R9 295X2 $679.99

harmattan said:
I'd say that's a relatively sure thing, not a guess.

I'm normally not one for waiting, but I'm definitely waiting to see what the 390x offers especially since rumors have it coming in Feb. with 15%+ gtx 980 performance and having 1/3 the power consumption of a 295x, while likely costing somewhat less than $680.
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There's rumored leaks out of the 390x, and they don't compare to the 295x2 in performance.

What is likely to happen is that initially it will release at a very high pricepoint simply because its the latest and greatest, and it will come with some reference cooler that will suck and be too noisy.

Then we'll see better coolers on the market, but still at about the same price, and we'll see some dual-gpu on card versions like the 295x2 for massively inflated prices probably $1400+ as usual.

Then the prices will gradually drop but at this point we're talking about a pretty big time gap between the 295x2 available right now for $615 (or was anyway when I just bought it), and when you'll see the 390x2 equivalent that beats it and is on sale for a reasonable price.

And the 295x2 may have high power draw when gaming, but the reviews say it runs cool and quiet, it just happens to be exhausting quite a bit of heat out the chassis when gaming. I don't see that affecting my electrical bill much, as it does have "zero core" technology which means that when its just chilling and not on full boil it actually shuts down the second GPU/memory crossfire setup entirely most of the time.

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They are def floor heaters. I have my vents closed in my office because of the massive amount of heat my two 295's put off. Electric bill, my bill is usually around $70 per month. Have not noticed a spike in prices, but I do see the usage go up on a massive scale on a Friday night for some strange reason...
 
I really think it'll be quite some time before we see 295x2 performance at ~$600-$650 again. Remember when they put the 7990 on sale for $600 (IIRC?). Folks who bought one back then made out pretty good and the 295x2 is a much better overall product.
 
Wish they would ship to canada. Our price is still around $1400 on sale :(
 
Relayer said:
I really think it'll be quite some time before we see 295x2 performance at ~$600-$650 again. Remember when they put the 7990 on sale for $600 (IIRC?). Folks who bought one back then made out pretty good and the 295x2 is a much better overall product.
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Based on rumors, 390x will be around 15% faster than GTX 980 which is, in turn, about 40% slower than 295x -- so, one can deduce that 390x will be around 25% slower than 295x. While 25% performance advantage is nothing to sneeze at, three points somewhat nullify that (at least for me:

  • 295x is still a dual-GPU config with all the trappings and issues therein. I have a hard and fast rule, after 10 years of comparing multi-GPU and single GPU rigs, that a Crossfire/SLI setup must be at least 40-50% faster than a single card for it to be worthwhile for the extra money, heat/power, and driver and microstutter headaches.
  • 295x will likely use 3x the power of a 390x. Again, conjecture, but it's still safe to assume a large delta here in power usage considering the move to 20nm.
  • 390x will almost certainly overclock better than 295x further closing that 25% gap
In short... Will 295x be faster? - likely. Is it worth the extra cost, power, heat, Crossfire headaches? -- probably not.
 
Relayer said:
I really think it'll be quite some time before we see 295x2 performance at ~$600-$650 again. Remember when they put the 7990 on sale for $600 (IIRC?). Folks who bought one back then made out pretty good and the 295x2 is a much better overall product.
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That was also largely due to Bitcoin. This year Bitcoin is flat and it doesn't look like there is any mining boom in the near future. Plus even if there is, NV mines as well as AMD.

But, based of 290 and 290X prices on Newegg now, it looks like these cards are completely EOL and their supply is diminishing by the day (and their prices are going up). So if I really wanted a GPU right now, I'd just get this and still likely be able to resell over $500 when the 380X is released.
 
Excellent point there blade, hadn't thought of.

I'm not saying $600 is not a great deal for this monster, just that something better is coming along shortly that has some significant benefits.

All y'all got me back and forthing now on waiting or picking this up :)
 
I'm in the same boat - theres always something better around the corner but this level of performance for the price is hard to beat.

I caved in and ordered the diamond multimedia primarily because I've never owned a diamond multimedia card and the xfx and sapphire were sold out - HAHA! My current 7990 will be repurposed for another rig.
 
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cageymaru said:
I have to agree. This card is watercooled from the factory which many enthusiasts spend a lot of money on to achieve the same results. The power draw is irrelevant because it is watercooled; unless you live somewhere that rations electricity I suppose. No overheating your case problems because the cooling.

Is the 980 SLi really worth $650 more than 295X2?
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You do know the heat doesn't magically vanish, right? It still raises your room temperature hugely because of the massive power draw. Also a more valid comparison is GTX 970 sli which is about the same price and performance yet carries more features and lower heat output, power draw, and no unusual installation required. All while OC'ing like banshees silently.
 
GoldenTiger said:
You do know the heat doesn't magically vanish, right? It still raises your room temperature hugely because of the massive power draw. Also a more valid comparison is GTX 970 sli which is about the same price and performance yet carries more features and lower heat output, power draw, and no unusual installation required. All while OC'ing like banshees silently.
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You can't seriously recommend SLI over crossfire at the present time? Plus what's so unusual about having a 120mm fan location in a case? As far as heat your dual card setup is going to heat up inside your case more than the 295x2. Even if it uses less power. Where do we find these O/C like banshee's stacked up silent 970's? care to show a link to them?
 
Relayer said:
You can't seriously recommend SLI over crossfire at the present time? Plus what's so unusual about having a 120mm fan location in a case? As far as heat your dual card setup is going to heat up inside your case more than the 295x2. Even if it uses less power. Where do we find these O/C like banshee's stacked up silent 970's? care to show a link to them?
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They're all over every tech enthusiasts forum online, the Maxwell 2.0 cards oc very well and are known to run cool + quiet. And again, I don't know how you keep missing it, but the heat pulled off of the gpu does not mystically disappear into the nether reaches, it gets dumped in your room/office. The removal method is irrelevant to this. Go read the second law of thermal dynamics if you don't get it, or apply the energy is neither created or destroyed rule. It's just moved and displaced.
 
GoldenTiger said:
They're all over every tech enthusiasts forum online, the Maxwell 2.0 cards oc very well and are known to run cool + quiet. And again, I don't know how you keep missing it, but the heat pulled off of the gpu does not mystically disappear into the nether reaches, it gets dumped in your room/office. The removal method is irrelevant to this. Go read the second law of thermal dynamics if you don't get it, or apply the energy is neither created or destroyed rule. It's just moved and displaced.
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From what I've read they can OC, but upon doing so, the cool and quiet elements start to vanish.

While the nV let you choose your own adventure, if you're already comfortable running the big boys, then odds are a little space heater isn't going to hurt you this winter.
 
jackstar7 said:
From what I've read they can OC, but upon doing so, the cool and quiet elements start to vanish.

While the nV let you choose your own adventure, if you're already comfortable running the big boys, then odds are a little space heater isn't going to hurt you this winter.
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They don't vanish at all, actually :D.
 
jackstar7 said:
From what I've read they can OC, but upon doing so, the cool and quiet elements start to vanish.

While the nV let you choose your own adventure, if you're already comfortable running the big boys, then odds are a little space heater isn't going to hurt you this winter.
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http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014...verclocking_video_card_review/11#.VIIpJFWBT-g

When we overclocked the GeForce GTX 980 it ran away with performance compared to overclocked R9 290X. There just isn't any comparison with differences as high as 30%+ in performance with an overclocked GTX 980 compared to overclocked R9 290X.
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Overclocked total system wattage is 366W, which is well over a hundred watts less than the overclocked GTX 780 Ti and R9 290X. The GTX 980 consumes 17% more power, or 54W when overclocked.
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Just got my 295x2 installed, and gdamn is that a nice cooler! I upgraded my CPU cooler to a Corsair H100i at the same time, and its insane how quietly the system is benchmarking for the hour.

Thanks to the watercooler, you could realistically run this in a mITX case that has room for a 240mm radiator. Just run a 120mm for the CPU and the 120mm for the 295x2 next to it, and voila.

I have my processor still overclocked to 4.2Ghz same as before (old Core i5-3570K, but should be fine), but GPU is running stock for the moment.

Regarding OC's I hear you can get about 10% more out of the core, and 30% more out of the memory, but I haven't seen huge increases, so don't plan on messing with it. Eventually I may purchase a second 295x2 for crossfire if a great deal pops up way down the road.
GoldenTiger said:
You do know the heat doesn't magically vanish, right? It still raises your room temperature hugely because of the massive power draw.
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He was saying that the cards don't overheat your case, as the vast majority of the heat is exhausted out, keeping your other components cool and not requiring unusually special cooling of your case.

Regarding heating my room, I'm sure it will, but I have a ceiling fan, 10 foot tall ceilings, and a window AC unit specifically for my game room since my gaming machines for the last several years have been pretty toasty. Thanks to that, I game at a comfortable 76oF, and luckily my electricity is only 8.8cents per KWH, so a couple hours gaming a day isn't going to make much of a dent. When not gaming, the 295x2 actually completely shuts down the second core/memory and idles very efficiently.

BTW, I love the feel of the card. The metal case makes it feel like a brick, very solid built. I'm impressed. :)
 
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GoldenTiger said:
They're all over every tech enthusiasts forum online, the Maxwell 2.0 cards oc very well and are known to run cool + quiet. And again, I don't know how you keep missing it, but the heat pulled off of the gpu does not mystically disappear into the nether reaches, it gets dumped in your room/office. The removal method is irrelevant to this. Go read the second law of thermal dynamics if you don't get it, or apply the energy is neither created or destroyed rule. It's just moved and displaced.
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You specifically said "silent". Are you a liar?
 
Relayer said:
We're talking SLI vs. Crossfire. Nail those goal posts down if you really want to have a meaningful discussion. Are you purposely being misleading with your comparisons? Sure seems that way.
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I don't see how it's any less revelant. The same OC and power consumption advantage exists in multi-GPU configuration. I just pointed to that link as I haven't seen any reviews with 2+ cards overclocked to their max.
 
x3sphere said:
I don't see how it's any less revelant. The same OC and power consumption advantage exists in multi-GPU configuration. I just pointed to that link as I haven't seen any reviews with 2+ cards overclocked to their max.
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No, you're completely right and on target. It'll be the exact same gap just doubled for a second card, essentially. Just more diversionary tactics on their part claiming otherwise, is all.
 
GoldenTiger said:
No, you're completely right and on target. It'll be the exact same gap just doubled for a second card, essentially. Just more diversionary tactics on their part claiming otherwise, is all.
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This pretends that throttling is not an issue. Multi-cards = multi-problems.
 
GoldenTiger said:
No, you're completely right and on target. It'll be the exact same gap just doubled for a second card, essentially. Just more diversionary tactics on their part claiming otherwise, is all.
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You don't double performance though. Even raw FPS, never mind dual GPU issues that are always present.
 
I got my 295X2 installed and it works exceedingly well but a concern that has appeared is the motherboard sag. I noticed this issue with my prior hd 7990 and moreso this card, right hand side of the video card is sagging so I'm figuring out a way to try to resolve this issue.

I don't think extra long video cards are a good idea for a standard atx tower without any support. I'm thinking on a resolution for this issue - I've read of people supporting it from the bottom with various things and people supporting it with fishing line or something similar from the top of the case.

I'm currently using a Corsair Graphite 600T.
 
polydiol said:
I got my 295X2 installed and it works exceedingly well but a concern that has appeared is the motherboard sag. I noticed this issue with my prior hd 7990 and moreso this card, right hand side of the video card is sagging so I'm figuring out a way to try to resolve this issue.

I don't think extra long video cards are a good idea for a standard atx tower without any support. I'm thinking on a resolution for this issue - I've read of people supporting it from the bottom with various things and people supporting it with fishing line or something similar from the top of the case.

I'm currently using a Corsair Graphite 600T.
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Sorted.
http://www.powercolor.com/us/products_Accessories_features.asp?id=1
 
Would like to see those that actually ordered this card using the sale pics of the card up in their machine and how they have it setup!

Also I am kicking my self in the ass for not buying it.

Since I have a 280x I thought it would be okay and last me until 300 series released.

Starting to have glitches and directx failure causing BSOD.

Should have bought it...
 
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Heres a picture of mine taken with my samsung galaxy s4. I hastily rigged it and I'm currently (somewhat) working on the radiator placement. I added a corsair high static pressure fan for a push/pull configuration but I'm not pleased with the overall layout. Generally, the card is excellent and temperatures and especially noise are far lower than my hd 7990. The radiator doesnt fit inside the case on top or left of the cpu and I want to fix the video card sag so either thinking of the lego fix or a new case that rotates the motherboard 90 degrees or something that has the motherboard mounted horizontally from Mountain Mods or Caselabs.

 
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Push pull really isn't necessary. It comes with a quiet high static pressure fan. I'd just see if it fits to the left of your air cooler, and rotate the air cooler 90o if you need to. Personally, with the great deals on H100is, you may want to do what I did and ditch the air cooler for the CPU entirely and put the radiator for it on top.
 
This is a temporary setup - I pulled the trigger on a different case from CaseLabs and I also have the Corsair H100i on order so within a week or 2 this will look totally different and I'll have the setup I've been thinking about for a while.
 
Push/Pull on 295X2 is kinda pointless, with how drivers limit OC to very low amounts. Maybe if someone has a custom driver out there without limits? I haven't seen if Afterburner has unlocked settings of some sort, so please let me know if I'm mistaken.

Same goes for WC 295X2. For OCing or push/pull fetishes, go 290X Cross/Tri/Quad.
 
Not as many pictures I was thinking would get posted!

Can't wait to see what that looks like in a different case!
 
OofC_S7v7N said:
Not as many pictures I was thinking would get posted!

Can't wait to see what that looks like in a different case!
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You know how it is - get a new video card and then you gotta load every game that comes to mind and go into settings and set everything to at least Ultra and then proceed to play it for at least an hour trying to see how much better everything looks. :D:D:D:D

Or maybe thats just me?
 
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