Is this r9 290x unreliable?

Oct 8, 2013
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So I was going to get this opposed to the gtx 770 due to its great performance and price only being £30 more. However, after a closer look i'm not sure it's a good idea, anyone got an opinion on which one to get?
The r9 is faster, but I'm scared of it dying soon.
 
The R9 290X is definitely faster than a 770. I haven't heard of any major reliability issues with the card. The cards with the stock cooler do run seriously hot, but AMD are adamant that it's within safe operating range and won't affect the life of the card. Given it's been out a while now, I would have expected to see reports if there were significant failure rates. That would be a massive hit on AMD's reputation too, so I can't see them taking those sorts of risks.

If you're looking at a reference AMD R9 290X (without an branded cooler), bear in mind that they are very loud. It's a low quality cooler that isn't really up to the job. There are a bunch of branded models (like Sapphire Tri-X) which are much better options and definitely worth the extra 5%-10% they usually charge.
 
There are no heat, sound or reliability issues with the non-reference cooler designs for the R9 290X.

There is also no real reason for multiple cards unless you are planning a 4K build or running Eyefinity. An R9 290 is likely a better solution, anyway, from a price/performance standpoint.