r9 380x or r9 290

[Jeffsmith]

i have an r9 270x 2gb and looking to upgrade.
im interested in the r9 290 and 380x. i know the 290 is better, but ive been looking online (im canadian) and on newegg.ca there are 380x's and 290(s) for about $310 CAD. but the r9 290 is a reference card so it will be loud/hot. neither of that is a problem with my case, but will the circuits die in a year, 2 years? which is the better choice.

 

[renz496]

With reference design i imagine throttling could be a problem. Most of the time people that get reference design intend to put them on water because water block for reference design are much easier to find. Try looking more. I heard that 290/290X are becoming much harder to get (new) because it has been EOLed by AMD. And i heard AMD partner will release cost effective 390 soon (half the VRAM of current 390).

 

[Jeffsmith]

With reference design i imagine throttling could be a problem. Most of the time people that get reference design intend to put them on water because water block for reference design are much easier to find. Try looking more. I heard that 290/290X are becoming much harder to get (new) because it has been EOLed by AMD. And i heard AMD partner will release cost effective 390 soon (half the VRAM of current 390).

what if i dont plan on water cooling?

 

[17mchuh17]

Search around on ebay if you havent already made your choice. 290s are going for cheap and many with aftermakret coolers.

The other option is to buy an aftermaket cooler for the 290. ( usually only ~$30 US)