what is the purpose of the hardware switch on r9 290 ?

[ImPain]

Hi eeverybody,

Sorry if this is a stupid question but i upgraded to a sapphire r9 290 Tri-x OC version few weeks ago, and I have been wondering what this switch on the side of the GPU does:

http://imgur.com/uGs5GNp

I tried to look only but can't find anything clear, most of the results are regarding the 'S' button for the UEFI boots that you have on the 'X' models of AMD GPUs.

If anybody as a clue and can help me understand thank you in advance, I am new to AMD GPUs it's my first one, only had Nvidia ones before..

Currently I put the switch to the left side (to the direction of the back of the case), but before it was on the right side.

Thanks in advance!

 

[bignastyid]

Switches the card between quiet mode and uber mode.
http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/radeon-r9-290-review-benchmarks,15.html

 

[Shadowblade2652]

Basically in quiet mode, the card will ONLY spin up once the load hits above X%.
Pros:
- Quieter
- Still does a good job in terms of cooling

Cons:
-Higher temperatures
- Slightly reduced performance

In performance mode, the fans are pretty much always at high RPMS and it'll bump that up as you get further.

Pros:
- More performance
- Lower temperatures

Cons:
- More noise
- More noise
- More noise

 

[ImPain]

Thanks for your replies!
From the link you put, the difference in game between Quiet mode and Uber mode are the same (1FPS?), so might as well leave it in Quiet mode no?

 

[Shadowblade2652]

Leave it in quiet mode since the 290 is loud as hell without it.

 

[ImPain]

Forgot to specify but in my case it is not the reference design, I have the Sapphire r9 290 Tri-X OC model, so the noise and temps are quite good.

 

[Gaidax]

Forget about what people said regarding Quiet Mode and Uber Mode, Sapphire removed that shit on Tri-X.

For Tri-X it is a switch between legacy and UEFI BIOS. Just set it to UEFI (check the reference about it at Sapphire site) and forget about it.

No difference in performance or cooling in either position.

 

[ImPain]

Forget about what people said regarding Quiet Mode and Uber Mode, Sapphire removed that shit on Tri-X.

For Tri-X it is a switch between legacy and UEFI BIOS. Just set it to UEFI (check the reference about it at Sapphire site) and forget about it.

No difference in performance or cooling in either position.

I don't see any difference when switching it. My motherboard bios is up to date with UEFI and from what I understand switching the GPU to UEFI mode accelerates the boot time.
I personally don't see any difference.

If you know how it works please enlighten me..

Thanks.

 

[17seconds]

From the HardOCP review of the Sapphire R9-290X Tri-X OC:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014/08/01/sapphire_vaporx_r9_290x_trix_oc_video_card_review/1#.U-Q_DZUg-Uk

UEFI stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface. This is a new interface meant to replace BIOS. The benefits of UEFI on this video card are improved boot times and resume times and secure boot. This feature can be enabled or disabled with a button on top of the video card. By default it is in legacy mode, with UEFI disabled. Turning it on is as simple as pushing the button, and the button lights up blue. The button also acts as a dual-BIOS for the video card.

IFC stands for SAPPHIRE Intelligent Fan Control. There is a switch on the back of this video card that has a default setting of "On" but you can turn it to "Off" if you chose. This feature is called IFC, Intelligent Fan Control. This technology from SAPPHIRE allows the video card to shut down two of the three fans while running at idle, or light gaming where the temperature remains at a certain level. When the load and temperature increase, the fans turn on. Now, the middle fan is always on at all times, even with IFC on.

The GPU must remain below 60c in order for two of the fans to stay off with IFC on. Once the temperature goes above 60c the other two fans kick on. SAPPHIRE claims the noise level is about 20-29% lower with IFC on and the fans disabled in idle speed compared to all three fans running. This is naturally implemented to quell the big complaint that AMD R9 290X video cards run loud. If you turn IFC off all three fans run at the same speed all the time.

 

[ImPain]

I understand both, thanks for your reply.
I don't have the 'S' button since mine is an r9 290 not a 'X' version. And yesterday I tried to switch it left and right when my GPU was idle to see if the outside fans would stop rotating and only the middle one keeps going on. I saw no difference and all the fans are running even idle..

So i really don't get what is the purpose of the switch but nevermind..

Thanks for your replies anyway!

 

[luzxud1]

Go to nvidia control panel and select you PhysX device.

 

[ImPain]

Go to nvidia control panel and select you PhysX device.

Wtf?

 

[Shadowblade2652]

Go to nvidia control panel and select you PhysX device.

Wtf?

I skipped to the last post and I read it and I was like, what elicited this 'wtf'. Then I look at the post above and I'm like 'wtf'.