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BEST R9 290 GPU as far as $/heat management

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sebastian869

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Aug 1, 2014
Really wondering what you guys think is the best r9 290? who has the best "after mkt" heat controlling methods as the board gets hot, from what i read it seems to be the biggest issue with the board. From the home work I've done I decided to go with the 290 vs 770 or the more expensive 780 (not worth the extra funds for the results, I'm only worried about the AMD drivers vs Nvidia drivers)
Lastly, does it make sense to buy the "Over clocked models vs stock speed"

Thanks
 
I've always liked the Asus dc2t coolers. I believe gigabyte has gotten positive reviews as well.
 
I would look at the Asus DCU II OC

Great power
Oversized Custom PCB
Top shelf components
Great cooler
Included backplate

All at a very competetive price point making this card king of the hill when it comes to price performance


Drivers, I would not worry to much about that, AMD has a handel on it and nVidia throws some garbage out from time to time as well.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...21842&ef_id=UqPqZQAAAFeot6kg:20140801212154:s
 
Witchdoctor turned me to the Asus DCU II OC. Initial results seems like a great card to me.
 
Things may have changed, but I recall when I was looking into 290s a few months ago, a couple of the manufacturers weren't getting great results with their mainstay HSFs because they had just taken the same style from the 7970/280x line and slapped it on the 290. I will look for the review I'm thinking of, but I remember Asus and Gigabyte being mentioned for the DC2 and Windforce coolers not performing on par with their level in the previous generation and newly updated coolers like the Tri-X from Sapphire were doing much better.

I could be remembering that all wrong and I will definitely look for the review I read, but I know that's why I chose my tri-X 290 and have loved it thus far.

EDIT: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-290-and-290x,3728-6.html
 
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DCII 290 is good choice for the robust design of power delivery but temp wise it isn't very special.
Definitely better than stock cooler but don't expect unthrottled performance unless your system sits in climate controlled room.
Gigabyte cards are cheapest at least here in Finland and most come with windforce3 cooler which is probably much better at keeping temps down but I don't know much about their PCB design or component choices.

If you are into watercooling Asus DCII is nobrainer. Robust VRM, custom beefed PCB and EK actually makes WB for it.

From my experience DCII 290 runs any current game at 1080p without any obvious problems caused by the throttling. I did not notice it throttling while playing maxed out bf4, crysis3 or other "demanding" games.
Playing CS GO at 144Hz I did notice when the card throttling but you can fix it by ramping up the fans manually.
 
I know my 7950HD is a Sapphire Vapor-X and it worked wonderfully. If your looking at that card it has 2x 8-Pin connections vs the 1x 8-Pin and 1x 6-Pin. Might be able to deliver more power if really OCing it. Normal conditions I wouldn't expect it to suck up that much power.
 
pick one that active cools the vrms.

Windforce3 from gigabyte.

i think the sapphire trixx cards have thick heatsinks on the vrms too.
 
What resolution are you gaming at?

I was under the impression you were wanting to save a little money. The 780ti is one of the most expensive (overpriced?) cards you can find and I don't think its benefits over a 290 justify the $250 price difference.

Also, the 290x you linked is different than a 290. 10-20% faster and $150+ more expensive.

As to the comparison you proposed, I'd go with the 290x. The cards have very similar performance. The 290x has more VRAM for future games which may make use of it. The amazon price for the 290x is also more than it should be. Check newegg or tiger direct or some other etailer.
 
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yeah but im looking at the 290x and it all started with the 770 the point is that i want to get the best card i can and later when prices fall i plan to get another
 
I myself got the Vpor-X 290 and it comes with high grade parts on a reference PCB and it's biked. I love as us but the vapor x I think is the clear winner. Better cooling and should overcock better and its only 439 for 290 and 530ksh for290x and it competes with the 780ti
 
thanks for input guys i was going to go with sapphire 290x but the more i read the more ai saw the 780ti had an edge and i too like the Asus DCU II OC and the only real problem why im not placing the order today is the "new" gpus that are to be released. I would bet that are not going to smoke the top end if they do what has been said at most they will lower prices but im on verge of just buying and not caring i cant keep this up for ever and as to another persons question im playing at 1080 as i have an benq xl2420t though im looking to get an 27" 1440 but id need a new desk as u all know its not what what u have its what the os/prog/game can use. Only yhing that pisses me off is the lack of lanes in the 1150s i want a mobo that can do x16/x16 was going to go with asrock extreme 6 dunno if i should go with a x99 as a asus WS is not far apart.
 
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