r9 290 vs newer nvidia cards?

binaryknight · 5 Oct 2014 at 14:16

hey

might pick up a second hand amd 290 tri x or equivilent for hopefully 180 to 200 quid, but im wondering how it compares to the newer nvidia cards that have been released, and if anything in the same price range will be better.

not up to speed on nvidias equivilent of eyefinity but ive been led to believe that amd are better at it. while not a deal breaker i have 3 screens and would be nice to use eyefinity which im hoping a single 290 could manage as they are lowish res by todays standards being 1 1680 x 1050 and 2 x 1440 x 900

any help appreciated!

James J · 5 Oct 2014 at 14:19

What connectors are on those monitors of yours and what do you currently have GPU wise?

binaryknight · 5 Oct 2014 at 14:33

currently have a lowly nvidia 550ti, with 1Gb ram which is getting a bit long in the tooth for bf4 and dayz

the two hpLA1905wg's have displayport, dvi and vga my central LG W2234s just has vga

stulid · 5 Oct 2014 at 14:47

The price 2nd hand 290s are going for is scarily cheap.

Check out this example - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18624568

ICEx21 · 5 Oct 2014 at 15:03

That's probably one of the more expensive ones. May be a better cooler but at the end of the day it's still a 290.

stulid · 5 Oct 2014 at 15:13

ICEx21 said:
That's probably one of the more expensive ones. May be a better cooler but at the end of the day it's still a 290.

As fast as a 290X the way its clocked on RAM+Core.

ICEx21 · 5 Oct 2014 at 15:29

Is that exclusive to that type of 290 or can you overclock most to the same speed? This isn't a troll post I'm genuinely curious as I just sold my 290 GE and need a replacement card.

stulid · 5 Oct 2014 at 15:37

ICEx21 said:
Is that exclusive to that type of 290 or can you overclock most to the same speed? This isn't a troll post I'm genuinely curious as I just sold my 290 GE and need a replacement card.

Depends if they use Elpida or Hynix RAM, this is clocked that fast out of the box, no need to do anything.

old gamer · 5 Oct 2014 at 16:12

i think second hand prices are getting cheaper by the day, i have the powercolor pcs + and if i wanted to sell it i would be looking for about 180 and mabe as low as 150 if i wanted to shift it quickly

Diddums · 5 Oct 2014 at 16:34

But how do they compare to the 970s though?

I also have a 290 GE and I'm wondering if it's worth upgrading.

Probably not at 1080p.

flopper · 5 Oct 2014 at 16:42

my 290 beat the new nvidia cards the way I game.
in actual practice you wont notice any difference between cards.
Mantle is just the main argument to go amd 290 as Nvidia cant beat that.

pandem0nium · 5 Oct 2014 at 16:52

I know amd eyefinity can work now with mixed resolution monitors. So the 290/x is ptobs your best bet.

gareth170 · 5 Oct 2014 at 17:00

ICEx21 said:
Is that exclusive to that type of 290 or can you overclock most to the same speed? This isn't a troll post I'm genuinely curious as I just sold my 290 GE and need a replacement card.

most 290's can overclock to those clocks. even tho Elpida memory is slightly behind Hynix memory clock for clock

binaryknight · 5 Oct 2014 at 17:50

card ive seen locally saphire 290 tri-x guy had up for 200 which is too steep but when asked what he would take was 180 though to be honest i think 170 would be more reasonable does this seem like a reasonable deal?

the mixed res eyefinity pulls me more towards the 290 than the newer nvidia given id be paying less and the fact my monitors are of mixed res some one just reasure me id be doing the right thing stulid has tempted me to go looking at his card as an option as well

stulid · 5 Oct 2014 at 18:09

Hmm, might price drop mine again

old gamer · 5 Oct 2014 at 18:11

binaryknight said:
card ive seen locally saphire 290 tri-x guy had up for 200 which is too steep but when asked what he would take was 180 though to be honest i think 170 would be more reasonable does this seem like a reasonable deal?

the mixed res eyefinity pulls me more towards the 290 than the newer nvidia given id be paying less and the fact my monitors are of mixed res some one just reasure me id be doing the right thing stulid has tempted me to go looking at his card as an option as well

to be honest i think you could pick one up for £150

binaryknight · 5 Oct 2014 at 19:07

old gamer said:
to be honest i think you could pick one up for £150

really that low?

old gamer · 5 Oct 2014 at 19:13

binaryknight said:
really that low?

with price drops just announced i would say yes

SkeeterUK · 5 Oct 2014 at 19:15

tut tut a don trying to sell outside of mm.

CEUOTC · 5 Oct 2014 at 19:21

Managed to snag one form Clov!s @ £160, stock cooler mind and flashed to 290X

the card Stulid is selling is a stunner tho.

The card l bought from Clov!s is now sitting nicely in Xfire with my own stock ref R9 290, with the "new" card sitting with a NZXT G10, Corsair H55 and Gelid heatsinks on the VRMs, runs very nice l have to say and for half the price l originally pay'd for my R9 290.