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MSI Radeon R9 290X Gaming Edition 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card 3-WAY

Soldato
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30 Jul 2006
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4090 on 850w = BOOM
Hi, I want to run three of these next to each other with no slot gaps.
Has to be 8GB cards for 4k. Has to be 3 cards as need the gpu power.

I once did this with 3 windforce 7970s and they throttled so I sold them and lost loads of money and will not repeat this mistake.

Will these throttle?
I normally leave the side of my cosmos 1000 off and my cpu has an AIO.
 
Those cards have a metal backplate i believe and are notoriously bad for running close together, if you are not intending to watercool that lot, i personally i wouldnt run 3 of them.

Also why not buy a 295x2 and a single 290x and run tri fire that way? 2 slots and a lot less issues with heat, obviously you wont get 8gb per card with this route unfortunately.

In all honesty i would not be weighing out for 3 x 290X 8gb cards right now, id hold off til you see what the 390X / 980TI end up looking like and then make a decision, id be upset if i paid out for 3 x 8gb cards and then found out 1 or 2 of the new cards will do the same job while running cooler and not as noisy.

If im correct though the MSI gaming cards run very hot when next to each other and 3 would be a nightmare
 
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Thanks guys definitely an idea. I have a 295x2 but yes I want 8gb. I also want about 50% more power than the 295x2 to bring some demanding games to 60fps.

I hope Matt posts his findings :)

edit: looks like i would be doing 290x soundcard 290x 290x no slots free.
 
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I had crossfire 290X gaming's (4gig though) and it got very toasty so I ditched one and replaced it with a 295x2 for a tri fire setup. I think if you had 3 the middle card would get cooked!
 
Your best bet, if not watercooling would be to use 3 x 8gb reference designs which exhaust the hot air out the back.

YOUR BASKET
3 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290X 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK WorldWide Exclusive** £319.99 (£959.97)
Total : £969.58 (includes shipping : £8.00).



Even then though, I can see no gaps between cards for airflow being an issue. AMDMatt might be able to help with this as he had 4 x ref 8gbs air cooled.

SLI a pair of Titans :D

For that money, I'd get a single Titan X
 
For that money, I'd get a single Titan X

Yeah that would be quite a tough decision, IF the game had good crossfire scaling 3x 8GB 290X's would run rings around the Titan (albeit with a 4GB VRAM deficit) but that is a big if with the recent crossfire situation.

The Titan X would be very tempting if I was the OP just because of single card stability and not requiring multi GPU drivers/profiles.
 
Yeah that would be quite a tough decision, IF the game had good crossfire scaling 3x 8GB 290X's would run rings around the Titan (albeit with a 4GB VRAM deficit) but that is a big if with the recent crossfire situation.

The Titan X would be very tempting if I was the OP just because of single card stability and not requiring multi GPU drivers/profiles.

Well the only input I can add at this point is that a single Titan X stomps on my dual GTX Titan setup :(
 
Your best bet, if not watercooling would be to use 3 x 8gb reference designs which exhaust the hot air out the back.

YOUR BASKET
3 x Sapphire Radeon R9 290X 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card **OcUK WorldWide Exclusive** £319.99 (£959.97)
Total : £969.58 (includes shipping : £8.00).



Even then though, I can see no gaps between cards for airflow being an issue. AMDMatt might be able to help with this as he had 4 x ref 8gbs air cooled.

The reference coolers will work without throttling, and you can always undervolt the cards a bit to make them run cooler. They are loud though, so if you're a silence freak then I'd either water cool them or pick a different model 290X.

My QuadFire cards tend to run 84-88c wedged up against each other in a Corsair 750D under full load undervolted. I game with headphones so cannot hear the fan noise.
 
Meh id still wait to see if AMD actually ever bring another card out again and if the 980TI is not just an internet rumor and actually surfaces, then make a decision.

Id ask Matt for word on the 390X but you would get the normal canned response of "cant comment on future products" blah blah yawntastic.

No offense meant Matt i know its your job and all, just a bit miffed at the total lack of anything from AMD lately other than posting DX12 stuff that is about as useful currently as a chocolate teapot.
 
Id ask Matt for word on the 390X but you would get the normal canned response of "cant comment on future products" blah blah yawntastic.

No offense meant Matt i know its your job and all, just a bit miffed at the total lack of anything from AMD lately other than posting DX12 stuff that is about as useful currently as a chocolate teapot.

Sorry SI, not about to reveal company secrets and break NDA. Long and short story of it bud. :)
 
Sorry SI, not about to reveal company secrets and break NDA. Long and short story of it bud. :)

oh i know mate i dont blame you, i blame the people above you and especially your marketing department if you actually have one and they arent on a permanent holiday.

Infact i feel somewhat sorry for you as i know how much of an enthusiast you are, and i bet its actually a torment to you to not be able to speak about your companies products with other enthusiasts until NDAs are lifted etc, especially if the products are actually godlike in performance, the lip biting going on would be torturous :)

I can still see me buying the 390X and a Freesync this year rather than giving Nvidia my money anyhow, just getting tired and bored of the wait for any proper info.
 
oh i know mate i dont blame you, i blame the people above you and especially your marketing department if you actually have one and they arent on a permanent holiday.

Infact i feel somewhat sorry for you as i know how much of an enthusiast you are, and i bet its actually a torment to you to not be able to speak about your companies products with other enthusiasts until NDAs are lifted etc, especially if the products are actually godlike in performance, the lip biting going on would be torturous :)

I can still see me buying the 390X and a Freesync this year rather than giving Nvidia my money anyhow, just getting tired and bored of the wait for any proper info.

Don't feel sorry for Matt, AMD are gonna have a very good 18 months from this Summer I think. If you're after a single card experience, the 390X is gonna rock (imo) :cool:
 
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