For those currently/recently in the market for a high end gpu

Which high end gpu are you going with? (If going CF/SLI, just pick the cards used)

  • Launch AMD R9 290

  • AMD R9 290 + third party cooler/water or custom cooler AIB partner board

  • Launch AMD R9 290x

  • AMD R9 290x + third party cooler/water or custom cooler AIB partner board

  • Nvidia GTX 780

  • Nvidia GTX 780 Ti


Results are only viewable after voting.

Gloomy

Golden Member
Oct 12, 2010
1,469
21
81
Looking like 2-R9290 CF with aftermarket coolers right now, but I'm not adverse to 780s or R9290xs.
 

Rezident

Senior member
Nov 30, 2009
283
5
81
290X but waiting for custom cards. Are they still due approx. six weeks after initial launch? I need a card at a week or so before Christmas.
 

Gikaseixas

Platinum Member
Jul 1, 2004
2,836
218
106
Waiting for R9 290X non reference but AMD is taking way too long with these IMO. I might just get a Artic Accelero Extreme III cooler and slap on a R9 290X
 

Barbatruuk

Junior Member
Oct 15, 2013
20
0
0
Going to get a aftermarket 290. Only wish there were more clues on the internet concerning release dates ..

If no release dates are given by the end of november, I'm going to go reference + arctic extreme. Just ordered my Fractal Design Define 4 case, so should be more than enough room to fit.

AMD really messed up this release, keeping us in the dark about the aftermarket releases.
 
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Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
Super Moderator
Sep 13, 2008
7,403
2,439
146
Looks cool, but is it a bit big? Looks like it might be triple slot. Anyone know just how much bigger these are, and if they work in crossfire?
 
Feb 19, 2009
10,457
10
76
A good custom R290 from Powercolor, His IceQ etc would the best bang for buck by a mile. These coolers have a history of being very quiet and low temps, usually at the same price as reference cards or only $10 more.

So, ~$400 R290 that runs at 70C tops, quiet and using less power.. why waste $$ on a R290X or 780ti..
 

Daedalus685

Golden Member
Nov 12, 2009
1,386
1
0
Meh, none of the above this time around.

I was heavily considering a 290x or 290 with aftermarket cooling but gave up and got a place holder card to tide me over until next year (ish). Ended up getting a gtx770 once the price dropped and I found a good deal on one in stock. For what I currently play it is perfectly fine at 2560*1440, and still twice as fast (and far far less noisy) as the 6970 it replaced.
 

ultimatebob

Lifer
Jul 1, 2001
25,135
2,445
126
I'd like an after market 290 to finally replace my old Radeon 6870, assuming that the price is right.
 

Elfear

Diamond Member
May 30, 2004
7,097
644
126
Sold my 7970s because I wanted something new to tweak. They've served me extremely well over the past almost two years. I was set on a single 290/290X but I want one with a more robust power circuitry for liquid cooling (reference is actually pretty decent and good up until ~480W).

Since it may be awhile for the aftermarket cards to hit the market and then awhile after that for the waterblocks to arrive, I decided to try Nvidia out in the interim. I've been using Radeons ever since I sold my 8800GT so I figured it was time to give the green team a shot. My 780 Lightning should be here on Wed.
 

skipsneeky2

Diamond Member
May 21, 2011
5,035
1
71
Got a good 5 months before i have the cash saved up for my annual gpu upgrade, plenty of options by then and while the 780 and 290 are almost neck to neck whichever is the cheapest will be what i buy come upgrade time after i sell my 770 of course.

Liking the idea of a quality blower cooler, leaves the HIS Iceq 290 as a strong candidate as also a reference 780.:)
 

IndyColtsFan

Lifer
Sep 22, 2007
33,656
687
126
I'm still trying to decide. I had hoped to upgrade this month but I think I'll probably wait until after the holidays and use some reward points from my Christmas purchases. I'm leaning towards the R9-290X but need to see how non-reference designs fare in terms of noise and heat. If they don't pass muster, I'll go with a GTX 780. I game at 1920 x 1200 so either should be pretty good for my needs. I don't anticipate doing 4K gaming for quite some time.
 

Wall Street

Senior member
Mar 28, 2012
691
44
91
If I had to buy today before the AIB custom coolers are released, I would get a R9 290 ($400) and an Arctic Cooling Twin Turbo II ($40) for a total of $440. Should just keep it just cool enough to stay at max clocks and be quiet. The fans would spin a little faster than the Accelero Extreme in Tom's review, but that is overkill and too expensive/heavy IMHO and having two fans spin faster may help cool the VRMs better.

I wonder if the GTX 780 pricing will drop slightly again after the games bundles roll off.
 

XiandreX

Golden Member
Jan 14, 2011
1,172
16
81
290 non Reference all the way. After seeing the temperature drop on the overclockers website I am sold. They saw 30c reduction running Furmark. Thats pretty darn incredible.
Now just have to wait and see the offerings from the various manufacturers regarding non reference cooling and Price.
 

Kenmitch

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
8,505
2,249
136
I might bump up to a r290 once they are available with aftermarket coolers. Not 100% sure yet as I'll have to upgrade my power supply at the same time most likely.
 

Slomo4shO

Senior member
Nov 17, 2008
586
0
71
Whatever provides the best price/performance this holiday season so it is between the 780 and 290 so lets see if there are are specials in the weeks ahead :)
 

Rikard

Senior member
Apr 25, 2012
428
0
0
You need a "none of the above" option.

Not enough performance gain, combined with not enough demanding applications means that I skip this generation, at least for now.
 

Totori

Member
Nov 9, 2013
46
0
0
Thanks for this!

I am in the market but not very knowledgeable on the subject so this discussion is a great help to me =)

By the looks of it, I should really just be waiting and by the sounds of it an undetermined amount of time.

I planned on purchasing the entire system at the end of November, but I can wait a little for the GPU =)

How long does it usually take for a third party product to come to market and what is the price expected to be?

I didn't vote as my opinion is uninformed, but I would do 780 Ti with the information given, as I'd like to stay away from Radeon this time around =)