R9 390 - Is the Heat Blown out of Proportion? Or not?

[turkey3_scratch]

I am deciding if I should get an R9 390 since my 850W G2 power supply will be arriving any day. However, I keep hearing people mention how hot these cards get. But I'd actually like to know how hot the 390 is compared to the 970, in terms of actual temperature readings. Note that I'm on 1440p so the 390 seems like an ideal option for me.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Heat on AMD cards is blown out of proportion. As long as you have good case cooling with any card you're all set. It will run warmer than a Nvidia, but unless you have case cooling issues I would not be concerned.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Do you know of any good sources that show specific heat at different loads?

 

[Sakkura]

When it comes to the temperatures on the card itself, it just depends on how good the cooler is. With a good cooler the 390 is like any other graphics card.

As for the rest of the system, the 390 does generate more heat, and with a typical cooler much of that will be dumped inside the case. This can make CPU temperatures rise a little higher, but if you have good case airflow it's really nothing to worry about. It is a bit of a downside for small form factor builds though.

 

[andy_Man]

Here is a power consumption chart.
http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/Sapphire-Nitro-Radeon-R9-390-8GB-Review/3DMark-Power-and-Conclusions
TDP is measured in Watts, which is a unit of heat really.

I don't think you will notice much of a difference. It's like warm vs slightly warmer.

 

[Rogue Leader]

Do you know of any good sources that show specific heat at different loads?

This is largely dependent on case and airflow.

Heres some examples vs other cards both at idle and full load:

http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/msi-radeon-r9-390x-gaming-8g-oc-review,9.html

As you can see it actually runs cooler than the 970 in this test.

 

[Sakkura]

Do you know of any good sources that show specific heat at different loads?

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Powercolor/R9_390_PCS_Plus/34.html

Check the high temperatures on the AMD R9 290, Asus R9 290, PowerColor R9 290X, and AMD R9 290X. The two AMD-branded ones are the reference cooled versions, the Asus cooler was copied from the GTX 780 and thus didn't make proper contact with the chip in the R9 290, and the Powercolor cooler just sucked I guess. But the other 290, 290X, 390, and 390X cards with better coolers get perfectly fine temperatures.

 

[andy_Man]

Given the same cooling, the 970 will produce less heat.
Think of it this way, if it's using 250 Watts it's producing 250 Watts worth of heat. A better cooler actually removes heat away from the chip into the room better.

So the cooler your chip is the more heat was transferred successfully from it to the air.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

What are the ones with the best cooling systems?

 

[Rogue Leader]

What are the ones with the best cooling systems?

Sapphire is generally known to have the best air cooling. The data from above supports this.

 

[andy_Man]

Usually all of the after market coolers are so close it's not worth it to use cooling to decide which you get. I usually just look for the cheapest. In this case,
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/gigabyte-video-card-gvr939wf28gd
If you're in the States.
And ask myself is the cooler good? I say yes, I'v had gigabyte cards in the past and they have been great.

 

[coozie7]

At high loads there's really no comparison: I've had a GTX970 and run a R9 290 (long story, don't ask 😉 ).
Even when heavily loaded the GTX970 produces far less heat, so it's a natural choice for people who want a quiet system, have cases with less than brilliant airflow or which can't handle the bigger coolers the AMD cards demand.
With the changes made with the 3XX cards the heat is better controlled but these cards still demand a case with plenty of well directed airflow if their coolers are to work effectively.
Temperatures with the R9 3XX cards are generally good, the days of the old R9 290/290X running at 95C with a howling reference cooler are long gone and all the cards currently available offer reasonably quiet, reasonably cool options.
At your rez I'd go for the R9 390 anyway, it's a little better at those higher resolutions than the GTX970 and that massive 8Gb memory won't hurt in the future.

 

[andy_Man]

What are the ones with the best cooling systems?

Sapphire is generally known to have the best air cooling. The data from above supports this.

Cheapest sapphire 390 is $380, at that price you might as well get a $400 390x.
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r9390xgaming8g

 

[turkey3_scratch]

My case is the NZXT H440, so I have plenty of good airflow. It had 3 intake fans and one exhaust, and I can always add more.

 

[Rogue Leader]

What are the ones with the best cooling systems?

Sapphire is generally known to have the best air cooling. The data from above supports this.

Cheapest sapphire 390 is $380, at that price you might as well get a $400 390x.
https://pcpartpicker.com/part/msi-video-card-r9390xgaming8g

Sure about that?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202148&cm_re=sapphire_R9_390-_-14-202-148-_-Product

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202164&cm_re=sapphire_R9_390-_-14-202-164-_-Product

$314 after rebate and $329 respectively.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

So do the ones with 3 fans cool better than the ones with two fans?

 

[Rogue Leader]

So do the ones with 3 fans cool better than the ones with two fans?

Sapphire just is known to be the closest manufacturer to AMD and their 3 fan solution has been proven to be quietest and most efficient. Looking at the temps linked above the Sapphire is the lowest of the group, and with 3 fans they don't need to spin as fast to keep the temp down.