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R290X Crossfire V NVDA's SLI 780s/Titans from [H]

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I did a break down of each test.

Crysis 3

20% faster than Titan SLI
27% faster than 780 SLI


Far Cry 3

7% faster than Titan SLI
15% faster than 780 SLI

Tomb Raider

19% faster than Titan SLI
32% faster tahn 780 SLI


Metro LL

13% faster than Titan SLI
19% faster tahn 780 SLI


Overall

14.75% faster than Titan SLI
23.25% faster than 780 SLI
 
wand3r3r said:
The biggest downside is the power consumption, however I bet it's not far off the FPS/w in high resolution. Heat is also pretty high, however if it was throttling or not it still easily surpasses titan/780.
Click to expand...

It's not a downside if you take into account the amount of performance gains it is above SLI Titan or 780, overall its 780W vs 647W, delta is what, ~20% extra power used, for ~40% performance gains at 4K res, and around 20-30% at Eye-infinity. In raw terms, the CF R290X system is MORE power efficient. 😵;

The only downside is the noise with blowers going above 55%, that setup is just for benching, because I would personally, not be able to stand gaming next to such a loud rig. Two custom R290X would use less power (GPU running cooler, wastes less power) and be much quieter.

I don't think it was throttling since he allowed it to go above 55% fan speed if the GPU needs it. Uber mode with a 55% fan speed CAP does throttle though.
 
290x is too hot and too expensive compared to 780. While it does have legs at extreme resolutions, it is jusy much too inefficient compared to 7990 or 690.....which are much better values for consumers not gaming on 3 monitors. 1.35kw PSU???

780TI will again change the landscape, leaving 290x without a home.

The 780 and the 290 pro will be the volume sellers for the top segment, imo.


Multi card performance is more about software than hardware.
 
Silverforce11 said:
It's not a downside if you take into account the amount of performance gains it is above SLI Titan or 780, overall its 780W vs 647W, delta is what, ~20% extra power used, for ~40% performance gains at 4K res, and around 20-30% at Eye-infinity. In raw terms, the CF R290X system is MORE power efficient. 😵;

The only downside is the noise with blowers going above 55%, that setup is just for benching, because I would personally, not be able to stand gaming next to such a loud rig. Two custom R290X would use less power (GPU running cooler, wastes less power) and be much quieter.

I don't think it was throttling since he allowed it to go above 55% fan speed if the GPU needs it. Uber mode with a 55% fan speed CAP does throttle though.
Click to expand...

He said their tests were ran in Uber mode (That's a 55% fan cap). They recommended using 100% fan cap. It's not the same thing.
 
OCGuy said:
290x is too hot and too expensive compared to 780. While it does have legs at extreme resolutions, it is jusy much too inefficient compared to 7990 or 690.....which are much better values for consumers not gaming on 3 monitors. 1.35kw PSU???

780TI will again change the landscape, leaving 290x without a home.

The 780 and the 290 pro will be the volume sellers for the top segment, imo.


Multi card performance is more about software than hardware.
Click to expand...

Why are you shifting the goalposts? This review is specifically about "extreme resolutions".

What about the 1350 Maxrevo PSU? You can't possibly be questioning it quality.
 
OCGuy said:
290x is too hot and too expensive compared to 780. While it does have legs at extreme resolutions, it is jusy much too inefficient compared to 7990 or 690.....which are much better values for consumers not gaming on 3 monitors. 1.35kw PSU???

780TI will again change the landscape, leaving 290x without a home.

The 780 and the 290 pro will be the volume sellers for the top segment, imo.


Multi card performance is more about software than hardware.
Click to expand...

Too expensive...? That's why AMD has the 290 on its way. 290X is the top part, it's not going to be cheap, although I'd argue a $50 difference is insignificant when you are already spending $500 on a graphics card.

Also, the performance at high resolutions doesn't just matter to people with 4K monitors, particularly if you are downsampling or using SSAA.
 
OCGuy said:
290x is too hot and too expensive compared to 780. While it does have legs at extreme resolutions, it is jusy much too inefficient compared to 7990 or 690.....which are much better values for consumers not gaming on 3 monitors. 1.35kw PSU???

780TI will again change the landscape, leaving 290x without a home.

The 780 and the 290 pro will be the volume sellers for the top segment, imo.


Multi card performance is more about software than hardware.
Click to expand...

What exactly are you trying to say, it appears to be a big deflection.

Who cares about the volume sellers, in the context of 290x vs 780/titan? How is the 690 a value card? 2x290x demolishes 780's and titan at high resolution for $1100, the 690 at $1k will be considerably weaker and is definitely not a value card.

How exactly will the 780 ti do anything that the 290x isn't doing now, supposing it could beat the 290x by 10%, isn't that what the 290x does now to the current competition? How is it different from now, wouldn't the same be said for titan/780?

1.35kw psu? It was shown to use less than 800 watts which is pretty good for the performance beating it's giving to the 780/titan.

It's more about software? So the 290x has better software since it's beating the others? What are you saying.
 
I definitely think this will be true for most (single card, single screen users which should be close to everybody). For those who have 3x 120hz monitors, i definitely like what I see from 2x 290x coming from tri-sli Titans. I'm still holding judgement on switching from the Titans to 290x, until I can get 120hz set and tested (currently running eyefinity at 60hz as I need to use the DP connection for 3rd monitor, I prefer how Nvidia allows to place each video connection on each card rather than single card). Of course my DP to DVI-D active adapter is mini-DP so waiting for DP > mini DP adapter.

OCGuy said:
290x is too hot and too expensive compared to 780. While it does have legs at extreme resolutions, it is jusy much too inefficient compared to 7990 or 690.....which are much better values for consumers not gaming on 3 monitors. 1.35kw PSU???

780TI will again change the landscape, leaving 290x without a home.

The 780 and the 290 pro will be the volume sellers for the top segment, imo.


Multi card performance is more about software than hardware.
Click to expand...
 
So another biased review (like Kitguru and Sweclockers):

Nvidia cards are tested at default (throttling down due to the 80C temp target)
AMD cards are set from default (quiet mode) to uber mode (allowing higher clocks)

Find the error.
 
Nvidia doesn't have an uber mode.

Those aftermarket heatsinks can't come soon enough. I don't think I would crossfire 290x without a custom loop. 300 W on a rear blower ouch.
 
boxleitnerb said:
So another biased review (like Kitguru and Sweclockers):

Nvidia cards are tested at default (throttling down due to the 80C temp target)
AMD cards are set from default (quiet mode) to uber mode (allowing higher clocks)

Find the error.
Click to expand...

AMD says to use uber mode for crossfire (for everyone, not just reviewers). Does NV say anything about their benchmark mode and throttling?
 
Nvidia gets lambasted for Fermi, praised for Kepler... AMD gets smart offers "silent" and "uber" bios and nobody puts much stock in the fact that these are the hottest, loudest, and most power hungry cards we've ever seen while posting the results.

AMD outsmarted the reviewers imo.
 
Subyman said:
Nvidia doesn't have an uber mode.
Click to expand...

Sure they do. It's called power and temperature target. Or do you think they exist for no reason? Apparently reviewers do, since they continue to ignore them but use AMDs uber mode.

  • AMDs uber mode raises the fan speed to create more thermal headroom -> the card clocks higher under sustained load
  • Nvidia's temperature target allows for higher temperatures to create more thermal headroom
    -> the card clocks higher under sustained load
It is exactly the same principle. Only difference is one is a hardware switch, the other one is a (more flexible) software switch. Pick your poison 🙂

wand3r3r said:
AMD says to use uber mode for crossfire (for everyone, not just reviewers). Does NV say anything about their benchmark mode and throttling?
Click to expand...

So because "AMD says so" the testing procedure is fair? To use the possibilities of one card but not the other? Nvidia states in their reviewer guide to test in a cool environment. Obviously they know the impact of temperature on their Boost 2.0 since they were the ones who designed it. While I disagree with this request since the inside of a computer case isn't cool, it's the same as AMDs request, just in another color. Both want the impact of temperature on performance to be minimized as much as possible for benchmark numbers as high as possible.
 
Last edited:
boxleitnerb said:
So another biased review (like Kitguru and Sweclockers):

Nvidia cards are tested at default (throttling down due to the 80C temp target)
AMD cards are set from default (quiet mode) to uber mode (allowing higher clocks)

Find the error.
Click to expand...

Considering how badly 290x is smashing Titan/780 SLI, even giving nvidia the handicap of having overclocked cards against 290x CF isn't going to help them do much better with a few more FPS from the bonus.
 
Grooveriding said:
Considering how badly 290x is smashing Titan/780 SLI, even giving nvidia the handicap of having overclocked cards against 290x CF isn't going to help them do much better with a few more FPS from the bonus.
Click to expand...


Which is weird since Linus did 1440 reference 780 vs reference R290X OC vs OC and the 780 won every test.

AMD is clearly playing the reviewers like a fiddle, I imagine the reviews read similar to the marketing material that comes with their cards.
 
BallaTheFeared said:
Nvidia gets lambasted for Fermi, praised for Kepler... AMD gets smart offers "silent" and "uber" bios and nobody puts much stock in the fact that these are the hottest, loudest, and most power hungry cards we've ever seen while posting the results.

AMD outsmarted the reviewers imo.
Click to expand...

Well it's easy to overlook the heat and power aspects because the cards perform good.

Fermi barely beat out the 5870 in a lot of games and it was more expensive by a huge margin.
 
x3sphere said:
Well it's easy to overlook the heat and power aspects because the cards perform good.

Fermi barely beat out the 5870 in a lot of games and it was more expensive by a huge margin.
Click to expand...

Reviewers shouldn't overlook anything, that's what they're there to provide a buffer between us and the marketing team.
 
Grooveriding said:
Considering how badly 290x is smashing Titan/780 SLI, even giving nvidia the handicap of having overclocked cards against 290x CF isn't going to help them do much better with a few more FPS from the bonus.
Click to expand...

Yup, that's why I don't oc videocards much. Even where it helps most (min fps), I do not see the difference subjectively until the difference is pretty large.
 
wand3r3r said:
So are you basing 290x OC performance on a single cards lottery results? :awe:
Click to expand...

You have more information to add? I'm like a sponge I'll soak it up.


It's not so much a lottery problem as it is a cooler problem, it's already 95C at 40% and 55%.

You'd have to ask Linus if they put in ear plugs to run the card at 5500 rpms to test viable overclocks.
 
BallaTheFeared said:
Reviewers shouldn't overlook anything, that's what they're there to provide a buffer between us and the marketing team.
Click to expand...

Including NV's driver problems in 4k, what about the 2D performance smoothness difference? What about the fact the cards are smoother than the titan sli, and offer noticeably more performance? Seems kind of selective in what you don't want them to overlook.

Almost every review talks about the higher power consumption, as well as the operating temperatures. It's not like they leave them out.
 
boxleitnerb said:
So another biased review (like Kitguru and Sweclockers):

Nvidia cards are tested at default (throttling down due to the 80C temp target)
AMD cards are set from default (quiet mode) to uber mode (allowing higher clocks)

Find the error.
Click to expand...

They still throttle using Uber mode. 290X's that don't throttle are coming though. I wonder how they'll perform?
 
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