• Competitor rules

    Please remember that any mention of competitors, hinting at competitors or offering to provide details of competitors will result in an account suspension. The full rules can be found under the 'Terms and Rules' link in the bottom right corner of your screen. Just don't mention competitors in any way, shape or form and you'll be OK.

290 Kraken advice

Asa

Asa

Asa

Associate
Joined
15 Nov 2011
Posts
411
Hi!,

Today is the day for me to order a swanky spanky R9 290, and I'm weighing up my options.

I am considering:
Gigabyte Windforce for ~£330 (with BF4)
Sapphire Tri-X for ~£340 (without)
OCUK Kraken for ??? (with).
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=WC-070-TL&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752

I want a gentle overclock, probably not much beyond what the non-reference cards ship with. Down the line I may well add a 2nd card, but not yet.

I'm looking to understand more on what the Kraken will realistically cost me, in terms of funds and effort. I haven't played with with cooling much before (other than an Antec Kuhler 920 on my CPU) so I have some questions.

The Kraken page defaults to a Zalman LQ320 120mm cooler.
The Antec Kuhler 1220 240mm knocks £55 off the price. Is the cooler adequate for what I want?

I'm also curious about the fans. There is a dropdown option to purchase corsair fans, and the product description states they wont fit the NZXT shroud. What fans come with it and/or what do I need to buy?

In terms of effort I assume the main consideration is that I have room for the 240mm radiator block of the cooler?

Any side comments on the windforce vs tri-x decision also welcomed :)

Thanks
 
Once you've got a card with the aftermarket cooler, what's the point in getting the kraken?

If you wanted a kraken, pick up a cheap second hand reference 290 for say 270 or something.
 
If you are planing to add a second card down the line then i would get the Gigabyte over the Sapphire and wouldnt bother with the Kraken.
 
Martini1991 said:
Once you've got a card with the aftermarket cooler, what's the point in getting the kraken?

If you wanted a kraken, pick up a cheap second hand reference 290 for say 270 or something.
Click to expand...

This

Also have you any ideas when Krakens will be in stock as it didn't look good when I was looking into it a couple of weeks ago

Do you have a water loop now?
 
Martini1991 said:
Once you've got a card with the aftermarket cooler, what's the point in getting the kraken?
Click to expand...

I don't have 290 or an aftermarket cooler at all yet.

Humbug, you recommend the MSI gaming edition over the Sapphire Tri-X? Can you elaborate on that at all? The MSI card is certainly an option, but I have seen no reviews and with the windforce cards apparently being significantly warmer than the tri-x I'm reluctant to base the decision on reputation.

Mickyflynn, reviews I've seen suggest the Windforce might run 10 degrees hotter than the tri-x. Are you recommending it purely for the 2 slot size, or is there some other subtle difference I'm overlooking?

Thanks again
 
Last edited:
Asa said:
I don't have 290 or an aftermarket cooler at all yet.

Humbug, you recommend the MSI gaming edition over the Sapphire Tri-X? Can you elaborate on that at all? The MSI card is certainly an option, but I have seen no reviews and with the windforce cards apparently being significantly warmer than the tri-x I'm reluctant to base the decision on reputation.

Mickyflynn, reviews I've seen suggest the Windforce might run 10 degrees hotter than the tri-x. Are you recommending it purely for the 2 slot size, or is there some other subtle difference I'm overlooking?

Thanks again
Click to expand...

The Tri-X has a reference PCB, the MSI has a custom PCB and i think most would agree is better.
 
What i could find on it http://wccftech.com/msi-radeon-r9-290x-twin-frozr-4s-oc-gaming-edition-graphic-card-spotted/

As for the PCB, we are looking at a non-reference design featuring MSI’s top of the line Military Class IV features and components so overclocking won’t be a hassle on this red machine. For cooling, MSI tops up the PCB with a Twin Frozr 4S cooler that’s larger than the current Twin Frozr 4 cooler featuring a support bracket, backplate and two 100mm fans with propeller blade design pushing air towards a large aluminum fin array block
Click to expand...
 
The Kraken will provide the best cooling regardless what AIO watercooling loop you use they will beat all the other ones easily however it uses 3 slots. If you get the Kraken get the cheapest 290 going. I doubt there's much difference between different vendors unless they have custom PCB's.
 
Yes quite a few sites seem to have seen the card, just nobody is currently able to say how the temps compare to the competition :)

I've seen Gibbo mention that the fans on the MSI are quiet, but a bit limited at 100%. I guess that could be a concern if I want to whack 2 in there, though I do have quite a bit of space.

It's so hard to buy nice things :) Thanks for your help, you've definitely helped fill in some blanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom