2x R9 290's in Crossfire.

[thomasd221]

Hello there,

I am looking to upgrade my graphics solution to achieve higher FPS and better graphics.

I am looking to buy 2x XFX Reference R9 290's. I know what you're thinking, why the reference cards? Because I can get an amazing deal on 2. They are only £140 and are like new, which is an insane price.

I have some questions about the crossfire setup though:

1) How loud are the 290 references (Don't blow it out of proportion, I can deal with some noise)

2) Most microstuttering has been fixed with the newer GPU's, am I correct? (Hawaii)

3) They will support DIrectX12, am I correct?

Thanks very much for any support you can give.

Thomas.

 

[HEXiT]

1) if there blower units they can get up to 43 dbs+
think dirt devel (hand held vacuum cleaner) levels of noise and your pretty close.

2 no, microstutter is an issue for all crossfire/sli configs. it may be reduced but its never quite gone.

3) yes all cards from the 7000 series up support dx12

 

[thomasd221]

1) if there blower units they can get up to 43 dbs+
think dirt devel (hand held vacuum cleaner) levels of noise and your pretty close.

2 no, microstutter is an issue for all crossfire/sli configs. it may be reduced but its never quite gone.

3) yes all cards from the 7000 series up support dx12

Thanks for the reply.

The noise shouldn't really be an issue, I game with headphones on and only use my surround system when I'm watching YouTube and Movies. I assume the 290's will be decently quiet at idle for this purpose.

As for Crossfire issues, the beauty of having 2x R9 290's is that, if a game doesn't support Crossfire, you can disable one GPU and still have a pretty powerful gaming experience. I can also use tools such as RadeonPro to limit the FPS to significantly reduce microstutter.

Will my PSU be enough? (It's an EVGA SuperNova 850W G2, my CPU isn't overclocked)

 

[HEXiT]

not particularly mate. they seem to hover at around 30dbs on idle which is noticeable. typically the level most non reference coolers max out at.

but you can always change the coolers if needs be. but that will add another 100+ to the budget.
i have used an arcticcool extreme cooler on my now sold hd5870 and it was near silent to the point i couldnt hear the new cooler unless i put my ear right up to it in an open case.
so would recommend them for 3rd party coolers if your not happy with the reference 1s.
just make sure they will fit as some are 2.5 slot coolers so may be to big for crossfire.

yes your psu has enough grunt to run them both...

 

[thomasd221]

not particularly mate. they seem to hover at around 30dbs on idle which is noticeable. typically the level most non reference coolers max out at.

but you can always change the coolers if needs be. but that will add another 100+ to the budget.
i have used an arcticcool extreme cooler on my now sold hd5870 and it was near silent to the point i couldnt hear the new cooler unless i put my ear right up to it in an open case.
so would recommend them for 3rd party coolers if your not happy with the reference 1s.
just make sure they will fit as some are 2.5 slot coolers so may be to big for crossfire.

yes your psu has enough grunt to run them both...

Thanks very much.

I'll pick a couple up and see if I like them, if not I'll either put them under water or get aftermarket coolers.

Thanks!