r9 290 now or wait for the 380x/GTX 960

[Jhatfie]

What do you guys think of this card? Seems like the cheapest option available for an R9 290. I should also mention I'm running an Antec 650W PSU - will that be sufficient for this card?

http://www.ncix.com/detail/powercolor-radeon-r9-290-turbo-24-104017-1315.htm

I have never had any issues with PowerColor, but if I recall, the cooler on that model struggles a bit with the 290's heat. I would personally spend a little more and get one with a better cooler.

I got the Asus DCII 290 from NCIX a few weeks ago on sale ($215US after selling game and rebate) . Very nice card and easily OC'd to 1100 on the core with stock voltage and the temps are quite good. It is twice as fast as the 660ti that was in my son's rig before that.

 

[BlockheadBrown]

What do you guys think of this card? Seems like the cheapest option available for an R9 290. I should also mention I'm running an Antec 650W PSU - will that be sufficient for this card?

http://www.ncix.com/detail/powercolor-radeon-r9-290-turbo-24-104017-1315.htm

EDIT: Another option http://www.ncix.com/detail/club3d-radeon-r9-290-royalking-c5-94192-1315.htm

I had a Sapphire Tri-X 290 running off a 500w. You'll be fine.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Here is a comparison of a bunch of R9 290s this guy went out and bought (wish I had that kind of disposable income!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwRWi3Bz0qc

Note there are two different Gigabyte Windforce R9 290s though, and the one he is benchmarking is the 1040MHz version, whereas the one you linked to is the 947MHz version. Also the PowerColor card he benchmarks is the PCS+, not the one on sale that you posted earlier.

 

[dpodblood]

Well guys I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Gigabyte R9 290. It was $300 CAD from NCIX and comes with a $20 MIR. The base price of the Powercolor and Club3D cards were cheaper, but had inferior coolers and didn't feature a MIR. Seems like this is going to be the best value for money and is going to absolutely blow my GTX 570 (which I actually paid more for at the time) out of the water, especially at 1080p.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

And the 960 looks about as powerful as an R9 285, so I would definitely pass on that with a $300 budget.

 

[SteveGrabowski]

Well guys I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Gigabyte R9 290. It was $300 CAD from NCIX and comes with a $20 MIR. The base price of the Powercolor and Club3D cards were cheaper, but had inferior coolers and didn't feature a MIR. Seems like this is going to be the best value for money and is going to absolutely blow my GTX 570 (which I actually paid more for at the time) out of the water, especially at 1080p.

R9 290's are by far the price to performance kings right now, which seems pretty damn rare for a high end card!

 

[Jhatfie]

Well guys I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Gigabyte R9 290. It was $300 CAD from NCIX and comes with a $20 MIR. The base price of the Powercolor and Club3D cards were cheaper, but had inferior coolers and didn't feature a MIR. Seems like this is going to be the best value for money and is going to absolutely blow my GTX 570 (which I actually paid more for at the time) out of the water, especially at 1080p.

I think you made a solid choice. Hope you enjoy it!

 

[nitromullet]

Here is a comparison of a bunch of R9 290s this guy went out and bought (wish I had that kind of disposable income!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwRWi3Bz0qc

Not totally on topic, but the cards he compares are loaned to him. There's a GTX 970 Strix v. G1 Gaming vid where he mentions that they aren't his cards.

 

[WT]

When researching the 290s, it turned into a real crapshoot regarding the various models; some had 3 fan cooler but noticeable coil whine. Some had 2 fan coolers but no coil whine. The MSI Lightning and Sapphire Tri-X or Vapor-X were generally regarded as the best of the 290s, but you pay accordingly.

I am actually waiting for a deal on the Powercolor PCS+ 290, as its probably in the top 3 for a triple* fan design, and being Powercolor is is priced well under the Lightning and Tri-X models. While it does tend to produce some coil whine, you really have to be working the card to make it happen. I have only had coil whine from my Powercolor 7970 when I had it clocked to its limits (1125 core) in 3dMark's latest benchmark.

DP, did you get the Windforce card ?? I'm stuck buying from Amazon unfortunately, as I have $120 in GCs to burn up from Xmas.

*edit: changed from dual to triple

 

[dpodblood]

Here's the card I've ordered, with the Windforce 3X cooler.

http://www.ncix.com/detail/gigabyte-radeon-r9-290-windforce-db-99167-1315.htm

My friend who lent me his old 560 actually has the exact same card, and told me while the card is loud, it's not intolerable.

 

[Jhatfie]

Here is a comparison of a bunch of R9 290s this guy went out and bought (wish I had that kind of disposable income!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwRWi3Bz0qc

Note there are two different Gigabyte Windforce R9 290s though, and the one he is benchmarking is the 1040MHz version, whereas the one you linked to is the 947MHz version. Also the PowerColor card he benchmarks is the PCS+, not the one on sale that you posted earlier.

Also. not sure what was up with his ASUS DCII 290 getting such high temps. The one I have in my son's rig when I was test looping for 30 minutes the Valley benchmark at extreme settings while OC'd and it maxxed in low 70's while in a Antec P100 case.

 

[tweakboy]

Justu open your case and put a house fan on it.. lol jk I think!