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AMD R9 290 (Non-X, Pro, etc) Owners Club

Associate
Joined
8 Oct 2013
Posts
868
So i recived my 2nd R9 290 today and .................................

MEM.png


Woohoo !

Although the box had been opened and someone had taken the BF4 code :mad:

Maybe it was a return ? :confused:

Anyone know how to get another code ? (im not bothered enough to return this seemingly working card, but iv gotta try get the free stuff)

PS. this was the MSI stock BF4 edition
 
Associate
Joined
8 Oct 2013
Posts
868
Damn, lucky you!

I'd just be happy I got a salvage SKU with Hynix... ;)

Ohh i am :) this baby isn't going back to OC

If i set a custom fan curve and scale from 25% -> 55% fan speed between 75c and 95c it keeps at under 90'c and the fan never goes above 52%

A) im very happy that a 5% increase in fan speed keeps it from its thermal throttle

B) its insane how much more noise that 5% pumps out O.o

After a few weeks of run in i may get a H55 or something to have a quick water coolling solution for it
 
Associate
Joined
18 Jun 2012
Posts
152
I have used 3x R9 290s with Eplida VRAM and none of them black screen at stock clocks. Try to remember that reading a lot of reports on the internet is not the same as widespread. Though it clearly is a problem for some, it is not the majority.

The worst that will happen if you get a card that black screens at stock is you RMA it.

I agree, I had two VTX R9 290's that had Elpida memory that were fine in two separate machines. No black screen's what so ever, even when overclocking.
 
Soldato
Joined
30 Dec 2011
Posts
5,449
Location
Belfast
I just did another test in MLL with no 3rd party ovrerclocking utility loaded and after 20+ minutes of play there were no black screens. I will test again with MSI AB running with stock clocks profile.

Ooops, sorry guys. It turned out my 1st test where I got the black screen was not at stock, I had VRAM overclocked to 1400. It seems my Elpida R9 290X does not like VRAM overclocking. It has worked with MLL since I returned VRAM to stock 1250 clocks.

In all honesty if a card is giving black screens at stock then an RMA is the best course of action.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Nov 2003
Posts
2,933
Location
Cardiff
Ahh, seemed to have solved my crashing/black screen issues. My method of "less is best" definitely was not the way to go. After all the problems with everything at stock and just the AMD drivers installed, I installed afterburner, set the power limit to +50%, slight under volt on the core and everything is fine. Not a crash or black screen at all last night. Upped the core to 980 and that seemed to be good too, although was getting late so didn't test that as much. I'm not touching my memory yet as I have the Eplida stuff.

I got both my 290's for £576 (nice 10% off voucher at a certain retailer that Gibbo will know well :p ) and for that kind of cash, the performance is crazy.

Happy bunny now :D
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Oct 2005
Posts
9,147
Location
Scotland
Well...sadly it looks like I will not be joining the club...today at least :p

Seems like my delivery is still at the National Hub :rolleyes: Supposed to come today AM delivery but alas...not arrived.

Ordered an Accelero Hybrid for £70 and some change, so once I know my card works fine that will be slapped on it. :)
 
Soldato
Joined
19 Feb 2011
Posts
5,849
Ahh, seemed to have solved my crashing/black screen issues. My method of "less is best" definitely was not the way to go. After all the problems with everything at stock and just the AMD drivers installed, I installed afterburner, set the power limit to +50%, slight under volt on the core and everything is fine. Not a crash or black screen at all last night. Upped the core to 980 and that seemed to be good too, although was getting late so didn't test that as much. I'm not touching my memory yet as I have the Eplida stuff.

I got both my 290's for £576 (nice 10% off voucher at a certain retailer that Gibbo will know well :p ) and for that kind of cash, the performance is crazy.

Happy bunny now :D

Excellent news! i paid £300 for mine from OCUK (Sapphire 290) and recieved BF4 and Silver ticket with it :) winner. Already had BF4 so that code is going to get sold, added Thief and Hitman to my collection, cant argue with that in all honesty.
 
Associate
Joined
21 Nov 2013
Posts
30
So.. I'll probably go with Gelid Icy Vision, as its the most cost effective option right now, standing at 40ish pounds inc. postage, compared to whopping 90 pounds for Hybrid, and 45 for Xtreme 3. Prolimatech and Xtreme 3 take too much space, so I'll be skipping these anyway.

What else should I get?

'm guessing:

- VRM heatsinks - which ones? Alpenfohn are hard to find atm, any other brands I should be looking at? Also, what should they be made of? Copper?

- thermal tape, as I don't want to use glue - which one should I get?

- will I have to clean the gpu and reapply the paste?

-optional: small fans to point at vrms in case the heatsink + gelid are not good enough


I'm new to this, please understand :)
 
Last edited:
Mobster
Soldato
Joined
13 Sep 2013
Posts
2,591
So.. I'll probably go with Gelid Icy Vision, as its the most cost effective option right now, standing at 40ish pounds inc. postage, compared to whopping 90 pounds for Hybrid, and 45 for Xtreme 3. Prolimatech and Xtreme 3 take too much space, so I'll be skipping these anyway.

What else should I get?

'm guessing:

- VRM heatsinks - which ones? Alpenfohn are hard to find atm, any other brands I should be looking at? Also, what should they be made of? Copper?

- thermal tape, as I don't want to use glue - which one should I get?

- will I have to clean the gpu and reapply the paste?

-optional: small fans to point at vrms in case the heatsink + gelid are not good enough


I'm new to this, please understand :)
Best newbie lesson:

Buying coolers like this is counterproductive. As the VRM cooling is a lot worse you wont really benefit from having a good cooler as the vrm temps will keep you from increasing voltage.
 
Associate
Joined
8 Oct 2013
Posts
868
Best newbie lesson:

Buying coolers like this is counterproductive. As the VRM cooling is a lot worse you wont really benefit from having a good cooler as the vrm temps will keep you from increasing voltage.

Iv seen people use these little DRAM heat-sinks on R 290(x) VRMs with coolers like the KRAKEN and the VRM temps have dropped a good amount (aprox 10'c afaik)

Of course this is those heat-sinks coupled with good air flow
 
Mobster
Soldato
Joined
13 Sep 2013
Posts
2,591
Iv seen people use these little DRAM heat-sinks on R 290(x) VRMs with coolers like the KRAKEN and the VRM temps have dropped a good amount (aprox 10'c afaik)

Of course this is those heat-sinks coupled with good air flow

So much work for so little gain. But what do i know. You guys do what you want.
 
Associate
Joined
8 Oct 2013
Posts
868
So.. I'll probably go with Gelid Icy Vision, as its the most cost effective option right now, standing at 40ish pounds inc. postage, compared to whopping 90 pounds for Hybrid, and 45 for Xtreme 3. Prolimatech and Xtreme 3 take too much space, so I'll be skipping these anyway.

What else should I get?

'm guessing:

- VRM heatsinks - which ones? Alpenfohn are hard to find atm, any other brands I should be looking at? Also, what should they be made of? Copper?

- thermal tape, as I don't want to use glue - which one should I get?

- will I have to clean the gpu and reapply the paste?

-optional: small fans to point at vrms in case the heatsink + gelid are not good enough


I'm new to this, please understand :)

1) any little aluminium DRAM sinks should be fine for this just make sure they are not too tall

2) any reputable brand (Akasa for example on OcUK)

3) 100% yes and use a good brand of new paste
 
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