Price: $329



PowerColor PCS+ R9 390 8GB Introduction:

AMD just updated its product stack with the R300 series cards and just about every AIB partner has their own special take on the series. Traditionally, PowerColor puts together some strong offerings that include the mild to the really wild as we have seen with some of the Devil 13 cards put out on the market. The card I am looking at today, the PCS+ R9 390, is closer to the wild side than the mild side. It includes PowerColor exclusives such as the Professional Cooling System to take care of the thermals, Gold Power Kit to take care of the power supply requirements, and a history of performance-based good looks.

This launch for AMD is about updating the product stack with tweaked and tuned tech from the R200 series cards, with increased clock speeds and improved feature sets to get ready for DirectX 12 and all the new tools it offers game developers that they have not had before. All things that really improve performance along with the user experience. The PCS+ R9 390 is shot out of the factory with the core and memory clock speeds boosted up 1010MHz on the core and 1500MHz on the 8GB of GDDR5 memory. Enough of a boost to really drive performance levels up a notch. The key is how competitive will it be out of the gate and when overclocked to its maximum potential? Only one way to find out!

PowerColor PCS+ R9 390 8GB Closer Look:

The outer packaging PowerColor is using for the PCS+ R9 390 is more reminiscent of the high end Devil 13 cards that usually sit at the top of the PowerColor product stack. A much better package visually than the basic packaging we normally see. A black and red theme is used to effect with the model listed prominently in the center of the box. Along the top and bottom are the list of technologies and features the PCS+ R9 390 8GB is equipped with or utilizes. The back side of the box is where you see some detailed information on the feature set, including PowerColor's Gold Power Kit and PCS+ cooling solution.

Inside the outer sleeve is a black box that holds the object of this review: the PCS+ R9 390 8GB. Held in a static bag in a tight cardboard enclosure, it is fairly resistant to shipping induced damage. The accessory bundle is about normal for PowerColor, unless we are talking about the Devil series cards. A driver and utility disc, quick installation guide, and 6-pin to 8-pin PCIe power adapter make up the entire accessory bundle.

Packaging, check! Time to dig into all that PowerColor has to offer with the PCS+ R9 390 8GB video card.