R9 290X Owners Thread

dessimpson · 14 Feb 2015 at 22:18

Also. I'd not get a 960. There's 970's in the clearance section.
Failing that if cash is a bit tight. Try the MM for a used 290x or a 280x.

-Mike- · 14 Feb 2015 at 22:36

dessimpson said:
water cooling?

I'll pop up a picture in a minute, and as for watercooling I had intended to do it with a h100i, but I couldn't trust the computer to run unattended anymore with a burnt component in it! Those cards in clearance aren't particularly cheap!

-Mike- · 14 Feb 2015 at 23:05

I've just realised as well, a HG10 is out of the question as it relies on the original fan working

A bit of google has thrown up a couple of sapphire cards doing the same but they weren't reference jobbies.

tombomb · 16 Feb 2015 at 15:24

Hi Guys,

Just put ones of the msi 290x 8gb cards in a new machine and when connecting via dvi I get a lot of lines across the screen, they are red when on a dark background and blue when on a light background. I have tried powering the card using 2 rails from the PSU as well which made no difference.

When I use the HDMI port the picture is ok. Can anyone suggest anything for this or is this an RMA job?

LtMatt · 16 Feb 2015 at 15:27

tombomb said:
Hi Guys,

Just put ones of the msi 290x 8gb cards in a new machine and when connecting via dvi I get a lot of lines across the screen, they are red when on a dark background and blue when on a light background. I have tried powering the card using 2 rails from the PSU as well which made no difference.

When I use the HDMI port the picture is ok. Can anyone suggest anything for this or is this an RMA job?

Try a different DVI cable, but it could be the DVI connection on the card is broken. I saw this once on a 7950.

tombomb · 16 Feb 2015 at 15:38

Hi AMDMatt,

You are a star, my monitor required a DVI-d cable and I was using a regular DVI cable to test it on. Feel like a complete muppet now haha.

LtMatt · 16 Feb 2015 at 15:40

tombomb said:
Hi AMDMatt,

You are a star, my monitor required a DVI-d cable and I was using a regular DVI cable to test it on. Feel like a complete muppet now haha.

Hehe glad it's sorted.

Tacitus · 16 Feb 2015 at 16:20

Anyone running a pair of the MSI 290x's OCUK has going for £250 each?

I'm extremely tempted, but simultaneously aware the cooler isn't the best, nor is it the quietest. I *think* I could get away with it, I've got an Air 540 (with stock fans) so airflow shouldn't be an issue.

RatmanGB · 16 Feb 2015 at 17:59

I'm interested in how much noise the MSI 290s make, can anyone help? I'm not looking to OC or switch to water cooling, and I don't want anything too noisy.

Relentless81 · 16 Feb 2015 at 18:39

Tacitus said:
Anyone running a pair of the MSI 290x's OCUK has going for £250 each?

I'm extremely tempted, but simultaneously aware the cooler isn't the best, nor is it the quietest. I *think* I could get away with it, I've got an Air 540 (with stock fans) so airflow shouldn't be an issue.

Is it a reference cooler? I have the same case and a 290X with a reference cooler and the combination of the GPU and case fans drove me nuts so I've replaced all the case fans and now its silent when idle and the GPU can be heard when gaming but that doesnt bother me, I have a case fan controller with custom profiles though

LtMatt · 16 Feb 2015 at 18:56

Tacitus said:
Anyone running a pair of the MSI 290x's OCUK has going for £250 each?

I'm extremely tempted, but simultaneously aware the cooler isn't the best, nor is it the quietest. I *think* I could get away with it, I've got an Air 540 (with stock fans) so airflow shouldn't be an issue.

It will only work with the Air 540 if you have at least two slot spacing between the cards, ideally you'll need three slot spacing. The problem with the 540 (i had one) is that the window is quite close to the cards so there is no where for the warm air both cards kick out to escape. If you game with the side panel off you should be ok though.

Tacitus · 16 Feb 2015 at 19:10

Relentless81 said:
Is it a reference cooler? I have the same case and a 290X with a reference cooler and the combination of the GPU and case fans drove me nuts so I've replaced all the case fans and now its silent when idle and the GPU can be heard when gaming but that doesnt bother me, I have a case fan controller with custom profiles though

Nah it's the Gaming Edition. (Twin Frozr). The noise I hardly notice, but the PC is off on the floor next to my desk.

AMDMatt said:
It will only work with the Air 540 if you have at least two slot spacing between the cards, ideally you'll need three slot spacing. The problem with the 540 (i had one) is that the window is quite close to the cards so there is no where for the warm air both cards kick out to escape. If you game with the side panel off you should be ok though.

Damn, oh well. Only a one-slot space. I just went and took a look at my current card (a 970 I'm returning) which is a Windforce Card. There seems quite a bit of space between that and the window. Is it just that MSI cards are really tall (or wide, however you wish to call it), or are all 290s that way?

I had also been considering a pair of PCS+ 290s. I know the cooler is top-notch, but I worry about the spacing since I don't know how much the top one will overhang into the one-slot space I have.

Finally, do you reckon a pair of Tri-x's would be fine in the Air 540?

Sorry for bombarding you with questions, and thanks for answering

LtMatt · 16 Feb 2015 at 19:11

Tacitus said:
Nah it's the Gaming Edition. (Twin Frozr). The noise I hardly notice, but the PC is off on the floor next to my desk.

Damn, oh well. Only a one-slot space. I just went and took a look at my current card (a 970 I'm returning) which is a Windforce Card. There seems quite a bit of space between that and the window. Is it just that MSI cards are really tall (or wide, however you wish to call it), or are all 290s that way?

I had also been considering a pair of PCS+ 290s. I know the cooler is top-notch, but I worry about the spacing since I don't know how much the top one will overhang into the one-slot space I have.

Finally, do you reckon a pair of Tri-x's would be fine in the Air 540?

Sorry for bombarding you with questions, and thanks for answering

The main problem is you have two cards dumping heat in the case and there is no where for that heat to be exhausted, It's nothing to do with the height of the cards as such. When using one card it's a non issue but using two can cause problems unless you have adequate spacing, or a side fan or two to exhaust the heat. Or you can keep the side panel off of your case which will solve the problem. The ideal solution for you would be the 295x2 with the carbide 540.

Tacitus · 16 Feb 2015 at 19:26

AMDMatt said:
The main problem is you have two cards dumping heat in the case and there is no where for that heat to be exhausted, It's nothing to do with the height of the cards as such. When using one card it's a non issue but using two can cause problems unless you have adequate spacing, or a side fan or two to exhaust the heat. Or you can keep the side panel off of your case which will solve the problem. The ideal solution for you would be the 295x2 with the carbide 540.

Thanks for your advice Matt.

Slightly disappointing advice though. I bought the Air 540 for the reason of airflow for a crossfire/SLI setup

LtMatt · 16 Feb 2015 at 19:31

Tacitus said:
Thanks for your advice Matt.

Slightly disappointing advice though. I bought the Air 540 for the reason of airflow for a crossfire/SLI setup

It works very well with reference cards, as you can see from my pictures of my old rig below. One with reference cards and one with AIB cards dumping heat in the case. The reference cards worked fine, the AIB's throttled unless i kept the side panel off of the 540.

If you have 2-3 cards dumping heat in the 540 case there is no way to naturally exhaust that heat, due to no side fans. I will ask Shankly to pop in and comment, as he has the same case and 2x290X MSI Gaming cards in the 540. I think he got around the problem by using a three slot spacing.

jwilliamson47 · 16 Feb 2015 at 19:38

I'm really getting close to screaming now.

I've tried my 290x cards individually and they work nicely, but I'm getting hardly any increase in performance with crossfire, and with dual-cards it transforms my PC into an unstable mess. Loading up a benchmark either locks up my PC or the results will be a stutter-fest.

Now, I've tested, PSU, RAM, and running out of ideas. I really don't want to send at least one back, but seriously, what the heck is going on?

LtMatt · 16 Feb 2015 at 19:39

jwilliamson47 said:
I'm really getting close to screaming now.

I've tried my 290x cards individually and they work nicely, but I'm getting hardly any increase in performance with crossfire, and with dual-cards it transforms my PC into an unstable mess. Loading up a benchmark either locks up my PC or the results will be a stutter-fest.

Now, I've tested, PSU, RAM, and running out of ideas. I really don't want to send at least one back, but seriously, what the heck is going on?

Going to send you a trust message.

EDIT

Please can you setup your trust so i can assist you offline via email.

jwilliamson47 · 16 Feb 2015 at 19:40

AMDMatt said:
Going to send you a trust message.

EDIT

Please can you setup your trust so i can assist you offline via email.

Thanks, will do now

Not sure how to set it up, I think you need a minimum of so many posts!

eyetrip · 16 Feb 2015 at 19:49

Is that an old or fresh install of windows?

shankly1985 · 16 Feb 2015 at 19:51

AMDMatt said:
It works very well with reference cards, as you can see from my pictures of my old rig below. One with reference cards and one with AIB cards dumping heat in the case. The reference cards worked fine, the AIB's throttled unless i kept the side panel off of the 540.

https://qx2m9a.bn1304.livefilestore...fEyzQM04M/Untitled.png?psid=1[/img][/spoiler]

http://i.imgur.com/

If you have 2-3 cards dumping heat in the 540 case there is no way to naturally exhaust that heat, due to no side fans. I will ask Shankly to pop in and comment, as he has the same case and 2x290X MSI Gaming cards in the 540. I think he got around the problem by using a three slot spacing. :)[/QUOTE]

That's correct it isn't so much the case having no side fan it's more about having as much space you can possibly get between the GPUs I have found.
Even with the case side panel off I dropped temperature better by having a nice gab.

Here how mine is setup both stay around high 70s to mid 80s depending on the game or if I leave the frame rate un-capped.
Case setup.
[url]https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=9BA93D662D0AC34E&id=9BA93D662D0AC34E%212045&v=3[/url]