A NEW BEST SUB £300 CARD? AMD 290X 8GB!!

Darujhistan · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:34

- Coil Whine Reduction Technology (Exclusive to Powercolor)

Is that glue?

ChrisD. · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:34

AMDMatt said:
Have you tried contacting EK to ask if they may support any of the 8GB models? I thought they supported the 290X 8GB Vapor-X cards.

I'll send an email but I don't think it'll be good news.

pgi947 said:
EK likely won't be making one, it's the same pcb as the 4gb 290x gaming and they have left that without a block since launch, can't see an 8gb variant adding any extra incentive.

Spend a bit more and get something like the pcs, which uses the reference 290x pcb.

I can't find an 8GB card on their site that says it's compatible with my block.

LtMatt · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:37

Darujhistan said:
- Coil Whine Reduction Technology (Exclusive to Powercolor)

Is that glue?

Yes. (but hey it works

)

To be honest I've had a ridiculous number of 290/X cards and not one of them has had even the slightest bit of coil whine. So whilst it's definitely still possible get a card with it, it is rare these days.

ChrisD. · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:38

pgi947 said:
They do, those that use the reference pcb, msi do not on the gaming cards

Edit: refrence pcb or that tri slot sapphire monster have blocks available.

That's the problem, if I'm going to go through the expense (and effort) to buy new blocks, then I may as well wait till AMD release their new cards or Nvidia release the new Titan.

Got to be honest, I do like my 290X's, but selling my Titan was a stupid decision.

Neil King · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:38

Is the MSI 290X 8GB quiet?....Also does it exhaust heat inside or outside the case?

pgi947 · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:40

S2KIP said:
That's the problem, if I'm going to go through the expense (and effort) to buy new blocks, then I may as well wait till AMD release their new cards or Nvidia release the new Titan.

Got to be honest, I do like my 290X's, but selling my Titan was a stupid decision.

What's the part number of the block you have, or full description at least. I'll get on my PC shortly and see if I can figure out your options.

Disco_P · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:42

Neil King said:
Is the MSI 290X 8GB quiet?....Also does it exhaust heat inside or outside the case?

As a silence freak I rated the 290 gaming too loud. But some people say it is fine.

All the heat stays inside the case and is blown on the motherboard and case side panel (assuming a standard case layout)

FoxEye · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:44

S2KIP said:

...when the 370/380 come out, yes

ChrisD. · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:44

pgi947 said:
What's the part number of the block you have, or full description at least. I'll get on my PC shortly and see if I can figure out your options.

EK Water Blocks EK-FC R9-290X is what is on the invoice from OcUK. I'll have a rummage around and see if I can find the original boxes and get you a part number.

Darujhistan · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:46

AMDMatt said:
Yes. (but hey it works )

To be honest I've had a ridiculous number of 290/X cards and not one of them has had even the slightest bit of coil whine. So whilst it's definitely still possible get a card with it, it is rare these days.

I do love marketing!

The PCS+ is the card i'm looking at now after the 970 VRAM scandal. Good to hear about the lack of coil whine. It can be annoying. The 7850 I have has very rare and very minor whine, I wondered can the PSU make a similar noise? just out of interest, it might be that.

iB CoMpL3XiTy · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:52

Very tempting to go CF with another 290 PCS, crazy good price!

Would have to modify my little Lian Li PC-A51WX though, hmm...

Neil King · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:53

Disco_P said:
As a silence freak I rated the 290 gaming too loud. But some people say it is fine.

All the heat stays inside the case and is blown on the motherboard and case side panel (assuming a standard case layout)

Ok thanks, yes i was worried it might of been too noisy, i'm sensitive to noise too, i want a quiet card and one that exhausts heat outside the case, got any recommendations?...Powerful card of course either Nvidia or AMD for 1440p gaming.

pgi947 · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:53

S2KIP said:
EK Water Blocks EK-FC R9-290X is what is on the invoice from OcUK. I'll have a rummage around and see if I can find the original boxes and get you a part number.

It's ok that's enough to work with. It turns out ek released 'SE' blocks for TUL partner cards (powercolor).

From what I can decipher you have two options (need to hunt more for pcb pics) which are the reference blower 8gb and the recently announced sapphire tri-x.

I will dig a little more however as I can't be 100% by looking on my phone.

LtMatt · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:55

pgi947 said:
It's ok that's enough to work with. It turns out ek released 'SE' blocks for TUL partner cards (powercolor).

From what I can decipher you have two options (need to hunt more for pcb pics) which are the reference blower 8gb and the recently announced sapphire tri-x.

I will dig a little more however as I can't be 100% by looking on my phone.

I might be able to get you a picture of the Sapphire 290X 8GB pcb if needed, just shout.

ChrisD. · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:56

So the Sapphire one may work with reference blower?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-359-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

Ste · 2 Feb 2015 at 18:56

Thanks again looks like a very widely reported issue. Will stick with NV for now.

RanxZy · 2 Feb 2015 at 19:03

Legend said:
6 months away. And I'm not sure I'd be buying the VERY FIRST cards to come off the production line anyway. I'd want to see what was available and upcoming.

According to the AMD CEO we should have new cards in July at the latest.

Legend · 2 Feb 2015 at 19:09

RanxZy said:
According to the AMD CEO we should have new cards in July at the latest.

Right now I'd settle for just an announcement as to what we can expect!

Legend · 2 Feb 2015 at 19:14

AMDMatt said:
I think you'll be fine, just make the next upgrade a PSU if you want to start overclocking the graphics cards.

If the PSU does not like it, it will trip (switch off) to prevent damage and will shut down the computer.

Thanks, that certainly puts my mind at some ease then. So would I be OK with the 295 X2 also in that case? I see that comes with a 850W PSU minimum, and I've seen some people saying it's very power hungry, but more so than x2 290X in Crossfire?

LtMatt · 2 Feb 2015 at 19:16

Legend said:
Thanks, that certainly puts my mind at some ease then. So would I be OK with the 295X2 also in that case? I see that comes with a 850W PSU minimum, and I've seen some people saying it's very power hungry, but more so than x2 290X in Crossfire?

THe 295x2 uses specially binned chips, so actually i would expect it to have a lower power consumption than 2x290X. After all a 295x2 requires only two 8 pin connectors.

More info on the 295x2 power requirements can be found here, but yes you should be fine at stock.

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** A NEW BEST SUB £300 CARD? AMD 290X 8GB!! **

A NEW BEST SUB £300 CARD? AMD 290X 8GB!!