MSI 290X LE quick review and thoughts

[Gregster]

I didn't notice much difference with Mantle in BF4, from a moothness point of view anyway.
Framerates were higher though that's for sure. Well, for a few minutes anyway and then they dropped to single digits when the VRAM was exceeded. The only way to get around it was to turn the settings down. I don't think that was all that noticeable either though. Just annoyed me that I had to reduce setting from what I could use with DX. I reduced the settings in Mantle and it performed better than DX did with higher settings. Seems a bit obvious really...

That said Mantle was introduced to BF4 so late that I'd finished the game by the time it was added so I didn't get much of a chance to really try it other than for the sake of trying to test Mantle. And then they didn't add Mantle into any other game I was interested in.

I'm hoping DX12 and Vulkan will be so I'll get chance to use it in games I want to play.

So is there any chance you'll decide against getting 2 Titan Xs and instead go for 4 x 8GB 290Xs and save some money Greg?

I have not overly played any game with the 290X, so every game I have mentioned (except ED) has had a quick 20 minute play but I don't foresee any issues.

As for changing my mind on the TX, if AMD can get me 144Hz on my Swift, who knows. I am always up for saving some cash but I wouldn't go 4 cards. One thing I noticed with ShadowPlay (something I use a lot) is how it works very well with 1 or 2 cards but add in a third card and basically, ShadowPlay took all the extra performance that the third card offered and gave me the same frames as what 2 cards did and even if I ran 2 cards with ShadowPlay running, I got the same frames as I did with 3 cards and ShadowPlay running.... Not something to fuss about but made the third card pretty pointless for me.

I hope that makes sense?

So in a nutshell, I won't be going 3 cards again and CF or SLI only.

 

[Gregster]

Any help on this please guys?

Trying to play COD:AW and all I get is "out of range" or ""No signal". I reinstalled the game as well. I also get the same with 3DMark Firestrike.

 

[Gregster]

Greg i wonder if the game is stuck applying a resolution or perhaps refresh rate that is not supported, maybe 144hz for example.

To see if this is the case can you try pressing Alt+Enter when the game loads and the out of range message occurs. This should force the game into windowed mode and may bring back display availability. This should enable you to access the video options and apply 120hz and the correct resolution - hopefully.

Alt+enter isn't switching to windowed mode

I have got my new Startech lead and still 120Hz is a no go It works for a few seconds before flicking on and off, so have reverted back to 60Hz £35 down the swanny

 

[Gregster]

I get the same as you Shankly. 144Hz showing as the max refresh rate. I choose 120Hz and within a few seconds, it starts to flicker and the only cure is with choosing 60Hz again.

 

[Gregster]

kk can you select 120hz and restart the PC and see when it boots up it keeps the refresh rate?

I am a bit worried on doing that Shankly, as if it does what it did before, that means I have to get one of my other monitors back out the box and connect that as well, otherwise I just get a black screen and can't change anything.

 

[Gregster]

Sweet, I need some help and the thread is full of bench's and bickering....Cheers guys

 

[Gregster]

*****

 

[Gregster]

My cable is on that list Matt.

 

[Gregster]

Have you tried setting the r_displayRefresh "60" in the config_mp file Greg
or/both r_displayMode "windowed" to see if that helps ?

Cheers and will try that when I get home. I changed the res but took forever to find that in the cfg. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Gregster]

I gather I have missed some discussion here, but can I ask Gregster, why you decided to go the single 290x route from 3 (!) Titans?

I will be going for Titan Xs and the time was right to sell my Titans. I have been itching to try Mantle out, so it made sense to grab a 290 (the X was only a couple of quid more). I was very tempted to grab 2 of them but then my review would have looked biased, as the games I play don't have crossfire profiles. And with me being a green fan, I would have been jumped on as well.

The 290X is a great card and at £250 with Saturday delivery, a real steal. Very pleased with it and if I could get 120Hz working, I wouldn't have a single fault.

 

[Gregster]

Nice one and will try those tonight. Thanks for the help chaps

 

[Gregster]

Will have a go thanks. Some good responses and all help (good or bad) appreciated. Loving the card but finding this a tad frustrating.

 

[Gregster]

Yer and if all else fails, I will just go back to my 1080P 120Hz monitor for now. Not a bad card though and very impressed with the performance.

 

[Gregster]

Does that monitor have a DP port? If it has, then surely that's the easiest and simplest check you can do to see if the display port on the card is working properly?

It would be the first thing I would have done tried a different monitor.

If the cable works fine and the display port on the card works fine then you are back to it been a timing issue between the card and monitor.

No DP port on the Asus VG278H but needed to plug that in to get the display to work on the Swift (I used the HDMI connection). That was the only way I could get to see the screen as well but trying to run 120Hz was still a no with the VG plugged in alongside.

I have tried 3 different cables (2 of them worked without issue on the Titans) and still no go. I am giving up and will accept the tearing for now, but I am pretty deflated in honesty. If I buy any more cables, it would have worked out cheaper to go for the 980

 

[Gregster]

You dont happen to have Mates with a AMD card close you could take your Swift there any try??

I do have a couple of mates I built AMD systems for (yuck) but the swift is all wall mounted and more of a chore than I want to do in fairness.

You anywhere near Gillingham, Kent? I can offer a PC to connect it up to for testing purposes.

That's very kind of you and appreciated but Kent is around 90 mins drive from me. Thanks anyways

 

[Gregster]

Why not just use the Asus VG278H and use VSR to play at 1440p?. The card was a temporary solution so why not just use the Asus VG278H temporarily as it's plain to see there is a problem with this screen and AMD cards regardless of who is to blame.

This way you get to play your games, can see the capability of the card and move onto Titan with some knowledge about the 290. Otherwise, enjoy the pulling of ones hair in frustration.

I am mainly playing Elite Dangerous and the tearing doesn't show so much in space, so I will just stick to playing that (not that I have much else I want to play at present). I can live with it and for the sake of dipping into my upgrade fund.... I will live with it

 

[Gregster]

Well, you at least have the option available at no cost. Personally I'd rather use 120Hz but if you're fine and it's wall mounted then happy days.

Yer, I would in honesty but popping the screen on the desk (I don't have as much room as I used to) means taking down the other monitor and I am just so lazy, I will put up with it. It is bearable in ED, so no real biggie.

 

[Gregster]

hahaha I feel ya on that one, too much hassle for a short use, it's all set up for the Titans so why bother. I do wish you had better luck with the 290/Swift for a true experience to reflect on. It's just comedic timing that the GreenGregster would dare to jump over the see what's happening on the AMD side for a small minority of a problem to emerge.

I think you and AMD are just not meant to be. The way it wasn't meant to be played :/.

It does seem like I have bad luck with AMD and oddly enough, my last AMD card (6970) gave me nothing but grief with the monitor as well and slap in the middle of the screen whilst gaming, it would pop up "Insert the correct cable for your monitor" even though I could clearly see the game (all I was playing back then was BF3) on the screen and I had the correct bloody cable plugged in It was in huge letters as well.

I can honestly say though, if it wasn't for this, I wouldn't really fault AMD for a single card user. Runs sweet as and handles pretty much everything I have tried. COD:AW/3DMark FS is all linked to the 144Hz issue I have, so not fair to compare with that and the card cost me £250 including Saturday delivery, so a good result.

AMD have got a plus from me on the whole.

 

[Gregster]

You're such a fibber .

When I go AMD I genuinely haven't got any major complaints but then I go back to nVidia and I dunno I always wonder why did I bother switching. Everything just works better IMO. It's anecdotal guff but I can't be the only one...

Importantly, it doesn't stop me going AMD in the future if they better suit me at the time I'm changing.

Don't load my gun for me, I can easily do that myself

But I know what you mean.

 

[Gregster]

Ouch, same scenario twice over. Oh well, least you know and accept it's not an issue most are having. It's commendable for a team green member to be truthful when there is opportunity. Well done Greg .

I do hope that before you move the 290 on to a different home that you will have an opportunity to run it at 120Hz but if not, no biggie.

Are the Titans being released very soon?. From the 1000 stock hint and benchmark releases, it seems imminent.

I will only ever give a fair and unbiased review to anything I use, even if it is a cabbage smelling AMD card

17th March is GTC and reviewers have cards, so I expect to hear news of a release on that day.