Upgrading from 6950 to R9 290 (XFX DD maybe)

[phil2013]

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? Ah yeah I have just found at that it will be a very tight fit to get it into my Fractal Design define r3 case so if anyone has this card and the R3 case, did you have problems fitting it in?

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

 

[MadShadow]

I know this isn't exactly an answer to your question, but I'd recommend getting a Sapphire card instead. I know the XFX one looks great, but with Sapphire, you know the card will be reliable.

 

[phil2013]

The Sapphire 290's wont fit in my R3 case without chopping up the hdd cage

 

[NeverBackDown]

Just get the XFX card then or even the Powercolor PCS+ if possible. You should measure you case to see if it will fit.

 

[phil2013]

Just get the XFX card then or even the Powercolor PCS+ if possible. You should measure you case to see if it will fit.

I have and its going to be a dam tight fit if it fits, because the card is 29.6cm and the case where the gfx card fits is about that to. So thats why I am asking ppl if they have the xfx card and the R3 case to tell me if it fits or not.

Or maybe TTL can tell me as he has the R3 case and the XFX card, please?

 

[NeverBackDown]

I have and its going to be a dam tight fit if it fits, because the card is 29.6cm and the case where the gfx card fits is about that to. So thats why I am asking ppl if they have the xfx card and the R3 case to tell me if it fits or not.

Or maybe TTL can tell me as he has the R3 case and the XFX card, please?

He won't tell you. Never ask him to do anything as he doesn't have the time and its best to not get your hopes up. When people ask questions its the forum guys who take care of it and help out. That's why you joined anyway

I just googled it and found out the max GPU length and the measurement of the card. The PCS+ card can fit with just under an inch of spare room, which could be for cable room and the XFX card will not fit. Its about 5mm to long.

 

[phil2013]

He won't tell you. Never ask him to do anything as he doesn't have the time and its best to not get your hopes up. When people ask questions its the forum guys who take care of it and help out. That's why you joined anyway

I just googled it and found out the max GPU length and the measurement of the card. The PCS+ card can fit with just under an inch of spare room, which could be for cable room and the XFX card will not fit. Its about 5mm to long.

Thanks for telling me that, much appreciated. Yeah I looked it up aswel and it says the case will take a 29cm gfx card, but when I measured it, its actually about 29.5/6cm. So if it fits, it willl be pretty much touching the hdd cage and if the xfx wont fit I will have to cut a slot out of the cage

 

[NeverBackDown]

Could just get a new case? I mean do you really need all those drive bays? lol

Also when you install the GPU it does actually go in the PCI bracket so it should help give a tiny bit more room.

 

[phil2013]

Could just get a new case? I mean do you really need all those drive bays? lol

Also when you install the GPU it does actually go in the PCI bracket so it should help give a tiny bit more room.

Just found out some good news, the actual card without the slot plate and sockets comes to 28cm,, but if you measure all of the card it does come to 29.5cm. So it should fit with roughly 1cm to spare

 

[NeverBackDown]

Well 1cm is only 10mm.. which still isn't a lot of room. It will be very close.

 

[BigDaddyKong]

Usually to ones with a cooler that hits 70C are non reference, and tend to dump all that heat back in the case. The 90C models have the reference blower that ducts outside the case. If you have any thoughts of water cooling, get a reference model. To many times, the nonreference cards do not have full water blocks that fit them.