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Is the MSI 290X problematic ?

dholdi

dholdi

dholdi

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I have been umming and ahhring about getting a pair of these to replace my HIS 7950's which I cant get a bios to work properly on.

I was tempted when they reduced them to £360 ish, but now they are £335.

I read about the leaking fan issue but presume that has now been fixed.

So why are they so much cheaper than any other 290x with the exception of the Powercolors ?

Are they a problematic card that OC are trying to get rid of ?

Owners experiences would be appreciated.
 
I have two non x versions and there been very good. I did have temp issues at first but that was because my old motherboard pci lane space was to close.
 
I think retailers are shifting the old cards for new stock, look at the Powercolor PCS+ R9 290 deal here, then the R9 2xx XFX deals not a fortnight ago. With the rumors of the GTX 8xx series it is only a matter of time.

Now to answer your question I think they are fine, the issue with leaking fans was a good couple of months ago now so I would think they have all been fixed now, if not then you are just unlucky.
 
IMO I dont think the cooler with its two fans, although they are slightly bigger than the last generation on this twin frozr, has enough cooling for the chip. Though they are fine for other less hot chips and nvidia ranges. Mine and a lot of others i see under load hits 85/6 degree"s which is fine in a single card configuration, but may well be a problem in crossfire, plus the heat might add a couple of degree"s to your CPU temps with that extra hot air in the case. Important for those with their overclocks on the limit.
One other thing that in my mind that creeps in, is the fact that 290x chips are binned for the lightning, whilst MSI cherry pick i think for the lightning, the rest I guess find their way onto this version.
 
I've had an MSI 290x Gaming for around 3 weeks and I've already put it for sale on Amazon so that should tell you what my impression of it is.

It runs games well but it's too hot for me and there are driver issues with some games, Although the driver issues aren't MSI specific obviously, An example being how Wolfenstein: New order would not run yesterday until I had re installed the same driver as I was using. The game was okay last time I ran it. I've had other weird driver issues such as how it suddenly crashes a game I'm playing and tells me the card hasn't got the specs the game requires. Overall I've come away disappointed.
 
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Get the lightning. Runs near silent, god like levels of VRM cooling. I practically tried to kill mine and couldn't. Beastly card. 1225/1600 24/7 at 200+Mv and would run quiet as a mouse and not exceed 75c. Couldn't really fault it other than I only wanted it for benching on water, and MSI throttle the amperage over 1.5v
 
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rossiboy001 said:
IMO I dont think the cooler with its two fans, although they are slightly bigger than the last generation on this twin frozr, has enough cooling for the chip. Though they are fine for other less hot chips and nvidia ranges. Mine and a lot of others i see under load hits 85/6 degree"s which is fine in a single card configuration, but may well be a problem in crossfire, plus the heat might add a couple of degree"s to your CPU temps with that extra hot air in the case. Important for those with their overclocks on the limit.
One other thing that in my mind that creeps in, is the fact that 290x chips are binned for the lightning, whilst MSI cherry pick i think for the lightning, the rest I guess find their way onto this version.
Click to expand...

My two dont pass 80c while gaming ;)
 
I would avoid these cards like the plague, if it's the gaming card you're referring to. I had 2 cards that ended up with grinding/rattling fans, one being an RMA replacement for the first one. Had enough in the end.
 
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