Buy R9 290/780 now or wait for new generation in 2 months?

[Nearox]

Judging from latest news reports it seems at least nvidia will launch new GPUs in like 2 months or so. Currently I play with a HD6950.

Do you think it is worth waiting for the new generation? Do you think performance per dollar will become better than the current r9 290 or r9 280x?

 

[Freddy1765]

Yes.

 

[Keysplayr]

Is there a release date I'm unaware of?

 

[Kenmitch]

Is there a release date I'm unaware of?

I doubt it.

OP if you can score a good deal on a used r9 290 it'll be hard to beat the performance per $ I would imagine.

 

[dn7309]

If you waited this long, just wait until next gen to come out. At least wait until black Friday and get a new card.

 

[RussianSensation]

If you don't mind buying a used after-market R9 290, go for it. No new card in the next 3-4 months will match the price/performance of that. Otherwise wait until mid-September to see if 800 is coming out or if the rumors of it being delayed by 6 months are true.

 

[Fastx]

RS, I think that one site that started it is pure BS about being delayed 6 months and/or the article is misworded and/or relying on old info regarding 20nm release info and confusing it with the 870/880 28nm.

I fully expect imo to see a GTX 870/880 within around the next 2 months.

Btw fwiw
http://www.pcper.com/news/General-Tech/Rumor-NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-880-Actually-September

 

[tviceman]

I'm weird. If I'm building or upgrading for myself, I want new. If I'm building or helping someone else upgrade, I try to get them the best deal possible (and that usually means used).

The used Radeon market is dirt, dirt cheap right now. If you don't mind used, you can get some incredibly unbelievable deals. If you want to latest tech, though, then wait two months.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I have to ask what games are even out that are worth playing?

I haven't used my r9 290 for anything in 2 months.

I would wait.

 

[ocre]

My vote is wait as well.

There is a good chance the market could get shook up. Even used should be cheaper

 

[blastingcap]

If you don't mind buying a used after-market R9 290, go for it. No new card in the next 3-4 months will match the price/performance of that. Otherwise wait until mid-September to see if 800 is coming out or if the rumors of it being delayed by 6 months are true.

This.

 

[Attic]

Used 290 now.

I think it's a temporary opportunity to get great dirt cheap cards. Don't see how it will last forever and I don't see 870/880 competing against the used 290 market.

 

[Blue_Max]

...even 290's that have been mined to death?

 

[Martrox]

Picked up a used r9 290 on ebay for $215.00. Got a Krakin G10 for $25.00(onsale $30 normal)and GELID Solutions CL-R9290-01-A R9 290 Series VRM Cooling Enhancement Kit from the egg for $14.00. Already had a AIO to use, now have quiet R9 290 @1040/1500 - with no throttling.......

 

[Atreidin]

...even 290's that have been mined to death?

That's a loaded question that implies there are tons of "mined to death" 290s out there. Also what does that even mean? If it's dead or broken in some way, get your money back. You are pretty well protected from that on ebay.

The release date for the 290 and 290x was less than a year ago, most of the ones flooding the market were sold significantly after the release date, and mining on them hasn't been profitable (in most situations) for a while now, meaning most of them at worst probably got only a few months of usage before shut off due to unprofitability. That is why they are flooding the market in the first place. Even assuming somebody highly profit driven was dumb enough to mistreat their profit generators, they haven't had a long time to do that before they were forced to sell them.

 

[guskline]

I bought a used Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X for @$290 with shipping and handling. It wasn't even registered. It has been a tremendous card. (running it in a FX 8350 OC'd to 4,7Ghz rig).

 

[RussianSensation]

...even 290's that have been mined to death?

Before mining, I used all my GPUs for distributed computing work (Seti@Home, MilkyWay@Hime, etc.). These workloads are just as intensive pegging the GPU to 99% 24/7. Starting with PNY GeForce 6600, I ran all of my GPUs like that and none has died. Only one of my Sapphire cards has a rattling fan. I also run my cards in these workloads overclocked and overvolted. If there is a wear and year on the ASIC, VRMs, chokes and PCB, by the time these components give out, a card with R9 290's performance could be bought for $125.

If a card is operating in a good environment with good temperatures and external factors such as dirt or cigarette dust is not clogging up the heatsink, it should work for years and years. If you were to go out and buy a "gaming card", you have no idea how overvolted and overclocked it was for games. It could have been even more abused compared to mining since to get the most optimal mining performance/watt, you'd want to run stock voltage with minimal overclock or even underclock with reduced factory voltage.

 

[Blue_Max]

Thanks for replying to my comment... I'll feel better about buying one used locally (not protected ebay)

 

[ultimatebob]

I'm still rocking a Radeon 6870 and I'm not upgrading until I can get something twice as fast in the same price range with a lower TDP.

 

[RussianSensation]

I'm still rocking a Radeon 6870 and I'm not upgrading until I can get something twice as fast in the same price range with a lower TDP.

GTX 870 should easily accomplish 72% on this chart:

http://www.techpowerup.com/mobile/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_780_Ti/27.html

But the price range part of $239 MSRP of 6870 will make it impossible. Maybe a used R9 290 underclocked can meet your requirements.

 

[tolis626]

I'd say buy used too. Worst case scenario is something much better comes out, you sell the 290 and you buy new with small loss.

 

[Blue_Max]

I don't regret the R9-270X I just snagged for only $80.

Thanks for alluding my fears of used cards - especially since it's got my favorite store's extended warranty too! Yay for doubling my speed cheap!

 

[Nearox]

Thank you all! I think I will be going for a used R9 290!

However almost all of the used ones sold on second hand market are the noisy, original ones without aftermarket coolers. Questions:

1) How hard is it to remove AMD's coolor and to install a custom aftermarket cooler by myself? I have built my own PC before, complete with CPU coolers etc. but have never touched the GPU coolers before.

2) Can anyone provide a link to a good, affordable, aftermarket GPU cooler for the 290?

 

[RussianSensation]

Thank you all! I think I will be going for a used R9 290!

However almost all of the used ones sold on second hand market are the noisy, original ones without aftermarket coolers. Questions:

1) How hard is it to remove AMD's coolor and to install a custom aftermarket cooler by myself? I have built my own PC before, complete with CPU coolers etc. but have never touched the GPU coolers before.

2) Can anyone provide a link to a good, affordable, aftermarket GPU cooler for the 290?

Gigabyte Windforce 290 for $300+$15 shipping (card less than 1 month old)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gigabyte-AM...144?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item3a95867128

Asus DirectCUII with 90 day warranty and 30 days return for $325
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Asus-Radeon...082?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item5d4f0b2962

Sapphire Tri-X 290 for $319 (used for 5 months)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sapphire-11...371?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item2a416a0ff3

New listings pop up all the time. I've seen all of these cards, including PowerColor PCS+ for about $300 with shipping included. Also, take your time since as we move closer to September, maybe we'll get a lot more clarity on when GTX870/880 are launching.

 

[MTDEW]

IMO By the time you buy and install an aftermarket cooler and also get good VRM cooling, you might as well just spend a bit more and buy a used Tri-X version instead of a reference 290, since they will probably end up costing about the same.....and the Tri-x will hold its resell value a bit more than a modded reference card IMO.

But if you're dead set on adding your own aftermarket cooler.
Grab a Gelid Icy Vison 2
And the Gelid VRM cooling kit for the R9 290
Or mod the original heatsinks plate for your VRM cooling like is shown HERE .... and Here is another good guide for the stock plate mod for VRM cooling.

NOTE: Be sure and check the card length to ensure it will fit in your case before buying anything!
Some cards like the TRI-X are pretty long. ie: the TRI-X cooler is about 12inches in length.