Upgrading from R9 290 for <= $350?

[chubbyfatazn]

I have a friend who's in need of a GPU and is interested in my Tri-X R9 290. Looking at the current landscape, it seems my upgrade options are rather limited at my budget of $350 (that includes what I'd make from selling my 290).

I play at 2560x1600. Power consumption is a non-issue. No plans for a Freesync/Gsync monitor. Brand-agnostic. The card would go into the system in my sig.

Here are my options as I see them:

1) Buy an R9 390 at approximately $230 and pocket the rest
2) Buy a used/refurbed GTX 980 for ~$350
3) Pull out my 1GB 6950 from storage and hold off until Arctic Islands/Pascal next year

1) seems most logical assuming I don't want to wait until next year's GPUs drop. As for 2), the performance gain from a 390 to a 980 doesn't warrant the extra $100+ in my view. Not sure about 3) without any further empirical evidence (yeah, I know that's not gonna happen any time soon). I'm leaning towards 1).

Anyone see any gaps in my logic or other options I missed? Thanks!

 

[aaksheytalwar]

If you have to buy go with a 390x/390 or don't upgrade.

 

[Craig234]

Where is a decent R9 390 for $230? The Sapphire I was looking at is up to $320 after rebate (and unavailable right now anyway)

 

[nurturedhate]

There is no point in upgrading from a 290 to a 390/980. It's what you already have.

 

[aaksheytalwar]

He's probably getting the 390 as nearly a free upgrade. No point spending more than 50 bucks for it.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Where is a decent R9 390 for $230? The Sapphire I was looking at is up to $320 after rebate (and unavailable right now anyway)

I was using Black Friday sales prices as a benchmark. I'm not buying anything until around Christmastime. I'm assuming another "$25 off if you use Visa Checkout" deal or similar will pop up again around then.

Asus (not the best cooler), $225: http://slickdeals.net/f/8308145-asu...ter-mir-vco-amex-on-newegg?v=1&src=SiteSearch

Sapphire, $245: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/comments/3ux02v/gpu_sapphire_r9_390_nitro_245_300_15_from_5/

Powercolor PCS+, $245: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsa..._powercolor_radeon_r9_390_pcs_24499_28999_20/

XFX, $235: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsa...ed_xfx_radeon_r9_390_double/?ref=search_posts

All (now-unavailable) from the past week or so.

Heck, the Powercolor PCS+ was $225 just a month ago. https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsa...o_card_powercolor_r9390_225_with_coupon_code/

There is no point in upgrading from a 290 to a 390/980. It's what you already have.

He's probably getting the 390 as nearly a free upgrade. No point spending more than 50 bucks for it.

Yep. I had full intentions of riding it out till next year... until my friend asked if he could buy my 290.

 

[Techhog]

I was using Black Friday sales prices as a benchmark. I'm not buying anything until around Christmastime. I'm assuming another "$25 off if you use Visa Checkout" deal or similar will pop up again around then.

Asus (not the best cooler), $225: http://slickdeals.net/f/8308145-asu...ter-mir-vco-amex-on-newegg?v=1&src=SiteSearch

Sapphire, $245: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsales/comments/3ux02v/gpu_sapphire_r9_390_nitro_245_300_15_from_5/

Powercolor PCS+, $245: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsa..._powercolor_radeon_r9_390_pcs_24499_28999_20/

XFX, $235: https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsa...ed_xfx_radeon_r9_390_double/?ref=search_posts

All (now-unavailable) from the past week or so.

Heck, the Powercolor PCS+ was $225 just a month ago. https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcsa...o_card_powercolor_r9390_225_with_coupon_code/





Yep. I had full intentions of riding it out till next year... until my friend asked if he could buy my 290.

Sounds like you missed the boat then, my friend.

 

[chubbyfatazn]

Sounds like you missed the boat then, my friend.

Didn't get approached by my friend until last night. I won't be available to sell it to him until around Christmastime anyway.

I'm still reconsidering selling it anyhow... not much of an upgrade until I increase the budget to $500+, which is far too much for me to spend on something that holds value so poorly. Especially with new GPUs coming next year.

Guess that's testament to the 290's continuing great bang for the buck.

 

[Headfoot]

I wouldnt do it. Have your friend buy his own 290/390, they're super cheap right now. There is no upgrade path worth the money until you hit 980 Ti, or add a second 290 to your current 290.

 

[MrTeal]

How much is your buddy looking to buy your 290 for? You already have a Tri-X so you're not going to benefit noise/temps wise going to a 390. Stock clocks on the 390 are higher, but you already have an overclockable card. Really the only thing you'll gain is an extra 4GB of GDDR5, which at your resolution won't make a big difference.
Honestly, even if you could get a 390 for the same price after shipping/tax/MIR, I'd say it's marginal whether dealing with and risking a $30 MIR is worth the benefit you'll get from the upgrade. I do hate MIRs though.

The 980 is another story since it will be faster, especially in some games where it might actually be noticeably faster. Given you'll probably have to spend a couple hundred bucks to get that marginal upgrade though, I'd say it's not worth it especially if you're planning on upgrading next year.

Why not just tell your buddy to pick up one of the cheap 390s when they go on sale again?

 

[Techhog]

Didn't get approached by my friend until last night. I won't be available to sell it to him until around Christmastime anyway.

I'm still reconsidering selling it anyhow... not much of an upgrade until I increase the budget to $500+, which is far too much for me to spend on something that holds value so poorly. Especially with new GPUs coming next year.

Guess that's testament to the 290's continuing great bang for the buck.

Might as well just buy him a 380 or something.

 

[Actaeon]

IMO there is nothing worth upgrading to from a 290 besides a 980 Ti or a Fury X, but those are beyond your price range. A 290 is still a very powerful high end card.

For $350, you can get a 970, a used 980, or a 290X/390X. None of which are all that much better than what you have.

For a little more money, around the $450-$500 range, you could get two used 970s and SLI them. That is the least expensive upgrade with a meaningful performance increase that I can think for you. But again, that is more than what you said you were looking to spend.

 

[SPBHM]

you could easily keep using a 290 for a while, waiting for 16nm cards would be probably the best choice, but if you really need to get another card, the 2 options you mentioned are quite nice for that price.

it's just not a big upgrade, the 980 with a lot of OC can be.

 

[AE-Ruffy]

Dude im in the same boat. XFX R9 290 DD Black Edition.

I have the opportunity to upgrade for free (going to spend the money anyways on a xmas present for a friend)

I can upgrade my 290, give my wife the 290 and then her 280 away as a gift.

Or keep my 290 and upgrade my wifes R9 280 to something else(R9 380's are hitting <$200, slight upgrade for her but some watt savings, her current 280 would be the gift again)

Lastly I can just buy a card for that friend.

I wouldn't mind the upgrade, even if its minimal. Heat savings alone would help as my rig runs more often.

 

[RussianSensation]

I have a friend who's in need of a GPU and is interested in my Tri-X R9 290.

1) Buy an R9 390 at approximately $230 and pocket the rest

Anyone see any gaps in my logic or other options I missed? Thanks!

If you can find a new R9 390 for $230, then if you are a good friend, wouldn't you recommend your friend to get a new R9 390 over a used 290 with almost no warranty left, or none left? That means you'd have to offer your friend a really good deal on the 290 to make it fair for him to not purchase a new 390 or say 970 for $230-250. That's my opinion of course. If you do offer him a good deal, say for $180, that means you'll be taking a hit yourself on value since moving from a 290 to a 390 isn't a real upgrade.

This is one of those moments in the GPU upgrade path where your only real upgrades are all $550+. Even a Fury isn't much of an upgrade since an after market 290 ~ 290X and Fury is just 24% faster. Not a good upgrade given the cost.

It's basically 980Ti or wait until 2016.