AMD's Radeon R9 290X is a great chip with sub-par reference cooling performance that's not just noisy but could also cool the GPU inadequately, making it throttle. With AMD allowing its partners to come up with non-reference design cards, most AMD Radeon add-in board (AIB) partners are pulling out their workhorses (think DirectCU II, WindForce 450W, TwinFrozr IV, VaporX Dual-X, etc). PowerColor has more fluid plans. The company could be among the first partners to come up with an R9 290X card that's ready for liquid cooling out of the box, the R9 290X LCS.

PowerColor Radeon R9 290X LCS features a full-coverage liquid-cooling block by EK Water Blocks, which besides the PowerColor LCS branding, is basically EK-FC R9-290X with the nickel-acetal top option. The block appears to be factory-fitted onto an AMD reference design PCB. PowerColor didn't mention clock speeds or pricing, although given the block's $145 aftermarket price, one can't discount the possibility of a $120~150 premium over the $549.99 pricing of the R9 290X. PowerColor could launch the Radeon R9 290X LCS, along with another air-cooled non-reference design card a little later this month.