**WARNING: DO NOT BUY POWERCOLOR 290 PCS+ CARDS FOR MINING (NOW RESOLVED THESE CARDS ARE FINE)!!**

[LtMatt]

Allow 1-2% for margin of error. The remaining 3%+ will be the fact that the PCS generally uses Elpida memory where as the DCII uses Hynix AFAIK. Elpida if a few percent slower than Hynix. I see it on my 290P cards as well.

 

[thefogo]

My 290p was elipda and performed better than his 290x, so I'm not sure vram is the whole problem.

 

[LtMatt]

My 290p was elipda and performed better than his 290x, so I'm not sure vram is the whole problem.

I'm not so easily convinced, the difference is only 5%.

 

[thefogo]

I'm not so easily convinced, the difference is only 5%.

My 290p: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/2131749
His 290X: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/2540249

A 290p shouldn't be 8% faster than a 290X. The 290X is even clocked 10Mhz higher.
Though I'm not on Windows 8 like he is.

 

[LtMatt]

My 290p: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/2131749
His 290X: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/2540249

A 290p shouldn't be 8% faster than a 290X. The 290X is even clocked 10Mhz higher.
Though I'm not on Windows 8 like he is.

But you're also faster than his 290X DCII. Therein lies the problem. It's a combination of his system and the slower memory I'd wager, not to mention a different OS.

 

[gareth170]

Allow 1-2% for margin of error. The remaining 3%+ will be the fact that the PCS generally uses Elpida memory where as the DCII uses Hynix AFAIK. Elpida if a few percent slower than Hynix. I see it on my 290P cards as well.

but the DCII uses Elpida memory

http://www.overclock.net/t/1468025/review-asus-r9-290x-directcu-ii-oc-performance-test

The memory chips are based on Elpida-BBBG GDDR5 that are said to have overclock ability not as good as the Hynix-AFR chip. It is disappointing that ASUS decided to use these memory chips on such a high end graphics card.

both cards use the same memory. so thats not the reason.

 

[altrewin]

but the DCII uses Elpida memory

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/graphics/2014/03/03/asus-radeon-r9-290-directcu-ii-oc-review/9



both cards use the same memory. so thats not the reason.

Yep, my DCUII is Elpida as well.

 

[LtMatt]

but the DCII uses Elpida memory

http://www.overclock.net/t/1468025/review-asus-r9-290x-directcu-ii-oc-performance-test



both cards use the same memory. so thats not the reason.

DCII also have Hynix according to a google search. Unless your specific DCII had Elpida, then fair enough. Did you check?

 

[gareth170]

DCII also have Hynix according to a google search. Unless your specific DCII had Elpida, then fair enough. Did you check?

yes it had Elpida memory

so theres no real reason for the different on performance tbh.

 

[gareth170]

My 290p: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/2131749
His 290X: http://www.3dmark.com/fs/2540249

A 290p shouldn't be 8% faster than a 290X. The 290X is even clocked 10Mhz higher.
Though I'm not on Windows 8 like he is.

yeah something isn't right.

i know about different setups give different results. but the Asus Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II OC and the powercolor 290x pcs+ was done in the same system.

so theres no real reason for the different on performance tbh.

 

[gareth170]

can a different bios be flashed to a powercolor 290x pcs+, e.g Asus Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II OC bios or a sapphire 290x bios? or do they use different vrms, ect

 

[LtMatt]

can a different bios be flashed to a powercolor 290x pcs+, e.g Asus Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II OC bios or a sapphire 290x bios?

Yes, you can try that. Make sure the bios you flash support Elpida. Don't use a Tri-X/Vapour-X bios as they only use Hynix. Asus reference 290X might be a good one to try, though you will have lower clock speeds of course.

 

[gareth170]

Yes, you can try that. Make sure the bios you flash support Elpida. Don't use a Tri-X/Vapour-X bios as they only use Hynix. Asus reference 290X might be a good one to try, though you will have lower clock speeds of course.

do they use the same vrms, ect, e.g Asus reference 290X?

 

[LtMatt]

do they use the same vrms, ect, e.g Asus reference 290X?

I believe it's a reference pcb so it should be fine. Might be worth asking a PCS user just to get confirmation.

 

[gareth170]

I believe it's a reference pcb so it should be fine. Might be worth asking a PCS user just to get confirmation.

it says here http://wccftech.com/powercolor-previews-radeon-r9-290x-pcs-triple-fan-cooling-solution/ most are reference pcb but there are some that are custom designed PCB

 

[old gamer]

gareth, it might be worth trying a few different bios, the good thing with the 290 is the dual bios so if it all goes wrong you can just flick the switch, i think if i was looking to do this then i would look at the reference asus 290x, it was used to unlock my vtx3d 290 to a x and that had elpida mem and worked fine and had unlocked voltage

 

[gareth170]

has anyone tried flashing a powercolor 290x or 290 pcs+, with a asus ref 290x/290 bios?

I'm just worried if it kills the card.

 

[LtMatt]

It's highly unlikely to kill your card.

 

[gareth170]

i ordered another powercolor 290x pcs+ from ocuk because they have a great deal... powercolor 290x pcs+ + a free 8gb 2400mhz amd gamer memory + a gold reward.

anyway i'll wait till tomorrow. see how that one is.

 

[gareth170]

i received the bios and tbh it seems to of improve/fixed it....

now im getting 55.6 fps in Heaven Benchmark 4.0.. before it was 51.2 fps..

in Valley Benchmark 1.0 im getting 62.8 fps, before it was 58.0 fps.

in Fire Strike im getting http://www.3dmark.com/compare/fs/2549381/fs/2544789 , before and after. so its just about the same has the asus card i had before, http://www.3dmark.com/compare/fs/2549381/fs/2535181