R9 290 *Complete* review list

[blackened23]

I'm with you all the way about the ref cooler being crap and should be better, but where are you getting your numbers from? Looking at the AT review again. I see less than 10% difference, in a lot of games, there isn't a difference.

Looking at all the reviews, I will be running my 290X in quiet mode as the performance difference is pretty minuscule.

Read his entire review of the 290:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7481/the-amd-radeon-r9-290-review/15

That performance difference becomes worse over time as the card heats up. That performance drop is absolutely ridiculous and did not exist with prior AMD cards - come on now, 17 frames for a 12% fan difference in BF3? This is why their reference design is being slammed, and it's completely justified. It is making what is a potentially very compelling product and in the end making people question why they should purchase the card thanks to all of the negative press - so they can either wait or get consistent performance from an overclocked GTX 780. This would not have happened had the product been released as a more complete and balanced product.

Nvidia had the same bad press with the GTX 480 and it was deserved then, just like it's deserved now with the 290 series of cards. Nvidia refreshed their 480 into an excellent GTX 580 product with a much-improved cooler, I really feel like AMD should do the same with an updated design of the 290(X).

 

[Skurge]

Read his entire review of the 290:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7481/the-amd-radeon-r9-290-review/15

That performance difference becomes worse over time as the card heats up. That performance drop is absolutely ridiculous and did not exist with prior AMD cards - come on now, 17 frames for a 12% fan difference in BF3? This is why their reference design is being slammed, and it's completely justified. It is making what is a potentially very compelling product and in the end making people question why they should purchase the card thanks to all of the negative press - so they can either wait or get consistent performance from an overclocked GTX 780. This would not have happened had the product been released as a more complete and balanced product.

Nvidia had the same bad press with the GTX 480 and it was deserved then, just like it's deserved now with the 290 series of cards. Nvidia refreshed their 480 into an excellent GTX 580 product with a much-improved cooler, I really feel like AMD should do the same with an updated design of the 290(X).

I was looking at the 290X review not the 290. It is worse on the 290 as it runs at a higher voltage and I wouldn't use the 34% fan speed as a comparison. My point about the 290X still stands, the difference is pretty small between quiet and uber.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

The cards will never run at 34%. That is a manually configured fan speed that goes against an anandtechs own review policy. I'm pretty sure my 7970 idles around 30% so why would you expect the card to not bottleneck at that speed.

 

[ICDP]

Why did you buy a reference 7970 blower card if you already knew that based on 5870/6970, the 7970 blower would be loud? Why would you buy a reference 7970 given how great it overclocked and knowing full well that a reference cooler would not allow 7970 to operate at low noise + temperature levels?

None of this addresses the fact that AMD lost alot of sales because of this cooler issue. This isn't about right or wrong or facts, it's about people's preferences and perceptions. The perception (right or wrong) is that the fan on the R9 290/X is crap. Given that perception, it is fair to assume AMD lost a lot of sales as a lot of people will not even contemplate purchasing one.

No amount of graphs or other people saying "the R9 290/X cooler is fine" is going to fix that perception.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

None of this addresses the fact that AMD lost alot of sales because of this cooler issue. This isn't about right or wrong or facts, it's about people's preferences and perceptions. The perception (right or wrong) is that the fan on the R9 290/X is crap. Given that perception, it is fair to assume AMD lost a lot of sales as a lot of people will not even contemplate purchasing one.

No amount of graphs or other people saying "the R9 290/X cooler is fine" is going to fix that perception.

Wait, so it's your perception that these cards that are perpetually sold out aren't selling because of the perception that the cooling is inadequate?


I'm not denying the fact that informed consumers will wait for aftermarket cards. I do however think that there is no evidence that 290x/290 sale are suffering.

 

[ICDP]

Wait, so it's your perception that these cards that are perpetually sold out aren't selling because of the perception that the cooling is inadequate?


I'm not denying the fact that informed consumers will wait for aftermarket cards. I do however think that there is no evidence that 290x/290 sale are suffering.

LOL, of course they are suffering, or I would have bought one and I know there are plenty of people who think like me. Oh, and there are loads of R9 290/X cards available for sale in the US and the UK. you would think for the price/perf you get they would be sold out, but they are actually being pushed in special offers here in the UK.

Yeah, R9 290 sales are doing great. :whiste:

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I haven't been keeping up on stock because I'm not currently in the market. I just remember everyone saying they were sold out.

 

[blackened23]

None of this addresses the fact that AMD lost alot of sales because of this cooler issue. This isn't about right or wrong or facts, it's about people's preferences and perceptions. The perception (right or wrong) is that the fan on the R9 290/X is crap. Given that perception, it is fair to assume AMD lost a lot of sales as a lot of people will not even contemplate purchasing one.

No amount of graphs or other people saying "the R9 290/X cooler is fine" is going to fix that perception.

So much this! AMD just needs to admit they screwed up and begin work on a revision B card ala GTX 580 post haste. Period. The loud cooler at high fan speeds was forgivable on the 6970 and 7970 because, hey, you didn't have to run it that high, and you didn't throttle at low fan speeds. That isn't the case with the 290.

It's really unfortunate because the chip is very very good, but the reference design has bad perceptions and bad press, and justifiably so. It just seems like so much potential wasted, and despite what some say here after Kepler was released - good acoustics is important. The fact that the 290 cooler requires 34% fanspeed to match GTX 780 in terms of acoustics is telling (per Ryan Smith in the 290 review). AMD needs to fix this situation.

 

[wand3r3r]

I think it may have been wise, or in the future would be wise to either fix the reference cooler (beef it up) or just go all non-reference like the 7970 GHz.

On the other hand, owners are chiming in and I don't know if it's much worse noise-wise than the 7970 even in uber mode. It's such a subjective matter anyway. I do know I wouldn't like it after my whisper quiet aftermarket cards though..

 

[3DVagabond]

TBH, they could have enabled custom versions to launch at the same time, these are the same designs for the R280X, as its been shown to fit perfect and able to keep R290X to 70C and staying quiet.

These custom variants are often only $10 extra compared to AMD's reference card.

So AMD missed the mark, they could have had a $400 card that some people would buy for need of a blower, or they could have had $410 cards that most would buy.. instead they gave no 2nd choice where the demand is. People are waiting and waiting.. many would probably jumped the gun and got a 780 or 780ti.

The really interesting result with custom cooling, it shows that R290/X running at 70C may end up using the same power as the 7970Ghz, since benches show a saving of 40W when its not running at 95C. It really is a big deal and again highlights, AMD = great engineers, horrible management. Custom cards at launch for a $10 premium would have had NV by the balls and SQUEEZED hard.

I agree mostly with what you say. I do have issue with the bold (my emphasis) part though. How do you know? Do you know someone, or are you in a position to have personal knowledge of this? You, and others, have stated this as a fact, when AFAIK there has been nothing released from any source stating this. Has Asus been sitting on DCII and Matrix cards from day one and AMD has refused to certify them? Sapphire, HIS, etc...?

Sorry to single you out, this has been a commonly posted "fact" that I've never seen any sort of citation for.

 

[3DVagabond]

I was looking at the 290X review not the 290. It is worse on the 290 as it runs at a higher voltage and I wouldn't use the 34% fan speed as a comparison. My point about the 290X still stands, the difference is pretty small between quiet and uber.

He keeps posting this and people keep falling for it. Ryan turned down the fan speeds and induced throttling. That is AMD's "Turbo" operating exactly as it's intended to. It's as bad as Balla posting the chart where W1zzard put his hand over the fan on the 290X and trying to pawn it off as any kind of real world performance.

You'd think that by the 900th post about the cooler people would be able to figure out there's an agenda and not keep providing a platform.

 

[Skurge]

I agree mostly with what you say. I do have issue with the bold (my emphasis) part though. How do you know? Do you know someone, or are you in a position to have personal knowledge of this? You, and others, have stated this as a fact, when AFAIK there has been nothing released from any source stating this. Has Asus been sitting on DCII and Matrix cards from day one and AMD has refused to certify them? Sapphire, HIS, etc...?

Sorry to single you out, this has been a commonly posted "fact" that I've never seen any sort of citation for.

Non ref cards are prob still going through testing and validation to make sure the cards don't fail prematurely.

I'm sure XFX is looking at how much they can cheap out on the PCB while still making it work.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laXDwXreB3I

OH MY GOD MY EARS ARE BLEEDING!!!!

 

[Zanovar]

So much this! AMD just needs to admit they screwed up and begin work on a revision B card ala GTX 580 post haste. Period. The loud cooler at high fan speeds was forgivable on the 6970 and 7970 because, hey, you didn't have to run it that high, and you didn't throttle at low fan speeds. That isn't the case with the 290.

It's really unfortunate because the chip is very very good, but the reference design has bad perceptions and bad press, and justifiably so. It just seems like so much potential wasted, and despite what some say here after Kepler was released - good acoustics is important. The fact that the 290 cooler requires 34% fanspeed to match GTX 780 in terms of acoustics is telling (per Ryan Smith in the 290 review). AMD needs to fix this situation.

Christ if i had a pound for every time you mentioned the ref coolers on the 290/290x i would be drinking fruit coctails on some exotic beach somwhere.sweet jesus give it a rest dude.you are right they are garbage.move on.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Some of you go way too far with this in my opinion... AMD's reference cooler could be better, no doubt. Nvidia's pricing could be better. It seems like for some of you, if AMD doesn't offer a quieter card that is faster for $100 less they've failed. The card is louder and uses more power but cheaper and as fast with more memory.

 

[ICDP]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laXDwXreB3I

OH MY GOD MY EARS ARE BLEEDING!!!!

This is a waste of time because in no way shape or form is that an accurate depiction of an actual in your PC R9 290.

• What level were the mics at during recording?
• What volume should I use on my speakers, 100%, 50%, somewhere in between?

It is useless using someone else's sound recording of an actual R9 290/X because it will vary during playback dependent upon your speaker volume. Even if the guy said use 50% volume his speaker setup is different to mine and 50% on his speakers will almost certainly be different to 50% on mine.

 

[Leadbox]

This is a waste of time because in no way shape or form is that an accurate depiction of an actual in your PC R9 290.

• What level were the mics at during recording?
• What volume should I use on my speakers, 100%, 50%, somewhere in between?

It is useless using someone else's sound recording of an actual R9 290/X because it will vary during playback dependent upon your speaker volume. Even if the guy said use 50% volume his speaker setup is different to mine and 50% on his speakers will almost certainly be different to 50% on mine.

How is your opinion on how loud and noisy these things are informed? Read a review or two?

 

[VulgarDisplay]

This is a waste of time because in no way shape or form is that an accurate depiction of an actual in your PC R9 290.

• What level were the mics at during recording?
• What volume should I use on my speakers, 100%, 50%, somewhere in between?

It is useless using someone else's sound recording of an actual R9 290/X because it will vary during playback dependent upon your speaker volume. Even if the guy said use 50% volume his speaker setup is different to mine and 50% on his speakers will almost certainly be different to 50% on mine.

That's exactly my point. All the crap people are posting on here is based off absolutely not experience with the actual product in their own case. The OMG MY EARS ARE BLEEDING post was obvious sarcasm. I have actual experience with a AMD reference cooler at 47% and it's not loud.

 

[GaiaHunter]

This is a waste of time because in no way shape or form is that an accurate depiction of an actual in your PC R9 290.

• What level were the mics at during recording?
• What volume should I use on my speakers, 100%, 50%, somewhere in between?

It is useless using someone else's sound recording of an actual R9 290/X because it will vary during playback dependent upon your speaker volume. Even if the guy said use 50% volume his speaker setup is different to mine and 50% on his speakers will almost certainly be different to 50% on mine.

I said something similar to this but to question the videos saying 290X/290 are extremely loud.

You have some reviewers that say it is too loud and others that say is loud but that don't get in the way of playing.

 

[ICDP]

That's exactly my point. All the crap people are posting on here is based off absolutely not experience with the actual product in their own case. The OMG MY EARS ARE BLEEDING post was obvious sarcasm. I have actual experience with a AMD reference cooler at 47% and it's not loud.

I think you are missing my point, apologies if you haven't.

This isn't about if the R9 290/X is excessively loud, it's about the fact that it is loud enough that it is stopping people form purchasing them. If potential buyers have the perception that it is too loud then they will simply refuse to take a chance on purchasing one. That fact alone = lost sales for AMD. Facts of how loud R9 290/X actually are have nothing to do with the fact that AMD could have avoided this by fitting a better cooler for a few extra bucks. How many posts has there been on this forum from people who purchased an R9 290/X with the intention of adding a ~$50-$70 after market air cooler? I have seen plenty and it shows that the cards are great but the coolers are perceived as being crap. How many has there been saying that the cooler both sucks and blows at the same time (pun intended)? All of this negativity would have been totally avoided if an even semi decent cooler was fitted.

Rather than, well done AMD on two of the best bang for buck cards ever released, we get "meh, not with that cooler". Every time AMD look like they are going to hit one out of the ball park they do something so idiotic that lets Nvidia off the hook.

I feel R9 290/X sales would see a definite improvement if it they were $20 more expensive with a more efficient cooler. The flip side would not push their expense so high that it would force people not too purchase one. People with $350-$450 to spend on a GPU will not give a crap about an extra $20.

 

[SlowSpyder]

I think you are missing my point, apologies if you haven't.

This isn't about if the R9 290/X is excessively loud, it's about the fact that it is loud enough that it is stopping people form purchasing them. If potential buyers have the perception that it is too loud then they will simply refuse to take a chance on purchasing one. That fact alone = lost sales for AMD. Facts of how loud R9 290/X actually are have nothing to do with the fact that AMD could have avoided this by fitting a better cooler for a few extra bucks. How many posts has there been on this forum from people who purchased an R9 290/X with the intention of adding a ~$50-$70 after market air cooler? I have seen plenty and it shows that the cards are great but the coolers are perceived as being crap. How many has there been saying that the cooler both sucks and blows at the same time (pun intended)? All of this negativity would have been totally avoided if an even semi decent cooler was fitted.

Rather than, well done AMD on two of the best bang for buck cards ever released, we get "meh, not with that cooler". Every time AMD look like they are going to hit one out of the ball park they do something so idiotic that lets Nvidia off the hook.

I feel R9 290/X sales would see a definite improvement if it they were $20 more expensive with a more efficient cooler. The flip side would not push their expense so high that it would force people not too purchase one. People with $350-$450 to spend on a GPU will not give a crap about an extra $20.

Something will always limit how many GPU's AMD or Nvidia sell. Nvidia is losing sales by not dropping 10% of the 780 price, or maybe for their $700 card 'only' having 3GB of memory.

Look at this from AMD's perspective. How long until we have a lot of non-reference designs to choose from? How many sales are they losing in the month or so it takes partners to get their non-reference designs out over the life time of this product on the market? I think in the grand scheme of things it'll be a pretty small number. Someone calculated that number and decided it was not worth designing and buying/building a different cooler. Non-reference designs will be out soon... I really think this has been blown way out of proportion.

 

[3DVagabond]

Something will always limit how many GPU's AMD or Nvidia sell. Nvidia is losing sales by not dropping 10% of the 780 price, or maybe for their $700 card 'only' having 3GB of memory.

Look at this from AMD's perspective. How long until we have a lot of non-reference designs to choose from? How many sales are they losing in the month or so it takes partners to get their non-reference designs out over the life time of this product on the market? I think in the grand scheme of things it'll be a pretty small number. Someone calculated that number and decided it was not worth designing and buying/building a different cooler. Non-reference designs will be out soon... I really think this has been blown way out of proportion.

It's the only thing the naysayers have to grasp on to.

Considering the relative lack of availability on release, considering the price point, considering it's a brand new chip, considering yields are lower on new chips, considering that once aftermarket cards are released sales of reference cards dry up, etc..., I'd say the reference cooler was a calculated supply and demand determination.

A lot of the people who are raging the most about the cooler don't even buy reference cards. Then there's the ones who wouldn't buy it because it's the wrong brand. Also, let's not take into acct. the owners of the cards who have no issues with the noise.

 

[Atreidin]

If they aren't selling well (which isn't proven or known), and people aren't buying them because of the huge outcry that they are too loud (which, to whatever degree this might be happening or not, is not known at all), it seems to me like that would in large part be because of the deluge of posts by a few people obsessing over it. They don't seem to be owners, but instead mostly Nvidia fanboys or simply anti-AMD.

 

[Zanovar]

They are not nv fanboys or anti amd,but what they are saying is getting boring.(as they keep on saying the same thing over and over).

 

[Gloomy]

Well, I bought one.

:|