290X now or later

Hello all,
I'm starting to think about a new build (I've been out of the technology loop for about 4 years now) and I had a question. I can get this R9 290X:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...yMark=False&IsFeedbackTab=true#scrollFullInfo

It's currently on sale and has a rebate on it that ends tomorrow. My question: I'm not planning this new build for a few months still. Rumors are that the new models will be out around November. If I wait that long, how much of a price difference do you think there would be? Are the previous models knocked down in price that much from a new series release? I plan to get a Devil's Canyon as well, but may wait from the supposed December Broadwell release.

Opinions? I can use the 290X in my current system (An i7 950 OC'd to 4.01 GHZ). My question is really:

If I wait until December to actually make the new build, will this card have dropped significantly in price from its current sale/rebate price?

Thanks.

My personal suggestion, if you are building a system over time, is to leave the GPU for last. That technology advances so much, and the prices fluctuate so much, that you are bound to get the best card for the best price if you buy it last. Otherwise, if you get it for $520 right now, it might be $400 by the time you complete the system.

I would suggest starting with parts that don't fluctuate as much, such as the case, power supply, HDD (not SSD), cooling components, and peripherals. Try to snipe some of these on sale.

Once you have a solid CPU socket / chipset in mind, I would try to find a sale on one of the best motherboards you can afford, as well. Maybe a Z97 that can do dual or triple x16 could be had in the $200 range if you play your cards right. And try to follow the roller-coaster that is RAM and SSD prices, and try to snatch some up when they're at a low point.

Once you have these base components, you can buy the CPU and GPU last, and get the most bang for your buck, by either buying bleeding edge tech, or getting a better deal on last generation hardware, since you waited. 6 months from now, a 290X you buy then will be just as good as one you bought now. But if the 390X is out by that point, you may pay $100+ LESS for a 290X than you would right now.

Wait until Decemeber... simply because there should be a new round of cards to choose from. If you can't afford/dont want to buy one of those, then last gen prices will likely drop.

I'm in the same boat as the thread creater.
Just started to look to rebuild my system, mostly because I want to play GTA5 again but on PC.

I decided to build it piece by piece since I already have a working system, rather than splash out in one go.

In this order.

CPU/motherboard
RAM/hard drive
GPU

Yea as the others stated just hold out on gpu until last. I have a powercolor r9 290 pcs+. Bought if for $460. 2 days later it was $400. Also if you are looking to save money just get a non x 290. They perform very well for less

If you want to buy now and "used" is OK to you, now is the time. Miners are getting out and selling used cards cheap. If you're willing to wait and/or want "new", the market will have to trend down for AMD cards. As miners flood the used market, fewer new cards are selling. OEMs will have to discount to generate sales.

As a wise man once told me, You can wait and wait for the best price/card till the end of time. If you game a lot now then get the GPU now and play the crap out of some games. Then save up some more $$$ and just get a 2nd card and you will out preform anything that comes out. Prices right now really haven't changed a lot. The HD 7970 is still $300+ as is the R9-280x. Granted they are virtually the same card, but even when next-gen comes out prices may drop $30-40 but its not going to be like, OMG $200 for a 290x #4free #OMG #GPU. My money is that if you wait now or later you will not pay less then $500 for a r9-290x unless its used. But as stated by Infinite66. Depending on the r9-290x there is about a 10% score and a 5%oc over the non-x. I got the vapor-x r9-290 and its a complete beast and OC like a dream. Just a suggestion..



BTW IT COMES WITH FREE GAMES!!!!!!!!!! lol

The 290x with aftermarket cooling has multiple times gone on sale for less than 450$ in the last two week. The 290, which only falls short by about 5-7% at equal clocks is starting at 365, again aftermarket cooled, at newegg. Without another huge price surge in bitcoin prices there is no way in hell the 290x will be 500$ in 6 months.

Any one here know what is the most common achiveable OC for 290X under water core/memory clock speed? I have only oc the core speed at 1100mhz and I have not touch the memory yet. What can I expect from a Sapphire 290x. How can I get more than 100mv in Afterburner??

From what I've seen most of the 290/290x cards will do 1200+ core on water, and the great ones will do 1300+. Memory is really random based on hynix or elpedia, and is affected by core voltage, which implies that the memory controller on the gpu is often the limiting factor rather than the memory itself.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1460829/...-the-1235-core-clock-limit-in-msi-afterburner

Has a guide on how to make afterburner give more voltage. I just use sapphire trixx since it gives +200 by default.

Supertrucker said:

From what I've seen most of the 290/290x cards will do 1200+ core on water, and the great ones will do 1300+. Memory is really random based on hynix or elpedia, and is affected by core voltage, which implies that the memory controller on the gpu is often the limiting factor rather than the memory itself.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1460829/...-the-1235-core-clock-limit-in-msi-afterburner

Has a guide on how to make afterburner give more voltage. I just use sapphire trixx since it gives +200 by default.

Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the reply. Can trixx be installed side by side with AF?

Yes, it can. Just be sure that AB doesn't start up and apply settings upon boot so there are no conflicts.

EarthDog said:

Yes, it can. Just be sure that AB doesn't start up and apply settings upon boot so there are no conflicts.

Click to expand...

Thanks.

I am going to keep it at 1175/1300 ran it thru Heaven Benchmark fine. These cards are well known to get black screen when push it to hard. I am going to tear down the cards and install EK water blocks this weekend. The water blocks has been sitting here for over 3 weeks and I am getting impatience every time I look at the water blocks. Its time to tear it down for water cool.