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R9290 upgrade options

TheRealDeal said:
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/gigabyte_radeon_rx_480_g1_gaming_review,1.html

The 290x is not in to many of the benches for some reason but it's not much slower than the 390x. They are basically the same chip with the main difference being that the 390x has 1050 core and 1500 memory where as the 290x has 1000 core and 1250 memory. The other main difference is the 390x has 8gb vram compared to a standard 4gb on the 290x. This leads to around a 5-10% performance difference overall according to techpowerup's summary over 20 or so games.
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Thanks.

I know of the differences. I run my 290x at 1200/1650, so it should compete.
 
@OP

I'd probably consider upgrade to AIO from ref cooler to improve noise/cooling, may gain you an OC as well ;) .

I did go from Hawaii to Fiji, for a few reasons. One such reason was I wasn't losing any £ on selling Hawaii, I think now a card is no way selling close to what an owner may have paid at purchase. By factoring that I'd still with Hawaii for now, perhaps when Vega comes out there will different pricing about and then time to change.
 
GTX 1070 would be a nice upgrade. Imho it is the best price VS performance Nvidia Pascal card (Currently)

You can pick them up from around £350, good deal at that price.
 
My only issue with going for a 1070 is down to the fact I am paying the £250 upgrade fee after selling the 290, albeit getting a huge boost in performance and a quieter card and less heat cut outs and less power consumption... Think I just convinced myself hahaha

It's a large sum of money but so long as I can sell the 290 I can save up for a couple of months as I am a first year apprentice living at home with no bills or anything to pay heh. Think I need to find a cheap card while I sell the 290 and save funds for the 1070 and a water loop (F it why not)
 
Well you can try and get a second hand 980ti, although they still aren't that cheap yet. I think if you get a 480 you will be dissapointed though like I was.
You could always stick with the 290 for a while, they are still good cards! Maybe even get a cooler for that
 
If your after a card that uses less power then go for the 1070, the 980ti uses nearly as much as the 290, and once overclocked will end up using more, my 980tis are actually using more power than my 290x cards were with them both fully overclocked.
 
southernorth said:
I have basically no trust in AMD pulling through on their latest bit of hype. Continually over-promising and under performing. I hope I am wrong about Vega though.
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You have said this in nearly every thread? Where are they under performing? Where did they over promise? The last thing they hyped out of control was bulldozer.
 
Op if I was you buy the gelid Icy cooler, it can be got for less than £30. It's very quiet and easy to install. It should keep you going until next year. At the moment the only true upgrade path is the 1070 and that might be a bit beyond your budget.
 
melmac said:
You have said this in nearly every thread? Where are they under performing? Where did they over promise? The last thing they hyped out of control was bulldozer.
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The RX480 was overhyped IMO. It's a card on par with the R9 390 for the same price as an R9 390, derp.


Hype level was over 9000!
 
jimferno said:
Hype level was over 9000!
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Not due to anything AMD ever said though. The hype was entirely down to "leaks"/made up bullcrap. AMD never claimed that the RX 480 was anything more than a card to meet the minimum VR spec at an affordable price. Which, IMO, they delivered on with the 4GB model at under £200. The 8GB model is too expensive, but then so is Nvidia's alternative. Post-announcement marketing is irrelevant, as they simply needed to be more aggressive in that area to match Nvidia's vast arsenal of half-truths and "hardcore gamer"-focused masturbatory nonsense.

A far better example of AMD not delivering on their own promises is the "OVERCLOCKER'S DREAM" line about the Fury X. :o
 
I am thinking of going for a waterloop which has been a long term interest for me and shoving a block on the 290, hoping this is a good decision and will allow me to push high clocks on the 290 which will bring it to a 970 performance which isnt too far behind the 980 which is good enough to last me until upgrade time when AMD release their new cards.

Now the question is, do I get a 2nd R9 290 or stick with the 1
 
1 with that PSU, you will be pushing it with 2, also you get a lot of people complaining about crossfire and games not being supported.
Personally I'd stick with 1 or change to a better single card!
 
theaterix said:
I am thinking of going for a waterloop which has been a long term interest for me and shoving a block on the 290, hoping this is a good decision and will allow me to push high clocks on the 290 which will bring it to a 970 performance which isnt too far behind the 980 which is good enough to last me until upgrade time when AMD release their new cards.

Now the question is, do I get a 2nd R9 290 or stick with the 1
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I wouldn't go waterloop on such an old card. And I definitely wouldn't get a second 290. If you are going to spend that much money on waterblocks and second 290 then you might as well buy a 1070 and sell the 290 you have already.

Remember, your card might be a poor overclocker even with water.

Just buy a cheap air cooler for your 290 if the noise is annoying you and hold off spending until the new AMD cards arrive.

I don't want to be rude, but I think it would be a terrible decision to watercool the 290.
 
melmac said:
I wouldn't go waterloop on such an old card. And I definitely wouldn't get a second 290. If you are going to spend that much money on waterblocks and second 290 then you might as well buy a 1070 and sell the 290 you have already.

Remember, your card might be a poor overclocker even with water.

Just buy a cheap air cooler for your 290 if the noise is annoying you and hold off spending until the new AMD cards arrive.

I don't want to be rude, but I think it would be a terrible decision to watercool the 290.
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A block only cost me £25 delivered so wasn't really an issue. I will be buying most of it off the MM so I can get it a lot cheaper than usual.
 
los said:
1 with that PSU, you will be pushing it with 2, also you get a lot of people complaining about crossfire and games not being supported.
Personally I'd stick with 1 or change to a better single card!
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The PSU requirement is a very good point against CF. Almost draws out the worthiness of getting a 2nd card
 
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