Custom R9 290X

[Rezident]

When are the custom R9 290X's due out? First I heard last week of November, now I'm hearing it could be January with some manufacturers. Does anyone know?

 

[(sic)Klown12]

I'm not sure even the AIB partners know at this point. It's getting ridiculous that they're still not out.

 

[Rezident]

I'm not sure even the AIB partners know at this point. It's getting ridiculous that they're still not out.

Some of them know. I heard from HIS that they would be after Christmas. Hoping some of the others will be earlier. Fingers crossed but starting to get worried.

 

[MeldarthX]

Ridiculous you say? Nope; mimimal time they need to do custom boards is 6 weeks after ref designs come out.

We are almost to the 6 week point. People will go well 280/780 Ti had non-ref designs from the beginning.

That's because they are not new cards; 280 is rebadge and respun 7970s; and 780 Ti is just fully activated 780.....they've had them for while; they know what to do with them.

Rumor; *I can't find the damn thing now* is Sapphire has their non-refs almost done and should be ready in a couple weeks.....*honestly I could of dreamt that this morning as lack of sleep and doing my work performance review is driving me more mad*

I swear I read it this morning I can't find the link for the life of me. Sapphire builds the ref boards for AMD so it anyone will have them out soon; its Sapphire......for now; we just have to wait or by a ref one.....

 

[f1sherman]

Ridiculous you say? Nope; mimimal time they need to do custom boards is 6 weeks after ref designs come out.

We are almost to the 6 week point. People will go well 280/780 Ti had non-ref designs from the beginning.

That's because they are not new cards; 280 is rebadge and respun 7970s; and 780 Ti is just fully activated 780.....they've had them for while; they know what to do with them.

Do you really think that AMD AIB's are that much puzzled with Hawaii?
They still don't know what to do with it?

Do you really imagine this as:

1) AMD makes referent design, launches R9 290/X
2) 6 weeks passes by...
3) Guys at Sapphire: "Uhmm... now what"

 

[Stuka87]

The reference 290 board is fine for the most part, it just needs a cooler. Plenty of AIb boards that used reference boards with custom coolers.

 

[Gikaseixas]

Mid December according to some here, i really don't know man, seems like an eternity as i'm waiting for that to happen too.

 

[24601]

Given how long it's taking, I'm assuming they are working hard to see how much they can cheap out without increasing in-warrantee RMAs too much.

They basically had this down to a science by September 2012 for the 7970 and 7950.

If you want a good board, history would suggest you get a reference model now, before they bring out the less power efficient bins of the chip on aftermarket coolers.

When you are on air cooling, power efficiency matters a ton because you can only effectively dissipate so much wattage in the heatsink area allotted.

This will be especially the case for such a high actual TDP chip like 290 and 290x, which are probably 400w+ (full board power) TDP at max stock boost clocks if there wasn't such a thing as Powertune.

 

[Rezident]

But don’t some of the pre-overclocked cards get the better chips anyway? This was previously the case as they would test them and cherry pick the better chips for the high-end custom cards.

 

[Stuka87]

Given how long it's taking, I'm assuming they are working hard to see how much they can cheap out without increasing in-warrantee RMAs too much.

They basically had this down to a science by September 2012 for the 7970 and 7950.

If you want a good board, history would suggest you get a reference model now, before they bring out the less power efficient bins of the chip on aftermarket coolers.

When you are on air cooling, power efficiency matters a ton because you can only effectively dissipate so much wattage in the heatsink area allotted.

This will be especially the case for such a high actual TDP chip like 290 and 290x, which are probably 400w+ (full board power) TDP at max stock boost clocks if there wasn't such a thing as Powertune.

400W?!

How about a source. Because thats well above what a 6+8 power board can draw (300W max). Not to mention with lower temps for better coolers, power draw can drop significantly. Its been proven time and again that higher temps cause higher power consumption.

 

[blastingcap]

He said if not for PowerTune which I take to mean everything that keeps the chip from meltdown including the hardware AND software.

 

[Slomo4shO]

People will go well 280/780 Ti had non-ref designs from the beginning.

That's because they are not new cards; 280 is rebadge and respun 7970s; and 780 Ti is just fully activated 780.....they've had them for while; they know what to do with them.

Considering that people have been using the existing TwinFrozr III coolers from the 6950 and 7950s on the 290s and 290Xs, arguing that at least 6 weeks is required to make slight alterations for the VRM and ram (same as 780 Ti non-reference which are due out on the 29th, in 4 weeks) is absurd... Is it any surprise that AMDs continual fumbles during the last few months have caused them to lose market share in Q3? The release of the Hawaii chips with an abysmal cooling solution and then failing to provide after-market solutions in a timely manner is going to ensure that AMD continues to lose market share this quarter. It seems that this company just refuses to learn from its mistakes...

 

[blastingcap]

They have to go through QA testing and such you know. I also wonder if the last-minute R9 290 fanspeed change had something to do with it.

 

[Stuka87]

Considering that people have been using the existing TwinFrozr III coolers from the 6950 and 7950s on the 290s and 290Xs, arguing that at least 6 weeks is required to make slight alterations for the VRM and ram (same as 780 Ti non-reference which are due out on the 29th, in 4 weeks) is absurd... Is it any surprise that AMDs continual fumbles during the last few months have caused them to lose market share in Q3? The release of the Hawaii chips with an abysmal cooling solution and then failing to provide after-market solutions in a timely manner is going to ensure that AMD continues to lose market share this quarter. It seems that this company just refuses to learn from its mistakes...

According to that graph nVidia has lost more market share year over year than AMD has.

But the R9 290 has nothing to do with overall market share. Top end cards amount to a few percent of total GPU sales at the best of times.

 

[Slomo4shO]

They have to go through QA testing and such you know. I also wonder if the last-minute R9 290 fanspeed change had something to do with it.

You mean like how the preorders for the 290X were going to start on Oct 3 without any product specifications and then were delayed to October 15? Then proceed to delay the 290 launch? All the while stringing along the customer base and suggesting that they are launching a product that will "ridicule" the Titan only to discover that the cards are within margin of error? AMDs marketing department has oversold and under-delivered for too long. Such tactics may be worthwhile if they were the frontrunner in this industry but the truth is that Nvidia is dominating the market with nearly 2/3 the market share in discrete graphics.

Ultimately, AMD has failed to deliver products for the mainstream population for this holiday season. They failed on both the graphics and CPU fronts this year. The delayed launch of Kavari to Q1 '14 and the mainstream versions of the Hawaii chips being delayed to either within a week of Christmas or after ensures that consumers go with their competitors this holiday season. The only only competitive products that AMD has on the market are now 2 years old and are at the end of their life cycle and Nvidia has successfully countered their prices and added a better gaming bundle for the holiday season why AMD continues to hold onto the same promo with the same games that have been available for nearly a year. If this isn't intentional hemorrhaging then I am unsure what else it could possibly be... It seems that in efforts to provide ample supply for the PS4 and Xbox One, AMD has successfully forfeited the PC market.

According to that graph nVidia has lost more market share year over year than AMD has.

But the R9 290 has nothing to do with overall market share. Top end cards amount to a few percent of total GPU sales at the best of times.

That graph is for total graphics which includes portable devices. Nvidia continues to lose shares in the mobile market to AMD and Intel's integrated graphics solutions(read the full report). Nvidia has gained .5% market share YTD (see above graph) for discrete cards. To end cards don't amount to a large share of total sales, correct. However, top end cards to have an effect in swaying a buyer to purchase a particular brand. Every review has highlighted the performance superiority of Nvidia's high end cards over the last year and this propagates the belief that Nvidia cards are superior. Furthermore, AMD has had no new products on the market for 2 years and their launch of the 7790 was dethroned within a few weeks of release. The same has occurred with the 290X. After finally releasing a successor to the 7970 after two years, the reviews all declared the product a solid performance rival to the Titan but noted that it was noisy and ran hot. A few weeks later, Nvidia releases the 780 Ti and once again takes the throne of top performer and this time around the price gap between the 290X and the Titan successor was $150 as opposed to $450 and the package that Nvidia delivered was much more polished whereas the 290X looks rushed with its inept cooler. If you end up with nothing but rebranded cards for the low and mid range cards and they are all within performance and price of each other as they are now, the average consumer will go with the more familiar of the two products. It also doesn't hurt that Nvidia now has the better gaming bundle.

 

[blastingcap]

You mean like how the preorders for the 290X were going to start on Oct 3 without any product specifications and then were delayed to October 15? Then proceed to delay the 290 launch? All the while stringing along the customer base and suggesting that they are launching a product that will "ridicule" the Titan only to discover that the cards are within margin of error? AMDs marketing department has oversold and under-delivered for too long. Such tactics may be worthwhile if they were the frontrunner in this industry but the truth is that Nvidia is dominating the market with nearly 2/3 the market share in discrete graphics.

Ultimately, AMD has failed to deliver products for the mainstream population for this holiday season. They failed on both the graphics and CPU fronts this year. The delayed launch of Kavari to Q1 '14 and the mainstream versions of the Hawaii chips being delayed to either within a week of Christmas or after ensures that consumers go with their competitors this holiday season. The only only competitive products that AMD has on the market are now 2 years old and are at the end of their life cycle and Nvidia has successfully countered their prices and added a better gaming bundle for the holiday season why AMD continues to hold onto the same promo with the same games that have been available for nearly a year. If this isn't intentional hemorrhaging then I am unsure what else it could possibly be... It seems that in efforts to provide ample supply for the PS4 and Xbox One, AMD has successfully forfeited the PC market.

😛oints to the title of this thread: Please stay on topic.

 

[Slomo4shO]

😛oints to the title of this thread: Please stay on topic.

Seems you missed the AIB launch projections that were embedded within that post :whiste:

 

[Meghan54]

Seems you missed the AIB launch projections that were embedded within that post :whiste:

Seems you misunderstand that the 290/290X and 780 ti launches had no impact whatsoever on those quarterly postings. Not one whit. Esp. since the above quoted reported quarter, the one you're so "proud" of that AMD lost share in, closed September 28th, well before the release of the 290/290X and the GTX 780 Ti.

 

[ShintaiDK]

According to that graph nVidia has lost more market share year over year than AMD has.

AMD sells APUs and changed CPUs to APUs in volume since. You have to look at discrete only. Else you get double entries and what not. And I bet mismatch with sockets too. Aka all LGA1150 and FM2 counts for IGP.

These are the numbers that matters in the GPU segment.

 

[Slomo4shO]

Seems you misunderstand that the 290/290X and 780 ti launches had no impact whatsoever on those quarterly postings. Not one whit. Esp. since the above quoted reported quarter, the one you're so "proud" of that AMD lost share in, closed September 28th, well before the release of the 290/290X and the GTX 780 Ti.

Considering that that graph was posted to illustrate how AMD will continue Q3s losses into Q4 because, like Q3, it still has no viable counter to Nvidia's lineup.The only claim I made to the the Q3 results was due to the lack of a new product for 2 years from AMD(also showed how how the 7790 was easily countered at the beginning of Q3). But then again, that would actually require you to comprehend what you read now wouldn't it?

 

[ShintaiDK]

It is starting to be wierd that no 290/290X custom is even annouced. The holidays is not exactly far away.

 

[Slomo4shO]

It is starting to be wierd that no 290/290X custom is even annouced. The holidays is not exactly far away.

This is precisely the point. The rumors have been pointing to the 2nd week of December as the earliest launch date. Product delays during the holiday season is detremental to Q4 figures. AMD has successfully managed to delay both the hawaii chips, the full Kaveri lineup, and now, a few days before the biggest day in retail, still has no projections for after market coolers for the mainstream consumer who doesn't watercool.

Seems I am going to be investing $1000-1500 for a custom loop this holiday season. I guess it was overdue 🙂

 

[Stuka87]

Considering that that graph was posted to illustrate how AMD will continue Q3s losses into Q4 because, like Q3, it still has no viable counter to Nvidia's lineup.The only claim I made to the the Q3 results was due to the lack of a new product for 2 years from AMD(also showed how how the 7790 was easily countered at the beginning of Q3). But then again, that would actually require you to comprehend what you read now wouldn't it?

At the risk of going even more off topic, what you are stating is simply not true. If you want to argue untruths about what GPU's can compete, start a new topic for it.

This thread is for custom R9's.

 

[akahoovy]

Man I'm sick of waiting. If there's no news or rumors by the 1st week of December I'll probably just order a pair of reference cards.

 

[Slomo4shO]

At the risk of going even more off topic, what you are stating is simply not true. If you want to argue untruths about what GPU's can compete, start a new topic for it.

This thread is for custom R9's.

The GTX 780 had no competition in Q3.

The GTX 780 and 780 Ti have no mainstream components that compete with them directly. Every review of the 290 or 290X says wait for AIB cards if you don't plan on water cooling so you can draw your on conclusions about what the recommended cards are for the mainstream consumer... The performance crown has been held by Nvidia for far too long and AMD was only able to tie it for a couple of weeks. Consider it what you may but the ignorant consumer is more likely to pick a lower tier product from the industry leader under the assumption(false or otherwise) that they are receiving a better product. Brand perception and illusory correlations play a crucial role in purchase decisions and the reviewer gold sampling scare didn't help AMDs cause.

Man I'm sick of waiting. If there's no news or rumors by the 1st week of December I'll probably just order a pair of reference cards.

Ditto, Unless I find a great deal on some 780s this Black Friday/Cyber Monday, I will be picking up 4 290s and building a custom water loop. At least the cost will still be blow that of 4 Titans :whiste: