MSI Radeon R9 290X Lightning PCB pictured

[OCGuy]

No need to worry me thinks. Seems to be the norm.

The problem isn't one brand...it is aftermarket in general for Hawaii. When it was launched, a common recommendation was to wait for better cooling (for those who stay with air).

I just can't see buying a 28nm swansong flagship card in 2014 from either vendor......except possibly an X2 card.

 

[chimaxi83]

I agree we're a little late for the regular custom coolers but since the thread was about the Lightning I wasn't sure why OCGuy was up in arms looking for an investigation.

Because AMD, so it must be a scandal of some sort. 7970 Lightning took almost 4 months after 7970 release, 680 Lightning took almost 4 months, 780 Lightning took almost 4 months... where was the call for sites to dig in then?

 

[Elfear]

The problem isn't one brand...it is aftermarket in general for Hawaii. When it was launched, a common recommendation was to wait for better cooling (for those who stay with air).

Hawaii is in need of a better cooler and I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why we haven't seen ANY non-reference SKUs. The uber coolers normally take awhile but we should have seen something before now.

I just can't see buying a 28nm swansong flagship card in 2014 from either vendor......except possibly an X2 card.

Not sure if I agree with you here. Flagship 20nm products are rumored to launch late in 2014. I'm not sure if enthusiasts will want to wait that long without buying something.

 

[96Firebird]

Hawaii is in need of a better cooler and I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why we haven't seen ANY non-reference SKUs.

I got sick of waiting, but I was in the market for a 290 instead of the X. And by the looks of it I am glad I got my new card because I'd still be waiting, probably until next year.

I am also curious as to where the 780Ti aftermarket coolers (besides the ACX cooler) are... It looks like it has a similar reference PCB compared to the 780, so why the wait? This might be too off-topic though...

 

[Z15CAM]

I've already experimented with the Arctic Accelero Xtreme III solution and it is a quiet solution for the every day user but for the anesthetists it a complete wipe out as the VRM Temps go through the roof with any descent clocking.

How ever XZXP has come up with what appears to be an excellent design for a Water Block for the R9 290/X - I've bit their Bullet and ordered one for a single closed loop XSXP R9 290-X Razor/Koolance RP-985 5.25in Reservoir & Pump Combo plus s Black Ice GTS Stealth 280 Gen Two Stealth Dual 280MM Fan Radiato.r to fit in the front of my Fractal ARC Midi. A Corsair H110 sit in the top of the case to cool an i7 2700k.

It's expensive, $431.25 in total for that XSPC Razor WB solution but hopefully I will be apple to run +156mV-1300-1600 Mhz for hours on end keeping the GPU and VRM within a respectable Temps and limit Throttling.

 

[SolMiester]

I've already experimented with the Arctic Accelero Xtreme III solution and it is a quiet solution for the every day user but for the anesthetists it a complete wipe out as the VRM Temps go through the roof with any descent clocking.

How ever XZXP has come up with what appears to be an excellent design for a Water Block for the R9 290/X - I've bit their Bullet and ordered one for a single closed loop XSXP R9 290-X Razor/Koolance RP-985 5.25in Reservoir & Pump Combo plus s Black Ice GTS Stealth 280 Gen Two Stealth Dual 280MM Fan Radiato.r to fit in the front of my Fractal ARC Midi. A Corsair H110 sit in the top of the case to cool an i7 2700k.

It's expensive, $431.25 in total for that XSPC Razor WB solution but hopefully I will be apple to run +156mV-1300-1600 Mhz for hours on end keeping the GPU and VRM within a respectable Temps and limit Throttling.

Was that $431 including the CPU block and loop?

 

[OCGuy]

I got sick of waiting, but I was in the market for a 290 instead of the X. And by the looks of it I am glad I got my new card because I'd still be waiting, probably until next year.

I am also curious as to where the 780Ti aftermarket coolers (besides the ACX cooler) are... It looks like it has a similar reference PCB compared to the 780, so why the wait? This might be too off-topic though...

They were launched, but basically hen's teeth for now.

http://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GTX78...ef=pd_sxp_f_pt

 

[Elfear]

I got sick of waiting, but I was in the market for a 290 instead of the X. And by the looks of it I am glad I got my new card because I'd still be waiting, probably until next year.

I am also curious as to where the 780Ti aftermarket coolers (besides the ACX cooler) are... It looks like it has a similar reference PCB compared to the 780, so why the wait? This might be too off-topic though...

It does seem rather odd that we have no custom coolers from either camp's recent launches (except for the aforementioned hen's teeth). I got tired of waiting and grabbed a pair of reference 290s. I was going to hold out for the custom PCBs but the recent profitability of LTC mining got my attention.

 

[Slomo4shO]

I got sick of waiting

Same here. So I just picked up 4 Sapphire BF edition 290s and ordered a complete loop. Ironically, the water blocks are on back-order and won't be in stock until the end of the month. D:

 

[horza]

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