Hi there
Right guys, first of all here is the cards, I think you will find the pricing is very good and certainly under-cuts GTX 780 considerably which these cards are considerably faster than:-
Oh before you see the products, check out what four look like:-
Sapphire R9 290X "BF4 Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £479.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 2yr
Only £479.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Sapphire R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £449.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 2yr
Only £449.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
MSI Radeon R9 290X "BF4 Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £479.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 3yr
Only £479.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
MSI Radeon R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £439.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 3yr
Only £439.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
HIS Radeon R9 290X Boost "BF4 Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £469.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 2yr
Only £469.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
HIS Radeon R9 290X Boost 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £439.99 inc VAT
The card features the Next Generation CrossFire support for up to 4 graphics cards with No interconnect bridge required. With AMD 2nd generation GCN technology, the card optimizes DirectX® 11.2 gaming performance automatically up to 2.5 times faster! It also offers up to 4.5x compute performance and up to 95% lower GPU Idle Power Consumption!
The card enables a “quality graphics” experience on everyday applications, giving huge performance boosts on image processing, file compression, media converter apps, and a lot more! Set up Eyefinity on 3 displays with No ACTIVE DisplayPort Adapter is needed.
Armed with the latest PCI-e 3.0 bus design maximizes performance by delivering double bandwidth per lane of PCI-e 2.x. Paired the card with the latest platforms and get the ultimate performance!
More
The new architecture of the card gets more usable processing power for your money, enabling better frame rates in the latest games at high resolutions. In addition, with AMD ZeroCore Power & AMD PowerTune technologies, you can optimize the balance between performance and power consumption of your system by adjusting the engine clock during runtime of the card. Manage the power and keep your wallet loaded!
The card supports 30” LCD monitor and any large size TV up to 80" feature with 16:9 ratio in amazing 4096 by 2160 resolution. Up-scaling your computer into a multimedia center with the biggest display!
With Full HD 1080p support, the card delivers high quality 1920X1080 graphics, enabling seamless full-screen video playback. See HD, hear HD and feel HD - Enjoy the beautiful graphics now with the card! The card is HDCP complaint, enabling users to play copy-protected content, such as commercial DVD movies.
ULTRA HD videos have resolution four times that of current HD videos, meaning images too clear that may deceive your eyes! With the card, you are set for getting the movie theater experience to your home. You may be able to watch a video shooting the Eiffel tower and zoom it in to see your friend’s face clearly from the top! Get your eyes impressed and enjoy mind-blowing graphics with extreme clarity, depth and texture!
The card is capable to turn your computer into a super gaming machine. Enjoy the latest 3D games with stunning graphics and effects that your enemies cannot match! Get an immersive experience with AMD Eyefinity! Expand your game across up to 3 displays while your opponents have one monitor. Along with all-new support for stereo 3D, universal bezel compensation and brand new display configurations, take the unfair advantage over your opponent and win more with the surround sight.
Having one dedicated screen just for twitter or Facebook and a second for outlook is not a dream anymore. The card features a DisplayPort for enhanced workspace flexibility. You can easily connect to the 27” Apple LED Cinema Displays with the DisplayPort. The dual-link DVI port allows you connect to a 30” DVI display up to 2560x1600. Resolution can even reach 4096x2160 with HDMI® , good for TV up to 80"!
Most GPUs today support only one audio stream at a time. The card, however, has Discrete Digital Multi-Point Audio that can simultaneously output multiple, independent audio streams. Audio seamlessly follows the video, providing affordable multi-display, multi-audio conferencing for consumers!
The card is an ideal solution for all those who rely on having several applications visible simultaneously for extra productivity. Multi-tasking just got a lot simpler! Make your computer a multi-display workstation!
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 2yr
Only £439.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Gigabyte Radeon R9 290X "BF4 Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £479.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 3yr
Only £479.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Gigabyte Radeon R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £439.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 3yr
Only £439.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Asus Radeon R9 290X "BF4 Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £499.99 inc VAT
ASUS R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU).
The new card benefits from exclusive ASUS GPU Tweak, an easy-to-use tuning tool for instant performance boosts, 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions, and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and bring in-game audio to life with more accurate environmental sounds.
R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games and includes a free full game - the brilliant Battlefield 4™ from EA Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment™ (DICE).
The new ASUS R9 290X has a unique advantage in the shape of GPU Tweak, an exclusive ASUS tool that helps users to squeeze every last drop of performance out of the Radeon R9 290X GPU. This includes the ability to control finely GPU and video-memory clock speeds and voltages, cooling-fan speeds and power-consumption thresholds - so overclocking is both made easy and can be carried out with high confidence.
As well, the GPU Tweak Streaming tool lets users share on-screen action over the internet in real time - so others can watch live as games are played. It's even possible to add a title to the streaming window along with scrolling text, pictures and webcam images.
R9 290X is equipped with 4GB of high-speed GDDR5 memory, allowing gamers to push their favorite titles much further by upping in-game visuals to maximum resolutions. The new card also includes AMD Eyefinity technology to broaden the gaming landscape, so gamers can expand the playing field across up to six independent displays, via DisplayPort or DVI.
Of course, R9 290X supports the very latest DirectX 11.2 standard that enables on-GPU tessellation, allowing more and incredibly detailed geometry to be packed into game scenes - characters come to life with cinema-quality detail levels. The card also offers AMD's brand-new Mantle API that provides developers with direct access to the GPU's making life simpler for them and allowing game code to run much more efficiently - resulting in faster, smoother graphics and gameplay.
R9 290X also benefits from AMD TrueAudio technology, a dedicated digital signal processor (DSP) that's built in to the GPU. The provides game developers with processing power that's designed purely for audio, allowing R9 290X to generate soundscapes that are much more true to life - so gamers become even more immersed in the action.
To help gamers experience the best of R9 290X right away, ASUS is bundling a free game with the graphics card - Battlefield 4. Developed by EA Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment, this brilliant first-person shooter (FPS) lets gamers take control of a special-operations squad as they embark on numerous covert missions around the world.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 3yr
Only £499.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Asus Radeon R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £455.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 3yr
Only £455.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
OcUK Tech Lab H2O Custom R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 Watercooled Graphics Card From £539.99 inc VAT
The New, Ultimate Solution
TheOcUK Tech Lab H2O Custom R9 290X combines the fastest Single Core Graphics Solution on the planet with the most effective cooling solution.You can expand your visual real estate across three HD displays in jawdropping 3D and experience immense framerates with blistering graphics.
Never has a pre built watercooled card been such a complete package!
All of this cooling power would be wasted without the addition of the worlds leading cooling paste, a retail tube of Arctic Cooling MX-4 Thermal Compound (4g) is included with this package. The paste is applied to the GPU to maintain supreme performance with the GPU block.
The remainder of the paste will be sent with the card for future applications.
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 2yr
From £539.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Where is the R9 290? That is coming next week guys, it performs very very very close to R290X when overclocked and of course it will cost less.
Gibbo's Review
Guys for my review I used:-
Intel 4770k @ 4.60GHz cooled on air
MSI G45 Gaming Motherboard
8GB of 2600MHz memory (Corsair)
Corsair 850W TX PSU
Windows 7
NVIDIA 331.58 Drivers
AMD drivers out the box
If you run an R290X at default it will run quietly between 85-90c, this is perfectly normal for this GPU and although hot, perfectly safe. However do be aware the GPU will throttle itself when it approaches 95c, the throttling seems very minimal, were talking less than 5%, but it does do it.
What you can do is set a GPU temperature target and a fan max-spin speed. I found that if I set GPU max target too 70c, the fans would spin at 100%, setting it to 80c seems to be the sweet spot.
Unfortunately for overclocking the card is fairly limited due to being a stock cooler and no voltage control, as such your looking at upto around 10% on the core and upto 15-25% on the memory depending whether you have Elpida or Hynix memory chips as Hynix seem the better overclockers.
To get the card to give some more voltage automatically, set your power target to +50, set GPU temperature target to 80c and set maximum fan speed 100%, this will give best overclocking results.
Our AMD Press sample and Sapphire stock on R290X uses Hynix chips, the best for overclocking.
We tested the following cards:-
Titan - 993MHz / 6008MHz
R290X STD - 1000MHz / 5000MHz
R290X OC - 1060MHz / 6000MHz
R290X CF STD - 1000MHz / 5000MHz
R290X CF OC - 1050MHz / 5700MHz
- ???MHz / ????MHz
- ????MHz / ????MHz
R280 DC2TOP - 1070MHz / 6400MHz
R280 DC2TOP CF - 1070MHz / 6400MHz
KFA2 GTX 780 HOF - 1310MHz / 6700MHz
GTX 780 STD - 967MHz / 6008MHz
As you can see we've tested the very latest cards, all at the same time, same drivers all in the same machine.
Now let the benchmarks do the talking:-
Heaven 3.0 1080P - Tesselation Normal - AA/AF 4x
Heaven 3.0 1440P - Tesselation Normal - AA/AF 4x
3D Mark 11 - Default Test
3D Mark Firestrike in both Normal & Extreme
Conclusion
In short I think out of the box the R290X is the best card on the market, it beats literally every other card out the box and is a good deal cheaper than the cheapest GTX 780's, even at launch without any promotions or deals in place. Compared to Titan it is vastly cheaper and just as quick if not quicker. The weakness is the overclocking, high temperatures and lack of voltage control means your looking at about 10% with current reference designs. We are hopeful MSI Afterburner will be updated to support R290 voltage control as we firmly believe the cards will clock much better with voltage and even more so with improved cooler designs or water.
Then the pricing is what makes these exceptional value, you've got GTX 780 and Titan beating performance at a much lower cost, infact the only way a GTX 780 can come back at R290X is with one of the highly overclockable versions such as the KFA2 GTX 780 HOF White Edition we used with a 1310MHz core clock.
The performance at high resolutions is really where the card shines though, 1440P, 1600P and 4k is where this card is at with its 512-Bit memory bus, anything which is memory intensive will run very well on these cards and with 4GB of RAM you are not running out of memory any time soon in any games even at 4k resolution.
If you already own a GTX 780 or a Titan there is little reason to upgrade unless your GTX 780 is an extremely poor overclocker. We think 780Ti won't have the easy victory it maybe hoped for and the 780Ti and R290X will be very closely matched in performance, price however, most unlikely, but now its time for NVIDIA to play its cards.
POSITIVES
NEGATIVES
I think we've being very fair, would I buy one, yes I would but I'd be buying a waterblock too and preying for some voltage control to really unleash the true potential. I am sure in 2-3 months we shall see some really great cards from board partners such as MSI R290X Lightning and Asus DC2 varients which will offer better cooling along with voltage control too.
We are also doing Tech Labs versions straight away as well.
8Pack does not like early mornings, his review shall be posted later, so stay tuned.
P.S. Applying some thermal compound and replacing the AMD stuff helps reduce temps a little and has boosted my core clock from 1060MHz upto 1080-1100MHz region. Now just need new MSI Afterburner with voltage control and we shall be rocking, gotta be 1150-1200MHz core potential on stock cooler with some voltage.
P.S. Voltage control should be unlocked in a new version of MSI afterburner due any time.
Right guys, first of all here is the cards, I think you will find the pricing is very good and certainly under-cuts GTX 780 considerably which these cards are considerably faster than:-
Oh before you see the products, check out what four look like:-
Sapphire R9 290X "BF4 Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £479.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 2yr
Only £479.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Sapphire R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £449.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 2yr
Only £449.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
MSI Radeon R9 290X "BF4 Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £479.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 3yr
Only £479.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
MSI Radeon R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £439.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 3yr
Only £439.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
HIS Radeon R9 290X Boost "BF4 Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £469.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 2yr
Only £469.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
HIS Radeon R9 290X Boost 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £439.99 inc VAT
The card features the Next Generation CrossFire support for up to 4 graphics cards with No interconnect bridge required. With AMD 2nd generation GCN technology, the card optimizes DirectX® 11.2 gaming performance automatically up to 2.5 times faster! It also offers up to 4.5x compute performance and up to 95% lower GPU Idle Power Consumption!
The card enables a “quality graphics” experience on everyday applications, giving huge performance boosts on image processing, file compression, media converter apps, and a lot more! Set up Eyefinity on 3 displays with No ACTIVE DisplayPort Adapter is needed.
Armed with the latest PCI-e 3.0 bus design maximizes performance by delivering double bandwidth per lane of PCI-e 2.x. Paired the card with the latest platforms and get the ultimate performance!
More
The new architecture of the card gets more usable processing power for your money, enabling better frame rates in the latest games at high resolutions. In addition, with AMD ZeroCore Power & AMD PowerTune technologies, you can optimize the balance between performance and power consumption of your system by adjusting the engine clock during runtime of the card. Manage the power and keep your wallet loaded!
The card supports 30” LCD monitor and any large size TV up to 80" feature with 16:9 ratio in amazing 4096 by 2160 resolution. Up-scaling your computer into a multimedia center with the biggest display!
With Full HD 1080p support, the card delivers high quality 1920X1080 graphics, enabling seamless full-screen video playback. See HD, hear HD and feel HD - Enjoy the beautiful graphics now with the card! The card is HDCP complaint, enabling users to play copy-protected content, such as commercial DVD movies.
ULTRA HD videos have resolution four times that of current HD videos, meaning images too clear that may deceive your eyes! With the card, you are set for getting the movie theater experience to your home. You may be able to watch a video shooting the Eiffel tower and zoom it in to see your friend’s face clearly from the top! Get your eyes impressed and enjoy mind-blowing graphics with extreme clarity, depth and texture!
The card is capable to turn your computer into a super gaming machine. Enjoy the latest 3D games with stunning graphics and effects that your enemies cannot match! Get an immersive experience with AMD Eyefinity! Expand your game across up to 3 displays while your opponents have one monitor. Along with all-new support for stereo 3D, universal bezel compensation and brand new display configurations, take the unfair advantage over your opponent and win more with the surround sight.
Having one dedicated screen just for twitter or Facebook and a second for outlook is not a dream anymore. The card features a DisplayPort for enhanced workspace flexibility. You can easily connect to the 27” Apple LED Cinema Displays with the DisplayPort. The dual-link DVI port allows you connect to a 30” DVI display up to 2560x1600. Resolution can even reach 4096x2160 with HDMI® , good for TV up to 80"!
Most GPUs today support only one audio stream at a time. The card, however, has Discrete Digital Multi-Point Audio that can simultaneously output multiple, independent audio streams. Audio seamlessly follows the video, providing affordable multi-display, multi-audio conferencing for consumers!
The card is an ideal solution for all those who rely on having several applications visible simultaneously for extra productivity. Multi-tasking just got a lot simpler! Make your computer a multi-display workstation!
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 2yr
Only £439.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Gigabyte Radeon R9 290X "BF4 Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £479.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 3yr
Only £479.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Gigabyte Radeon R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £439.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 3yr
Only £439.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Asus Radeon R9 290X "BF4 Edition" 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £499.99 inc VAT
ASUS R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU).
The new card benefits from exclusive ASUS GPU Tweak, an easy-to-use tuning tool for instant performance boosts, 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions, and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and bring in-game audio to life with more accurate environmental sounds.
R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games and includes a free full game - the brilliant Battlefield 4™ from EA Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment™ (DICE).
The new ASUS R9 290X has a unique advantage in the shape of GPU Tweak, an exclusive ASUS tool that helps users to squeeze every last drop of performance out of the Radeon R9 290X GPU. This includes the ability to control finely GPU and video-memory clock speeds and voltages, cooling-fan speeds and power-consumption thresholds - so overclocking is both made easy and can be carried out with high confidence.
As well, the GPU Tweak Streaming tool lets users share on-screen action over the internet in real time - so others can watch live as games are played. It's even possible to add a title to the streaming window along with scrolling text, pictures and webcam images.
R9 290X is equipped with 4GB of high-speed GDDR5 memory, allowing gamers to push their favorite titles much further by upping in-game visuals to maximum resolutions. The new card also includes AMD Eyefinity technology to broaden the gaming landscape, so gamers can expand the playing field across up to six independent displays, via DisplayPort or DVI.
Of course, R9 290X supports the very latest DirectX 11.2 standard that enables on-GPU tessellation, allowing more and incredibly detailed geometry to be packed into game scenes - characters come to life with cinema-quality detail levels. The card also offers AMD's brand-new Mantle API that provides developers with direct access to the GPU's making life simpler for them and allowing game code to run much more efficiently - resulting in faster, smoother graphics and gameplay.
R9 290X also benefits from AMD TrueAudio technology, a dedicated digital signal processor (DSP) that's built in to the GPU. The provides game developers with processing power that's designed purely for audio, allowing R9 290X to generate soundscapes that are much more true to life - so gamers become even more immersed in the action.
To help gamers experience the best of R9 290X right away, ASUS is bundling a free game with the graphics card - Battlefield 4. Developed by EA Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment, this brilliant first-person shooter (FPS) lets gamers take control of a special-operations squad as they embark on numerous covert missions around the world.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 3yr
Only £499.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Asus Radeon R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card @ £455.99 inc VAT
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 3yr
Only £455.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
OcUK Tech Lab H2O Custom R9 290X 4096MB GDDR5 Watercooled Graphics Card From £539.99 inc VAT
The New, Ultimate Solution
TheOcUK Tech Lab H2O Custom R9 290X combines the fastest Single Core Graphics Solution on the planet with the most effective cooling solution.You can expand your visual real estate across three HD displays in jawdropping 3D and experience immense framerates with blistering graphics.
Never has a pre built watercooled card been such a complete package!
All of this cooling power would be wasted without the addition of the worlds leading cooling paste, a retail tube of Arctic Cooling MX-4 Thermal Compound (4g) is included with this package. The paste is applied to the GPU to maintain supreme performance with the GPU block.
The remainder of the paste will be sent with the card for future applications.
AMD Radeon R9 290X is a new graphics card powered by the latest AMD Radeon™ R9 290X graphics-processing unit (GPU). 4GB of super-fast GDDR5 memory for the best gaming experience at the highest resolutions including 4k and incorporates AMD Eyefinity and TrueAudio technologies to enable expansive multi-display setups and more accurate environmental sounds. R9 290X also includes support for both DirectX® 11.2 and AMD's new Mantle application programming interface (API) for great handling of even the most-demanding PC games.
Features:-
- DirectX 11.2 Support
- Open GL 4.2 Support
- Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio support
- Crossfire Support upto 4-way: Native software crossfire (No bridge required)
- Gaming @ 4k Resolutions (UltraHD)
- Synergy with next-gen game consoles (Mantle)
- Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture - optimized from previous generation products
Specification:-
- GPU: Hawaii XT
- Stream Processors: 2816
- Core Speed: 1000MHz
- Memory Speed: 5000Mhz
- Memory interface: 512-Bit
- Memory capacity: 4096MB GDDR5
- Cooling: 2-Slot Blower Fan
- Fan Speed: 20% - 40% (Quiet Mode) & 20%-55% (Uber Mode)
- PCI-Express X16 lane required
- 750W or greater PSU required
- Power Connectors: 8-pin + 6-pin required
- Display Outputs: 2x Dual Link DVI, 1x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort
- Warranty: 2yr
From £539.99 inc VAT.
ORDER NOW
Where is the R9 290? That is coming next week guys, it performs very very very close to R290X when overclocked and of course it will cost less.
Gibbo's Review
Guys for my review I used:-
Intel 4770k @ 4.60GHz cooled on air
MSI G45 Gaming Motherboard
8GB of 2600MHz memory (Corsair)
Corsair 850W TX PSU
Windows 7
NVIDIA 331.58 Drivers
AMD drivers out the box
If you run an R290X at default it will run quietly between 85-90c, this is perfectly normal for this GPU and although hot, perfectly safe. However do be aware the GPU will throttle itself when it approaches 95c, the throttling seems very minimal, were talking less than 5%, but it does do it.
What you can do is set a GPU temperature target and a fan max-spin speed. I found that if I set GPU max target too 70c, the fans would spin at 100%, setting it to 80c seems to be the sweet spot.
Unfortunately for overclocking the card is fairly limited due to being a stock cooler and no voltage control, as such your looking at upto around 10% on the core and upto 15-25% on the memory depending whether you have Elpida or Hynix memory chips as Hynix seem the better overclockers.
To get the card to give some more voltage automatically, set your power target to +50, set GPU temperature target to 80c and set maximum fan speed 100%, this will give best overclocking results.
Our AMD Press sample and Sapphire stock on R290X uses Hynix chips, the best for overclocking.
We tested the following cards:-
Titan - 993MHz / 6008MHz
R290X STD - 1000MHz / 5000MHz
R290X OC - 1060MHz / 6000MHz
R290X CF STD - 1000MHz / 5000MHz
R290X CF OC - 1050MHz / 5700MHz
- ???MHz / ????MHz - ????MHz / ????MHzR280 DC2TOP - 1070MHz / 6400MHz
R280 DC2TOP CF - 1070MHz / 6400MHz
KFA2 GTX 780 HOF - 1310MHz / 6700MHz
GTX 780 STD - 967MHz / 6008MHz
As you can see we've tested the very latest cards, all at the same time, same drivers all in the same machine.
Now let the benchmarks do the talking:-
Heaven 3.0 1080P - Tesselation Normal - AA/AF 4x
Heaven 3.0 1440P - Tesselation Normal - AA/AF 4x
3D Mark 11 - Default Test
3D Mark Firestrike in both Normal & Extreme
Conclusion
In short I think out of the box the R290X is the best card on the market, it beats literally every other card out the box and is a good deal cheaper than the cheapest GTX 780's, even at launch without any promotions or deals in place. Compared to Titan it is vastly cheaper and just as quick if not quicker. The weakness is the overclocking, high temperatures and lack of voltage control means your looking at about 10% with current reference designs. We are hopeful MSI Afterburner will be updated to support R290 voltage control as we firmly believe the cards will clock much better with voltage and even more so with improved cooler designs or water.
Then the pricing is what makes these exceptional value, you've got GTX 780 and Titan beating performance at a much lower cost, infact the only way a GTX 780 can come back at R290X is with one of the highly overclockable versions such as the KFA2 GTX 780 HOF White Edition we used with a 1310MHz core clock.
The performance at high resolutions is really where the card shines though, 1440P, 1600P and 4k is where this card is at with its 512-Bit memory bus, anything which is memory intensive will run very well on these cards and with 4GB of RAM you are not running out of memory any time soon in any games even at 4k resolution.
If you already own a GTX 780 or a Titan there is little reason to upgrade unless your GTX 780 is an extremely poor overclocker. We think 780Ti won't have the easy victory it maybe hoped for and the 780Ti and R290X will be very closely matched in performance, price however, most unlikely, but now its time for NVIDIA to play its cards.
POSITIVES
- Fastest out of the box graphics card on the market (Single GPU)
- Superb build quality & Black PCB
- 4GB of RAM, you won't ever run short on memory!
- 512-Bit memory bus, 320Gb/s memory bandwidth, closing onto 400GB/s when overclocked.
- Quiet Mode DIP Switch setting works - keeps the card within operating temp window, but quiet, but not ideal for overclocking.
- Incredible value for money!!
- Mantle
- Dolby True HD Sound
NEGATIVES
- High running temperatures
- Can get loud when overclocked or in uber mode
- Card can throttle when reaching beyond 95c in quiet mode.
- Lack of voltage adjustment
- Poor core overclocking
- HD 7990 Still faster!
I think we've being very fair, would I buy one, yes I would but I'd be buying a waterblock too and preying for some voltage control to really unleash the true potential. I am sure in 2-3 months we shall see some really great cards from board partners such as MSI R290X Lightning and Asus DC2 varients which will offer better cooling along with voltage control too.
We are also doing Tech Labs versions straight away as well.
8Pack does not like early mornings, his review shall be posted later, so stay tuned.
P.S. Applying some thermal compound and replacing the AMD stuff helps reduce temps a little and has boosted my core clock from 1060MHz upto 1080-1100MHz region. Now just need new MSI Afterburner with voltage control and we shall be rocking, gotta be 1150-1200MHz core potential on stock cooler with some voltage.
P.S. Voltage control should be unlocked in a new version of MSI afterburner due any time.
