AMD Radeon R9 290X with Hawaii GPU pictured, has 512-bit 4GB Memory

Gazb · 15 Oct 2013 at 23:59

Cost aside, I really just want to know how stable/consistent) it's frame rates are in games. How good are it's minimum's etc.

The 290X is probably going to be ~500 pounds putting it out of reach for most of us, but it's still nice to know what improvements are being made by each manufacturer.

And of course there's the whole mantle thing, which could change things when it comes to BF4 performance etc.

Avenged7Fold · 16 Oct 2013 at 00:23

IT Troll said:
Looks like the release date is the 25th. At least we will know what Nvidia has planned.

http://www.amd.com/battlefield4offer

This is a good find.

Matson · 16 Oct 2013 at 00:29

Is there any reason at all not to get a 7990 over this card? I mean the 7990 is probably going to be cheaper lol...its going to be faster than this and its faster than a titan...There's really no downside is there if you don't mind a duel card setup?

Avenged7Fold · 16 Oct 2013 at 00:43

Matson said:
Is there any reason at all not to get a 7990 over this card? I mean the 7990 is probably going to be cheaper lol...its going to be faster than this and its faster than a titan...There's really no downside is there if you don't mind a duel card setup?

Power consumption

Might need a new PSU

Microstutter in some games

As for whether it would be cheaper, no one knows. A 290 will likely be less than a 7990. I have been tempted by a 7990 but having to buy a new PSU as well as 7990 and a 7990 waterblock has put me off. The cost overall is enough for me to go triple 7950s, which would look so badass even without water cooling.

darket · 16 Oct 2013 at 00:50

Matson said:
Is there any reason at all not to get a 7990 over this card? I mean the 7990 is probably going to be cheaper lol...its going to be faster than this and its faster than a titan...There's really no downside is there if you don't mind a duel card setup?

Well it depends what you want it for really.

Pro's are (in my mind)-

Its the fastest card on the planet
It has shed loads of compute power
It looks cool
You get a golden ticket
works well under water

Negatives are (again in my mind)
2x 7950/7970 will offer equal/better perfomance and you can disable crossfire
They operate way to hot.
Overclocking headroom is poor (if thats your thing)
The card feels half finished and of dubious quality
In my experience of owning one the coil whine is attrocious
Unstable compared to a crossfire setup
Negative scaling in many games and your stuck with it because you cant disable the 2nd gpu !

Avenged7Fold · 16 Oct 2013 at 00:56

I thought you can disable one of the GPUs on a 7990?

I felt the weight of the waterblock for it and thought 'nope, i am pretty sure if i install this, the PC will snap'

They should design better full length support for cards, because some do weigh quite a bit and the waterblocks even more. I have seen some cases that offer movable support brackets for the end of the graphics card but they were mountain mod cases and if i had the cash to buy one of those, i wouldn't care if my card bent over time, i could buy a new one for the price of the case.

darket · 16 Oct 2013 at 01:06

Avenged7Fold said:
I thought you can disable one of the GPUs on a 7990?

Yeah you can run it in windowed mode and thats about it .

Your 100% right about the poor backbone support in heavy cards, i'm sure the pcb is designed to take the stress but it looks awful and could be simply solved from day one. My giga wf3 7970 looks like a banana !

Orangey · 16 Oct 2013 at 01:13

The ATX/PCI-E standards are showing their age, but it's not trendy to think in terms of bigger and heavier, so I doubt standards will be revised to accomodate issues like bendy gfx cards officially.

Avenged7Fold · 16 Oct 2013 at 01:20

Orangey said:
The ATX/PCI-E standards are showing their age, but it's not trendy to think in terms of bigger and heavier, so I doubt standards will be revised to accomodate issues like bendy gfx cards officially.

Might have to do a DIY slap dash custom support job, involving cable ties and coat-hanger wire...god i thought i was past this

Remember back to when i 'made' a mount for a 80mm fan to go above my VRM/nb on my old board. Essentially a birdnest of coat-hanger wire and electrical tape to prevent shorting lol

Orangey · 16 Oct 2013 at 02:07

A lot of people use a length of dowel, spraypainted in some cases to try and avoid the ghetto look!

Mei · 16 Oct 2013 at 07:17

i think thread of black cotton from above looks the neatest
25th... guess wont be much new 290 news for a bit

sad panda

sad panda with heatstroke

Zenduri · 16 Oct 2013 at 07:50

Sigh getting fed up waiting for this now and all the super secret ******* from amd. I was all geared up to drop more than i should on a 290x but crossfire 7950s are looking ever more the better option and considerably cheaper.

Kaapstad · 16 Oct 2013 at 08:14

Am I missing something

R9 290X from dodgy review on Heaven 4

My stock Titan on Heaven 4

Absolutely no contest

I know Heaven 4 is not a game but it is a very good measure of raw GPU grunt. For example a HD 7970 will beat a GTX 680 and a HD 7990 will beat a GTX 690.

Just for fun compare the Temp of the R9 290X to my watercooled Titan. :eek:

Azrael1 · 16 Oct 2013 at 08:44

I'm guessing the proof will be in when the in depth "game" benchmarks get released and then we will see. However If a R290X is the same power as a titan for £200 - £500 less I know which one I will go for.

Kaapstad · 16 Oct 2013 at 08:59

Azrael1 said:
I'm guessing the proof will be in when the in depth "game" benchmarks get released and then we will see. However If a R290X is the same power as a titan for £200 - £500 less I know which one I will go for.

You have a GTX 690, have you thought about putting another one in your setup if you need more performance.

You may be able to pick a second hand one up for a bargain.

Two GTX 690s do look very good together.

JonnyG1982 · 16 Oct 2013 at 09:00

Aaaaa a week away & nothing really new

Im setting myself up for another disappointment, which tends to be the way the last few years. Nvidia & AMD are drip feeding us small performance boosts these days at higher prices. Were all losing really. Not been blown away by a card since 8800GTX & 4870x2, massive cards for better prices.

Both companies are responsible for their own pricing. But at same time everyone has a choice to not buy.

And not sure why some people defending AMD pricing same as nvidia (if this happens with new cards). Fact is in some products coming out 6 months later doesnt matter, But with technology coming out 6 months after with same performance for same price is utter ****. So fingers crossed its better performance for similar price or worse case same performance for better price.

Ill say again though, think nvidia/amd are starting to treat pc gamers like mugs. Small improvements at horrible prices. pc gaming barely moved since crysis 2007!!!! Still cant play crysis at max res/detail 6 years later?...what do i know, im becoming an old miserable get

Silent_Scone · 16 Oct 2013 at 09:03

Kaapstad said:
Am I missing something

R9 290X from dodgy review on Heaven 4

My stock Titan on Heaven 4

Absolutely no contest

I know Heaven 4 is not a game but it is a very good measure of raw GPU grunt. For example a HD 7970 will beat a GTX 680 and a HD 7990 will beat a GTX 690.

Just for fun compare the Temp of the R9 290X to my watercooled Titan.

If the benchmarks are real for the 290X (which to be honest I'm pretty sure they are considering the box was in front of him), then the unofficial drivers will go some way to cripple it. I still think the Titan will come out on top overall from this if you discount pricing.

Rezident · 16 Oct 2013 at 09:07

There were non-reference 780s on launch, is it supposed to be the same for 290X?

Silent_Scone · 16 Oct 2013 at 09:12

JonnyG1982 said:
And not sure why some people defending AMD pricing same as nvidia (if this happens with new cards). Fact is in some products coming out 6 months later doesnt matter, But with technology coming out 6 months after with same performance for same price is utter ****. So fingers crossed its better performance for similar price or worse case same performance for better price.

It's not so much that. I think these cards will come in under 780 prices by the time they hit the shelves - JUST. That's the norm as it's competition, but I see what you're saying. It's just frustrating, but the truth is AMD don't have any magic cards to play. They've made a huge deal about Mantle which in turn has made the launch of the 200 series get blown way out of proportion. GK110 has been around awhile, and still has the potential to blow Hawaii out of the water...

Competition is good, but AMD is far from in front here. I'm hoping to get proved massively wrong when the Chinese leak proves to be a fake, and there is in fact a clear performance gap. It's not going to happen though

Marine-RX179 · 16 Oct 2013 at 09:28

JonnyG1982 said:
And not sure why some people defending AMD pricing same as nvidia (if this happens with new cards). Fact is in some products coming out 6 months later doesnt matter, But with technology coming out 6 months after with same performance for same price is utter ****. So fingers crossed its better performance for similar price or worse case same performance for better price.

6 months after...you are talking about the Titan not the GTX780 right?

Titan was at £800+ on launch, so unless AMD is launching the 290X at £800, or Titan's current price, it is not "same price". Also the "newer" GTX780 was on average £550-£650 on launch.

Most people (such as myself) are not expecting miracle that the 290X will price as sub £400-£500 range...we are just hoping the Hawaii Pro (290) is gonna offer not much lesser performance than the Hawaii XT (290X), but cost £100 less down to sub £400 level, kinda like the performance gap between the 7950 and 7970..