Can this PC handle 4k Resolution with my R9 290x?

[JerrWolf]

Hello everyone.
I was told the R9 290x is best with 4k resolution. I'd love to get 4k resolution but before spending $600 on a monitor alone, I'd like to know if my pc can handle it.

CPU: i7 4790k OC'd
GPU: R9 290x MSI Twin Frozer
PSU: Corsair RM750 gold
RAM 16gb Corsair Vengence, currently 1333 but I'll be getting the same but at 2400ghz.
Storage:SSD's
Water Cooling: Corsair H100i GTX
Fans: 7 Corsair Fans.
Case: Corsair C70
Temps: Idle general min/25c max29c.
medium load GPU: 60-70c
Max load GPU 76-86c (not often will hit go past 83)
CPU: Don't check this often, I know Idle is 35-41c

I know even with systems better then this they generally don't get a 60fps consistently with max/ultra settings in games. But can this get 50-60 with medium/high settings?

Lastly is every game set for 4k resolution? I know skyrim has 4k textures for example, does that mean it doesn't support 4k resolution?
I do plan on researching this up more before purchasing the monitor, if my PC would even get the performance I'd like.

 

[cleanshot911]

Okay for starters, at medium to low settings maybe you can get 50-60fps at 4k in a decent amount of games, but I'd say you should be spending that money on a better graphics card instead. Not that the r9 290x is a bad card, it's not. But if you want to play at 4k you need something better than what you have. For instance, if you were to sell your r9 290x and buy a GTX 980 ti or an r9 Fury X, that card could handle just about any game at 50-60fps at medium to high settings. And if you don't have a 4k monitor, you can down scale the resolution to 4k settings using the nVIDIA control panel (that's what I do). As for how many games have 4k, all new releases that aren't indie games will have 4k, and most games that have come out since 2012 are capable of 4k resolution, so yeah there's plenty of gaming content for those playing at 4k. So I'd either get another r9 290x first to have a crossfire system (which would be able to do 4k well enough), or sell the one you have and buy a better card. Then you'd be ready for 4k.

 

[JerrWolf]

Okay for starters, at medium to low settings maybe you can get 50-60fps at 4k in a decent amount of games, but I'd say you should be spending that money on a better graphics card instead. Not that the r9 290x is a bad card, it's not. But if you want to play at 4k you need something better than what you have. For instance, if you were to sell your r9 290x and buy a GTX 980 ti or an r9 Fury X, that card could handle just about any game at 50-60fps at medium to high settings. And if you don't have a 4k monitor, you can down scale the resolution to 4k settings using the nVIDIA control panel (that's what I do). As for how many games have 4k, all new releases that aren't indie games will have 4k, and most games that have come out since 2012 are capable of 4k resolution, so yeah there's plenty of gaming content for those playing at 4k. So I'd either get another r9 290x first to have a crossfire system (which would be able to do 4k well enough), or sell the one you have and buy a better card. Then you'd be ready for 4k.

A better gpu? I've bought this one little less then a year ago. I feel buying an upgrade now would be wasteful.
You mentioned selling parts, any recommended places to do so?

Would getting a second R9 290x really be worth it?

If I could easily sell my gpu I'd get a new one, or I could buy a second one but would power/heat be safe?

According to PCPartPicker my psu wouldn't be enough to get a second R9 290x
But I can handle a single r9 390x, yet the differences seem next to nothing.

 

[cleanshot911]

Okay for starters, at medium to low settings maybe you can get 50-60fps at 4k in a decent amount of games, but I'd say you should be spending that money on a better graphics card instead. Not that the r9 290x is a bad card, it's not. But if you want to play at 4k you need something better than what you have. For instance, if you were to sell your r9 290x and buy a GTX 980 ti or an r9 Fury X, that card could handle just about any game at 50-60fps at medium to high settings. And if you don't have a 4k monitor, you can down scale the resolution to 4k settings using the nVIDIA control panel (that's what I do). As for how many games have 4k, all new releases that aren't indie games will have 4k, and most games that have come out since 2012 are capable of 4k resolution, so yeah there's plenty of gaming content for those playing at 4k. So I'd either get another r9 290x first to have a crossfire system (which would be able to do 4k well enough), or sell the one you have and buy a better card. Then you'd be ready for 4k.

A better gpu? I've bought this one little less then a year ago. I feel buying an upgrade now would be wasteful.
You mentioned selling parts, any recommended places to do so?

Would getting a second R9 290x really be worth it?

If I could easily sell my gpu I'd get a new one, or I could buy a second one but would power/heat be safe?

According to PCPartPicker my psu wouldn't be enough to get a second R9 290x
But I can handle a single r9 390x, yet the differences seem next to nothing.

Yeah, I know that the r9 290x is a pretty recent card, and honestly, if you were willing to play at medium settings, I suppose you'd probably get an average of 40-50 fps in most games, but all I'm saying is that if you want to get up to a stable 60fps, which honestly is really what you need to have a smooth enjoyable experience, you'll need either a gtx 980ti or r9 Fury X, both of which are $650. I know that's a lot of money, but otherwise, if you want a really solid gameplay experience at 4k, you'll need a dual gpu setup. Even the 390x would struggle to get you up to 60fps at medium settings in some games if you're playing at 4k. I have two gtx 970s, and when I play at 4k, which I do sometimes by downscaling the resolution, and I can't get a stable 60fps in most titles at ultra. At medium to high settings I can get a pretty stable 60fps, but still not in every game. So my suggestion is, if you want to be playing at 4k ASAP, I would suggest selling your 290x used for $240 or something like that on ebay, which I know is a disappointing loss compared to what you paid for it, and then you'd need to buy either a gtx 980ti or an r9 Fury X. Either of those cards would get the job done, and you would have no problems at all getting a stable 60fps in most games at high settings. I know that that spending the $410 difference is kind of a lot, but believe me that's what you'd need for a single gpu 4k setup. the r9 390x does not improve upon the 290x all that much. They use the same architecture, so the only improvement is in slightly faster memory and clock speeds, so you wouldn't see much improvement. So really if you want to make playing at 4k an enjoyable experience, you'll need the best gpu on the market, or two of the second best gpus on the market, with a psu that'll support it.

 

[JerrWolf]

Hmm so Ebay sounds like the place to sell em?
I have an old 6950 HD, I don't think I could make anything from that though lol.

Wait is the 390x and R9 fury two different cards?

 

[cleanshot911]

Hmm so Ebay sounds like the place to sell em?
I have an old 6950 HD, I don't think I could make anything from that though lol.

Wait is the 390x and R9 fury two different cards?

Yes, sorry it took so long to reply, I was away for a few days. But yeah, the 390x and r9 fury x are two entirely different cards.

 

[JerrWolf]

oh no problem, I'm glad to see they are different because compared to the r9 290x the 390x seem'd like nothing.
I'm helping a friend build a PC when we get back to school. He's willing to help pay for upgrades on my own end as payment, so with that and if I can sell my r9 290x we'd be golden. but the r9 fury X is a very pricey card and I'm not sure how I'd work the water cooler. not sure if I have a place for it lol.

 

[cleanshot911]

oh no problem, I'm glad to see they are different because compared to the r9 290x the 390x seem'd like nothing.
I'm helping a friend build a PC when we get back to school. He's willing to help pay for upgrades on my own end as payment, so with that and if I can sell my r9 290x we'd be golden. but the r9 fury X is a very pricey card and I'm not sure how I'd work the water cooler. not sure if I have a place for it lol.

Yeah the r9 Fury X has it's pros and cons. If you do find the money to buy a high end card though, I'd go for the 980ti over the r9 fury x if I were you because for now, until AMD comes out with better drivers, the 980ti edges out the fury x by just a little in a lot of games while also not requiring a water cooling solution to stay cool. It does run hotter than the r9 fury x, but if you wait for a model to come out from msi or asus with fans built in the cooling and nosie should be on par with the r9 fury x if not better, and NVIDIA has been on a role as far as driver support goes. I have two gtx 970s and I'm very happy with the SLI support. You can get either one and you'll be happy, but if you can't fit the water cooling in your case, the 980ti is worth considering. If you can't afford either of those top tier cards, you could go for the gtx 980 and then buy a second one later, since two gtx 980s will do a lot for you in 4k.