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Death of a GPU :-( and advice pls

BigBANGtheory

BigBANGtheory

BigBANGtheory

Soldato
Joined
21 Apr 2007
Posts
2,643
My AMD R9 290x has I believe died a death today and gone to GPU heaven :(, black screen on boot. I think running DayZ and Elite at 4K shortened its life.

Was the OCUK:
"VTX3D Radeon R9 290 Pre-Flashed to 290X, X-Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card"
according to my order history purchased 22nd Nov 2013, so that's 3yrs 3months not bad for a GPU though I'm annoyed its essentially failed rather than upgraded.

Now relying on my Haswell IGP....

So rambling therapy aside I had a few questions I was hoping you wise people can help with because obviously it looks like I need a new GPU.

1. Firstly is there anything worth trying with my suspected dead 290x, such as trying different PSU rails, resseting it somehow or using another PCIe slot?

2. I want to game in 4K, I found the 290x just about handled it with lowering the graphics options what should I look to replace it with?

3. Had my eye on a AMD Vega I know they are due in Q2 2017 when are we likely to see them?

4. I'm not opposed to Nvidia (I have owned them before) but was kind of shocked at the price of the GTX 1080, with rumors of the 1080 Ti around is the regular 1080 likely to shift in price or am I better off just waiting for the 1080 Ti and pay for the top end.

My problem is deciding to wait things out for a few months without gaming and hoping for a performance gain in the new models or simply trying to replace what I have now. I would welcome some thoughts on the matter whilst my gear despawns on DayZ. Thanks in advance...
 
String said:
What's your budget?
Click to expand...

My budget is price:performance based, basically anything below Titan that can do 4K well and isn't a rip off. For the sake of argument £700 but I'd expect one hell of a GPU for that outlay not some incremental bump. I want to see some value for money if that makes sense.

The other thing that bothers me is that a GTX 1080 has been around since August 2016 so I feel its late in the day to buy one especially at it current asking prices.
 
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BigBANGtheory said:
My budget is price:performance based, basically anything below Titan that can do 4K well and isn't a rip off. For the sake of argument £700 but I'd expect one hell of a GPU for that outlay not some incremental bump. I want to see some value for money if that makes sense.

The other thing that bothers me is that a GTX 1080 has been around since August 2016 so I feel its late in the day to buy one especially at it current asking prices.
Click to expand...

Only a Titan will get you close to 60fps@4K.

If you want the fastest card you can get for £700 then right now it's the 1080, and the 1080ti is likely to be more expensive than that (although only time will tell).

Bang for buck it's a 1070, which is faster than your previous card was and has double the Vram.. but in no way a 4k card.
 
So I kind of know what my choices are what I do not know is what path to take

GTX 1080 now @ £550 upwards
GTX 1080 Ti (rumored to be announced) @ an unknown price and unknown performance
AMD Vega (due to be released in Q2, probably end of) for an unknown price and unknown performance

bit of a nightmare really given I'm not biding my time, I literally cannot play atm I probably would have upgraded in Q3 given the choice. Its also not true to say "Only a Titan will get you close to 60fps@4K", my R9 290x could hit and exceed 60fps@4k on 'the games I play' though it probably averaged in the high 40s obviously with some graphical detail compromises most on max though. I'm not trying to be argumentative just a little uncomfortable with the options and absence of facts.
 
BigBANGtheory said:
So I kind of know what my choices are what I do not know is what path to take

GTX 1080 now @ £550 upwards
GTX 1080 Ti (rumored to be announced) @ an unknown price and unknown performance
AMD Vega (due to be released in Q2, probably end of) for an unknown price and unknown performance

bit of a nightmare really given I'm not biding my time, I literally cannot play atm I probably would have upgraded in Q3 given the choice. Its also not true to say "Only a Titan will get you close to 60fps@4K", my R9 290x could hit and exceed 60fps@4k on 'the games I play' though it probably averaged in the high 40s obviously with some graphical detail compromises most on max though. I'm not trying to be argumentative just a little uncomfortable with the options and absence of facts.
Click to expand...

If you feel that your R9 290x was performing well at 4k and you need something now, then why not upgrade to a 1070 for the short term and sell it on if you fancy the 1080ti?
 
If it was me, I'd buy a cheaper card second hand and wait for Vega and/or 1080ti to surface. Then decide from there.
 
BigBANGtheory said:
My AMD R9 290x has I believe died a death today and gone to GPU heaven :(, black screen on boot. I think running DayZ and Elite at 4K shortened its life.

Was the OCUK:
"VTX3D Radeon R9 290 Pre-Flashed to 290X, X-Edition 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card"
according to my order history purchased 22nd Nov 2013, so that's 3yrs 3months not bad for a GPU though I'm annoyed its essentially failed rather than upgraded.

My problem is deciding to wait things out for a few months without gaming and hoping for a performance gain in the new models or simply trying to replace what I have now. I would welcome some thoughts on the matter whilst my gear despawns on DayZ. Thanks in advance...
Click to expand...

OK lets first try few things before we give up on the card :)
When you boot, do the fans spin? Did you tried it with another PSU and on different slot? Did you tried the second bios? (I believe all the 290s came with second bios)
Next step. Since is not in warranty, dismantle it (aka remove the cooler) and have a look around for anything burned (both sides). Reapply the paste and put fresh pads and give it a try.
Idk how to test safely the fans if they are spinning by plugging them directly to the power supply. But if you are good with cables give it a try.
If you have any other old GPU lurking around check if the power slot is compatible and put the old card with the 290 cooler on (most of the screw will fit). Do they work?
(don't try the 290 with the other GPU cooler because it runs hot, and might not cool it properly).

Just few ideas :)
As for replacement, if you are waiting for Vega like everyone else, then maybe grab a second hand 290X. They go for less than £100 mostly, or a 390X for bit more, but no more than £150.
(because later on you can still sell them for £100 if is the 390X).
 
My work 8800 GTX died on Monday too. :< (Was my gaming GPU at one point)

I'd suggest buying a cheap 2nd hand GTX 970 and then wait a bit. If you resold it after say 3 months it would probably cost you £30 maybe.
 
I'd just get a 1070 for now. One of the cheaper ones for around £350.

It will do fairly well at 4k, although some games you will have to drop the settings.
 
if I were you I'd consider the EVGA step up program - http://www.evga.com/support/stepup/.
Basically buy an EVGA 1080 ( or even 1070 ) and if TI gets released within 3 months of your purchase and you like it, you can upgrade to it. Sounds like the best possible option and you can game decently as well while you wait for TI
 
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Now I have the IGP enabled I'll plug the 290x back in and see what happens I do have another PSU somewhere.... Its fitted with a large after market cooler I had to ditch the reference cooler it was too damn noisy. Since the last AMD driver update I got a ton of system instability which I traced to the GPU and had to down clock below the stock frequencies slightly and nudge up the voltage I guess I knew then its days were numbered.

I think waiting it out for the 1080ti is the way to go for me maybe take a month off gaming. What little news there is suggests the 1080ti will arrive sooner and be faster than Vega but at a higher price point. Last Nvidia GPU I owned was a GTX 470 if memory serves!
 
You could side grade with a RX480 8Gb which will give you the same performance and wait for Vega to land. The benefit with this route is you won't lose as much in depreciation as you would with a 1080 or as others have said a 1070 is the middle option but its not a huge upgrade compared to you 290x.

Tbh your 290x died at a really inconvenient time, there's not really a clear choice other maybe look at a 2nd hand 290x/390x.
 
If you where happy with your 290 at 4k either of the nvidia cards will perform better.

If it was me I would buy an rx480 and have my eye on something later in the year. The nvidia prices are very painful for me.
 
Freddie1980 said:
Tbh your 290x died at a really inconvenient time...
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That is exactly my problem yes, and I'm used to buying new GPUs roughly when a new product doubles the performance of my incumbent card. I'm loathe to spend $$$ on the 1080 GTX and the 1070 is not enough of an upgrade. I can either quit gaming for a few weeks and wait on the 1080ti / Vega announcements or buy a 2nd hand solution equivalent to the 290x

btw plugged the ole girl back in and device manager is not seeing it, I think its safe to say its dead might try it in an old PC I have.
 
String said:
Only a Titan will get you close to 60fps@4K.

If you want the fastest card you can get for £700 then right now it's the 1080, and the 1080ti is likely to be more expensive than that (although only time will tell).

Bang for buck it's a 1070, which is faster than your previous card was and has double the Vram.. but in no way a 4k card.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say no way a 4k card my 980 Ti a 1540mhz can handle 4k pretty dam well given its price
 
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