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Yet another R9 290 question, sorry!

RatmanGB

RatmanGB

RatmanGB

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Joined
12 Jan 2010
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590
I'm close to ordering a pair of R9 290s or 290Xs, but I need to ask about noise.

One of the cards being replaced is a Gigabyte Windforce GTX 480 which is ridiculously loud when gaming, and I want to replace it with something a lot quieter. The other issue is that the case it's in is a Cooler Master Centurion 532 and my housemate won't change it, so not the best for airflow or room. I like the look of the MSI cards, but would they (or any) of the 290s be suitable for this?

If not, I guess a 970 is the only way, at least for her PC. Can anyone recommend a good, quiet one?

I hope my own PC would be OK for keeping a 290 cool and quiet, I've got a Cooler Master Cosmos S with two intake fans on the front and one on the bottom, and three exhaust fans on the top and one on the back.

CF/SLI is also a consideration for my PC, so.... all opinions welcome!
 
I own a PCS+ 290X. Happy as can be.

I set the fan to 40% at load. It's near silent. I plan on tweaking the settings a bit to see if I can get trade higher temp for silent fan speed.
 
So 1 card is going in your case, the other in your housemates?
I'd probably opt for the cooler 970 for the horrible case and get whatever takes your fancy for yours.

That old case looks fairly shocking for airflow, so probably opt for a blower style cooler, tbh even a blower cooler for the 290 would be alright, they're just shockingly loud.
 
The old case IS shocking for airflow, but she won't even let me buy her a replacement because she likes how it looks!

Are the blower-style 970s OK for noise?
 
Quieter than the 290s for sure, the plastic ones are a bit meh. If you spend the extra you can get titan style coolers which are fairly quiet. Though cost a fair amount (if they still do them....hmm?)
 
Tonester0011 said:
Quieter than the 290s for sure, the plastic ones are a bit meh. If you spend the extra you can get titan style coolers which are fairly quiet. Though cost a fair amount (if they still do them....hmm?)
Click to expand...

For all that extra money why not get a R9 290 and use the £100 left over for a really nice case? You can get any kind of looking case for £100.
 
Right.

Having shown her this thread and pointed out the references to "horrible case", "shocking for airflow" and so on, it's possible that a new case is on the cards after all.

(She DID buy me an entirely new PC a couple of years ago, in case anyone wonders why she's not buying her own case this time around. We've clubbed together on PC stuff for about 20 years, terrifyingly enough)

What would anyone recommend in the same size category?
 
If the budget is the saving from getting a 290 over the 970 (give or take £100?) the 450D looks alright. Your best bet is to find some cases you like the look of and make a thread asking for opinions based on whats been chosen tbh. a lot of decent cases might not be up your street on the looks department ;) :o
 
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