Need help choosing a GPU.

[sebastian869]

The moment i look at a model like a 290x i start reading then find out the bottom tier are worthless as they are hot as hell and make more noise than a lawn mower. Then to find one that has that issue addressed i might as well get a 780ti so i started at 770 want to spend about 400 at most i my main game play is shooters and im building a system and its only with these gpus where the problem persists and really a scam as they get the advertised speed by factory OC the HELL out of the card not to mention if you want to do that as well. The reviews keep saying had to return the card cuz it crashed once or twice or if there lucky the 3 one worked. Can someone knowledgeable please help i really don't want to be paying "ROG money".

"ROG MATRIX-R9290X-P-4GD5 Radeon R9 290X 4GB 512-Bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card"

Then i came across this review which was finally done by a pro: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2014...r9_290x_4gb_overclocked_at_4k/11#.U9xTEfn-QuH

P.S. if police come and see my brains all over the wall it was not suicide it was the proverbial mind blown. Gotta be a well cooled car thats fast (oh and when prices drop id like to buy another)

Lets just say $400-450 ish and best bang/cooling/$ for the buck. I've been doing HW for last 3 months and all i got is 770, 780 or ti / 290 290x

Thank you.

 

[micropage7]

whats your resolution?
bigger memory is needed when you run high texture or doing aa/af
personally i would take AMD and standard version is ok since you can boost it through software

 

[Jetster]

Thread #4 on basically the same subject. Just pick one and fill out your specs correctly

 

[micropage7]

Thread #4 on basically the same subject. Just pick one and fill out your specs correctly

he said

Really wondering what you guys think is the best r9 290? who has the best "after mkt" heat controlling methods as the board gets hot, from what i read it seems to be the biggest issue with the board. From the home work I've done I decided to go with the 290 vs 770 or the more expensive 780 (not worth the extra funds for the results, I'm only worried about the AMD drivers vs Nvidia drivers)

Lastly, does it make sense to buy the "Over clocked models vs stock speed"

if the price gap is far, i may buy stock
i dont think the more important is how good your airflow beside how good your hsf

 

[PatoRodrigues]

Do not buy the reference R9 290 with the stock cooler. They have a POS memory overheating problem that is probably causing black screens all over the place. Trust me, i bought two of these from XFX.

I'd recommend a Sapphire Tri-X, looks awesome and by the reviews, seems to have a small edge over the DCII from ASUS. Just great performance for the money.

 

[lh1983]

Here's what I currently have:

Intel i5-3570K at 4.0 Ghz cooled by H100i
8GB RAM
ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
2x MSI GTX 760
Corsair Air 540 case
Corsair AX860 PSU
BenQ XL2411Z 1080p/144hz gaming monitor

The games I am currently playing are: Titanfall, Watch Dogs, Wildstar

Games I will be playing in the coming months/year: Shadow of Mordor, Assassin's Creed: Unity, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Star Citizen, Elite: Dangerous

I am considering an upgrade to triple XL2411z monitors.

My dilemma -- what to choose for a GPU upgrade? My budget is around $1,200, ideally. I am a total nVidia fan, but not above switching to the Red Team if the best gaming experience is there. Basically, I want to drive well in excess of 60FPS in most games with the eye candy cranked. I didn't build this PC to game on medium.

 

[Mathragh]

R9 290(non-X) with a non-stock cooler! go for it!

 

[64K]

R9 290 seems to be the sweet spot for performance/price. Sapphire makes a really nice card.

 

[NationsAnarchy]

I would agree with most guys here and go with a non-reference R9 290

 

[Enigma8750]

The 780ti is one of the Fastest Single processor Card right now. that would not get as hot and not as loud either and the performance is more than you will probably need.

 

[lh1983]

The 780ti is one of the Fastest Single processor Card right now. that would not get as hot and not as loud either and the performance is more than you will probably need.

Right now, the benchmarks on my double 760s are right in line with a single reference 780 ti, with just a little more heat and noise, which my case handles with aplomb anyway.

If I'm upgrading, I'm upgrading to another double-card configuration, especially since I want to start gaming at 5670x1080 once I can convince my wife to spring for two more monitors. (ETA: Unless I do something dumb like get a Titan Black. Then I'll bide my time, three months at least, and grab a second Titan Black).

The only thing that keeps me from dropping the hammer on a pair of 780 tis is the lack of VRAM. I like my AA, very much, and with games like Titanfall offering an "insane" texture package and Watch_Dogs going nuts with the textures, I'm worried. I bought the 760s over a pair of 7950s back in the day because the chatter was all about how 3GB VRAM was overkill and even a heavily-modded Skyrim only used 2GB. Then this latest round of console devs decided to cheat their way into higher performance and we're starting to see ridiculous VRAM requirements. I don't want to be left holding my junk in my hand when recommended specs start saying "4GB VRAM required for ultra-high textures."

On the other hand, a 6GB 780 worries me. It worries me because it's still married to a 384-bit bus, and I'm worried it's like the 760/770 4GB models. Lots of VRAM, but the chip is wholly unable to keep up because of bus speed limitations. And despite rumors of the coming of a 780 ti 6GB model, I don't think nVidia has a price point to squeeze that in between the Titan Black and 780 ti.

I like the Vapor-X 290s. I've owned several Sapphire cards in the past and always been happy with them, but it always seems like I'm fighting AMD's software whereas since I've switched to the green team I haven't really had that (except the Star Citizen alpha shitting itself when I have SLI enabled for it). I also like the possibility of extending the usable life of my CPU with Mantle, and at least one of the games I really want to play (DA3) will be Mantle-enabled.

 

[64K]

Are you in a position to wait on the next gen of GPUs from Nvidia/ AMD? It's possibly a few months from now.

I don't think there will be a 6 GB GTX 780Ti. That would undercut the soon to be obsolete Titan Black.

 

[lh1983]

Are you in a position to wait on the next gen of GPUs from Nvidia/ AMD? It's possibly a few months from now.

I don't think there will be a 6 GB GTX 780Ti. That would undercut the soon to be obsolete Titan Black.

Could I theoretically wait and game on med-high for two-three months? Yes. Does the instant gratification side of me want to do that, for an unknown level of performance increase in the 880? No. The specs I've seen rumored for the 880 are 4GB VRAM on a 256-bit bus. Even if the 204 chip is fast, that bus seems rather small and the VRAM still on the anemic side. I would rather wait for the 880 ti/980 models with the 20nm process, with 6-8 GB of VRAM. I'd say we are probably a year or 3/4 of a year from that point.

 

[leeb2013]

well you can get a Sapphire Tri-x R9-290 with an awesome cooler and 4GB Vram for multimonitor, which is equal to or better than a GTX780 for <$400.

 

[Ebo]

I have the Sapphire R9 290 Tri-x OC in my system and it is awsome .

It has a 512 bit mem bus, 4GB ram(high resolutions) and its wisper quiet even though the Hawaii chip is running hot. The only downside is the length of the card which is 30,2 cm( I think) 11.9 inches, its long, very long in a midi tower.

That is for me, the bang for the buck in GFX as of today, if you can say that about an relatively expensive card. Thats in my eyes the best preformance/price ratio you can find out there, it never throtthles even on a hot summer day, it just keeps going.
Mine has never been over 57/60 degrees which is 134.6 Fahrenheit, no matter which game ive trown at it.
Last time ive seen such a preformance was when AMD/ATI launched their HD5850 and I had 2 of those in crossfire.
You can even buy Sapphires R9 290 vapor-x model of the same card, which gives a little better cooling and a 2nd bios but that comes with a premium pricetag.

I just have to say Sapphire R9 Tri-x OC is absolutely awsome.

 

[R00kie]

Sapphire R9 290 Tri-x or Vapor-X, or MSI's Gaming.

 

[dr0thegreatest]

Those Sapphire r9 290's are whisper quiet and very cool .Will not be dissapointed. Also whats up with the blow your brains up, some first world problems your having there.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

The moment i look at a model like a 290x i start reading then find out the bottom tier are worthless as they are hot as hell and make more noise than a lawn mower.

Then you didn't do much reading. The non reference models of the more trustworthy brands are fine. Take a moment to recover from your paranoid knee jerk reactions and realize AMD is leading on price to performance ratio, as is often the case, and drivers really aren't an issue. Plus you get more VRAM, and even if you don't use it it adds resale value for those whom are trying to affordably budget a hi res and/or multi display setup. Lots of people wasted excess money on the 780 Ti for the same reactions and more.

 

[GhostRyder]

For the R9 290 it comes down to the cooler it seems. Most people view the 290 as the best bang for buck high end card right now as it's pretty much on par with a GTX 780 but for less money and with more VRAM.

Since you are looking at multi monitor, the extra VRAM will come in handy. However to get ultra setting at 5760x1080 you are probably going to need a second card down the line.

My suggestion for cooler is between 2 cards:
Sapphire TRI-X R9 290 OC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202080&cm_re=R9_290-_-14-202-080-_-Product

Or

PowerColor PCS+ R9 290
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131549&cm_re=R9_290-_-14-131-549-_-Product

I like the sapphire cooler and the powercolor. I have met two people with the tri-x cooler and one with the PCS+ and both do great jobs and allow for heavy clocking.

 

[coozie78]

With dual GTX760s currently installed I'd hold off until Nvidia release their new Maxwell cored cards and see what they bring to the table-the 'Net Rumour Mill suggests October or November this year.
Don't get me wrong, the R9 290 is a great card but I don't think you'll see much of an improvement over your current configuration and spending >$400 for what amounts to an extra 2Gb of VRAM seems, frankly nonsensical to me.

 

[lh1983]

With dual GTX760s currently installed I'd hold off until Nvidia release their new Maxwell cored cards and see what they bring to the table-the 'Net Rumour Mill suggests October or November this year.
Don't get me wrong, the R9 290 is a great card but I don't think you'll see much of an improvement over your current configuration and spending >$400 for what amounts to an extra 2Gb of VRAM seems, frankly nonsensical to me.

What about if I grab 2x 290s for a crossfire setup?

 

[sebastian869]

whats your resolution?
bigger memory is needed when you run high texture or doing aa/af
personally i would take AMD and standard version is ok since you can boost it through software

my monitor now is 1080 but im trying to buy a best i can afford card now then when prices drop got sli or amd sli what ever that is. I mean i know for 1080 770 is fine but i dont want to get for today i want something that will still hold its own in 3 yrs and the cpu is 4790k

thanks

Do not buy the reference R9 290 with the stock cooler. They have a POS memory overheating problem that is probably causing black screens all over the place. Trust me, i bought two of these from XFX.

I'd recommend a Sapphire Tri-X, looks awesome and by the reviews, seems to have a small edge over the DCII from ASUS. Just great performance for the money.

yeah my guess is amd is getting the performance out of the 290/x cuz they factory OC them to death if u read newegg customer review its RMA after RMA after RMA 4/5 times till they get a stable one

Here's what I currently have:

Intel i5-3570K at 4.0 Ghz cooled by H100i
8GB RAM
ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
2x MSI GTX 760
Corsair Air 540 case
Corsair AX860 PSU
BenQ XL2411Z 1080p/144hz gaming monitor

The games I am currently playing are: Titanfall, Watch Dogs, Wildstar

Games I will be playing in the coming months/year: Shadow of Mordor, Assassin's Creed: Unity, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Star Citizen, Elite: Dangerous

I am considering an upgrade to triple XL2411z monitors.

My dilemma -- what to choose for a GPU upgrade? My budget is around $1,200, ideally. I am a total nVidia fan, but not above switching to the Red Team if the best gaming experience is there. Basically, I want to drive well in excess of 60FPS in most games with the eye candy cranked. I didn't build this PC to game on medium.

thats the one thing that blows i got the monitor on the pretext im going to get nvidia board as its the XL 2420T do u have any idea if it can be 3d id with ati card? and cant but the mobo till i know card but looking at the asrock or asus q97 1150 and 4790k prob 8 mb in ram (current one when i went to 12 for multi mon i saw no improvement in anything)

Do not buy the reference R9 290 with the stock cooler. They have a POS memory overheating problem that is probably causing black screens all over the place. Trust me, i bought two of these from XFX.

I'd recommend a Sapphire Tri-X, looks awesome and by the reviews, seems to have a small edge over the DCII from ASUS. Just great performance for the money.

For the money do you think the 290 is the best card to go with (the bitch of it is now u cant just research hardware to hardware u have to compute after mkt cooler and that boost the price from 300-400 or 600 on the 290x then might as well get 780TI but i refuse to spend that much on GPU or any hardware as in 6 months its gonna be down to 250 or more over when the prices drop i plan to get another board and go sli

 

[MxPhenom 216]

Editing your posts, instead of double, triple, quadruple posting would be a start.

When it comes to Nvidia, prices never really drop, the cards just get replaced by next gen.

Pretty sure a vast majority of TPUers have told you to get a non reference R9-290. Like a Sapphire Tri-X. What more do you want?

yeah my guess is amd is getting the performance out of the 290/x cuz they factory OC them to death if u read newegg customer review its RMA after RMA after RMA 4/5 times till they get a stable one

AMD does not overclock the cards out of the factory, that would be their vendors doing (Sapphire, XFX, MSI, Asus, etc.) With non reference card designs, vendors are free to do what they want with the clocks and BIOSes. Vendors also do not overclock very far. It is pretty rare (more like never) from my experiences when buying a factory overclocked card for it to be unstable out of the box. Cards that are overclocked out of the box and typically binned so that those chips will always be stable at the clock they set it too.

 

[sebastian869]

u forget one thing ull be sleeping in the dog house after u buy the titan black then might as well get the 295 comes with water cooling. I just dont want to make such bank breakers as they will depreciate faster than chinese hardware, were not contemplating gold investments and as a professional, for your tips i give one guys one wait for regression(fib retracement of at least 50% above the breakout) and the easy one, buy gold anytime its below 1300 for a min 5 yrs hold. Back to the interesting stuff than what is the best 290 out there (which co installed the best after mkt cooler?)

 

[MxPhenom 216]

u forget one thing ull be sleeping in the dog house after u buy the titan black then might as well the 295 comes with water cooling. I just dont want to make such bank breakers as they will depreciate faster than chinese hardware, were not contemplating gold investments and as a professional, for your tips i give one guys one wait for regression(fib retracement of at least 50% above the breakout) and the easy one, buy gold anytime its below 1300 for a min 5 yrs hold. Back to the interesting stuff than what is the best 290 out there (which co installed the best after mkt cooler?)

To everything you just said.........