R9 290 series specifications

[blackened23]

Hawaii performs poorly compared to Tahiti in Firestrike, driver optimizations are still under work (and probably not going to be released/worked on until Calypso update for 3dmark).

In game performance is a different story.

The heck is this garbage, is this a troll? DO YOU WORK FOR AMD? How the HELL do you know this? Personally, this schtick is annoying. If you work for AMD say so. If you're trolling say so. Don't tell us unsubstantiated nonsense. How do you know driver optimizations are still in works? It would be one thing if you pulled this from a rumor website, but all of your posts seem to indicate that you have insider knowledge. Only, you won't tell us how. You won't say anything except cryptic posts like above that hint at insider knowledge.

So, what say you? What's your deal?

You're either the worlds biggest troll or the biggest AMD insider that hasn't disclosed that fact.

Member callouts are NOT allowed! Please try to be less hostile. -Moderator Shmee

 

[RussianSensation]

And looking on the R9 280X specs. I have a feeling AMD is trying to sell people a non HD7970GE for 300$. And OC editions might hit 400$.

Why? HD7970Ghz had an official MSRP of $499 but once the cards came out, after-market ones were selling for $469-479 on Newegg.

Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X 3GB GDDR5 OC
1020mhz GPU / 6000mhz memory (or only 40mhz lower GPU clock)

Sapphire Vapor-X R9 280X 3GB GDDR5 OC with Boost
1070mhz GPU / 6200mhz memory (> 7970GE)

Sapphire TOXIC R9 280X 3GB GDDR5 OC with Boost
>1100mhz GPU / 6400mhz memory (> 7970GE)
http://videocardz.com/46415/sapphires-radeon-r7-r9-full-lineup-unveiled

Looks like 770 will need an immediate price drop of $100-150 when R9 280X comes out.

$449 770 4GB will look completely stupid against a $319.99 Sapphire Vapor-X. We already knew this for months though as 7970 1Ghz stomped 770 on price/performance.

 

[RussianSensation]

If AMD demand $699 for this card, it will be one epic fail.

What if R9 290X ends up at $599? Alright, what if R9 290 costs $479 and unlocks into an R9 290X?

If R9 280X is $299 and R9 290X is $699, how much is R9 290? There is way too much price difference for R9 290 to cost $549 because it leaves a major gap between R9 280X.

R9 280X = $299
R9 290 = $449-479
R9 290X = $599-649

This makes a lot more sense imo. Since R9 290 will have the full memory bandwidth of R9 290X based on these leaks, it sounds like a wolf in sheep's clothing once overclocked.

We have 3 consecutive generations where AMD's 2nd best card performs within 93-95% of the flagship once both are overclocked:

5850 oc vs. 5870 oc
6950 oc vs. 6970 oc
7950 oc vs. 7970 / ge oc

R9 290 oc could be the sleeper of the fall season and could make R9 290X, 780 and Titan all seem like a waste of $.

 

[blackened23]

What if R9 290X ends up at $599? Alright, what if R9 290 unlocks into an R9 290X and costs $499?

If R9 280X is $299 and R9 290X is $699, how much is R9 290? There is way too much price difference for R9 290 to cost $549 because it leaves a major gap between R9 280X.

R9 280X = $299
R9 290 = $449-479
R9 290X = $599-649

This makes a lot more sense imo. Since R9 290 will have the full memory bandwidth of R9 290X based on these leaks, it sounds like a wolf in sheep's clothing once overclocked.

I agree that this pricing makes the most sense, i'd say 290X at 599$ and 290 at 449$ would be the best price points for AMD. At 599$, the 290X is a desirable card and I would definitely consider it if I were on the market. At 700$? Pfft. If AMD does that many buyers will simply go and get a pre-overclocked GTX 780....

 

[smackababy]

I agree that this pricing makes the most sense, i'd say 290X at 599$ and 290 at 449$ would be the best price points for AMD. At 599$, the 290X is a desirable card and I would definitely consider it if I were on the market. At 700$? Pfft. If AMD does that many buyers will simply go and get a pre-overclocked GTX 780....

I would consider a 290X at $599. Sadly, every GPU I purchase comes with an extra $100+ added to the price for a waterblock. I am actually looking to upgrade from my 670 SLI. Hopefully, AMD doesn't price this at some moronic level.

 

[RussianSensation]

I agree that this pricing makes the most sense, i'd say 290X at 599$ and 290 at 449$ would be the best price points for AMD. At 599$, the 290X is a desirable card and I would definitely consider it if I were on the market. At 700$? Pfft. If AMD does that many buyers will simply go and get a pre-overclocked GTX 780....

Антон Марков:
r9 290x will give $579 middle price (from $549 refference edition to $619(may will be one or two models expensive than that price) for deluxe and overclocked versions)

Like I said, I am reading rumours with prices as low as $549 and as high as $699. It's like guessing game. :\

If the price is $699, then R8 290X --> R9 290 would make it impossible to close the gap. What would R9 290 cost? $449 would make $699 R9 290X a complete waste of $. If you price R9 290 at $549, then there is a $250 price gap. But imagine if NV drops the price of GTX780 by $50?

Option 1:
If R9 290 is $549 and R9 290X is $699, NV could instantly neutralize both with a $50 price drop on the 780.

Option 2:
If R9 290 is $449 and R9 290X is $599, and R9 290X is 8-9% faster than 780, AMD would instantly obsolete 770 and put pressure on 780s. If AMD is super ballsy and prices R9 290X at $549, then NV's price drop of $50 on 780 still wouldn't be enough.

I can't for a second believe that people at AMD would not anticipate a $50 price drop from NV. NV is already dropping prices on 780 as the Zotac is $625. Therefore, the price of $699 for R9 290X seems off to me. You think people at AMD do not check prices on Newegg when there is another week before R9 290X's price and AMD still can change pricing any time?

Next week a $399-449 770 will not make sense.

 

[blackened23]

Like I said, I am reading rumours with prices as low as $549 and as high as $699. It's like guessing game. :\

Indeed. I wonder why AMD is keeping it such a secret? That could either be really good or bad. Good in that they don't want NV to know their pricing just yet, which would be great. Or it could be bad, in that the price is higher than we all expect.

I don't quite remember a GPU launch where the launch price remained shrouded in such secret, even a week prior to launch...

Option 2:
If R9 290 is $449 and R9 290X is $599, and R9 290X is 8-9% faster than 780, AMD would instantly obsolete 770 and 780s.

I think this is the best option for AMD due to the well publicized faults with Eyefinity + CF. They've had too much bad PR lately to go with price premiums, IMO...I mean if their software was absolutely on nvidia's level I would have no issue with a 650$ pricetag on the 290X. I just think it would be a bad move with what has been in the press in recent months...

So hopefully AMD will price it right. I think they will sell a TON of cards at 599$ if it overclocks as well as Tahiti did - they could even bridge the gap in dGPU market share as they did with the 5870 (which launched at 399$). Also, the 290 at 449$ would be even more exciting - I would "guesstimate" that the performance would be 10% or so less than the 290X which would put it in a fantastic position against the 4GB GTX 770 - the 290 would be better by probably every metric compared to the GTX 770 and would necessitate nvidia price cuts on the 770. Or a new SKU in between the 770 and 780.

Let's hope AMD prices these things right.

 

[RussianSensation]

If R9 290 at $449 is within 10% of R9 290X and if it ends up just 5-6% behind a reference 780, this card will sell out right away. As far as your comment on Eyefinity + CF, the new 290 cards are supposed to work via PCIe 3.0, ditching CF connector. I believe they will have hardware frame pacing in place.

 

[n0x1ous]

If the non X 290 is 449 Im buying day one

 

[sushiwarrior]

The heck is this garbage, is this a troll? DO YOU WORK FOR AMD? How the HELL do you know this? Personally, this schtick is annoying. If you work for AMD say so. If you're trolling say so. Don't tell us unsubstantiated nonsense. How do you know driver optimizations are still in works? It would be one thing if you pulled this from a rumor website, but all of your posts seem to indicate that you have insider knowledge. Only, you won't tell us how. You won't say anything except cryptic posts like above that hint at insider knowledge.

So, what say you? What's your deal?

You're either the worlds biggest troll or the biggest AMD insider that hasn't disclosed that fact.

Oh my god, some people. Do you want to know things or not? Yeah why don't I just reveal all of my NDA sources, I love lawsuits.

 

[railven]

If the non X 290 is 449 Im buying day one

I need to see the performance. I get the feeling AMD hasn't learned their lesson from the HD 7990 fiasco.

 

[Genx87]

Imagine how Techpowerups review will look like in two cases:
1. Nvidia didn't knew 290X price and didn't lower 780 and titan pricing. 290 and 290X are on top of the performance/$ metric with a bar length of 780 and Titan combined.
2. Nvidia lowers prices just enough so their products are competitive and 290 are called dissapointed, late to the party/no perf/$ improvement.

Just a few hours can change the light on 290 release reviews. No one cares what happens after release. People are looking at launch reviews and make their purchase decisions.

You really believe somebody investing that kind of money in a card wont do any comparison shopping? Especially after all the headlines saying Nvidia dropped the price on their card? I think this idea of not knowing about pricing to throw Nvidia off is rather silly. Launch day purchases are done by people who have their minds already made up. After that, people will compare prices regardless of what a review claims on launch day.

And Nvidia has already announced they are dropping the prices on their cards to be competitive with AMD. So it isnt like Nvidia doesnt already have a plan or will be caught off guard by AMD's pricing.

 

[Face2Face]

Oh my god, some people. Do you want to know things or not? Yeah why don't I just reveal all of my NDA sources, I love lawsuits.

Assuming all of the things you are stating are correct.. Just keep the insider info comments coming :sneaky:

 

[railven]

You really believe somebody investing that kind of money in a card wont do any comparison shopping? Especially after all the headlines saying Nvidia dropped the price on their card? I think this idea of not knowing about pricing to throw Nvidia off is rather silly. Launch day purchases are done by people who have their minds already made up. After that, people will compare prices regardless of what a review claims on launch day.

You'd be surprised how many people I've met that base their purchase on day launch reviews.

For example this is a conversation I just had with someone:
Them: Why are you linking me this GTX 770 review?
Me: Because it is recent and uses the newest drivers.
Them: But I'm looking at the GTX 680 used.
Me: Yeah, but the article you were looking at was from when it launched.
Them: So?

I won't go into detail how long it took me to explain why the newer article was better. Yes, people are THAT stupid. Have you heard about the recent OS7 update that makes you iPhone 5 waterproof?

 

[Teizo]

Looks like 770 will need an immediate price drop of $100-150 when R9 280X comes out.

I don't know. We will see. I realize AMD has this value image, and for good reason, but for them to have a card @ 199 then 299 next makes me wonder about their performance. Everyone says they are just rebadges so the performance should be the same, but Dave @ B3D said none of the cards are rebadges...so I want to see performance first.

If what people are saying is true, then Nvidia is going to have to drop prices on the 760, 770, 780, and Titan...plus release 2-3 new skus.

If AMD fixes the CF stuff, I'd be open to selling these 760s and getting two 280x's just for the sake of just having Mantle compatibility even if it doesn't pan out.

 

[thilanliyan]

Have you heard about the recent OS7 update that makes you iPhone 5 waterproof?

Lol, I really hope no one actually thinks that.

 

[wand3r3r]

Lol, I really hope no one actually thinks that.

It's way off topic but a fake ios7 ad actually got people to test it, you can imagine their dismay.

http://www.theguardian.com/technolo...-tricked-users-into-destroying-their-handsets

 

[railven]

Lol, I really hope no one actually thinks that.

I have a friend who works for Verizon, and he's had to already deny 7 warranty claims. Yes, people do believe this nonsense. Time magazine covered the issue: http://www.timeslive.co.za/scitech/2013/09/26/fake-advert-claims-ios7-update-makes-iphone-waterproof

The power of advertising (even when it's not official advertising.) Here is the image that was created on 4chan that went viral:
http://www.thedrum.com/uploads/drum_basic_article/118121/main_images/ios7%20waterproof_0.jpg

EDIT:

It's way off topic but a fake ios7 ad actually got people to test it, you can imagine their dismay.

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/sep/26/waterproof-iphone-ad-hoax-tricked-users-into-destroying-their-handsets

Yes, it is OT and I'm not trying to steer it off, more so supporting that some consumers are in fact idiots. They'll use launch articles to form a purchasing decision months after the product launched (hell even years.)

 

[RussianSensation]

Everyone says they are just rebadges so the performance should be the same, but Dave @ B3D said none of the cards are rebadges...so I want to see performance first.

The specs for every single card besides R9 290/X are already known from Sapphire's marketing materials.

http://videocardz.com/46415/sapphires-radeon-r7-r9-full-lineup-unveiled

R9 280X will perform very similar to 7970GE but it is definitely not a straight re-badge of 7970. It shows DX11.2 support, plus a very low GPU clock with a huge Turbo boost. Also, Dual DL-DVI is different than what 7970/GE has. On the Sapphire TOXIC and Vapor-X models, there is also UEFI bios and 8x2 power pins, not 6+8.

I think only R9 290 series has hardware frame pacing though. In your case it's probably not worth selling 760s and losing $ on them. I'd stick with what you got.

 

[Phynaz]

Oh my god, some people. Do you want to know things or not? Yeah why don't I just reveal all of my NDA sources, I love lawsuits.

If you aren't the one under NDA then you wouldn't be sued.

If you are are under NDA, then you have already violated NDA.

If your "sources" are under NDA, then they have violated NDA. Which shows they can't be trusted, therefore why should you or us trust anything they leak?

 

[smackababy]

If you aren't the one under NDA then you wouldn't be sued.

If you are are under NDA, then you have already violated NDA.

If your "sources" are under NDA, then they have violated NDA. Which shows they can't be trusted, therefore why should you or us trust anything they leak?

Well, the fact he has never said "I have inside sources I won't disclose" before he makes all these claims is a bit suspect.

 

[ShintaiDK]

Why? HD7970Ghz had an official MSRP of $499 but once the cards came out, after-market ones were selling for $469-479 on Newegg.

Sapphire Dual-X R9 280X 3GB GDDR5 OC
(870MHz)1020mhz GPU / 6000mhz memory (or only 40mhz lower GPU clock)

Sapphire Vapor-X R9 280X 3GB GDDR5 OC with Boost
(950Mhz)1070mhz GPU / 6200mhz memory (> 7970GE)

Sapphire TOXIC R9 280X 3GB GDDR5 OC with Boost
>1100mhz GPU / 6400mhz memory (> 7970GE)
http://videocardz.com/46415/sapphires-radeon-r7-r9-full-lineup-unveiled

Looks like 770 will need an immediate price drop of $100-150 when R9 280X comes out.

$449 770 4GB will look completely stupid against a $319.99 Sapphire Vapor-X. We already knew this for months though as 7970 1Ghz stomped 770 on price/performance.

Try remove those boost speeds

AMD already stated that (the basic) R9 280X would be 300$.

You can buy a HD7970GE today, or buy a slower R9 280X standard edition for 300$. I am sure you can do the rest of the math.

 

[Erenhardt]

Assuming all of the things you are stating are correct.. Just keep the insider info comments coming :sneaky:

I'm looking closely to what he is saying for two months or so. Seems he knew details leaked recently a long time ago.

 

[Elfear]

Assuming all of the things you are stating are correct.. Just keep the insider info comments coming :sneaky:

I think sushiwarrior said he had a friend that worked at AMD IIRC.

 

[RussianSensation]

Try remove those boost speeds

Because non-Boost GPU clocks don't matter since the card boosts out of the box. So why would I care to link non-boosted clocks? It's just as pointless as linking non-boost GPU clocks for 680/770/780 cards. No one cares. What matters are is minimum boost clocks. For gamers the spec that matters is actually IN-game boost clocks, kinda like GTX770 operating at 1136-1241mhz out of the box, or a reference 780 hitting 990mhz.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7392/the-geforce-gtx-770-roundup-evga-gigabyte-and-msi-compared/7

Did you remove GTX680's boost clock of 1058mhz too? What's next you are going to tell us to ignore R9 290X's boost clock of 1Ghz, ignore Intel CPU's turbo clocks out of the box and only focus on the non-boost clock? Ya ok.....that is not logical unless you are insinuating false advertising by AMD/Sapphire.

You made a claim that R9 280X will be slower than 7970GE and I showed you that in Sapphire's stack 2 of 3 cards will have faster clocks.

AMD already stated that (the basic) R9 280X would be 300$.

Kinda like after-market 760/770 cards often sell for $0-20 premiums, or kinda like after-market 7950/7970 cards that happen to have rebates, negating the price increase over reference models, implying that there will be R9 280X cards with 7970GE speeds for $300. Kinda like Gigabyte GTX670 Windforce offering boosted clocks, after-market cooler and upgraded VRMs for $0, available for sale on launch day.

You can buy a HD7970GE today, or buy a slower R9 280X standard edition for 300$. I am sure you can do the rest of the math.

And your point is?

R9 280X ~ 7970GE implies for $50 more over 760 2GB, you get a card that's 24% faster at 1080P and 32% faster at 1600P. Game over 760:
http://www.computerbase.de/artikel/grafikkarten/2013/nvidia-geforce-gtx-760-im-test/4/

People on our forum have pointed out for 18 months in a row HD7970/GE's market pricing that undercut 680/770, and yet NV users would say those prices don't matter since we are cherry-picking lowest SKUs with MIRs.

Now R9 280X's official MSRP will be $299, undercutting 770 by $100-150 straight up. That means in 2 months R9 280X with rebates will be hitting $279-289 and making 760-770 completely irrelevant starting next week unless NV drops prices.