MSI R9 290X Lightning faulty?

trawetSluaP

trawetSluaP

Member
Hi guys,

Have been reading these forums a lot before and have decided to join. Unfortunately in need of help!

I received a R9 290X Lightning yesterday and my word this card looks amazing! However, I believe the card is faulty and would like some other opinions.

Now I know the 290X is meant to run hot but in all the reviews I read (including TTL's) MSI has countered this with an amazing cooler which saw idle temps at around 30C and max load temps of 75C.

I was surprised when I installed my Lightning to see it idle at 45C, I was shocked when it hit 60C when I watched a video on Youtube and I was horrified when it hit 94C in Unigine Heaven and started throttling.

Now I believe the card is faulty but I am asking for second opinions as the retailer I purchased the card from, Scan.co.uk, are trying to tell me that the cards runs hot and it's not faulty.

Any help from fellow Lightning owners, or those in the know would be very helpful!

Thanks,
Paul.
 
What case do you have and what is your fan set-up like (assuming it's the Storm Stryker in the siggy)? Do have any other expansion cards in it? What are your ambient temps like?
 
Also depends how you have your case set up, with the fans blowing sideways on the Trooper airflow is quite frankly shit.

You need to make sure your rig is set up right before you try blaming the card.
 
OP can you post some pics of your setup please, this will show if you have a problem with your layout.:)
 
Hi guys, am off to work soon so will posts pictures later.

It is the Stryker. The 780 Ti I'm currently borrowing sits in there with idle temps as low as 22C and max load temps of 75C with the default fan settings. The ambient room temperature is also 20C.

I have 2 x 120mm fans at the front (blowing into the case, not sideways), 1 x 140mm exhaust at the back and 2 x 140mm exhaust fans on top. These are all Be Quiet Silent Wings 2 fans.

There are no other expansion cards in the PC.
 
Does the lightning have a silent mode on one of the BIOS? Try switching the BIOS switch to the other position.
 
I have tried both BIOS modes and it hasn't helped.

Here are some pictures as requested:

23ku1bt.jpg


2mnkxds.jpg


5pewj5.jpg
 
Last edited:
Looking at your pics air flow is definitely not the problem.
I had high temps with my 290 once, also around 45*c idle. Reinstalling drivers fixed it for me though.

Looks like you may have a faulty card though, your temps should not be that high.
 
I did try both re-installing the drivers AND tried AMD's latest beta drivers too. Neither saw any improvement.

My dilemma now is: should I risk asking for a replacement Lightning? Or should I just get a 780 Ti?
 
trawetSluaP said:
I did try both re-installing the drivers AND tried AMD's latest beta drivers too. Neither saw any improvement.

My dilemma now is: should I risk asking for a replacement Lightning? Or should I just get a 780 Ti?
Click to expand...

Depends, you could always return it and get it fixed or replace but that will probably take a week or so. If you can get a 780Ti strait away or in less time than getting your lightning replaced you might as well grab the 780Ti.
 
SieB said:
Depends, you could always return it and get it fixed or replace but that will probably take a week or so. If you can get a 780Ti strait away or in less time than getting your lightning replaced you might as well grab the 780Ti.
Click to expand...

Either way it will take the same. If I replace it with a 780 Ti it will be a direct exchange for the Lightning from Scan as they have agreed to allow me to pay the difference.
 
Kaapstad said:
Definitely if you are into benching and overclocking but to get the most out of it you need to do a bit of reading about overclocking and changing the cards bios.

If you just want a fast card for gaming you could go for something like the Gigabyte GTX780Ti 'GHz Edition'

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/3gb-...7ghz-gddr5-1085mhz-boost-1150mhz-cores-2880-d
Click to expand...

Not a big fan of Gigabyte. Choices would be out of ASUS and EVGA, but the ASUS card I'd like isn't out yet and I need a card to game!

Considering taking a second 290X Lightning and seeing how I get on.

At 1080p are there any reasons to take a 290X over a 780 Ti.

Also just seen this and fallen in love:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-344-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752
 
trawetSluaP said:
Considering taking a second 290X Lightning and seeing how I get on.

At 1080p are there any reasons to take a 290X over a 780 Ti.

Also just seen this and fallen in love:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-344-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752
Click to expand...
That is the relative of the excellent 290 Toxic (aka the Tri-x). Which is the best bang for buck 290 you can get. Until the lightning came along it was the fastest as well. The vapor is pretty much the same card but with a lower clock and a different color. Oh and a bigger price tag.
 
trawetSluaP said:
Not a big fan of Gigabyte. Choices would be out of ASUS and EVGA, but the ASUS card I'd like isn't out yet and I need a card to game!

Considering taking a second 290X Lightning and seeing how I get on.

At 1080p are there any reasons to take a 290X over a 780 Ti.

Also just seen this and fallen in love:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-344-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=1752
Click to expand...

The 780ti is the better card when compared to a 290X (at any resolution) but unfortunately it is also the more expensive too.

If this is the Asus card you are talking about below

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-339-AS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1402

It falls into the same category as the EVGA Classified 780ti, they are very good cards and top notch to game on but you are paying extra for the ability to overclock the nuts off them.
 
Kaapstad said:
The 780ti is the better card when compared to a 290X (at any resolution) but unfortunately it is also the more expensive too.

If this is the Asus card you are talking about below

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-339-AS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1402

It falls into the same category as the EVGA Classified 780ti, they are very good cards and top notch to game on but you are paying extra for the ability to overclock the nuts off them.
Click to expand...

Haha, you read my mind! That is indeed the card I was referring to.

I do plan to overclock the GPU I get but only on air. Would this be considered a waste?
 
trawetSluaP said:
Haha, you read my mind! That is indeed the card I was referring to.

I do plan to overclock the GPU I get but only on air. Would this be considered a waste?
Click to expand...

The EVGA 780ti Classified definitely overclocks well on air but you have to go steady on the volts compared to water or better.

I think the Asus Matrix 780ti will be in the same boat.

Both cards have very good coolers which are better than most of their rivals.

If it was me I would go for the EVGA Classified 780ti as they are very popular for top of the range overclocking and you will find a lot more support around the forums for them with good advice, custom bios etc.
 
Kaapstad said:
The EVGA 780ti Classified definitely overclocks well on air but you have to go steady on the volts compared to water or better.

I think the Asus Matrix 780ti will be in the same boat.

Both cards have very good coolers which are better than most of their rivals.

If it was me I would go for the EVGA Classified 780ti as they are very popular for top of the range overclocking and you will find a lot more support around the forums for them with good advice, custom bios etc.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the way forward to me!

Thanks for your help, and thanks to all who gave their input!
 
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