First Official AMD Radeon R9 290X Benchmarks

[Mousemonkey]

Has it been confirmed somewhere officially that Mantle will only function with AMD GCN hardware? I know AMD keeps name-dropping GCN in its marketing materials about Mantle—of course they are—but I haven't put a lot of stock in that as of yet.

Of course Microsoft wants nothing to do with it. But if its just going to be a gimmick to sell AMD hardware instead of an attempt at a new standard for PC gaming, this is going to be a real disappointment for everyone.

Yeah, pretty much.

In a surprising move, Advanced Micro Devices introduced its own low-level application programming interface designed specifically for GCN [graphics core next] architecture of AMD Radeon graphics chips.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/graphics/display/20131003232053_AMD_Mantle_Is_Proprietary_Now_But_It_Will_Become_Widely_Available_t😵thers.html

 

[Fizbini]

donno why the 290x being released so late isnt beating the titan more... with all the sales to next gen consoles AMD better fix there crossfire issue. i want to be able to crossfire as good as SLI... until that happened im very disappointed that i spent money on my 7950 er i guess i should call it a r9 270x now hey? Ridiculous FIX CROSSFIRE AMD.... its pathetic how long its taking u to fix driver issues. to busy rebranding old cards and confusing customers? to busy selling all ur cpu's to console? to busy releasing a new chip that can barely compete with OLD nvidia technology?? i want AMD to succeed... im just very disappointed i spent money on a AMD card which i want to crossfire with good results.

also im not a nvidia or amd fanboy i just want good quality standards and bang for buck.

 

[nikoli707]

none of these prices will be sustained... we know this... its just a fact... id be willing to bet that by black friday 2014 that the 780 will be under $400.... its just a fact of technology.

 

[t41nt3d]

Well comparing these benchmarks to Tom's earlier 4K Gaming benchmarks, in Tomb Raider with same settings Titan gets 34.98 avg fps, which still beats r9 290x here.

It's definitely not a Titan killer, but it can match it, some games win/lose, which after however long the Titan's been out for isn't really something to be proud of tbh.

One card is still nowhere near enough for 4k gaming anyway. Not for the most demanding of games which will only increase now. I'll stick to 1080p.

 

[Fizbini]

donno why the 290x being released so late isnt beating the titan more... with all the sales to next gen consoles AMD better fix there crossfire issue. i want to be able to crossfire as good as SLI... until that happened im very disappointed that i spent money on my 7950 er i guess i should call it a r9 270x now hey? Ridiculous FIX CROSSFIRE AMD.... its pathetic how long its taking u to fix driver issues. to busy rebranding old cards and confusing customers? to busy selling all ur cpu's to console? to busy releasing a new chip that can barely compete with OLD nvidia technology?? i want AMD to succeed... im just very disappointed i spent money on a AMD card which i want to crossfire with good results.

also im not a nvidia or amd fanboy i just want good quality standards and bang for buck.

 

[jbdumbass]

YOUR NVIDIA BIAS is out of CONTROL!!!
I have been following Toms since the very first page went up, you need to get this reviewer under control, and check his bank account for payments from Nvidia...

"I wasn’t bothered by the R9 290X’s performance"
If this was a Nvidia card that had 1 BILLION less transistors and 113mm less DIE SIZE that was FASTER you would have said something along the lines of -
"I was freaking astounded by the performance of this chip! - making more fps power with less die size and less transitors on the same 28mm fab is out right amazing"
lets all not forget this
r9 290x 6.0b transistors
gtx 780 7.1b transistors

r9 290x 438mm
gtx 780 551mm
AMD well done, your products are cheaper, faster and do more with less congratulations

 

[Mousemonkey]

YOUR NVIDIA BIAS is out of CONTROL!!!
I have been following Toms since the very first page went up, you need to get this reviewer under control, and check his bank account for payments from Nvidia...

"I wasn’t bothered by the R9 290X’s performance"
If this was a Nvidia card that had 1 BILLION less transistors and 113mm less DIE SIZE that was FASTER you would have said something along the lines of -
"I was freaking astounded by the performance of this chip! - making more fps power with less die size and less transitors on the same 28mm fab is out right amazing"
lets all not forget this
r9 290x 6.0b transistors
gtx 780 7.1b transistors

r9 290x 438mm
gtx 780 551mm
AMD well done, your products are cheaper, faster and do more with less congratulations

It's using more power to get less than 10 fps more, what would you be saying if the tables were reversed?

 

[smeezekitty]

The only thing I don't get is that AMD are leaving quite a big gap. The 780 easily beats the 280x by well over 10, maybe even 20 FPS but then the 290x beats the 780 by a bit so there is that gap which Nvidia are filling up even more because apparently they'll be releasing a 770 Ti soon

You are forgetting about the R9-290 (non-x)

 

[thesuperguy]

They really should have clarified at the end there. You could easily misinterpret that as the 290x just doesn't do well against the 780.

 

[blackkstar]

What is with you guys saying this isn't a Titan killer when it's trading blows with it and is probably going to cost $400 less? In retrospect, Titan at $1000 is 66% more expensive than 290x at $600. 290x at $700 still makes Titan about 43% more expensive than 290x.

What more do you guys want?

 

[RussK1]

YOUR NVIDIA BIAS is out of CONTROL!!!
I have been following Toms since the very first page went up, you need to get this reviewer under control, and check his bank account for payments from Nvidia...

"I wasn’t bothered by the R9 290X’s performance"
If this was a Nvidia card that had 1 BILLION less transistors and 113mm less DIE SIZE that was FASTER you would have said something along the lines of -
"I was freaking astounded by the performance of this chip! - making more fps power with less die size and less transitors on the same 28mm fab is out right amazing"
lets all not forget this
r9 290x 6.0b transistors
gtx 780 7.1b transistors

r9 290x 438mm
gtx 780 551mm
AMD well done, your products are cheaper, faster and do more with less congratulations

It's using more power to get less than 10 fps more, what would you be saying if the tables were reversed?

Lets get it right, it eeks out a few fps more over the GTX 780 in Gaming Evolved titles... this doesn't bode well for AMD.

 

[tului]

Mantle may not be on consoles, but AMD still has an advantage when companies go to port from the 2 new consoles to PC. Similar hardware. This is also not taking into account Linux' growing demographic. At present Linux is a niche, but if Steam really takes off there, I can see Mantle being used in Linux.

 

[Mousemonkey]

YOUR NVIDIA BIAS is out of CONTROL!!!
I have been following Toms since the very first page went up, you need to get this reviewer under control, and check his bank account for payments from Nvidia...

"I wasn’t bothered by the R9 290X’s performance"
If this was a Nvidia card that had 1 BILLION less transistors and 113mm less DIE SIZE that was FASTER you would have said something along the lines of -
"I was freaking astounded by the performance of this chip! - making more fps power with less die size and less transitors on the same 28mm fab is out right amazing"
lets all not forget this
r9 290x 6.0b transistors
gtx 780 7.1b transistors

r9 290x 438mm
gtx 780 551mm
AMD well done, your products are cheaper, faster and do more with less congratulations

It's using more power to get less than 10 fps more, what would you be saying if the tables were reversed?

Lets get it right, it eeks out a few fps more over the GTX 780 in Gaming Evolved titles... this doesn't bode well for AMD.

They are both AMD titles aren't they?

 

[Matt Nelson]

I think some of you confuse having the "most powerful card" with who will make the most sales. I'm not 100% sure of this, but i'd be willing to -bet- that the top range cards aren't the ones that get the most sales. It's more like bragging rights.

 

[Mousemonkey]

I think some of you confuse having the "most powerful card" with who will make the most sales. I'm not 100% sure of this, but i'd be willing to -bet- that the top range cards aren't the ones that get the most sales. It's more like bragging rights.

You're quite right there but isn't that always the way regardless of the product?

 

[RussK1]

YOUR NVIDIA BIAS is out of CONTROL!!!
I have been following Toms since the very first page went up, you need to get this reviewer under control, and check his bank account for payments from Nvidia...

"I wasn’t bothered by the R9 290X’s performance"
If this was a Nvidia card that had 1 BILLION less transistors and 113mm less DIE SIZE that was FASTER you would have said something along the lines of -
"I was freaking astounded by the performance of this chip! - making more fps power with less die size and less transitors on the same 28mm fab is out right amazing"
lets all not forget this
r9 290x 6.0b transistors
gtx 780 7.1b transistors

r9 290x 438mm
gtx 780 551mm
AMD well done, your products are cheaper, faster and do more with less congratulations

It's using more power to get less than 10 fps more, what would you be saying if the tables were reversed?

Lets get it right, it eeks out a few fps more over the GTX 780 in Gaming Evolved titles... this doesn't bode well for AMD.

They are both AMD titles aren't they?

Exactly my point MM. The question should be asked - WHY?

 

[Mousemonkey]

YOUR NVIDIA BIAS is out of CONTROL!!!
I have been following Toms since the very first page went up, you need to get this reviewer under control, and check his bank account for payments from Nvidia...

"I wasn’t bothered by the R9 290X’s performance"
If this was a Nvidia card that had 1 BILLION less transistors and 113mm less DIE SIZE that was FASTER you would have said something along the lines of -
"I was freaking astounded by the performance of this chip! - making more fps power with less die size and less transitors on the same 28mm fab is out right amazing"
lets all not forget this
r9 290x 6.0b transistors
gtx 780 7.1b transistors

r9 290x 438mm
gtx 780 551mm
AMD well done, your products are cheaper, faster and do more with less congratulations

It's using more power to get less than 10 fps more, what would you be saying if the tables were reversed?

Lets get it right, it eeks out a few fps more over the GTX 780 in Gaming Evolved titles... this doesn't bode well for AMD.

They are both AMD titles aren't they?

Exactly my point MM. The question should be asked - WHY?

I'm sure you said TWIMTBP in your original post which is why I quoted it.

 

[RussK1]

YOUR NVIDIA BIAS is out of CONTROL!!!
I have been following Toms since the very first page went up, you need to get this reviewer under control, and check his bank account for payments from Nvidia...

"I wasn’t bothered by the R9 290X’s performance"
If this was a Nvidia card that had 1 BILLION less transistors and 113mm less DIE SIZE that was FASTER you would have said something along the lines of -
"I was freaking astounded by the performance of this chip! - making more fps power with less die size and less transitors on the same 28mm fab is out right amazing"
lets all not forget this
r9 290x 6.0b transistors
gtx 780 7.1b transistors

r9 290x 438mm
gtx 780 551mm
AMD well done, your products are cheaper, faster and do more with less congratulations

It's using more power to get less than 10 fps more, what would you be saying if the tables were reversed?

Lets get it right, it eeks out a few fps more over the GTX 780 in Gaming Evolved titles... this doesn't bode well for AMD.

They are both AMD titles aren't they?

Exactly my point MM. The question should be asked - WHY?

I'm sure you said TWIMTBP in your original post which is why I quoted it.

I did, I quickly edited. Chose Gaming Evolved over GITG. Same difference... Point is, if it only barely eeks out a few more fps over the 780, curious as to the outcomes of neutral titles.

 

[IcePrince1991]

Im not seeing the point of this.. I'd be more concerned if AMD couldnt make a titan killer after a YEAR..

 

[Mousemonkey]

YOUR NVIDIA BIAS is out of CONTROL!!!
I have been following Toms since the very first page went up, you need to get this reviewer under control, and check his bank account for payments from Nvidia...

"I wasn’t bothered by the R9 290X’s performance"
If this was a Nvidia card that had 1 BILLION less transistors and 113mm less DIE SIZE that was FASTER you would have said something along the lines of -
"I was freaking astounded by the performance of this chip! - making more fps power with less die size and less transitors on the same 28mm fab is out right amazing"
lets all not forget this
r9 290x 6.0b transistors
gtx 780 7.1b transistors

r9 290x 438mm
gtx 780 551mm
AMD well done, your products are cheaper, faster and do more with less congratulations

It's using more power to get less than 10 fps more, what would you be saying if the tables were reversed?

Lets get it right, it eeks out a few fps more over the GTX 780 in Gaming Evolved titles... this doesn't bode well for AMD.

They are both AMD titles aren't they?

Exactly my point MM. The question should be asked - WHY?

I'm sure you said TWIMTBP in your original post which is why I quoted it.

I did, I quickly edited. Chose Gaming Evolved over GITG. Same difference... Point is, if it only barely eeks out a few more fps over the 780, curious as to the outcomes of neutral titles.

That's going to be the thing to watch for isn't it? If (and it's a big "if") Mantle is taken up by lot's of game devs, then things should start looking up but that isn't a given at the moment.

http://www.worldsfactory.net/2013/10/11/ubisoft-amds-mantle-api-is-a-double-edged-sword

 

[clonazepam]

We're only ever going to get incremental increases in performance to maximize the R&D dollars. The R&D already costs plenty. Imagine if both companies were forced by the other to make bigger leaps. We wouldn't be able to afford anything.

 

[Mousemonkey]

We're only ever going to get incremental increases in performance to maximize the R&D dollars. The R&D already costs plenty. Imagine if both companies were forced by the other to make bigger leaps. We wouldn't be able to afford anything.

Speak for yourself mate, I've got body parts I can sell! :lol:

 

[k1DBLITZ]

Am I the only one that noticed that the current benchmarks are in "quiet mode" and the "balls to the wall" mode is blurred out?

 

[Mousemonkey]

Am I the only one that noticed that the current benchmarks are in "quiet mode" and the "balls to the wall" mode is blurred out?

That may have something to do with the "special permissions" given by AMD.

 

[oxiide]

Has it been confirmed somewhere officially that Mantle will only function with AMD GCN hardware? I know AMD keeps name-dropping GCN in its marketing materials about Mantle—of course they are—but I haven't put a lot of stock in that as of yet.

Of course Microsoft wants nothing to do with it. But if its just going to be a gimmick to sell AMD hardware instead of an attempt at a new standard for PC gaming, this is going to be a real disappointment for everyone.

Yeah, pretty much.

In a surprising move, Advanced Micro Devices introduced its own low-level application programming interface designed specifically for GCN [graphics core next] architecture of AMD Radeon graphics chips.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/graphics/display/20131003232053_AMD_Mantle_Is_Proprietary_Now_But_It_Will_Become_Widely_Available_t😵thers.html

That linked article actually says what I was hoping for—that AMD envisions Mantle to [eventually] become an industry-wide standard. It sounds like, until then, it will be AMD/Frostbite-exclusive. That sucks, but at least it sounds like their plans for it are a lot smarter than that.

“The plan is, long term, once we have developed Mantle into a state where it’s stable and in a state where it can be shared openly [we will make it available]. The long term plan is to share and create the spec and SDK and make it widely available.”