Upgrading from 6950 to R9 290 (XFX DD maybe)

[phil2014]

Hi all, I need a bit of help please, I want to upgrade my amd HD6950 and I did order a 1fan blower MSI R9 290, but ppl and reviews said they get to 95c, so I cancelled.

So now I have come across the "XFX Radeon R9 290 DD Black Edition" that looks very tasty, but some reviews say you have to be careful what one you get because some go up to 90c and others 70c load.

So do you guys know what version or model number I need for the cooler version, is there anyway to turn off the xfx light, and lastly am I making the right choice?

This is my system specs
i5 2500k at 4.3ghz
Gigabyte Z68XP-UD4
16GB memory
Corsair HX 650watt PSU
Fractal Design define r3 case

Thanks

 

[Kenmitch]

Welcome to the forum

The DD version should run pretty cool unless you get a lemon. As far as the DD xfx's go they only have the 290 DD and the 290 DD black version. Looks like it's just the clock of the card that is different. The fans are pretty dang quiet so you can always use a custom fan profile to keep the temps down. The core should run pretty cool. The vrm's might run a little hot if you overclock the card and use the stock profile. Of course temps are dependent on case airflow and ambient temp of your room.

 

[phil2014]

Also has anyone here got this card into the R3 case, because I have just found out that it will be a very tight sqeeze to get it?

 

[Shmee]

If you want a good 290, I would highly recommend the tri-x design from sapphrire. It is big though, even for a 290, so be sure to double check with your case and do the research.

 

[Kenmitch]

If you want a good 290, I would highly recommend the tri-x design from sapphrire. It is big though, even for a 290, so be sure to double check with your case and do the research.

His case supports graphic cards up to 290mm. I think the TriX is 300mm plus it looks like. Conflicting measurements on the DD version. XFX states 295mm but saw a review that said the card is 11.125" long.

 

[phil2014]

His case supports graphic cards up to 290mm. I think the TriX is 300mm plus it looks like. Conflicting measurements on the DD version. XFX states 295mm but saw a review that said the card is 11.125" long.

Thanks for welcoming me and yeah in the specs it stats its 29.6cm and I have measured the gap for the gfx card in my case and the gap measures about the same, so if its 11.125" thats 28.257cm, so thats almost 1cm smaller and I will deffo fit it in. If not I will just have to cut a slot out of the hdd cage

 

[Kenmitch]

Thanks for welcoming me and yeah in the specs it stats its 29.6cm and I have measured the gap for the gfx card in my case and the gap measures about the same, so if its 11.125" thats 28.257cm, so thats almost 1cm smaller and I will deffo fit it in. If not I will just have to cut a slot out of the hdd cage

Your welcome.

It should work. Nothing wrong with a little modding if needed.

 

[RaulF]

You can also cut a bit of the plastic shroud of the video card, i know another member did that also.

 

[phil2014]

You can also cut a bit of the plastic shroud of the video card, i know another member did that also.

Thats a good idea, but I would rather chop up a £70 case then a £300 gfx card.

 

[guskline]

Welcome Phil2014. I agree with Shmee about the Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X. I own one and have it in a CM 922 case. EXCELLENT card.

 

[CropDuster]

I have the DD and run it with MSI Afterburner.

-75 voltage, 1000mhz locked with ABs fan profile = doesn't go over 64*C while playing BF4. VRMs in the 70s

 

[phil2014]

Welcome Phil2014.

Thankyou

I have the DD and run it with MSI Afterburner.

-75 voltage, 1000mhz locked with ABs fan profile = doesn't go over 64*C while playing BF4. VRMs in the 70s

Fantastic temps, I see that your running a 650watt psu, mine is 620watt but Im guessing if yours runs the card fine, I should be ok too? I am going to get the black edition that runs at 1050mhz. I think the xfx will deffo fit in my case to because I found a guy that has measured his and he says....

I just measured my XFX 290 and from the back of the bracket slot to the front of the heatsink, it's right at 11.6" or so. However, from the back of the PCB to the front of the heatsink is about 11.1". So if you don't count the metal bracket, it should fit fine. Here is a picture for reference.

Happy days:thumbsup:

 

[Piotrsama]

If you can fit it in your case, I would get the Sapphire 290 Vapor-X.
Excellent card, even better than the Tri-X.

 

[guskline]

If you can fit it in your case, I would get the Sapphire 290 Vapor-X.
Excellent card, even better than the Tri-X.

From what I've read I agree.

 

[phantom404]

I just did the exact same thing your looking to do. I went from a HIS 6950 ICEQ 2GB to the XFX DD R9 290. I set the gpu to either 2 or 3 % overclock and the fan speed at 60%. Still one of the quietest high end cards I've ever had. Temps haven't went above 70 yet.

 

[phil2014]

Thanks guys, I think I will be sticking with the XFX because it runs nice and cool, looks great, thin, and perfect colour scheme for inside me case.

 

[phantom404]

Just did some playing on BF4 with my new XFX DD R9290 and with everything at ULTRA i'm getting about 38-50ish FPS. This is with a AMD FX 8350 @ 4.5. I changed the render mode from directx 11 to Mantle and it runs 58-60 fps set on Ultra. Loving this card.

 

[XavierMace]

I swapped out the reference cooler on my 290 this weekend for liquid cooling (NZXT G10 + X31), best decision I ever made. Solid day of gaming, temps never went above 52c and it's dead silent. Highly recommend it.

 

[phil2014]

I swapped out the reference cooler on my 290 this weekend for liquid cooling (NZXT G10 + X31), best decision I ever made. Solid day of gaming, temps never went above 52c and it's dead silent. Highly recommend it.

If I am not happy with my temps, I might change my cooler too. But I should be happy with them if they are between 70-80c.

I tested my 6950 temps yesterday with furmark, they never went passed 74c and gaming they are just under the 70c mark. not bad for a 1 fan blower cooler at 48% fan speed hey?