AMD Radeon R9 295X2 Owners Thread

[Panos]

Been messing around with fan configurations tonight.

Ran 30 min loop of Grid autosport benchmark to get temps up

SP120 QE fan as exhaust, 74c
SP120 QE + Noctura NFP12 in push/pull configuration 69c
Corsair H100i AIO fan + stock fan in push/pull configuration 66c (so loud I could hear machine 2 rooms away.

Currently running the following.

Stock fan + Noctura NFP12 in push pull configuration 70c (Nosie level ok)

Quite how anyone get 60c gaming temps as the advertising suggests is beyond me !!
On the plus side, games seem to be running smoothy.

As a side note, my CPU temps have rissen 5c on average. Still around 65-68c so not to bothered atm.

Try to use the stock fan on it's own, blowing COLD air to the rad. So you put the fan on the external side, not blowing warm air from the case to the rad.

At stock speeds and assuming your room temp isn't 24C+ you will will not see more than 60C.

If you want more cooling performance and still be silent, you need to get something like two Magmas or Apaches, and if you want something more loud Piranhas.

(I put them from silent to loud)

Still the Piranhas are quieter than the 2 SP the H100 comes with by 30db to be precise.

But make sure you BLOW cold air from outside the case to the rad, not from inside the case.

Yes you might need to change the flow on the front fans of the case.

 

[Panos]

I'll give this a go tonight, but I'm just wondering when all that hot air once inside the case is going to go !!

You do not have other fans on your case to change their flow?
If not then that is why you have the high temps.

 

[Panos]

Well, running the stock fan as an intake at the rear along with an SP120 in push/pull & the 200mm front fan as an exhaust seems to have leveled out the temps to between 68-72c after a couple of hours gaming. No throttling going on & games are playing well.
However, temps of other components have increased a bit, hard drive temps have gone up over 10c, CPU is up 5-8c.

Not much more I think I can do TBH.

Buy one Apache if you like silence, or a Piranha if not bothered. Put it on it's own, at 100% speed blowing cold air to the rad.

 

[Panos]

Ordered 4 of these in a final attempt to tame the heat of my 295x2

Failing that I think I'm going to admit defeat & loook into alternative cards.
Pity as the perfromance from the 295 is excellent.

Two Piranhas at 100% fan speed going to cut through....

 

[Panos]

Does anyone know what the screws are that you use with the radiator? I seem to have misplaced one so I only have it secured with 3 screws :/ I need to figure out where to buy some from. They seem about the same size as the ones that come with my Corsair H105. Just a little smaller on the head.

Maybe AMDMatt knows and can point me somewhere to find them

I use mine from the old H50 same size indeed.

All the screws are standard size more or less.

 

[Panos]

I replaced the default fan with an SP120 but it makes an annoying "tick" noise. Well, more like a cricket. I am not sure if its faulty or due to the voltage. Hmm. What is everyone else using (those who changed the default one). I imagine there will be a few more 295X2 owners with the price drop this week too.

2xMagma at 50% speed while playing games that do not demand much process power. If they do I raise the fan to 75% (eg Crysis 3, Beyond Earth)
And that at 1100/1625 speeds constantly. (temps never go above 62)


@thokkiano

I do not know. I bought a 1000W Gold Superflower to go with it. However you should be able to do so, but do not expect much on overclocking if at all.
And is Bronze yours, but should be OK. Depending the card if lucky you can undervolt it for stock speeds.

 

[Panos]

Hi,

Can you tell me the correct model number of them Enermax Magma please.
I'm after good cooling with less noise.

You think these will work http://www.enermax.co.uk/fans/magma-adv/
Cheers.

Yes, these are the better model than mine. I have the 1500rpm ones, at 50% speed, and I love them.

I also have 4 of these on the H100i.

I tried Apaches and Piranhas also. But they didn't left me happy, not only because of noise, but performance.

 

[Panos]

Nice Virus, really does seem they binned the nice chips when they were charging £1100+

Even when they were sold for £800, the chips were well binned
Mine at least is superb, running at +0mv +50% at 1100/1650 without issue for months, and never gets more than 58C on hours of load.

Why is there not a list like in most other owners threads on the front page listing owners ???

Because when I started the thread, we were few of us. Some has issues and returned them, after that no news from the others.

So no list :/

If anyone has a card and wants his name on, let me know, and I will edit the first post

(I do not want to put my name first....).

 

[Panos]

I dont have a 295x2, so sorry for party crashing, but I have a question for the 295x2 owner, so where better to ask?

Is a 295x2 capable of driving ANY game (including AAA++++++ games) @ 4k if your willing to settle for say medium settings and 40fps. Or are we not there yet? Lets presume atleast BASIC crossfire support, not games that dont reconise the 2nd GPU at all.

Yes.

Games that do support CF, you will get more at higher settings.

But all depends the games.

Crysis (all 4 of them) are superb. Tomb Raider, BF4, Elite, Thief, Beyond Earth, War Thunder to name a few.

Basically all well written game more or less.

But if you try to play Rome 2, TESO, SWTOR, World of Tanks, it all depends

TESO you can have areas with 120 fps, and areas with 30 fps. For no particular reason.
WOT doesn't support CF and runs on 1 CPU core. So depends how strong you are there.
SWTOR same applies as above.
Rome 2, i surrender...... One day you play at 60fps + the next day at 25. And you cannot understand what's wrong.

PLEASE NOTE. Same issues applied to the above games when I had my single GTX780, not only with the 295X2.

 

[Panos]

Interested in a 295x2. Can someone with experience tell me if an Enermax Revolution85+ (850W) is good enough for this card?

I believe thats the one with the 6 rails, of which they can do 30A but only 70A all 6 combined yes?

Tough question imho and depending what you have connected and how much A you consume already, since you need 2 x 28A per 8pin socket, but 50A combined for the 295X2.


If you trully want a 295X2 and believe me is a fantastic card, especially overclocked, buy one, try to fit each socket to different rail and power up.

If it doesn't work, buy a 1000W superflower single rail PSU, if it works happy days
More likely it will work, if there are no issues with the PSU, since the 295X2 needs 50A combined, and 2 rails on your PSU will provide that.

 

[Panos]

I got the best results with 2 enermax magma and the stock rad. Second best fan was the stock on it's own suprisingly.

And tried Apache & Piranhas.

 

[Panos]

I doubt it makes much difference, but I've not tested this personally. Temps are not an issue for me at the moment, but I've not had an extended gaming session yet.

This is with the fans at very low rpm (barely moving) and silent.

As you know over 6 months I extensively use this card overclocked at 1100/1650 with 2 Enermax Magma at 70% speed. (i believe the stock fan alone at 100% speed is fantastic also and silent).

How quiet it is and how cool it runs, amazes me even today and I appreciate it greatly compared to the GTX780 who was shouting at stock speeds under stress.

The 295X2 going to be replace ONLY if AMD pulls out a card, with single GPU that has the same or better AIO cooler, and is 50% faster than a single 290X and overclocks.

Or else, I will upgrade it when 4GB VRAM aren't enough or a single GPU provides more grunt power than my overclocked 295X2.

By far the best graphic card purchase ever, surpasing the card I always said was my best graphic card purchase ever. The ATI 9500NonPro (modded & overclocked to 9700Pro) which lasted years.......

 

[Panos]

I'd be interested to hear from other 295x2 users as to what fans they're using, is anyone using a fan controller etc? Or is everyone using the stock fan?

OK I have tried

Stock cooler at 100% speed if blows cold air is adequate but keep low on overclocks.....

2 Piranhas too loud for my linking at 100% speed, while below 70% speed I found them not to push air!!!!!!
2 Apache not that happy either, idk why. Even tried them on the H100i (since I put the Magmas on the 295X2) and next day went and bought 2 more magmas (push pull setup there also).

2 Enermax Magma. Suprisigly with those I have the best results and are on the system since forever running at 70% speed. Even at 100% speed they are very quiet fans.....

I use a Y splitter for powering the fans, and they are connected on the MB where I can set the fan speed from the speedfan app (not that was ever needed)


Regarding the fans, CFM & pressure.
The AIO cooler, while thick, is not "dense" as fins go compared eg to the H100i rad or some custom cooler rads.
Possibly that is why I have the best results with 2 high CFM medium pressure fans, than with higher pressure ones. (ok the Piranhas are loud, are out of the equation if on paper they seem the best of the 4)

I would urge everyone to try what is better suited for their setup. As long as the fans have some* static pressure, and good CFM they will do.

(*eg the SP120 Silent some are using have none, hence there are complains about throttling).

If Matt has good results with the Noctuas, I believe that these are a very good option also

 

[Panos]

Finally got my 295X2 setup. Works perfectly fine with my 850W Enermax PSU.

Awesome

 

[Panos]

It might be alright for me then. Like I said, I rarely buy any games on day. I think GTA V was the first time I've done that for about 5 years!

I think I may take the plunge!

I think I've seen this asked before regarding B-grade things on OCUK, but is the manufacturer warranty (if any remains) valid beyond the 90 days that OCUK offer?

It should but ask OCUK.

Either way is pretty good damn card. Doubt going to change before there is a single GPU that can beat the 295X2 working in CF.

Everything TNA said, is spot on. And if you pair her with a Freesync monitor, you are set.

Also you might be looking to replace the fan with a better one like an Akasa Apache (or 2). Never passed 60C during normal gaming, while working CF and overclocked at 1100/1625. And we are talking about now, which is summer with higher ambient temps.

And is so quiet....

 

[Panos]

I replied to you to the other discussion.

 

[Panos]

Well, i like to touch things lol

i can run 1000/1500 at -75mv under clocked, like this has been tested over days and days of gaming.

i can run at 1200/1600 at +65mv overclocked

So id like to get these settings dialled in the BOIS, used to do it to my nVidia cards so was just under the assumption someone would have made a BIOS editor for this

+65mv at 1200 core is too much tbh for the AIO to keep up. I run 1100/1625 at +10mv and runs cool.

 

[Panos]

I just left mine on stock. It is fast enough as it is and the overclock on this card I do not think will yield much performance so not worth the extra heat and noise I figured. I would have considered it if the radiator was a 280mm one like my cpu.

What noise? I have yet to see the card make any noise even if it hits 70C on the warm summer days.

 

[Panos]

The fans you have must be a hell of a lot more quieter than the two I have or you have better chips that seem to run cooler and hence need less cooling grunt.

I have two sp120 high performance editions. That said it not like even both are much more noisy compared to the stock xfx fan that I had.

You replaced the quiet stock fan with 2 loud screamers (35db each), that is not issue with the card thought.

I use a single Apache at 100% speed. Very quiet the whole thing.

 

[Panos]

ADVICE PLEASE

I'm thinking of replacing the stock fan with a pair of Corsair Fan, SP120 PWM High Pressure Fan 4 pin, Dual Pack (CO-9050014-WW).
As the rad' only has 1 fan on it which screws do i need to purchase to add a second fan. Also which fan splitter will I need for the power please.
Is it a 3 pin to 4 pin or a 4 pin to 4 pin splitter?

Thanks H.

If you are deaf, get the SP120s, or else get 2 Apaches.
I use 1 Apache, and everything runs fine, even this warm days.