 reviews from sites that don't even do full overclocking articles. I'd take their results with a grain of salt and wait til some members here start having at it.
 
TaintedSquirrel said:
Sold out fast, or had limited stock.
WHO is stupid enough to spend $750 on a 290x?
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The same kind of people who spend $1k on Titans. The Lightning is considered the best 290X available. There are always people who will spend a premium for "The Best".

You really shouldn't be so quick to judge. :cool:
 
Not paying $200 premium for an overclocked card that's hit but usually more miss with stability. From reading the reviews all OC GPUs have stability issues regardless if it's 290X, 780 Ti OC, Ti GHz, etc. And, we haven't even approached summer weather yet.
 
mi7chy said:
Not paying $200 premium for an overclocked card that's hit but usually more miss with stability. From reading the reviews all OC GPUs have stability issues regardless if it's 290X, 780 Ti OC, Ti GHz, etc. And, we haven't even approached summer weather yet.
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It's not just an "O/C'd card". It's a whole new PCB with more/better components. I don't think it's worth the additional cost either, but there are people who appreciate such things more than you or I do.

Personally I would rather get a true reference board (as in one that says AMD on the PCI-E connector) with an upgraded cooling solution for an Extra $50, or so.
 
Its worth the price to the people who like having their items to be higher quality than the standard offerings. Due to the build/parts, the engineering, and the performance of the Lightning people wants it. It is a hell of a card but then again if your budget is not going to be that loose to go for a premium version of something you can get for less it won't be for you. I am perfectly satisfied on my mobile beast for gaming power... But if I were to want the best AMD product available this is what I would hope for.

Yes, not just an OCed card - a card engineered to be the best, and is
 
Setting on 2 tri-x's I can still get a full refund on them. I barely missed 1 of them a few days ago. If the come in stock anytime soon im going to grab 2,
 
After seeing how shitty MSI has been with customer service and RMA service, I wouldn't go near them.... Granted I didn't like MSI to begin with lol.
 
Sodapopjones said:
After seeing how shitty MSI has been with customer service and RMA service, I wouldn't go near them.... Granted I didn't like MSI to begin with lol.
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I've NEVER had a problem with MSI products, be it MBs or GPUs..Their 7950 Twin Frozr IIIs were the best 7950 offered IMO..They had great stock cooling, and since they were built on the 7970 PCB they would scream under water..I nearly had a 50% OC on my core (based on the 880Mhz base clock).

I just spoke with their tech support the other day, and had less then a 30 second wait time, despite it being roughly 15 minutes before they were due to close. The gentlemen I spoke to was extremely knowledgeable and it took less then 45 seconds to explain to me what I needed to do to resolve the issue I was having. That is damn good CS to me man.:confused:
 
Yeah, I'm with you ^ - they replaced my $450 mobo (X79 Big Bang XPower II) for $50 when it was my fault. ASUS wanted $120 minimum to replace my $200 mobo when it was my fault (I'm an idiot, went on a CPU pin bending spree). F ASUS. Now a MSI fanboy. Great service.
 
Why not wait for the 295 in the 1-1.1k range?
 
Sunin said:
Why not wait for the 295 in the 1-1.1k range?
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Some want the fastest single card and don't want to deal with mGPU. Plus, this card (Lightning) will be a lot more fun to tweak/OC/etc. - which a lot of people enjoy. The mGPU-on-one-card cards tend to be pretty boring to OC. They're pushed near the limit from the factory.

You can get on the list at Amazon.com at $705. Spendy...but at least not as bad as some of the other prices out there. I've seen it as high as $850 on an eTailer and it's now up at $1,000 on eBay.
 
Are there mitx boards that perform atx levels? Otherwise won't u be throttling the 295?
 
Sunin said:
Why not wait for the 295 in the 1-1.1k range?
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To use AMD's own marketing against them #2IsBetterThan1, so if I wanted to go crossfire, which I'm still on the edge about, I'd rather do it with the best cards, not a chopped down single PCB power craved monster.

Also once prices flux back into shape, it should only be a few hundred more for dual Lightnings which will easily destroy a 2x290~

Now if you are shooting for compact, the 295(Whatever it is going to be) is going to give you a better deal, or if you just must go Crossfire x 8.
 
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