R260/270/280/290/290x Review thread

[AnandThenMan]

Why is the Anandtech.com review blank besides the graphs? It's like a paper launch review, what gives?

 

[darkkterror]

When I saw that the 290X was only $550 I was pretty much ready to jump on it right then and there. Now that I've seen how hot and noisy it gets, I'm feeling a lot more reserved about it. At the very least I think I'm going to wait and see what the card manufacturers can do in the way of custom coolers.

 

[GaiaHunter]

So to the point, how many of those people with three Titans have a single 4k display?

I bet that the % of people with $500+ GPUs and 4K is way higher than the % of people with under $500 GPUs and 4K.

 

[Gikaseixas]

Nice improvement of previous generation cards, fantastic pricing and great CF performance. Many sites are now praising the new CF implementation.
Power consumption needs to be addressed but at 28nm it was expected i guess. Aftermarket cooling solutions will only make this monster a better purchase.

 

[SlowSpyder]

So to the point, how many of those people with three Titans have a single 4k display?

I don't know... even if it is zero here, that wasn't the point I was making. You don't need three Titans to have a high end gaming experience, but people buy them. You don't need a 4k display for a high end gaming experience either. Newegg has a 4k display for sale right now that costs about the same as three and a half Titans, and since we know people are willing to buy three Titans for gaming...

 

[Ajay]

290x is nagging Titan right now, but the RIDICULE begins in 2 months. Can't wait to see those numbers.

What RIDICULE
Seriously, I just don't know what you are referring to.
Seems like the 290X is a decent GPU so long as one gets one with a good non-reference cooler. Of course, look at my avatar, I'm a bit of a nvidiot (don't hate AMD, just prefer NVidia**), so what do I know.



** Though NV did p*ss me off by not offering an optimized (or even any) OpenCL 1.2 solution for Kepler. CUDA has a lot of tools, but it's useless for developing a cross platform compute code base (every platform needs to be tweaked for optimal performance, but at least you have a base you can work from). Hopefully they will get with the program with Maxwell.

 

[Gikaseixas]

1600p is a small niche

We have more and more users stepping up from 1080p. It's certainly a niche but in no time you won't be able to use this line to build your case.

 

[TidusZ]

wait til custom cooled cards

 

[Gikaseixas]

pcper.com has two reviews up:

Single card: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/AMD-Radeon-R9-290X-Hawaii-Review-Taking-TITANs

Its literally twice as loud as a Titan, which is a bit of a concern, beats it in 4k but is beat by it at lower resolutions.

Dual card and 4k preview: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphi...deon-R9-290X-CrossFire-and-4K-Preview-Testing

Lots of stuttering problems across a range of games. Some of the stutter problems are really severe as well. Looks like AMD still doesn't have their crossfire working properly. Sometimes it scales well enough (when the resolution is really high) but it often comes at a lot more frame variance.

While you're at it again, are you capable of pointing out the positives too?

 

[24601]

pcper.com has two reviews up:

Single card: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphics-Cards/AMD-Radeon-R9-290X-Hawaii-Review-Taking-TITANs

Its literally twice as loud as a Titan, which is a bit of a concern, beats it in 4k but is beat by it at lower resolutions.

Dual card and 4k preview: http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Graphi...deon-R9-290X-CrossFire-and-4K-Preview-Testing

Lots of stuttering problems across a range of games. Some of the stutter problems are really severe as well. Looks like AMD still doesn't have their crossfire working properly. Sometimes it scales well enough (when the resolution is really high) but it often comes at a lot more frame variance.

3 dB increase is twice as loud.

43.1 - 35.6 = 7.5 dB increase.

 

[GaiaHunter]

What RIDICULE
Seriously, I just don't know what you are referring to.

Mantle path in BF4.

 

[3DVagabond]

3 dB increase is twice as loud.

43.1 - 35.6 = 7.5 dB increase.

Not for human hearing it's not. 3db is twice the acoustical energy, but it's not the same thing as twice as loud. 10db is perceived as twice as loud.


I'll just take this from the article you linked. You must have missed it.

Well, not really. The Radeon R9 290X generates quite a bit more noise than the GTX 780 or GTX Titan under a full load. It generates greater than twice the sound pressure (>+6db) and is nearly twice the perceived loudness when compared to the Titan.

So it's nearly twice as loud (not good at all). Your post leads someone who doesn't know better to believe it's 41/2x as loud.

 

[djnsmith7]

Looks like a lot of folks are going to wait for the custom coolers to hit the shelves & that's a good plan. The reference cards need to go under water to shine.

All in all, on the surface, it looks like a good product, but I don't think the hype will last long on the reference cards. Once the heat & noise complaints start piling up, sales will drop.

Looks like a great opportunity for NV to steal some thunder & I wouldn't be surprised if that's precisely what they plan to do. Next 2 months will tell the story.

 

[pandemonium]

I’ll get more enthusiastic about the R9 290X if third-party designs start showing up with better cooling.

When has this NOT been the case? The reference blower designs for every card, on both sides, always perform less pleasing than the aftermarket HSF assemblies. I don't see how this is any bit a key issue.

Not to mention, most people that buy the reference card will more than likely be taking the HSF off and water-cooling it.

Mountain molehill much?

 

[24601]

Not for human hearing it's not. 3db is twice the acoustical energy, but it's not the same thing as twice as loud. 10db is perceived as twice as loud.

When we're talking about ear damage, 3 dB difference is twice as loud.

This card is definitely producing high enough dBA to produce long term damage.

Especially if you crank up the fan to 95% duty cycle to try to keep 1000 mhz clock.

 

[Silverforce11]

Really, its like AMD wants to fail and there's some guy in charge deliberately sabotaging their attempts at making a good product.

Awesome performance, awesome pricing.. some moron forgot about a proper cooling solution. This isn't a dirt cheap card, adding an extra $10 on parts to have a better cooler = win.

Or maybe they dont care and AIBs cards are the ones moving in volume anyway.. which could it be??

 

[GaiaHunter]

3 dB increase is twice as loud.

43.1 - 35.6 = 7.5 dB increase.

3 dB is twice as intense.
Loudness isn't measure in dB though.

Perceived Loudness is measured in sone.

Normal talking is generally in the 40 to 60 dB range.
TV at home is generally around the 60 dB range.
Of course the fan whine is a lot less tolerable even if at lower dB.

In uber mode the R9 290X is as loud as the GTX 480.

This card is definitely producing high enough dBA to produce long term damage.

Unless talking or watching TV also cause long term damage, no.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Yes, this is an engineering trainwreck which matches Titan, and renders it irrelevant in price (more so than the 780 did). I'll be riding this train into the ground soon

My only drawback is no PhysX... I'm looking at you, Batman.

far bigger drawback for me will be no G-Sync (while Physx is cool, not nearly enough titles use it due to its foolish exclusivity to nvidia, and when it is used, its almost always extremely trivial), at least until somebody hacks G-Sync (if it can be, although I'd think it would be doable) or until there's an alternative product

Until then I'm pretty much stuck with nVidia, not that its going to bother me too much as the 290X only truly shines with ultra high resolutions, and I'm likely not going to ditch my 1080p120 Lightboost goodness anytime soon, and would likely at most move to 1440p if it could offer 120hz and its own viable low persistence.

although I'm not going to be holding my breath here for any of that

that being said, I'm really happy AMD is raising the bar with the 290X; I was glad GK110 came with 48 ROPs but still would have liked more from such a monster chip, and that's exactly what the 290X is bringing. Can't wait to see what the next generation and a process shrink brings. Won't be long until these yet-to-be-released next gen consoles are well behind the PC gaming curve.

 

[3DVagabond]

When we're talking about ear damage, 3 dB difference is twice as loud.

This card is definitely producing high enough dBA to produce long term damage.

Especially if you crank up the fan to 95% duty cycle to try to keep 1000 mhz clock.

43db = long term hearing damage? dbA is a scale used to measure amplitude that is weighted to the relative sensitivity of human hearing across the audible frequency range. It's not a measurement of absolute sound pressure.

Sound is measured in units called decibels. On the decibel scale, an increase of 10 means that a sound is 10 times more intense, or powerful. To your ears, it sounds twice as loud. The humming of a refrigerator is 45 decibels, normal conversation is approximately 60 decibels, and the noise from heavy city traffic can reach 85 decibels. Sources of noise that can cause NIHL include motorcycles, firecrackers, and small firearms, all emitting sounds from 120 to 150 decibels. Long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. The louder the sound, the shorter the time period before NIHL can occur. Sounds of less than 75 decibels, even after long exposure, are unlikely to cause hearing loss.

THIS is what the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services says.

 

[24601]

43db = long term hearing damage?

[USGOVquote]Sound is measured in units called decibels. On the decibel scale, an increase of 10 means that a sound is 10 times more intense, or powerful. To your ears, it sounds twice as loud. The humming of a refrigerator is 45 decibels, normal conversation is approximately 60 decibels, and the noise from heavy city traffic can reach 85 decibels. Sources of noise that can cause NIHL include motorcycles, firecrackers, and small firearms, all emitting sounds from 120 to 150 decibels. Long or repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. The louder the sound, the shorter the time period before NIHL can occur. Sounds of less than 75 decibels, even after long exposure, are unlikely to cause hearing loss.[/I][/USGOVquote]

THIS is what the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services says.

Hearing loss != damage

43 dB is also best case.

If you actually want the cards to not be stuck at 727 mhz you're gonna have to crank those fans.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

I bet that the % of people with $500+ GPUs and 4K is way higher than the % of people with under $500 GPUs and 4K.

I bet the total user base of PC gaming for 4k is closer to 0% than .3%.

 

[hyrule4927]

So . . . did anyone see what the 290X can do once you give it some liquid nitrogen? :biggrin:

http://hwbot.org/submission/2441980_smoke_3dmark11___performance_4x_radeon_r9_290x_41531_marks

 

[GaiaHunter]

Hearing loss != damage

43 dB is also best case.

If you actually want the cards to not be stuck at 727 mhz you're gonna have to crank those fans.

I'm sorry but damage causes hearing loss.

The uber mode is @50 dB, also no damage and no hearing loss. Probably will drive you nuts if you not using a headset, though.

 

[24601]

I'm sorry but damage causes hearing loss.

The uber mode is @50 dB, also no damage and no hearing loss. Probably will drive you nuts if you not using a headset, though.

So health damage = total brain death to you.

I see no reason to speak with you further.

Logic escapes you.

 

[3DVagabond]

Hearing loss != damage

43 dB is also best case.

If you actually want the cards to not be stuck at 727 mhz you're gonna have to crank those fans.

You're simply wrong. I posted an expert medical statement that proves it.