290 Reference or not?

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Dmac122383

Limp Gawd
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Jan 15, 2011
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I'm going to be looking to pick up a 290 and I'm seeing alot of reference cards for under $200, is there any reason I shouldnt look at getting a reference? I know the other cards with different coolers will cool better and be quiet but other than that, any other big differences?

I do have an Arctic Accelero Cooler that was used on a 7970 and I'm pretty sure it will work on a 290 (Just have to look up the exact model number) So if I can put the aftermarket cooler on the reference 290 I think I should be in good shape. Even if I have to spend a few bucks and get new heatsinks and the thermal paste.
 
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The reference cards are fine, as long as you upgrade the cooler.
 
any cooler made for the 79X0/280(X) will not work with the 290.. in fact Arctic, sell a specific Accelero cooler for 79X0/280(X) cards..
 
If you do buy an after-market cooler make sure you have 3 slots free in your computer because most after-market solutions take up that much space. The Arctic Accelero Extreme IV is a good option with good installation instructions, the 7970 version will not work because the 7970's die is rotated 45 degrees off parallel and the 290's is not.
 
Thanks for the tips on the Arctic cooler. I'll look up the model number to be sure, it was a friend of mines and he wasnt even 100% sure what card he had it on. I have thought about those new brackets for the AIO systems.
 
bigbeard86 said:
your best bet is to buy a bracket and water cool it with an AIO water cooler.
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This.... You will also need a set of vrm heatsinks, but this is really the only viable way of taming a reference 290. It just runs brutally hot and loud on the stock cooler. source: every review + I owned one.
 
Yeah, either water cooler or third party cooler. I wouldn't mess with a reference personally (and didn't - bought an XFX DD R 290 during Black Friday).
 
Dmac122383 said:
I'm going to be looking to pick up a 290 and I'm seeing alot of reference cards for under $200, is there any reason I shouldnt look at getting a reference? I know the other cards with different coolers will cool better and be quiet but other than that, any other big differences?

I do have an Arctic Accelero Cooler that was used on a 7970 and I'm pretty sure it will work on a 290 (Just have to look up the exact model number) So if I can put the aftermarket cooler on the reference 290 I think I should be in good shape. Even if I have to spend a few bucks and get new heatsinks and the thermal paste.
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I never buy reference cards anymore. The coolers are usually garbage. It's worth waiting for a non reference and worth the extra money. Since you have the aftermarket cooler you may be alright but if it won't work with the 290 I wouldn't go reference.
 
It's a great card. I say get one with a non reference cooler though, shouldn't be that much more.
 
The reference card its a great deal for the winter weather... nice hot air blower :D
 
I just finished mounting my 290 reference with a Kraken X41, using the Kraken G10 bracket and retaining the reference base plate. No need for aftermarket VRM cooling at all, the VRM's run much cooler without the heat from the GPU saturating the base plate.

I took pics as I went so I'll post up a step by step thread as soon as I get a minute.
 
I always buy reference cards due to my stubborn desire to watercool everything I can. Not a lot of reason to pay the additional cost simply to swap them out. Performance-wise, there is generally not a lot of difference, I have a reference XFX 290X that will run 1300/1500.

The reference cooler on the 290 series is absurdly loud though and isn't wonderfully effective. I can't imagine you would save any money on getting a reference card and then also buying an aftermarket air cooler.
 
Dmac122383 said:
Buffalo, NY
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Hey, that's cool. :D I am from Tonawanda, NY and was able to miss the Snovember storm. Also, I do run the reference cooler and do not find it loud at all. However, I also have it in a Fractal Design R3 case which is designed for quietness so there is that. I also do not bother overclocking the card but I was able to flash the XFX R9 290 to a 290x so there is that. :)

Edit: Also, with the Omega drivers, VSR works fantastic. I am running Oblivion at 3200 x 1800 and Crysis 3 and 2560 x 1440 and both work very smooth. Even the old Gears of War runs fine in the higher res and I only have 1080p monitors.
 
Mines nice & quiet, no VRM cooling issues either.

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*The*Dark*Lord* said:
The reason you shouldn't look at reference is the damn loud noise, it's a like a jet engine taking off :/
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*Sigh* Here we go again. :rolleyes: It is nothing like you describe. That is, unless you play games with your ear 2 inches from you video card. :confused:
 
GoldenTiger said:
This.... You will also need a set of vrm heatsinks, but this is really the only viable way of taming a reference 290. It just runs brutally hot and loud on the stock cooler. source: every review + I owned one.
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+1 except if you don't care about reselling your card you can bake the stock heatsink to remove the copper fins from the plate and trim the plate to use as the VRM/VRAM heatsink. I get much cooler VRM temps than I've seen reported from people using a gelid kit and I don't have the fan on my nzxt bracket plugged in.
 
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