Asus R9 290X DCII OC First Look

[SieB]

I wouldn't go off prices as they stand at this point in time. Both AMD and Nvidia's prices have gone up recently due to shortages and Buttcoin mining.
If you take a 290 (non X) which is only a couple of FPS below a 290X, as in 2-3 and is £100 cheaper. Then Nvidia are not value for money AMD are.

A non ref 780Ti is £650 ish a non ref 290 is £360 ish. The 780Ti is still the faster card but not that much faster that it's worth an extra £300.

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

Does anyone (i.e. Tom) know if Asus will be doing a 290 version with this cooler?

 

[SieB]

Does anyone (i.e. Tom) know if Asus will be doing a 290 version with this cooler?

Gigabyte, Asus, MSI, Saphire, HIS and XFX are all doing non ref 290 versions, some don't have custom PCBs though, the Saphire one uses a ref PCB anyway. You can pre order some of them on Overclockers.co.uk now but i'd wait till other retailers have them and prices drop a bit, Overclockers are usually more expensive than everywhere else.

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

Gigabyte, Asus, MSI, Saphire, HIS and XFX are all doing non ref 290 versions, some don't have custom PCBs though, the Saphire one uses a ref PCB anyway. You can pre order some of them on Overclockers.co.uk now but i'd wait till other retailers have them and prices drop a bit, Overclockers are usually more expensive than everywhere else.

I was basing it on overclockers.co.uk's pre-order selection where they don't have a 290 DirectCU listed.
Their prices can be more expensive, but I've found their service levels and support to be amongst the best in the past, so depending o nthe difference I don't mind pay a few £s more.

The main issue with the Asus though is that due to the custom PCB the waterblock selection will be limited.

 

[SieB]

The main issue with the Asus though is that due to the custom PCB the waterblock selection will be limited.

Good news on that I'm guessing it will fit the non X version as well.

http://www.techpowerup.com/196026/n...r-the-asus-radeon-r9-290x-directcu-ii-oc.html

I think the non x DCUII is mid Jan, I hope it is anyway because I want one.

 

[GoogalyMoogaly]

Good news on that I'm guessing it will fit the non X version as well.

http://www.techpowerup.com/196026/n...r-the-asus-radeon-r9-290x-directcu-ii-oc.html

I think the non x DCUII is mid Jan, I hope it is anyway because I want one.

Yeah.
I've already got a couple of reference 290s, but a couple more wont hurt!
Got the reference ones because they should be easy to watercool. I suspected EK would make a block for the Asus cards (they usually do), it's just not many others seem to so you're stuck with EK and their CSQ ****.

 

[blair]

wondering if to upgrade my two HD7970s or wait for the gtx800 series.

 

[NeverBackDown]

wondering if to upgrade my two HD7970s or wait for the gtx800 series.

Two 7970s are more than enough as of now. Only worthwhile upgrades would be 290x in crossfire or 780ti in sli. Even then its not exactly worth it due to cost. Would make more sense to upgrade if you had 1440p or above resolution.

 

[barnsley]

I noticed my DCII sags quite a bit, I hope they sort this for the 290x.