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Custom R9 290X

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DigDog said:
this looks sweet:
http://www.nzxt.com/product/detail/138-kraken-g10-gpu-bracket.html
the Kraken G10 (sort-of like the all in one PNY had for the 580 a while back)
KrakenG10-1-645x483.jpg

$29 and free shipping;
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That's awesome. Need to point out thought that that cooler is only compatible with reference designs only.

Most may be aware of this, but some may not.
 
I've used accelero coolers in the past and those things are amazing in terms of cooling the actual core itself. I remember using an accelero on the 7970 and it was DEAD QUIET even at 100% fan! It was nuts. And the core was like 50C at load. Amazing temps to say the least. But there are a few caveats. Among those being, triple slot, high in cost, not really usable in CFX, and no VRM cooling.

I have mixed feelings on those things, primarily because while all of those shrouds do an excellent job of cooling the chip itself, the cooling for the VRM and memory are generally sub-standard. Also, the cost is a factor: with the GTX 780 most of the aftermarket designs are a mere 10-20$ more than reference *AND* they have non reference PCBs with improved power circuitry. IMO, the best bet is to just wait a month or so for the true aftermarket non reference designs. It's just more cost effective and better since you will get a non reference PCB (most of the time) in addition to improved cooling.

Just think - if you can get something like an Asus R9-290 DC2 with improved power circuitry / PCB for 410-420$, that is a much much better buy than a reference R9-290 with an aftermarket GPU shroud IMO. I am actually looking forward to seeing what non reference 290s can do - I won't let AMD off the hook for having a borderline reference design, but if anything we'll see what the 290 can really do without the entire quiet/uber mode stuff. I still would like to see AMD update their reference design, even if it costs slightly more! Just IMHO though. The main point being - if you're on the market for a 290 and want something like this, it may make more sense to wait a month for the non reference designs. If anything that will give you more OC headroom and limit the added cost that an accelero or something along those lines would add.
 
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An AIB just told us custom 290/X cards will not be shipping this year. Now I'm not sure if this is just for fully custom cards or just the ref board with a custom cooler.
 
Thanks Skurge. Likely means fully custom cards. With 780ti, Gigabyte and EVGA were able to get aftermarket cooler on ref pcb to market pretty quick. Saw that Zotac has an AMP already in reviewer hands too. I agree with Blackened, only makes sense to wait. I bet 290/X sales will really kick once fully custom is readily available. $50 price cuts for 780/780ti..?
 
No surprise, as these cards were not ready to launch. EA forced them to hurry the cards to market in order to get BF4 and the tie-in cards out before COD.
 
OCGuy said:
No surprise, as these cards were not ready to launch. EA forced them to hurry the cards to market in order to get BF4 and the tie-in cards out before COD.
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That's possible. There's logic and evidence to that statement. I'm not sure how that would delay cards with custom coolers though. Full blown custom cards like Matrix and Toxic I can understand. MSI slapping a TFIII, or HIS an IceQ X² cooler on a reference PCB though, what's so hard about that.
 
3DVagabond said:
That's possible. There's logic and evidence to that statement. I'm not sure how that would delay cards with custom coolers though. Full blown custom cards like Matrix and Toxic I can understand. MSI slapping a TFIII, or HIS an IceQ X² cooler on a reference PCB though, what's so hard about that.
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I'm sure AMD has reference allotment numbers that have to be fulfilled, including OEMs and the BF4 bundle packages.
 
Hauk said:
Thanks Skurge. Likely means fully custom cards. With 780ti, Gigabyte and EVGA were able to get aftermarket cooler on ref pcb to market pretty quick. Saw that Zotac has an AMP already in reviewer hands too. I agree with Blackened, only makes sense to wait. I bet 290/X sales will really kick once fully custom is readily available. $50 price cuts for 780/780ti..?
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I doubt nvidia will do price cuts. They have the significantly better/higher quality product (IMO) now which people are still buying in higher numbers despite the 290's lower price. I would like prices to drop, but I just can't see it. Conversely, they *did* extend their 3 game bundle to the end of the year it seems like. So that does add some value to the GTX cards since you can basically sell those games to offset any price difference...or you can actually play the games too, they're all high quality games.

It is unfortunate that the 290 won't have non reference models before years end, though, which AIB stated this?
 
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The quality difference is between reference models (the cooler), as the GPU themselves are equal quality-wise (both come from TSMC).
 
I'd be happy with Reference AMD boards with custom coolers. AMD's reference PCB's have always been pretty darned robust. Almost pointless to get a card with "upgraded" power circuitry on AMD unless you want to go LN2 or something absurd.
 
Hauk said:
$50 price cuts for 780/780ti..?
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well, they came out with 780ti for 600€ and cut the price for regular 780 from 600€ to 450€ (germany, retail prices) as soon as r9 290x came out
i was really surprised about that as nvidia seems to ignore amd prices/hover above them by far more, as people seem to be willing to pay more...
450€ gtx 780 (for example gigabyte windforce) compared to 500€ r9 290x reference cooler (for example msi) already seems like a must buy nvidia situation
(both examples: caseking, reliable big retailer that i buy from a lot, not some over the rainbow/doesn´t really exist crookpage that posts untrue prices),
especially as they are usually more expensive than team red
I don´t think they´re gonna go down much more soon

then again, who knows what mantle is gonna be good for exactly (meaning numbers), might be very powerful

770 also dropped from 350€ to 300€ when r9 280x came (so i got me a second one sooner than later 🙂 )
(would have gotten a 780 though in the first place, had i known their price was gonna drop so much)
 
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Is there any indication yet that we're going to see AIBs from partners this year? It's the 2nd week of December and I've been waiting a looong time for a new card now.
 
akahoovy said:
Is there any indication yet that we're going to see AIBs from partners this year? It's the 2nd week of December and I've been waiting a looong time for a new card now.
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There were some rumors that it might be this month. But also that it might be next month.

I dont think anyone outside of the manufacturers knows.
 
Gigabyte
9413_m.jpg
9409_m.jpg


TechPowerUp
While no announcement was made Gigabyte went on and published on its website details on two custom-cooled and factory-overlocked graphics cards powered by AMD's Hawaii GPU, the GV-R929XOC-4GD (Radeon R9 290X) and GV-R929OC-4GD (Radeon R9 290).

Pictured below, both cards come equipped with the dual-slot WindForce 3X 450W cooling solution (three fans, 6 mm and 8 mm heatpipes), and feature a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 interface, a GPU clock of 1040 MHz (the stock R9 290X/290 go up to 1000/947 MHz), a 512-bit memory interface, 4 GB of GDDR5 VRAM @ 5000 MHz, and dual-DVI, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs. The cards' prices are still unknown.
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Just saw this on TPU. We've seen this card pictured before, but Gigabyte now has it listed on their site.
 
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