Custom R9 290 Cards Expected Before Custom R9 290Xs

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yyk71200

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Nah. Cooling the card enough to prevent throttling will make it pretty much even with 780ti by itself. I think that AMD prevented custom cooling to make sure that results are more or less even across the board in introductory benchmarks. Wrong decision in my opinion.
 

Derbixrace

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i found a good deal on a reference VTX3D 290, only paid 352€ shipped so i have to live with the noise i guess, anyhow theres a chance it might unlock into a 290X. that you cant expect from the aftermarket ones because the chips will be laser cut :)
 

smile9999

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I have definetly been waiting for the manufacturers to release their own custom solutions, I am very excited for the R9 290 and I will grap it as soon as the customs hit the market and they prove to reasonably reduce the noise, improve the cooling and minimize the variance in performance
 

smile9999

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I have definetly been waiting for the manufacturers to release their own custom solutions, I am very excited for the R9 290 and I will grap it as soon as the customs hit the market and they prove to reasonably reduce the noise, improve the cooling and minimize the variance in performance
 

Dragonzeanse

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Okay, I may be wrong, but this would never happen with Nvidia's graphics cards. Why the hell is it taking so long for AMD's one flagship product to get a halfway decent cooling system? This is unacceptable to the point that I will not be buying an R9 290 even when the custom cooling comes out. I'm sorry AMD, but you missed your change to sell me on that. I've already bought a new card and you and your OEMs waited too long. The one thing that could have made you compete with Nvidia and it seems you've done everything in your power to sabotage it.

If AMD wasn't holding back OEMs, the coolers would probably be out already. Nvidia's cards certainly got custom cooling solutions early, and even if they didn't, at least Nvidia's cooler isn't a plastic turd with the worst fan ever designed in the history of mankind.
 

Gurg

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Its apparent to me from the limited remaining availability and the number of 290s sold out at New Egg and elsewhere that the problem is AMD cranking up production and holds placed on marketing 290s with non-reference coolers. If an existing Arctic Cooler can fit the 290s then its pretty obvious that a cooler from an earlier Windforce AMD GPU should probably also fit. The new NZXT KRAKEN™ G10 GPU BRACKET which ships next week supposedly fits a list of old AMD and Nvidia GPUs as well as the 290s and 780Ti.
http://store.nzxt.com/NZXT-KRAKEN-G10-GPU-BRACKET-p/rl-krg10.htm

Review of Kraken G10 on 290x. 50ºC drop in load temps. 21% drop in noise levels.
http://www.legitreviews.com/nzxt-kraken-g10-gpu-water-cooler-review-on-an-amd-radeon-r9-290x_130344
 

jk47_99

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It makes sense that the R9 290 would get the custom coolers first, it is the most popular product price/performance wise. I had to settle for the reference card as my ITX case needs a blower cooler as I know that the after market coolers will all be open fan and all that hot air blowing into my case makes everything 10-15c hotter (based on my last 7950).

The thing is, as an actual owner of the thing, it is not as noisy as the reviews make out. It is not great or anywhere near as good as the NVidia reference, but it is not unbearable or that audible once you close the case and have your sound on, And of course us reference owners might be the only ones who had the chance to unlock to a fully working R9 290X!
 

ipwn3r456

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The price/performance ratio of the 290x is just not worth it comparing to the 290. You probably get an extra few cores and higher clock speeds (which you can OC the card yourself, if done properly) for the 290x, but just I rather get the 290.
 

bemused_fred

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B-but it's meant to run at 95c!

290x-clock-rate.png


[Throttling intensifies]
 

rdc85

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This card R290 makes me wanna jump to water cooling setup...

Saving the money right now to get full loop & block, and hoping the price will drop in few month...
 

siman0

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apparently the nvidia comments dony remember the 8000 series that would desolder themselves. i remember the refresh in the 9000 series i could cook on my 9800gx2s. that thing was a small fire i literaly ran benchmarks to keep my room warm.
 

Dnx

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well, i been waiting on this to get one, and if they don't do it by mid december then the green team has my vote and i'll just pick a 780 ti (looks like GB Ghz edition will be released next week). period.
 

rwinches

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There is a lot more in these upcoming cards than just custom cooling.
Plenty of parts will be upgraded as will the power setup, so until the layout is set the cooling solution can not be finalized. Just what will future testing show?

The idea of converting a reference board to a 290X is intriguing though.
 

chicofehr

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No one will buy the 290X if the plain 290 is faster with the custom cooler. Might as well discontinue the 290X if this is how they want to play.
 

somebodyspecial

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So two things:
AMD can't make enough to satisfy any OEM's or we'd have CUSTOM cards from day 1.

NV owns xmas sales as nobody in their right mind would buy AMD ref290/290x with these 1-2 months away.

Why buy hot, noisy, etc when you can wait a few weeks and probably get more perf with less noise & heat. A 3 way win for a few weeks? WAIT if you have any AMD notions. This essentially means NV has 3 months of selling cards vs. 290x and 2 months vs. 290 (if they get any out before xmas in decent numbers - doubtful any with only 2 weeks left and no hard announcements). You won't be buying vid cards on xmas day for xmas presents. "I'm sorry kid, I bought your card but it won't be here until after new years"...LOL. A lot of people who would like to buy AMD will be buying NV for xmas this year. It is the only option on the high end until CUSTOM cards come. Nobody wants a THROTTLEFEST right? And most of us don't like tossing warranty out the window correct? :(

NV had OC cards available on day one with 780ti. What the heck takes 3-4 months to fix? Are yields really that bad on hawaii?
 

xenzon

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AMD are tweaking for the mantle inc into the cards, advancement of the cooling systems, thus allowing faster speeds. These cards will blow the 780Ti out fo the water. I currently own 2x GTX 770's in SLi. but really want a single card config, so the 290X custom cooled will be my choise. Never owned an AMD card, should be fun.
 

Tuishimi

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I am looking forward to some of the cooling solutions that will be coming. I have to admit that I am an NVidia "fan boy" but I am considering this card for an "upgrade" this year. Seems like a decent beast as long as the drivers are solid.
 
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