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cheap 290x or 970?

Rusty0611 said:
Well my 290 used to heat my medium sized office up quite nicely lol so I'd imagine that a smaller room will become quite close after gaming for a while. You can reduce the heat by playing with vsync on though.
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Going from a 6870 to a 290 pcs+ plus reduced my case temps by quit a lot. My living room on the other hand is nice and warm lol. My case does a good job of getting shot of the heat while the 6870 with a stock cooler did not.

If the op has a decent case then the heat from a 290/x should not be a problem and as the lightning has a better cooler than the pcs+ there should be no problems what so ever. My power usage has probably doubled but my temps are better all around my PC.
 
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ALEXAROTH said:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_290X_Lightning

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_970_Gaming


The GTX is a clear winner when it comes to noise and heat, and performance-wise the two cards go back and forth with the MSI having a lead on lower resolutions (1080p or lower). That's just comparing the lighting to the MSI 970, there are other 970s out there that I'm sure can get better results
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That review is nonsense. My Lightning runs significantly quieter and cooler than that. They also say it's the loudest card at idle, mine is quieter than my case fans...
 
TheRealDeal said:
Going from a 6870 to a 290 pcs+ plus reduced my case temps by quit a lot. My living room on the other hand is nice and warm lol. My case does a good job of getting shot of the heat while the 6870 with a stock cooler did not.

If the op has a decent case then the heat from a 290/x should not be a problem and as the lightning has a better cooler than the pcs+ there should be no problems what so ever. My power usage has probably doubled but my temps are better all around my PC.
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It's not the heat it runs at or the ambient temperature of the case which matters because as long as this in within the thermal limits (which it will be) then it's fine. It's the heat being removed by the cooler and then the case which translates into room temperature increase which matters really. The 290(X) is like having the radiator on if you game for a while with it running at 99% usage. It's defintely the hottest card I've used in terms of effect on the room I'm in. Like I said, if you vsync cap if imagine it to not be an issue though.
 
Rusty0611 said:
It's not the heat it runs at or the ambient temperature of the case which matters because as long as this in within the thermal limits (which it will be) then it's fine. It's the heat being removed by the cooler and then the case which translates into room temperature increase which matters really. The 290(X) is like having the radiator on if you game for a while with it running at 99% usage. It's defintely the hottest card I've used in terms of effect on the room I'm in. Like I said, if you vsync cap if imagine it to not be an issue though.
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Yea i definitely seen a rise in room temperature but the good thing is i don't have to put the heating on. This card may even save me some money lol. I think some make to big an issue of the power and heat. I might have been guilty of it during the gtx480 days as now that i am using a high wattage card in a haf x there is no problem what so ever.
 
r7slayer said:
Lol just LOL.
Okay so the stock reference is going to beat the 290x Lightning which was born to be overclocked is going to be beaten by a reference 970 LOL.
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All he needs to do is look at the benchmark threads as the 290x just about beats the 970 in every game and benchmark when both are pushed. Infact the 290x does a half decent job against the 980. As good as the gtx970/980 are they are way to over hyped. I personally think the gtx780 was a much better release as it stomped the competition that was around at the time.
 
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ALEXAROTH said:
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/R9_290X_Lightning

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/MSI/GTX_970_Gaming


The GTX is a clear winner when it comes to noise and heat, and performance-wise the two cards go back and forth with the MSI having a lead on lower resolutions (1080p or lower). That's just comparing the lighting to the MSI 970, there are other 970s out there that I'm sure can get better results
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The MSI Gaming 970 to which you link is £50 more expensive than either of the cards proffered in the OP.

There's no question, really, that the Lightning is better value and quality than the similarly priced Palit which the OP linked to. Once you get to the 'premium' 970s around £300+, then it's harder to call. There are a couple of 970s I'd get over the Ligtning. OcUK's 'reference' design being one of them, but not for the current £70 premium it commands.
 
TheRealDeal said:
Yea i definitely seen a rise in room temperature but the good thing is i don't have to put the heating on. This card may even save me some money lol. I think some make to big an issue of the power and heat. I might have been guilty of it during the gtx480 days as now that i am using a high wattage card in a haf x there is no problem what so ever.
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Yeah I'm missing mine at the mo. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr
 
I coped with a ref 290 and its hairdryer sounding cooler for over a year so I'm sure the noise of a 290x Lightning will be a dream.

If the performance is so close then the obvious choice is the one with the better build quality.

Look at the state of the Palit 970.
 
Here's my Lightning after 5 runs of Heaven at +0mV and stock clocks. Auto fan.
znzwLuo.jpg

I can lower the volts to -50mV and it runs at 57C.
Cooling is not a problem with this card at all.
 
thefogo said:
Here's my Lightning after 5 runs of Heaven at +0mV and stock clocks. Auto fan.
http://i.imgur.com/znzwLuo.jpg[IMG]
I can lower the volts to -50mV and it runs at 57C.
Cooling is not a problem with this card at all.[/QUOTE]

If that's aimed at me then you're missing my point.
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Rusty0611 said:
If that's aimed at me then you're missing my point.
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No it's just for people who are wondering how the cooler performs.
Though I think you're over exaggerating with the heat output anyway, the 290 uses only a little more power than the 780 Ti and similar to the 690, yet I've never seen anyone mention room temperatures with those two cards.
 
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thefogo said:
No it's just for people who are wondering how the cooler performs.
Though I think you're over exaggerating with the heat output anyway, the 290 uses only a little more power than the 780 Ti and similar to the 690, yet I've never seen anyone mention room temperatures with those two cards.
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I'm not. I used both the 780 and 290 for months.
 
ElliottC420 said:
That is a 290, not a 290x featured on the video.
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Doh! H'mm the 290x should be more closer to the 970 then, compared to the 290 that gets beat in everything in that videos benchmarks.
 
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