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Non-Reference R9 290s Options

E

Enilder

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 2, 2013
Messages
237
I've been using my computer without a GPU for quite some time (see the sign), and I am looking to buy one of non-reference R9 290. I am not sure if I am overthinking but I'd like to get other people's opinions about it. I am primarily interested in what problems these cards have besides the ones I listed below. Overall, I think the performance, cooling, and noise are about the same. Anyways, please correct me if my information is outdated or incorrect.

MSI Twin Frozr: Bearing oil leak, RMA process can be painful.
Sapphire Tri-X: I've not heard much about this product. Performance, noise, and cooling capability are similar to MSI Twin Frozr.
ASUS Direct CU II: I think I read the most number of RMA complains from ASUS.
Gigabyte Windforce: I think this card runs hotter and noisier than other cards.

Purpose of the GPU purchase is for multi-display gaming. Most likely go with 1080P 24" or 27".

[edit] I don't mine so it won't be 100% usage 24/7 for days...months...etc.
 
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I think the AIBs phoned in the 290/290x series for whatever reason, it took them 3+ months to get the cards out, and there's so many problems across the board.
I'd call it a "disaster" but I think more of the issue lies on AMD's shoulders.

To answer your question, the Tri-X is hands down the best you can do, but everybody else knows that as well so the prices on that card in particular are insane.

I think you're better off buying a ref 290 and putting an Accelero (or similar) on it.
At these ridiculous prices you could buy the ref 290, a Kraken G10, and some CLC for cheaper than most of the custom cards.
 
Edited the post. I don't mine and not planning to mine at all. I forgot about XFX but as you mentioned, VRM gets pretty hot.

I also heard the same about Tri-X. MSI is selling for $470 on NE but it's not going OOS. There's a clear indication of what people are waiting for. Although custom liquid-cooled system is very desirable, I'd opt out of any custom cooling solution.

Thanks for the replies though.
 
TaintedSquirrel said:
I think the AIBs phoned in the 290/290x series for whatever reason, it took them 3+ months to get the cards out, and there's so many problems across the board.
I'd call it a "disaster" but I think more of the issue lies on AMD's shoulders.

To answer your question, the Tri-X is hands down the best you can do, but everybody else knows that as well so the prices on that card in particular are insane.

I think you're better off buying a ref 290 and putting an Accelero (or similar) on it.
At these ridiculous prices you could buy the ref 290, a Kraken G10, and some CLC for cheaper than most of the custom cards.
Click to expand...

The Tri-X OC is beaten out in cooling performance by the Powercolor PCS+ and the newest hottest (coolest) card the MSI Lighting 290x, but the Tri-X OC is still very very good. If you want the best cooling though, get a reference card and watercool it with a nice EK block and backplate :D
 
If the Club3D triple fan cooler R9 290/290X is available on Newegg, that's another option to consider if the Tri-X OC or Powercolor PCS+ are priced higher.

I posted a pic of it on the R9 290/290X availability thread:

R9 290:
http://www.club-3d.com/index.php/products/reader.en/product/radeon-r9-290-royalace.html

2014-03-07_09-23-00.png


R9 290X:
http://www.club-3d.com/index.php/products/reader.en/product/radeon-r9-290x-royalace.html

2014-03-07_09-23-32.png


Since there is only one other Club3D card available at Newegg-- their 270X-- hopefully these will show up there and other e-tailers online.
 
If you don't mine the XFX is a good buy since you get lifetime warranty. The high VRM temps is mostly from 100% stress when mining OCed.
 
DracoNB said:
If you don't mine the XFX is a good buy since you get lifetime warranty. The high VRM temps is mostly from 100% stress when mining OCed.
Click to expand...

I would not be so quick to dump all of the overheating VRM issues on "mining" when it comes to XFX..Their 7950 and 7970s had the same issue, depending on which model you purchased..They had 4 or 5 different variants but most were mediocore to bad when it came to VRM temperatures..I just see the trend continuing sadly..


OP, I would grab a reference card, the G10 bracket a decent AIO CLC and go to town..It would be cheaper/same price as the cheaper custom cards, but with better results, especially if you plan to overclock..These chips have a decent to insane amount of headroom depending on the silicon lottery and the cooling method but you should be able to easily get over 290X clocks with a dud card..
 
Craftyman_ said:
The Tri-X OC is beaten out in cooling performance by the Powercolor PCS+ and the newest hottest (coolest) card the MSI Lighting 290x, but the Tri-X OC is still very very good. If you want the best cooling though, get a reference card and watercool it with a nice EK block and backplate :D
Click to expand...

Do you have any numbers on that?It definitely looks like a beefy cooler, but from what I've seen so far (bar the Lightning ofc) the Trix is certainly the best cooler out there so far (beating out the Gigabyte, Asus and MSI Gaming collers soundly).
 
They get higher temps sure, but you won't run into issues unless you are stressing the card mining 24/7 while OCed.

Since its lifetime warranty, if it does cause issues then just get a free replacement.
 
I did more research on CLC solution and it amazes me how cool it runs:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-290-and-290x,3728-6.html

Looks like NZXT G10 + X40 is a clear winner. Then my question is, can I crossfire in this configuration (i.e. (R9 290 + NZXT G10 + X40) x2)?

Also, it looks like it's compatible with other CLC like H110 but it doesn't seem like H100i is on the compatibility list. My guess is it is the safest to go with both NZXT CLC and G10 for hassle-free installation process(?).

[edit] OK. It looks like crossfiring with 2 X40's will work...
 
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This pic is from Anandtech's comments:

http://i.imgur.com/viYQ6eL.jpg

(They are GTX 770's, I think).
Newer boards use wider distance between PCI-E slots, you might need one of those to fit two G10's.

side-note: Why would someone buy 3 CLC's instead of just doing a full loop ???
 
I got the Asus DirectCU myself and I am happy with it, but if I were to go back and do it again I would go after the XFX for the sleek styling.

The Tri-X is a reference board with their cooler on it, where the gigabyte, Asus and xfx are custom PCBs. Not sure about the MSI, but the MSI has the lowest temps.

Some people complain about the Asus cause they just slapped a 770 DirectCU heat sink on it and 2 of the heat pipes are not making direct contact with the gpu. Despite that I still have low temps and a quiet cooler.
 
TaintedSquirrel said:
This pic is from Anandtech's comments:

http://i.imgur.com/viYQ6eL.jpg

(They are GTX 770's, I think).
Newer boards use wider distance between PCI-E slots, you might need one of those to fit two G10's.

side-note: Why would someone buy 3 CLC's instead of just doing a full loop ???
Click to expand...

This build was my first build with CLC and didn't plan on getting CLC for GPU. Is there a single CLC solution for CPU and GPUs? If not, that would be my reason to have a separate CLC for CPU and GPUs.

yergg said:
I got the Asus DirectCU myself and I am happy with it, but if I were to go back and do it again I would go after the XFX for the sleek styling.

The Tri-X is a reference board with their cooler on it, where the gigabyte, Asus and xfx are custom PCBs. Not sure about the MSI, but the MSI has the lowest temps.

Some people complain about the Asus cause they just slapped a 770 DirectCU heat sink on it and 2 of the heat pipes are not making direct contact with the gpu. Despite that I still have low temps and a quiet cooler.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure MSI is also a reference board as well and I agree with your comments about the contact.
 
DracoNB said:
XFX have lifetime warranty, but the VRM runs hot if you OC and mine.
Click to expand...

I would beg to differ. I run my Reference XFX R9 290(290x bios 1050mhz/1500mhz) mining all day when I'm at work with fan set to 75%... I never go over 75degrees on my VRM temps.
 
Tri-X Sapphire on sale today on NE for $549. Still way too overpriced IMHO, but better at least (and in stock).
 
It's great apart from the fact it's from ASUS.
No thank you.

If we could take the DCII and give it to EVGA, that would be very helpful.
 
This thread is strictly for 290, not 290X. It's out of my budget, unfortunately...
 
Pcs+ is the best cooling solution, but it is too expensive.

I have a Gb r9 290oc and i had a tri-x. The temps are identical, may be gb is a little bit hotter, but this is because its stock voltage is higher. When i run them on equal voltages, the temps are almost equal in every situation. So wf3 is very good cooling solution and it is a little louder only... And gb is one of the cheaper 290s so i recommend it.
 
I'm very happy with the MSI R9 290 gaming. The temps are low, it's not very loud at load, and the build quality is great. The backplate is a plus too.
 
Does NZXT G10 + X40 on R9 290 reference card void warranty? My guess is "yes" since you are altering the hardware. Just want to confirm if anyone has a solid answer to this.

Also, from what I remember, all R9 290 reference cards behave the same way. Is it a simple matter of rebranding or are there still some "differences?"

If the warranty gets voided, I will have to go with non-reference cooler design.
 
Looks like XFX "lifetime warranty" is not applicable to R9 models...2-year max. Does anyone know the answer to the second question, "R9 290 reference differences?"
 
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