VisionTek Makes a Cheaper Than DIY Water Cooled R9 290

[N.Broekhuijsen]

VisionTek makes a water-cooled Radeon R9 290 that's cheaper than a DIY solution!

VisionTek Makes a Cheaper Than DIY Water Cooled R9 290 : Read more

 

[Zac Lloyd-Jones]

Wow that is really cheap. Usually when manufacturers stick a waterblock on for you they rip you off.

 

[jin_mtvt]

That is not cheap.First off, we all know that AMD has a defective cooler setup on the reference cards.Soon, they might be "stuck" with reference cards that cannot sell well because of much more efficient ( no throttling ) partners boards will come back to regular pricing.What we see here, is a way to "move " reference boards ( or some other stock managing plan )Then, how do you think this water cooler plate is worth at manufacturing level ?1- no moving parts , no fans2- we can't tell the material from the picures 100%, but if there is some expensive copper in that heatsink, it does not represent a large portion of it.3- acrylic/plastic/aluminum are all very easily machinable materials with current low cost for any large manufacturer.This water cooling block probably has a similar cost to the reference cooler.1 year warranty @ 550$?? non merci ...I will never buy any computer products with less than 3 years of warranty.Less is almost an insult or should carry a substantial discount.But, it would probably make a superb paperweight when it stops working after 1 year and a few months of use.So the price of the product is ok...nothing specialbut the warranty of only 1 year breaks the intentionmy 300w

 

[jcaulley_74]

I normally don't get too excited when I see an OEM water cooled card announcement. They always wayyy overprice (ahem, EVGA). I've never bought a VisionTek card before, but this might just be the excuse to give them a try seeing as how I have been eyeballing 290s and EK blocks already. It so rare and so very refreshing to see a company offer up a good value.

 

[jcaulley_74]

@jin_mtvt The block is made by EK, it is a nickel plated solid copper heat plate that covers all the hot components. The top cover is Acrylic and the connector part is acetal. EK has been in the water cooling business for a while and makes some of the best water blocks around. Considering the card costs $400, the EK block is $140 and the backplate is $36. $550 for what you can't buy for less than $576 is a decent value. If you were looking to water cool a 290, you would be stupid to pay more than what you can get this for. And the one year warranty, the moment you remove the cooler from your card, your warranty is void, so one year is 365 days more than you get it you do this yourself and you save $26 in the process.

 

[psychodegu]

I feel like the only reason this is "cheaper" is because of the inflated price the R9 card have due to Bitcoin mining. Since the Bit miners don't water cool, they will have a harder time selling these at the inflated rice.

 

[firefoxx04]

Can we shut up about the bitcoin/litecoin miners? Everyone is sooooo butt hurt that the cards keep selling out. You can buy the cards and use them for whatever you want.Anyways, $550 for one of the best cards on the market seems like a great price. Just look at past flagship card prices and compare them to this. Its a great deal regardless what the original reference cards went for.

 

[tigger888]

When did this become engadget?

 

[cats_Paw]

I dont kile marketing tricks like these.

 

[realibrad]

Offering a product that other dont offer at a price point that is lower than the end user could DIY, then its not a "Trick." A luxury car that puts an umbrella in the door is not a trick simply because I dont want a luxury car and already have an umbrella.

 

[DRosencraft]

Umm... where does this price come from for the water block? I'm in the US, and from every retailer I've seen (not directly from EK) the most expensive 290 block from EK is $120. I won't quibble over the few dollars on the backplate, but the "verification and overclocking" is really an addition if you're comparing to a DIYer. Really, a direct comparison would be the warranty status and the price of parts and labor. Under that rubric the pricing is actually exactly the same, though as mentioned, you get the assurance of a warranty for the first year. Still a pretty good deal, just not the amazing deal they're suggesting.

 

[Rhinofart]

Damnit! They are sold out. I agree with Firefoxx04. Who cares about mining Bitcoin. You waste more money "mining" than you earn from it. The parts, the electricity, and for what? Some BS "currency" that the Chinese have likely already hacked (Would explain their outlawing of BitCoin and dumping it all so they can just steal it all later anyways). These cards are a good deal. Prebuilt with a good waterblock, factory overclocked and benched for max speed / stability. How can you go wrong? Which is why I ordered 2. Just have to wait for them to be back in stock. But in the meantime, I'll continue gaming away on my DIY Watercooled pair of 5990s. I just want to be able to play Titanfall at 2560x1440 with absolutely everything cranked to max.

 

[lowguppy]

Considering you pretty much have to spend $500 on a stock 290 right now anyways that is definitely a good price. It is a very pretty water block too.

 

[jin_mtvt]

I agree the price is right for the current situation.But it is nothing extraordinary as suggested.The reference card prices are coming down,i can currently get a 290 reference for ~480$CAD including BF4 .This particular card was 460$ when it launched.Newegg.ca and.com been having 290 and X version ( reference ) in stock for a few weeks now, though newegg is still boosting the prices because well, stupid people paid 550-600$ for a reference 290.Can you really blame newegg ? You can blame the little kids that couldn't wait for buying at that price after the mining boom.Plated copper? well then nice ...still if this sells for 120$ it actually means you get a year of warranty vs a diy solution for the same price.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The $140 / $36 pricing is BS as:1. It's $26 more than I have ever paid for a EK WB / BP combo.2. What I paid included reseller markup3. As an OEM, they are certainly paying less per set than the EK resellers are.Still .....it's one of those win-win deals ..... the customer wins cause he feels like he saved $26 (even if the savings is based upon a bogus markup), but he dors get a warranty which he would not have had otherwise.EK wins cause a) they getting a lot of sales in one oder offsetting the price cut they musta gave.Vision Tek wins cause the WB / PC purchase is significantly offset by not having to add air cooler.Of the three, I'd have to say VT gets the most outta the deal thh, almost forgot..... I only charge myself $20 for testing and overclocking verification .... way less than VT

 

[Rhinofart]

WTF is with people and their grammar and spelling?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

If you're referring to me, my typing is a bit off as I have Dupytrens and am awaiting my 3rd hand surgery .... sorry that it bothers you.

 

[lord hircine]

Is this card maintenance-free like do i have to refill or clean the waterblock in this card from time to time or is it work free like the asetek sealed liquid coolers? And is this card stock as good as a stock gtx 780ti?

 

[thequn]

Assuming for a second that this was not sold out and you could buy this now it would be a good value. However if prices were normal and that default Card was back at 400 instead of the 529 dollar Default card that's on all the sites now its about 50 dollars over do your self value. Most of the Water-coolers don't use back plates so that nulls the idea out the gate. Right now the reference card is 120 dollars over market and if your forced to buy this is would be worth it. sadly.

 

[Rhinofart]

@ Jack. WTF does hand surgery have to do with knowing how to spell a simple word? I have ET and I still spell crap correctly.