Sapphire 290x tri-x OC vs reference?

[Kushiro]

Hi guys,

So basically I have/want to build another PC that I will leave at my work place, this thread is purely in regards to the GPU only, I have all the other components ready to go.

From what I understand the tri-x is the same as a reference 290x just with a better cooling solution, is this correct? The reason I ask this is because the tri-x will set me back about $799 excluding freight charges where as I have a spare reference 290x ready to go.

 

[Agost]

800$??? Didn't 290/x prices lower after a while in usa/uk/canada/australia?

However, if you already have two 290Xs a third one would make little to no sense imho

You could actually have spared some money buying 290s, as you plan to water cool them ( they overclock well and easily catch up 290X because of the little difference in stream processors )

 

[MadShadow]

800$??? Didn't 290/x prices lower after a while in usa/uk/canada/australia?

However, if you already have two 290Xs a third one would make little to no sense imho

You could actually have spared some money buying 290s, as you plan to water cool them ( they overclock well and easily catch up 290X because of the little difference in stream processors )

Sure a 290 can sometimes catch up to a 290x, but you could also OC a 290x and it would be even faster.

 

[Kushiro]

This card is for a serperate build, stated in OP

I just got the 290x cause well ya know I like the extra x

 

[SeekaX]

This card is for a serperate build, stated in OP

I just got the 290x cause well ya know I like the extra x

The reference 290x cooler sets new standards in terms of terrible. I have no idea why the tri-x is so expensive though.
If you still have a spare one you could just buy an aftermarket cooler.

 

[Kushiro]

yea, so since no one has said anything, would it be ok to assume that I was right in thinking that there is no difference between them other than the cooling?

 

[SeekaX]

yea, so since no one has said anything, would it be ok to assume that I was right in thinking that there is no difference between them other than the cooling?

That depends on the card. They might use different power delivery designs, but that doesn't make a whole lot of a difference.

 

[barnsley]

The Tri-X is basically a reference card with a different cooler. There isn't any real difference apart from temperatures. I think the Toxic version only uses one brand of memory though, if I remember correctly. Judging by the price you might have the blue one (called the vapor-x)? If so thats a different kettle of fish. That one has 8gb vram and a custom pcb.

 

[Agost]

Sure a 290 can sometimes catch up to a 290x, but you could also OC a 290x and it would be even faster.

I meant that it catch up easily because the average fps on the 290 is usually only about 3% less than the 290X at same clock. Sometimes the 290X is better with frame time but i think the 290 can achieve the same performance with ~3-5% more clock

Many reviews shows this ( including oc3d ones ) and i think 100€ less for a 290 is better than 290X 3-5% more performance ( i'm obviously referring to italian prices, where Tri-x 290 and 290X are respectively 350€ and 450€ on amazon )

 

[Kushiro]

the 290 is definitely better value, that is undeniable.

 

[barnsley]

the 290 is definitely better value, that is undeniable.

If you get a 290 tri-x you can push it to and past stock 290x performance.

 

[Kushiro]

yea, but then there will be those that say the 290x can OC too, so there not really much you can say. Each to their own I guess.

I honestly cannot for the life of me remember why I chose the 290x over the non x variant anymore, god knows it was about $200 AUD cheaper at the time

 

[Agost]

If you get a 290 tri-x you can push it to and past stock 290x performance.

Actually any 290 at about 1050 MHz can pair up with the 290X and has still more 50-100 MHz headroom

 

[Kushiro]

are you sure those figures are correct? As my 290x can both OC past 1300Mhz with a reasonable voltage bump and my mates rig has the DCUII 290 and it OC past 1200mhz easily though the temps arent very good...

 

[barnsley]

are you sure those figures are correct? As my 290x can both OC past 1300Mhz with a reasonable voltage bump and my mates rig has the DCUII 290 and it OC past 1200mhz easily though the temps arent very good...

Thats because its the Asus cooler. A couple of the guys on here can push their 290s to 1300 with the tri-x.

 

[Kushiro]

Hmm, The Asus coolers have not been very good for me, I ended up returning my DCUII 290x after a while and switched to water cooling.

 

[Agost]

That's a known issue with the 290/290X : the Asus DCII coolers has direct contact heatpipes and in the case of these GPUs the heatpipes don't cover well the die as on other cards