270x - 280x - 290x

[MostlyVirtual]

Hello,

I plan to order my rig in the next few days.
So far settles on AsRock FM2A88X with A10 APU either 6700 or 6800.

For video cards I am considering the following:

2 x 270x Sapphire
2 x 280x Sapphire (if I can get them)
1 x 290x Gigabyte 3x Windforce

I am partial towards the 2 x 270x's at the moment because of price and availability, but I would go for 280x if I could get them at a fair price on a reputable website in UK, Ireland or rest of europe.

I know CrossFire drivers have been missbehaving, but I understand 270x are ok in crossfire.
What do you think about 280x in crossfire?
What do you think about the 290x heat wise?

Rig will be running 24h and when not gaming, I will be running some 3d rendering.

Thank you.

 

[Trimax]

Get a after market coolers for the 290x will be a killer GPU!

 

[Amdlova]

for 3D rendering i think in nvidia cards.

 

[Trimax]

I didn't see the 3D rendering. I would now recommend 2x GTX 780 titan's would be a insane rig with them cards in SLI! If the 780's are to expensive go for the GTX 770 in SLI.

 

[MostlyVirtual]

I would like to stick with AMD, but thank you for the GTX suggestion. 3D rendering will be done in a very small capacity, as I am just learning.

 

[Trimax]

I would like to stick with AMD, but thank you for the GTX suggestion. 3D rendering will be done in a very small capacity, as I am just learning.

Well if it's not advanced 3D render and if it's only a small amount of it you should 100% get the 290x for gaming. It's a hardcore card and all games on ultra settings on very high fps. See the chart below to compare it to other cards on a few high end games.

 

[MostlyVirtual]

If I were to go with the 290x, which card would be the best on the market atm? I was looking at the 3x Windforce Gigabyte for the extra cooling.

 

[Trimax]

If I were to go with the 290x, which card would be the best on the market atm? I was looking at the 3x Windforce Gigabyte for the extra cooling.

Gigabyte Radeon R9-290X WindForce 3X OC would be a amazing card to get. It would give you Insane performance and give you cool temps while playing games and rendering.

Great choice!

 

[MostlyVirtual]

What temps should I expect with this card in a decent size well cooled case like the Fractal R4 ? (or do you recommend a better case?)
Also, what would the power consumption of this card when maxing it out in a game?

 

[Trimax]

What temps should I expect with this card in a decent size well cooled case like the Fractal R4 ? (or do you recommend a better case?)
Also, what would the power consumption of this card when maxing it out in a game?

I would recommend you have a 800w or more PSU make sure the PSU has more then 40amps on the +12V rail!

Any full size case is fine aslong as it has good cooling.

I would personally recommend the NZXT Phantom Enthusiast USB3.0 Full Tower Case, It looks great and has good cooling and also got good cable management features. It's not overly expensive for something with a lot of features!

 

[Optimus_Toaster]

The 290x is a pretty abysmal value for money GPU. The r9 290 has stupidly close performance for a massive chunk less money (£90 less on OCUK for the windforce card).

You can then invest that money in a better CPU solution as APUs are not that great, mostly they are for people who are building a very budget system and will use the powerful onboard graphics.

 

[MostlyVirtual]

Hello Optimus_Toaster,

Thank you for your suggestion. I do see that 290 is 100 euro cheaper, so I will go with that.

About the CPU, I do know that A10 6800k is not as good as the 4670k, which I was also considering, but the CPU and Motherboard change is about 160 euro most expensive and I was hoping to get the GPU and stick to my budget.
From what I know, CPU's are not that important these days as the GPU takes most of the workload. Will I have problems with the A10-6800k ?

 

[Optimus_Toaster]

You will fairly quickly find that a 6800K will not be enough to allow your 290 to stretch it's legs.

Hexus did some tests with a GTX 780 (slightly worse performer than the 290) and the results are pretty clear:
http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/cpu/56657-amd-a10-6800k-32nm-richland/?page=8

I have heard that the FX 6300 is a very capable CPU for the price, though I am not really an expert on AMD CPUs. Maybe another thread like this one but asking for a CPU and motherboard within your budget will find you a better solution.