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Replace 290X with a... 290X?

Relentless81

Relentless81

Relentless81

Soldato
Joined
18 May 2010
Posts
12,850
I know right, weird. But hear me out -

I have a reference 290X that I am thinking of getting an AIO for with a GPU adapter as I am growing tired of the noise, it was only meant to be a temp card but my priorities have changed and its looking like the 390X may (Or may not) be out of my price range based on rumors.

Long story short I'm sticking with 1080p and a 290X for at least another year.

With all the reading I have done about changing the cooler it seems there isnt much out there that will reliably keep the VRM heat under control without sticking heat sinks to them which I just don't fancy doing, add the cost of an AIO and adapter and at minimum I'm looking at £55 for the adapter plus refurbished H55 cooler

If I sold my reference card for £150 and bought an Asus 290X Direct CUII for £230 thats an £80 difference with a brand new card, this option also has its issues though, Asus seem to have a pretty bad rep when it comes to warranty issues and I have no idea what the Direct CUII cooler is like IE how noisy it is plus it puts the heat in the case which I am not a fan of.

So what do you think, stick with my current card and go AIO or get an Asus card to replace it whilst they are cheap?

Thanks
 
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Thanks, HG10 plus refurb H55 = £60 which fine but the radiator requires separate fan control. One of the things I like about the Arctic Hybrid 2 coolers is the radiator fan plugs into the GPU but the cooling plate clips seem to have some issues with snapping from what I've read
 
i did the same, could not be botherd messing about changing heatsinks and fans, at least the asus will look the real deal and not a diy bodge job
 
The asus cooler isn't meant to be all that. Seen a few reviews where they say its loud and the card can still get very hot.
 
H55 are good but the tube length reduces your options of where to mount it.
Have you thought of the Gelid 290x VRM kit. Ideal for using with the Kraken G10 and about a tenner.
 
Yeah I cant find that VRM kit anywhere and don't like the idea TBH

I'll get the HG10 if I go the adapter route but need an AIO with tubing long enough to reach the top of a 540 Air case, pretty sure the H55 wont reach and don't want to remove an intake fan to replace it with a rad
 
Tri-X cooler is a long shot but would definitely be interested if one came up

I'm not introducing water cooling into this build its getting on a bit and just want it to last me another year whilst shutting it up a bit
 
Relentless81 said:
Thanks, HG10 plus refurb H55 = £60 which fine but the radiator requires separate fan control. One of the things I like about the Arctic Hybrid 2 coolers is the radiator fan plugs into the GPU but the cooling plate clips seem to have some issues with snapping from what I've read
Click to expand...

That's a good point. I also had to invest in a Grid+ to control the rad fans.
 
The tri x cooler should fit as it's an amd board, they do a pretty good job mine kept it nice and cool but the fans rattled hence I am now watercooling it.
 
If the problem is not wanting to add VRM heatsinks then just leave them exposed - temperatures will be quite high, but not dangerously so.

The other advantage to G10 mod is when it is time to upgrade to a new GPU you've still got the bracket and AIO you can put onto your new card.
 
Shop around, I've seen a 290x VaporX ** No competitor talk/price hinting **, probably the best air cooled 290x, also the powercolor PCs+ is a top notch cooled card
 
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