[Newegg] XFX R9 295X2 with 4 free games = $649.99 AR + FS

[RussianSensation]

XFX Core Edition R9-295X-8QFA Radeon R9 295x2 8GB 1024 (512 x 2)-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

= $679.99 - $30 MIR expires Nov 30, 2014 + Free shipping


= $649.99


Not a bad deal if you have a very small case, case with very poor airflow or can't fit 2 cards in CF/SLI easily. Value wise Sapphire Tri-X 290s for $500 are still a better deal but for 4K and multi-monitor (3x 1080P or 3x 1200P), this one of the better deals at this price.

"SLI and CrossFire Smoothness

This is an important topic when talking about SLI and CrossFire. In the past, AMD was the one in the hot seat with terrible CrossFire scaling, performance and smoothness. A lot has changed over the last couple of years, AMD now has a frame pacing technology as well as its new XDMA technology. These technologies combined have turned the tables and now CrossFire feels smoother than SLI. It still feels smoother even when compared to NVIDIA's new GTX 980 cards in SLI. While overclocked GTX 980 SLI is faster in framerate, the actual feeling and smoothness in games feels better on AMD Radeon R9 290X [Crossfire]. AMD currently has the upper hand in this arena."
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014...980_sli_overclocked_gpu_review/7#.VHWB8skflvQ


This card is better than going dual 290Xs because it runs cool and quiet.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-r9-295x2-review-benchmark-performance,3799-17.html

Still, if one is not in a hurry, it's probably better to wait for Q1 2015 and R9 300 series:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2409989

But if you must buy now, this hands down is the better deal against $1100 980 SLI. Don't forget to register your warranty with XFX within 30 days of purchase for better support.

 

[SperglordActual]

That is an amazing deal. God that's tempting.

 

[lavaheadache]

Sperg, being the first reply to the thread I don't really think it was important to quote the entire post just to say it was an amazing deal. Just saying...

 

[exar333]

Wow, this is a steal...

 

[HisDivineOrder]

The user reviews look pretty bad. Plus, when one say it's not "that loud" given what it's got, then it must be pretty loud in spite of its water cooling. I'd also pay close attention to the user review about amps and your PSU.

 

[SperglordActual]

Sperg, being the first reply to the thread I don't really think it was important to quote the entire post just to say it was an amazing deal. Just saying...

Youll have to forgive me, its still early!

 

[RussianSensation]

The user reviews look pretty bad. Plus, when one say it's not "that loud" given what it's got, then it must be pretty loud in spite of its water cooling. I'd also pay close attention to the user review about amps and your PSU.

Who said "it's not that loud"? I simply provided measurements for temperatures and noise levels. You can click on the Tom's Hardware review and there is a video which recorded the noise levels. It's widely known that this card runs cool and quiet. Using the argument that it has water cooling to undermine how cool and quiet this card is akin to saying water-cooled Porsche 911 isn't a real sports car because it's using water? I don't get your point at all.

Water cooling is standard on this card and that's what makes it a better build than the Titan for gaming, the only real competing card against this. You will have a real tough time getting dual 290Xs that run this cool and quiet.

There is no thermal throttling of any kind.

With a Intel i7 4930K @ 4.7GHz (a much more power hungry CPU family than Haswell i5/i7 4690K/4790K), the entire system is using 660W of power because you aren't going to have 100% CPU + 100% 295X2 load in games.

TPU also shows the card peaking at 500W, with average usage of 430W.

That means with a max overclocked Haswell i5/i7 system, a 700W high quality Gold PSU is sufficient and for HW-E or IVB-E max overclocked, an 850W will be easily enough.

I don' think the PSU requirement is a big deal you can buy 800-1000W Gold rated PSUs for $100 but where you can't fit 2x 290s or 970s, this card has no competition.

And certainly from a value point of view for someone with a small case, 295X2 + 32" 4K IPS monitor, all for just $257 more than dual 980s that aren't much faster at 4K, if at all, is hard to beat. 970 reference with Titan cooler are too difficult to find and the blower 760 style blower 970 throttles under load and sounds like a jet engine taking off.