The AMD R9 290 (non x) Thread

Uncle Petey · 25 Oct 2013 at 10:58

There's beating and there's beating significantly/noticeably.

Who really cares about literally a few fps here and there that you'd never notice without a frame counter?
As long you're in the same ballpark, it's all about price.

Gibbo · 25 Oct 2013 at 10:59

Scougar said:
Sarcasm aside..... What happens when the Titan is overclocked? Apples to apples and all that.

Nice work Gibbo

Titan's are like R290X, they run hot and don't overclock so well. A GTX 780 when clocked to 1300MHz and above can rival/beat both Titan's and R290X, especially at 1080P.

Its 1600P and greater where R290X and Titan can offer some improvement over GTX 780.

Facts are, AMD cards will get faster (drivers & custom coolers) and are a whole lot cheaper.

If performance is all your interested in, then forget all these cards and buy a HD 7990, its cheaper than them all barr the R290 regular.

Gibbo · 25 Oct 2013 at 11:00

IT Troll said:
I see Gibbo's benchmarks made the news, hope that doesn't mean slapped NDA wrists.

http://videocardz.com/47256/amd-radeon-r9-290-performance-revealed

That's an NDA card, who says its a 290, it could be NVIDIA or one of our very own cards, or even Intel. Of course I could also be talking ********.

DazQ87 · 26 Oct 2013 at 10:14

question is, assuming the blurry card is the 290, would it be a worthy upgrade for a 7950 for 1080p 120Hz?

flopper · 26 Oct 2013 at 10:39

DazQ87 said:
question is, assuming the blurry card is the 290, would it be a worthy upgrade for a 7950 for 1080p 120Hz?

Maybe.
the gain be like 20-30fps in Bf3 or so and other games may vary
depends what you want for visuals, the benefit would be to add AA/mssa etc..and max out games for most parts.

Fulax · 27 Oct 2013 at 09:18

Not too shabby.

Source: http://videocardz.com/47294/amd-radeon-r9-290-non-x-gaming-performance-leaks

LtMatt · 27 Oct 2013 at 09:21

I can't see Nvidia lowering the 780 price below £400. If AMD price this at £350 its going to be a winner.

old gamer · 27 Oct 2013 at 09:36

If the 290 comes in at £350 i think the temptation to crossfire a pair will be to great for me to resist

Evil Star · 27 Oct 2013 at 09:38

Gibbo said:
That's an NDA card, who says its a 290, it could be NVIDIA or one of our very own cards, or even Intel. Of course I could also be talking ********.

flopper · 27 Oct 2013 at 09:50

LtMatt said:
I can't see Nvidia lowering the 780 price below £400. If AMD price this at £350 its going to be a winner.

earely predictions here is 360euro for the 290.
120euro less than 290x

Orangey · 27 Oct 2013 at 10:33

GK110 cannot counter the 290 pro! Beats a 780, Nvidia won't lower the price enough to compete on bang for buck, they're already releasing a ti to fight the 290X... AMD win this round.

flopper · 27 Oct 2013 at 11:00

Orangey said:
GK110 cannot counter the 290 pro! Beats a 780, Nvidia won't lower the price enough to compete on bang for buck, they're already releasing a ti to fight the 290X... AMD win this round.

Looking at game play experience, your likely to be hardpressed to note "any" difference between a 290/290x/780/Titan.
I have the plan to have the 290 then OC it and just enjoy the performance for the price.

the1gooner · 27 Oct 2013 at 11:45

So if the 290 has >90% of the performance of the 290x and for £100 less then what is the point in anyone buying a 290x?

Not counting benchmark scores of course as it seems that will be the only thing you would notice the difference in.

The 290 is shaping up to be the best new card to buy.

Gibbo · 27 Oct 2013 at 12:16

the1gooner said:
So if the 290 has >90% of the performance of the 290x and for £100 less then what is the point in anyone buying a 290x?

Not counting benchmark scores of course as it seems that will be the only thing you would notice the difference in.

The 290 is shaping up to be the best new card to buy.

Some people always want the best in performance and not the best value for money.

Uncle Petey · 27 Oct 2013 at 12:22

the1gooner said:
So if the 290 has >90% of the performance of the 290x and for £100 less then what is the point in anyone buying a 290x?

Not counting benchmark scores of course as it seems that will be the only thing you would notice the difference in.

The 290 is shaping up to be the best new card to buy.

Pretty much the same thing applied to the 7950/7970.

the1gooner · 27 Oct 2013 at 12:42

Uncle Petey said:
Pretty much the same thing applied to the 7950/7970.

Ha yeah that's true.

So if you want the best then get the 290x but if you want something that offers a similar experience for less money then the 290. Though if I was thinking of a 290x I would wait for ones with after market coolers, but that's my preference as don't plan on any fancy cooling.

Will the first batch of 290's have a reference cooler?

Huggie86 · 27 Oct 2013 at 12:50

Think this will be my next card

Just got to try and wait for non reference coolers, never buying reference again. Not with the noise and heat they produce.

Xcandyman · 27 Oct 2013 at 19:56

Photos and benchies released...

http://videocardz.com/47333/sapphire-radeon-r9-290-pictured-tested

Gibbo · 27 Oct 2013 at 20:25

the1gooner said:
Ha yeah that's true.

So if you want the best then get the 290x but if you want something that offers a similar experience for less money then the 290. Though if I was thinking of a 290x I would wait for ones with after market coolers, but that's my preference as don't plan on any fancy cooling.

Will the first batch of 290's have a reference cooler?

All reference yes. They run pretty much as hot as 290X, certainly within 5c so again by no means silent.

Fulax · 27 Oct 2013 at 20:32

Gibbo said:
All reference yes. They run pretty much as hot as 290X, certainly within 5c so again by no means silent.

With these hot/loud cards being released, now would be a great time for a massive watercooling sale, don't you think...?

Actually, give it a couple of weeks so I can afford it.