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Worth upgrading from R9 390?

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21 Aug 2016
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I was too impatient to wait for the release of RX480/GTX 1060 when building my PC so ended up grabbing an R9 390. I don't really see any need to change it to be honest but as this is the first system I've built myself I'd like a 2nd opinion, maybe I should have waited for the newer GPU's.

The R9 390 seems capable enough, handles everything I throw at it quite easily at 1080p, my ONLY complaint is that it is hot and loud. It is slightly overclocked to 1075mhz core and 1550mhz memory, and under full load the fans are at full speed it sits at 65-70 degrees. I'm sure those temps are absolutely fine, but it blows an awful lot of hot air around the case, by taking the side off the case and running it open the GPU temp drops by 10 degrees under full load! So I'm considering either modding the case for better airflow around the GPU or swapping it for something more "efficient".

The noise of the fans doesn't bother me at all at the moment because it's been quite warm lately I've usually got the desk fan on which is louder than the PC anyway, but when the desk fan is turned off and the GPU fans are at 100% it's very noticable.

Is it worth the hassle of trying to sell the 390 2nd hand or just stick with it and wait a couple of years for the next gen to come around?
 
Seems like you've answered your own question :) If you are happy with it's performance then why would you upgrade unless the heat was a big issue but 70c is very good for any gpu tbh. I should ask, which 390 is it that you own? Are you sure it is maxing out at 70c and not more? That said I would look for a decent aftermarket cooler If I were you. That way you can deal with heat and noise at the same time.
 
XFX R9 390 DD Edition. Yeah it sits at 65-70c usually, at 100% fan speed. I have seen it go higher than that on very hot days but we don't get many of them.


It seems I did answer my own question lol but just wondered if there was something I'd missed, or if I made a bad choice on not waiting for the newer GPU's. Think I might not be so strict on my "budget" next time though and maybe go for a higher tier GPU.
 
I think a few of the benchmark videos I have seen have the R390 pretty much on par, if not does better than an RX480, I wouldn't see this as an upgrade, more a side step.
1060 is a slight improvement, but doubt it would be noticeable.

I'd love to swap to a 980ti/1070/1080 but don't have the funds, have a freesync monitor and most importantly the missus would probably kill me lol.
 
I think a few of the benchmark videos I have seen have the R390 pretty much on par, if not does better than an RX480, I wouldn't see this as an upgrade, more a side step.
1060 is a slight improvement, but doubt it would be noticeable.

I'd love to swap to a 980ti/1070/1080 but don't have the funds, have a freesync monitor and most importantly the missus would probably kill me lol.

Haha my system is very similar to yours - i5-6500/R9 390/Z170 Gaming K3. Same RAM aswell but mines only 8GB 2400.

I see the 1060 an improvement in terms of power draw/heat/noise, but like you say benchmarks are pretty similar for all of them.
 
Haha my system is very similar to yours - i5-6500/R9 390/Z170 Gaming K3. Same RAM aswell but mines only 8GB 2400.

I see the 1060 an improvement in terms of power draw/heat/noise, but like you say benchmarks are pretty similar for all of them.

Aye I figured that it'll do me for at least 5yrs...the PC it replaced was spec'd/built in 2009 and was on its last legs, didn't want to go without a PC so made the leap and going from 22" 1080 monitor with GTX750 to 27" 1440 with R390 was a huge leap and I am happy.
 
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