Gone for quite a bit, going from HD7950 x 2 --> R9 290x. Looking for feedback

[Powermoloch]

Hey there!

It's been awhile and i'm looking for input. I'm planning to build new pc with a budget <$1500 with a dual card setup in mind. At the moment I'm running xfire HD7950 on my primary gaming rig and wanted to future proof it for another few years while enjoying the current gen games. And the past couple months I noticed drastic price drops on AMDs part (TY Nvidia)

Most likely I'll be buying a few of my stuff used (had no issues whatsoever) that includes the GPUs and run my rig at normal clocks settings. My setup atm is playing on a 42" LCD screen 1080 in my bedroom while i can browse/game while lying down on my bed.

As for owners of R290/x crossfires, what were your experience like at the moment?

 

[Silverforce11]

Excellent, except in a few recent titles without CF/SLI support on launch. But any multi-GPU user will have experience those issues already for a long time.

 

[Actaeon]

Sounds eerily similar to what I've done and what I'm doing. Just started to move from a XFire HD6950 (softmodded to 6970 specs) to an XFire 290X setup. I game on a 52" LCD 1080p TV in my living room.

Just placed the orders today, so I can't tell you how it will go, but just letting you know that you aren't alone in pursuing this upgrade path.

Frankly, for 1080p gaming, XFire 290Xs are way overkill. I was pretty happy with my dual 6950s and your dual 7950s should be even faster. I would be surprised if you got any meaningful upgrade sticking to a 1080p set.

However, I don't let facts get in the way of doing what I want, so I was able to justify my purchase due to the recent significant price drops. By putting these cards at $299, I think AMD over reacted. These cards were going for $600+ less than 6 months ago! This was the card that matched Titan for a fraction of the cost when it was released and we're paying half of that cost now. Even though these GPUs are nearly a year old, the performance for the price is at such a good value that it is OK to make the leap now. AMD's next gen GPUs will be impressive but they won't be as inexpensive as the 290s are now.

What really pushed me over was the game bundles, including the recent Civilization Beyond Earth promo. 4 games for each card is pretty amazing.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

 

[raghu78]

OP for 1080p a single R9 290 is more than enough. Unless you are upgrading to a 1440p/1600p/4k monitor there is no need for R9 290X CF. btw what you have (HD 7950 CF) already is kind of overkill for 1080p. :biggrin:

 

[Headfoot]

290x CF for 1080p is extreme overkill. I run a lot of my games triple 1680x1050 on max (no aa or txaa-only though) at 45-60fps on a single 290 @1000mhz. For single 1080p I don't imagine there is much you can't max out with lots of AA with a single 290x.

 

[tential]

This thread doesn't even begin to mention how bad of an idea purchasing dual R9 290x's is to "future proof" your setup. Why not just buy the GPUs of the future when you need them since your HD7950x2 is still good for at the end of 2015 at 1080p resolution.

It's the definition of a waste to purchase dual R9290x's when you had HD7950s in order to "future proof".

By the time you actually see a benefit of having the R9290xs vs the HD7950s you could have just purchased the new GPU out at the time.

 

[Cerb]

I see no reason to not simply buy a single Sapphire Tri-X, or Asus DirectCU II 290 or 290X, or an MSI Gaming or Gigabyte G1 GTX 980. A TV means 1080P, so even those cards will be crazy powerful, compared to your needs, for some time.

 

[boozzer]

I see no reason to not simply buy a single Sapphire Tri-X, or Asus DirectCU II 290 or 290X, or an MSI Gaming or Gigabyte G1 GTX 980. A TV means 1080P, so even those cards will be crazy powerful, compared to your needs, for some time.

this. for 1080p, a single 290x for 300$ would work wonders.

 

[el etro]

Next thing GPU manufacturers must do: target the big chips(Like GK110 and Hawaii) to play at above 1080p and let the mainstream chips targeted to 1080p gaming.

 

[Powermoloch]

I appreciate the feedback everyone! I know it's crazy and overkill by reading all of your responses. I just got a killer deal grabbed (2) Sapphire Tri-x OC r9 290s around $400~ planning to set this up hopefully in a week or 2.

I'll keep you guys posted !

 

[Makaveli]

I appreciate the feedback everyone! I know it's crazy and overkill by reading all of your responses. I just got a killer deal grabbed (2) Sapphire Tri-x OC r9 290s around $400~ planning to set this up hopefully in a week or 2.

I'll keep you guys posted !

if you got them both for $400 Total.

that is a great deal and I would have taken it also.

 

[Headfoot]

I would have grabbed 2 for $400 total as well. That's a smoking good deal

 

[guskline]

EXCELLENT experience with my 2 Sapphire Tri-X 290s

 

[Shmee]

^ Yes same