Sapphire Radeon R9 290 Tri-X OC Review: Our First Custom Cooled 290
by Ryan Smith on December 24, 2013 3:45 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
- AMD
- Radeon
- Sapphire
- Radeon 200
Gaming Performance
Diving into our performance benchmarks, we’ll be running light on the commentary here due to the fact that there’s really not much to say about the gaming performance of the 290 Tri-X OC. Sapphire’s 6% core overclock and 4% memory overclock translates into a real world performance difference of 3% on average. This makes the 290 Tri-X OC a bit faster than a reference 290, but it doesn’t otherwise change the relative rankings of various cards. At most this slightly extends the lead over the GTX 780 to 9% and wipes out the 290X quiet mode’s marginal lead over the 290.
In the end the difference is slight enough that the bulk of the interest in this card should rightfully be on the card’s cooler, and ultimately whether that cooler justifies the $50 premium.
On a quick note looking at Rome, as one of the games the 290X throttles in the most, this is also the game where the Sapphire 290 Tri-X OC takes the largest lead over the 290X. The 6% performance lead here reflects on the fact
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asH98 - Tuesday, December 24, 2013 - link
I find it amazing how short sighted this writer is. It is obvious to anyone building a system AMD's 290 reference card gives the builder an opportunity to choose her/his GPU options, while allowing 290 suppliers an opportunity to make a few dollars and keep prices low - if the writer cant see something so obvious should I trust his articles? -blanarahul - Tuesday, December 24, 2013 - link
Please rewrite your thoughts using clearer sentences.blanarahul - Tuesday, December 24, 2013 - link
And proper punctuation.RaistlinZ - Tuesday, December 24, 2013 - link
I have absolutely no idea what point you're trying to make.Sunburn74 - Wednesday, December 25, 2013 - link
I too am completely lost as to your point.asH98 - Thursday, December 26, 2013 - link
The 290 reference card with fan allows me my choice of cooling options, or perhaps a choice of AIB solutions -this it is still cheaper relative to comparable offerings vs performance - everyone wins !!All the bitching and moaning about noise is BS - the reference fan was always to keep prices low and allow options to builders, while AIB suppliers made a few dollars - ...!!
firewall597 - Thursday, December 26, 2013 - link
I like how you automatically assume that everyone should be builders willing to take their GPU apart for aftermarket solutions.asH98 - Thursday, December 26, 2013 - link
- if you're not a builder prices are still low via AIB's, and their solutions !!sparkuss - Tuesday, December 24, 2013 - link
Just a quick double check. This is a pure reference board with no new components or change in location?I want to double confirm that I could buy this GPU now and be ready for some new Water Blocks for reference R290 when they become available (the WBs)?
Thanks
Ryan Smith - Tuesday, December 24, 2013 - link
Correct. Pure reference board with identical components and component positions, right down to the AMD logo.http://images.anandtech.com/doci/7601/S290_TriX_PC...