Unlocking R9 290 to an R9 290X

Meladath

New member
Hey guys, whilst I myself have not done this, I have seen an article on videocardz as well as a post from a guy on LinusTechTips forum confirm that this is in fact possible to flash an R9 290X BIOS onto an R9 290 and thus unlock the extra modules etc that an R9 290X has over an R9 290!

This makes me think it is similar to the old 6950 unlocked to 6970 fiasco when AMD just made 1 card to save on costs and then simply BIOS locked the rest of the card.

What do you guys think? Is it possible they did the same thing again? Will you risk bricking a BIOS to try it? (I think all R9 290 come with a dual BIOS switch)

I am waiting on the custom cooler version of the R9 290 so I can buy me one of those, hopefully I shall be able to unlock it!
 
Last edited:
Well the 290 still lacks shaders, but yes it can get quite close to 290X and even past some units.

290X isn't too sensible a buy at the moment, it might change with properly cooled versions. :p
 
There is hardly any difference between them anyway, is it really worth the hassle?

Apart from benchmark scores I doubt you would notice the difference.
 
They dont just lock them, they are speed binned like CPU's.

290's are 290X's they didnt make the grade.

Ah. I didn't know that. Do you think it wouldn't be a good idea to unlock and set them to 290X clocks then? I mean.. they must have been binned as a 290 for a reason, then again you might get a lucky one.. Hmm.. :/

Might be on a case by case basis if it is ok to do it or not and if the performance gains are worth it or not.
 
it's the same with most speed binned chips, just like the old Athlon to phenom debacle. You could get lucky, but honestly as stated above the 290 and 290x are within overclocking distance of each other.
 
it's the same with most speed binned chips, just like the old Athlon to phenom debacle. You could get lucky, but honestly as stated above the 290 and 290x are within overclocking distance of each other.

Yes I understand that, what I mean is, is it worth flashing the 290X BIOS so that you unlock the shaders etc, surely this will give you a performance boost regardless of the clocks? I know on the 6950 it did.

I just don't know if it will damage the card or do some other bad voodoo since they were binned as 290 not 290X, so setting them up (with the unlocked cores and the clocks) as a 290X is going to be a bit cheeky right, since they didnt "pass the 290X test"?
 
Yes I understand that, what I mean is, is it worth flashing the 290X BIOS so that you unlock the shaders etc, surely this will give you a performance boost regardless of the clocks? I know on the 6950 it did.

I just don't know if it will damage the card or do some other bad voodoo since they were binned as 290 not 290X, so setting them up (with the unlocked cores and the clocks) as a 290X is going to be a bit cheeky right, since they didnt "pass the 290X test"?

All reference cards have dual BIOS implemented correct? mount vesuvius mode and f14 fighter jet mode, jokes aside, you can flash on one bios and if it all goes bonkers you can flick the switch to switch to the stable original bios? im not sure if they're profiles of the same bios though.

Even if you get it to work as a 290x, the new unlocked units may not make the cut and will be needed to run at much lower frequencies to function thus making the unlock pointless :lol:
 
For those that are to scared to flash Overclockers uk I selling 290 pre flashed to 290x with full warranty

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-014-VX
I've been considering these all day!
The stock clocks of the X-Edition are higher than defaults anyway (974MHz or something) so maybe the X-Editions are speed binned?

It's that or get the VTX3D X-Edition card from Dabs.com for £309-ish. I bought 2 so was able to use a voucher to get £40 off (as purchase was over £599) meaning I've 'pre-ordered' (they're ordered on demand) them for ~£289 each. If they do unlock, great, if not, well it's still a cheap 290!
 
Back
Top