Graphics Card Upgrade from r9 290 reference card

[Mutilation]

So I am eagerly looking forward to the HBM cards for 2017 but I need a bit of an upgrade before then. I am considering purchasing one this summer around when AMD and NVIDIA release their next cards. Since I plan on buying the highest end I can get next year with the new HBM cards what would be a good upgrade from what I have now that isn't overly expensive (under 500 if possible). I presently have one of the original r9 290 reference cards from XFX. I have frame issues on games like Black Desert and Star Citizen and those will be the games I am upgrading for, more so for Star Citizen.

I saw where it was recommended to get a custom cooler for the reference card and they are about 80 but I am not sure if it is worth the 80 dollars.

I also saw where you can flash the 290 to a 290x but didn't know if it was really worth it.

This is the card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150683

Current Hardware
MSI X99A SLI PLUS
i7-5820
32gb G. SKILL Ripjaw
Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1200-w
XFX r9 290
Dual monitor setup
1920x1080

 

[Martell1977]

It would be worth it to get the custom cooler as the card wont throttle down under heavy gaming as it probably does now.

For an actual upgrade now...you are looking at the Fury or Fury X for AMD or a 980 or 980ti for nVidia. Under $500 would be the Fury or 980. But i would get the custom cooler and see where that gets you, especially since you will be replacing the card in about a year.

I suggest watching your GPU memory usage in case the 4gb is a limiting factor, in which case a 390X might be in order with the 8gb vram.

Lastly, what resolution are you gaming at?

 

[Mutilation]

I presently only play at 1980 since I don't have 4k monitors and I don't plan on getting any till HB 2 in 2017. I will try monitoring the memory after I download something to do that. Playing anything unless it is on an extremely low setting causes the fan to wind up like crazy though and I think that is the limit, not entirely sure though.

 

[Mutilation]

So I am using CPUID HWMonitor and even with Black Desert on very low settings (except the textures) my card jumps to 100% quite often. I take it that would be an indication of maxing out memory?

 

[Martell1977]

So I am using CPUID HWMonitor and even with Black Desert on very low settings (except the textures) my card jumps to 100% quite often. I take it that would be an indication of maxing out memory?

It sounds like it is throttling. A good custom cooler could make a huge difference for you. Since you are on 1080p, the memory shouldn't be a big factor, but heat probably is. Get a really good cooler and you should be able to turn up your settings without hearing a jet engine in the case.

 

[Mutilation]

So you would say the approximate $80 is worth it as opposed to just getting a new card? I am sort of worried that I might break the card trying to install the heat sink. I have never done anything like that.

 

[Martell1977]

So you would say the approximate $80 is worth it as opposed to just getting a new card? I am sort of worried that I might break the card trying to install the heat sink. I have never done anything like that.

I think so, it seems that the card is throttling a lot due to heat, which is a well documented issue with the reference cooler.

The current gen cards are not that much of an upgrade without spending a large amount and even then, it's not a huge jump.

As for the replacement, it's rather simple. You remove the screws, use rubbing alcohol on a cloth to clean off the thermal paste, add the new paste (I recommend Arctic MX-4) then follow the directions to attach the new cooler. There are likely videos on youtube to watch on how to install it, depending on what cooler you get.

 

[Mutilation]

Awesome, I think I will go this route so I can save all of my money for next year and HBM 2. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Mutilation]

This is what I am getting for anyone else who reads this thread.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186097

Edit: After looking into it it seems this newer version does not have heat sinks for the vram so I will have to keep looking.