R260/270/280/290/290x Review thread

[chimaxi83]

Quite literally the only downside to this card in its reference form is noise and associated heat, so obviously they're latched onto that. When in doubt, resort to all you've got. Its worth mentioning that the most "outspoken" 290X bashers are all loyalists to N... wait, never mind. Everyone can see what they are.

Meanwhile, the owners of the SOLD OUT card are enjoying Titan performance for almost half the price.

Yeah, I'd be mad too.

 

[Vesku]

What will it take to convince you that I really like the GPU? You think I hammer on the card because I don't like AMD, right? Get over that because I have transcended such shenanigans. The cards performance, as you can see, is being called into question. It is being observed that the card will throttle when it hits 94C which is easily done in quiet mode.

My whole problem is that the card could have been that much more impressive that it is now. What a waste.
Of course the aftermarket cards will hopefully improve on the cooler.
But out of the gate it ticks me off. I wanted to buy a 290x, but not until the cooler is vastly improved.
You might think I'm over-reacting a bit. That may be so, but believe me when I say it's only because I am flat out full blown retard fed up with stupid.

"Now that everyone's in agreement, the stock cooler is underwhelming, can we move on?"

Agreed. Moving on. Ranted enough.

You could buy a reference 290X from an AIB that allows cooler swaps and put on an aftermarket at the cost of the ~$50-100 MSRP AMD saved by sticking with a modest cooling solution.

Or you could wait for custom AIB 290Xs, AMD has traditionally had a delay between reference and custom cards so there should be no surprise that they aren't available day one.

Or you could buy a reference 290X and use it as is, enjoying 780 or greater performance at ~680 noise levels for $550.

 

[R0H1T]

I have, and I was one of them. Waiting for 780s to drop in price is not the same thing is expecting the same cooler found on a $1000 on this $500 card.

Okay so what you're saying is that you don't mind paying an extra 50$ for the 290x even though you'll be having the 780 instead, as & when it drops in price, so it does reinforce what I've been saying all along i.e. get the non-reference model.

 

[2is]

Okay so what you're saying is that you don't mind paying an extra 50$ for the 290x even though you're getting the 780 instead, as & when it drops in price, which kinda reinforces what I'm saying all along i.e. get the non-reference model.

What im saying is quite simple. I wouldn't mind if the card was $50 more if it came with a better cooling solution that allowes it to maintain its 1ghz clock better. I'm not even sure where you keep bringing up this 780 argument from.

 

[DSey]

I can't help but think that maybe why the reference cooler is only adequate at best, is that maybe AMD never intended to ship a lot of them. It shouldn't come as a surprise to them that their own chip runs hot, too hot for their cooler, and that it'd be something they would get a lot of flack for on the tech forums/sites. Surely they know that their board partners design better coolers and that that's what they're counting on. Maybe only the initial batch of 8000? with BF4 promo come with the reference cooler and after that it's only available with non-ref coolers from their partners. Of course, with a certain price premium on top of the current €499/$549 price.

It could even be they anticipated Nvidia would announce and launch a beefed up 780 chip soon after they would launch their 290x, and that the non-ref cooler models, supposedly arriving in the same time frame, with allegedly higher performance due to better cooling, would coincide with the new Nvidia chip.

 

[R0H1T]

What im saying is quite simple. I wouldn't mind if the card was $50 more if it came with a better cooling solution that allowes it to maintain its 1ghz clock better. I'm not even sure where you keep bringing up this 780 argument from.

The reason is that there is a very tight band where the 290x sits at in terms of price so lets say if it were priced at 600$ then the AIB makers would have had the narrowest of gaps in 50$ to price their custom cards, now we all know Nvidia commands a premium price for their brand which AMD doesn't & so it'd be very hard for'em to keep the price high & yet get the level of sales what we see atm. Then factor in a price drop of 100$ for the 780 & AMD's whole equation & sales charts for the 290x tumbles, see what I mean by the pricing factor?

 

[rgallant]

just asking
does the $80.00 titan cooler keep up with the full GK110 at 1100 MHz OC ?can't seem to find it on the net .
oh I don't think it's out there yet is it.
so what we have today is cut down nv chips running cooler than the full chip who would have guessed.
but yes as keys has said like many the 290x is a crap release [oh wait even more]when all amd had to do is have their after market cards released at the same time imo also.

 

[SlowSpyder]

What will it take to convince you that I really like the GPU? You think I hammer on the card because I don't like AMD, right? Get over that because I have transcended such shenanigans. The cards performance, as you can see, is being called into question. It is being observed that the card will throttle when it hits 94C which is easily done in quiet mode.

My whole problem is that the card could have been that much more impressive that it is now. What a waste.
Of course the aftermarket cards will hopefully improve on the cooler.
But out of the gate it ticks me off. I wanted to buy a 290x, but not until the cooler is vastly improved.
You might think I'm over-reacting a bit. That may be so, but believe me when I say it's only because I am flat out full blown retard fed up with stupid.

"Now that everyone's in agreement, the stock cooler is underwhelming, can we move on?"

Agreed. Moving on. Ranted enough.

The card is acceptably quiet and outperforms the 780GTX for $100 less. If you can put up with fan noise, for $450 less it is faster than Titan. That is a pretty fantastic part, but not perfect. I think you might be over reacting a bit.

 

[OCGuy]

just asking
does the $80.00 titan cooler keep up with the full GK110 at 1100 MHz OC ?can't seem to find it on the net .
oh I don't think it's out there yet is it.
so what we have today is cut down nv chips running cooler than the full chip who would have guessed.
but yes as keys has said like many the 290x is a crap release [oh wait even more]when all amd had to do is have their after market cards released at the same time imo also.

There aren't enough of the reference skus, even after a delay. If you need to have better versions of your new product to launch at the same moment as the reference, why not have a better reference? Or if you know the cooling solution is a joke, why not ship without one, like Intel-E chips?

They were forced to launch due to the BF tie-in......but I don't think they were going to wait for sufficient volume anyway.

When Newegg still hasn't received the base models (no BF4) , and AMD said the BF4 version is limited (8, 000 I believe), I would say its a paper launch for now.

The $100 cheaper refrain that keeps getting repeated is applicable if you completely ignore the following:

1. If you can find a 290x, it probably has BF4, and is marked up

2. Everyone agrees you have to immediately spend money on a new cooler

3. You can buy 780s cheaper than 650

4. 650 gets you a OCd 780 with a aftermarket cooler, so the performance comparison s would no longer be valid at that price difference

5. 780ti is going to completely change the market pricing anyway



Fuzzy math is the only way to land at the $100 difference.

 

[Teizo]

Quite literally the only downside to this card in its reference form is noise and associated heat, so obviously they're latched onto that. When in doubt, resort to all you've got. Its worth mentioning that the most "outspoken" 290X bashers are all loyalists to N... wait, never mind. Everyone can see what they are.

Meanwhile, the owners of the SOLD OUT card are enjoying Titan performance for almost half the price.

Yeah, I'd be mad too.

Kind of odd seeing the roles reverse from the 480 GTX with AMD people saying the same thing back then. I guess noise and heat are no longer a concern as long as your favorite e-peen is on top...

Goes both ways though, because others said the noise and heat from the 480 was ok back then...or defended it due to it's solid performance.
Anyway, for the lulz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5YJsMaT_AE

 

[R0H1T]

Kind of odd seeing the roles reverse from the 480 GTX with AMD people saying the same thing back then. I guess noise and heat are no longer a concern.

Goes both ways though, because others said the noise and heat from the 480 was ok.

Anyway, for the lulz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5YJsMaT_AE

Did you miss the part where it sucked a boat load of power vs the then ATI flagship 5870 ?

 

[VulgarDisplay]

Kind of odd seeing the roles reverse from the 480 GTX with AMD people saying the same thing back then. I guess noise and heat are no longer a concern as long as your favorite e-peen is on top...

Goes both ways though, because others said the noise and heat from the 480 was ok back then...or defended it due to it's solid performance.
Anyway, for the lulz:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5YJsMaT_AE

Didn't the gtx480 use more power than this card?

Also, I fully expect this card to use 30w less with an aftermarket cooler all while running higher clocks.

 

[Keysplayr]

Of course, it's your job to say that "AMD blew this"..

Extremely, extremely petty. Nothing to do with Nvidia or the focus group. But deep down you know that. But you choose petty.
It's not enough for me to say AMD did an awesome job on the card itself. The GPU. Most impressive. You want it all don't you?

Well... That's what I wanted to. For AMD to do it all the right way. We don't always get what we want.

 

[Teizo]

For those who have not heard the noise the R9 290X makes, here is a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMGlkvSFhLQ

I'm sorry, but that is pathetic. My 760 SLI set up is just as fast as it at stock and doesn't make a peep hardly under load on stock settings. I can hear it once I rev the fan up to 70% if I adjust it manually, but it is no where near the insanity of that. Really all it is is the noise of air moving. It is not irritating at all, but for AMD to think that is acceptable is ridiculous.

The actual performance numbers are great, but seriously. I would not put anything like that in my case at all, and I'd happily pay $100 more for the 780 GTX if those were the only two cards available to buy.

 

[Tempered81]

It's not enough for me to say AMD did an awesome job on the card itself. The GPU. Most impressive.

Nice props there Keys. Good to hear something like that coming from a Nvidia Focus Group guy here at AT. We agree that the 290x cooler & product overall are below Titan & 780 quality levels. However, what's your take on 290X beating Titan @ HWbot? Do you think HawaiiXT + PCB is stronger than GK110 Titan? Or can 290x winning be chalked up to modified Tesselation helping it 'cheat to a win'?

 

[R0H1T]

For those who have not heard the noise the R9 290X makes, here is a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMGlkvSFhLQ

I'm sorry, but that is pathetic.

Oh gimme a break, this is your beloved GTX 480 at stock

Great temps btw :awe:

 

[Teizo]

Oh gimme a break, this is your beloved GTX 480 at stock

My beloved? I could care less. I thought the 480 was ridiculous as well just like all the other AMD 'fans' who made fun of it...AMD even made a marketing promo against the Fermi bringing attention to the noise, heat, and power demands.

Try harder.

 

[R0H1T]

My beloved? I could care less. I thought the 480 was ridiculous as well just like all the other AMD 'fans' who made fun of it...AMD even made a marketing promo against the Fermi bringing attention to the noise, heat, and power demands.

Try harder.

Why me you're doing a swell job yourself comparing a power sucking vampire(GTX 480) to a super efficient card(290x) which AMD has improved upon starting with their exploits late last year that gave us the 7790.

 

[3DVagabond]

Opportunity blown. Loud card.

Loud card, yes, but whether it's an opportunity blown remains to be seen. So far, it appears to be a fine strategy.

Cannot cool the card well enough.

It appears to be working exactly as designed.

Overclocking inhibited.

They are voltage unlocked. Strange how you've defended nVidia's O/C inhibited designs in the past, but have issues with simply a reference cooler with unlocked boards from AMD.

Could have utterly ran away with the Single GPU title even so the GTX780Ti could not catch it.

I think the fastest cards this round are going to be the 290X Lightning, Matrix, etc... I don't believe the 780ti will keep up with those. We'll see.

/Opportunity blown.

We'll see.

 

[3DVagabond]

I would think so too, but sometimes the market doesn't react the way you think it ought too.

For now, it seems like AMD's gamble is paying off. Demand for the 290X is huge, it's selling out everywhere, and aftermarket editions should be out relatively fast.

That said, I agree that first impressions are important and tend to be long lasting. We won't know for sure if the stock cooler was a blown opportunity or not until we can look back at the long term effects.

If you ask me, it's going to come down to one thing: When the 780Ti comes out are review sites going to compare it to the reference 290X or will they have an aftermarket edition in the mix? AMD needs to do what Nvidia did to spoil the 6870 launch, but I'm not sure if they have that kind of pull with review sites.

I've seen 290X reviews using aftermarket cooled and O/C'd 780's (Lightnings and ACX's). The 290X was still faster though. So, if it's going to be fair, you should see the same with the 780ti. Cards whose clocks maintain a 20% to 30% clock advantage over the reference 290X should be possible.

 

[3DVagabond]

Yeah, and to me, everyone who buys this "gamble" is getting shafted.
They should have just waited for the aftermarket cooler models and be much much happier.

\How are they getting shafted? Unlike the nVidia cards the AMD cards should perform exactly like the review samples. No magic 1300MHz+ on boost reference cards.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Didn't the gtx480 use more power than this card?

Also, I fully expect this card to use 30w less with an aftermarket cooler all while running higher clocks.

Nope, the first samples that came out of Nvidia were similar to this. Both in power consumption and heat/noise.

Also back then they were using FurMark which was much harder on the cards than the games the results for 290X are coming from.

I expect aftermarket cards will drop power as well, or it will enable higher boost clocks out of the box for similar/greater power with less noise and obviously similar or more heat.


It is fun to see the role reversal, I was hoping 290X would really shine under water but it seems to be hitting a clock speed ceiling before it can do so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QkyfGJgcwQ

 

[blackened23]

Oh gimme a break, this is your beloved GTX 480 at stock

Great temps btw :awe:

Really, dude? Really? I don't see the 290X as being far different than the GTX 480. I never said anything negative about the 480 at launch as it was a fine card performance wise, and I think the 290X is a tremendous card in terms of performance.

But I have to laugh at the fact that you're making fun on the 480's noise and heat output when the situation is practically the same with the 290X. The 290X *is* AMD's Fermi. But that's okay. The 480 had a price premium whereas the 290X doesn't, but you still have to deal with heat and noise in a stock reference configuration.

The bottom line is that the 290X has outstanding performance for the money. The reference cooler leaves alot to be desired. This matters to some people, and to others it doesn't. I just can't believe what i'm seeing here. You poking fun at the 480. The 290X isn't much different. As I said though, that's okay for the performance and price of the card which make up for it with a pretty outstanding value (IMHO). This entire argument angle you're coming up with though, I can't believe i'm seeing it. It's really unbelievable.

 

[Erenhardt]

For those who have not heard the noise the R9 290X makes, here is a video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMGlkvSFhLQ

I'm sorry, but that is pathetic. My 760 SLI set up is just as fast as it at stock and doesn't make a peep hardly under load on stock settings. I can hear it once I rev the fan up to 70% if I adjust it manually, but it is no where near the insanity of that. Really all it is is the noise of air moving. It is not irritating at all, but for AMD to think that is acceptable is ridiculous.

Here is a dinner for you:
This was not a demonstration of the card operating, but a fan capabilities. It was manually set to 100%. Put you SLI on 100% and you will have even more noise than they had.

Don't feed the troll anymore, or he will get fat and die by Atherosclerosis

 

[Keysplayr]

Nice props there Keys. Good to hear something like that coming from a Nvidia Focus Group guy here at AT. We agree that the 290x cooler & product overall are below Titan & 780 quality levels. However, what's your take on 290X beating Titan @ HWbot? Do you think HawaiiXT + PCB is stronger than GK110 Titan? Or can 290x winning be chalked up to modified Tesselation helping it 'cheat to a win'?

Not sure. I am not informed enough on that test to make any comment with conviction. That said, I do feel that to test the true mettle of any GPU, it should be, well, put to the test hard. Meaning if Tesselation puts a hurting on a GPUs, then that is what we are here to test, right? Crank up everything.