Here are results from the first formal review of the Radeon R9 290X, AMD's next-generation flagship single-GPU graphics card. Posted by Chinese publication PCOnline.com.cn, the it sees the R9 290X pitted against the GeForce GTX TITAN, and GeForce GTX 780. An out-of-place fourth member of the comparison is the $299 Radeon R9 280X. The tests present some extremely interesting results. Overall, the Radeon R9 290X is faster than the GeForce GTX 780, and trades blows, or in some cases, surpasses the GeForce GTX TITAN. The R9 290X performs extremely well in 3DMark: FireStrike, and beats both NVIDIA cards at Metro: Last Light. In other tests, its half way between the GTX 780 and GTX TITAN, leaning closer to the latter in some tests. Power consumption, on the other hand, could either dampen the deal, or be a downright dealbreaker. We'll leave you with the results.More results follow.

121 Comments on Radeon R9 290X Pitted Against GeForce GTX TITAN in Early Review

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#1 1d10t

has NDA been lifted? :confused: Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:11 Reply

#2 dom99

1d10t has NDA been lifted? :confused: No, Ive seen these before and I think its some bloke in China who claims to have a card and benched it. Its not an offical review but all the same I believe these results will reflect what the card will be capable of. The NDA lifts on the 25th I think, saw somehting on the AMD website last night that hinted that way



sites.amd.com/us/Documents/AMD_Radeon_290X_Battlefield4_Limited_Ed.pdf



A little concerned about the furmark temp though No, Ive seen these before and I think its some bloke in China who claims to have a card and benched it. Its not an offical review but all the same I believe these results will reflect what the card will be capable of. The NDA lifts on the 25th I think, saw somehting on the AMD website last night that hinted that wayA little concerned about the furmark temp though Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:14 Reply

#3 dj-electric

1d10t has NDA been lifted? :confused: Not yet, no.



BTW, i feel that test results will be more in favor of the R9 290X at 2560X1440, that's where he belongs Not yet, no.BTW, i feel that test results will be more in favor of the R9 290X at 2560X1440, that's where he belongs Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:14 Reply

#4 Outback Bronze

Hmmm not that impressed atm. Lets see how they overclock. Hope they price em well! Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:15 Reply

#5 btarunr

Editor & Senior Moderator Added power graph. Ouchies are in order.



Then again, they used Furmark, which GeForce drivers have throttle triggers for. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:16 Reply

#6 EzioAs

So we're seeing overall 30-37% improvement over the HD 7970(280X), except in metro:LL where it's around 60%. That's not bad, but I don't like the $600 srp much (not sure if it's official or mere rumors).



Most enthusiast are probably okay with it but I'm seeing $450 as a more reasonable price or maybe $500 at most. Yes, compared to the GTX780 and Titan, with this kind of performance, $600 is probably "cheap" but comparing it with the 280X (or last gen flagship), it still seems like a bad purchase especially since it's not that much of an improvement (30% improvement with different architectures is common). Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:20 Reply

#7 DeadSkull

Now the price tag makes some sense.



I wonder what the overclocks are going to be like for this card ;) Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:26 Reply

#8 harry90

These are preliminary tests which aren't done by a reliable source. Also there are no drivers which support R290x yet, so none of the benchmark results cant be trusted. Drivers are key i got 6950cfx with latest beta drivers i get 51fps average in crysis 3 veryhigh FXAA. with regular 13.9 i get like 42fps. with amd, drivers matter a lot. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:29 Reply

#9 RCoon

So much for those claiming Titan killer - Power charts are simply retarded. I sure hope that reference hoover cooler can keep up...

I was going to preorder one of these 2 months ago. Each week, the 290X just looks worse and worse. Should have known AMD are master PR weavers. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:30 Reply

#10 buggalugs

Exactly as I said all along, faster than the 780, slower than titan.....with a few game specific scenarios where the 290X is faster than both. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:39 Reply

#11 LAN_deRf_HA

Power isn't surprising. They were already bad on that front and now they're trying to get more performance on the same process so power must go up. It occurs to me that price cuts from nvidia might be much smaller than expected. Truthfully they could drop the 780 to $600 and do whatever with the Titan. It's a mixed bag so people from both camps can claim to be on top, which usually means you won't get a big price response from nvidia. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:39 Reply

#12 Vlada011

No more for 10-15% stronger than Titan for 500-550$.

At the end if people buy R9-290X TwinFroze for same price as GTX780 Classified they can be happy.

And AMD Optimization and kicking as horse in games is famous.

One thing must admit, AMD can make good GPU as ATI if they try hard, that's good.

AMD have ASUS ROG, NVIDIA EVGA Classified and EVBot.

ASUS somehow immediately offer Radeon under ROG badge. They are angry, probably on that way push NVIDIA to give them better chips. Their games are dirties on market.



That's is it, first stories had task to stop little selling of GTX780 and push people in confusion.

But only crazy man can be happy and wish bankrupt and someones family to stay with money and people without job.

At the and 5% more or less.

From other side Titan price is not fair at all.

800$ sound better with ACX Titan Cooler that can be again best option. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:49 Reply

#13 15th Warlock

If these results are real (and that's a big if) It's crucial for AMD to price this card in such a way that it is a much better deal than the 780, forget Titan, there are factory OCd 780s out there that are already faster than Titan out of the box.



If the $729.99 price is real, then AMD is in real trouble, lets assume vanilla 290Xs sell close to $699 or even $649, that pits this card directly against the similarly priced 780, and right in the same ballpark as heavily factory OCd models.



Here's hoping AMD can pull a fast one and price this card to kill, as it seems performance is going to be very similar to the 18 month old GK110 if these performance numbers are to be believed... Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:54 Reply

#14 buggalugs

I wouldn't read much into it using furmark. It could be a good sign. If the 290X is not throttling and Nvidia is throttling it doesn't really say much. With games it could be very different. I would rather have a card that doesn't throttle. Should be a better overclocker. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:55 Reply

#15 Novulux





videocardz.com/46785/amd-radeon-r9-290x-performance-charts-emerge

And another graph that has questionable results? R9-290 might be an awesome card if this is true... And another graph that has questionable results? R9-290 might be an awesome card if this is true... Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 9:58 Reply

#16 the54thvoid

Novulux videocardz.com/images/2013/10/AMD-R9-290X-Performance.jpg



videocardz.com/46785/amd-radeon-r9-290x-performance-charts-emerge

And another graph that has questionable results? R9-290 might be an awesome card if this is true... That graph is very standalone (untrustworthy), even following the source link. It's also two resolutions and three games aggregated, seriously? Plus they've got the 290 and 290X benched. I'm less believing of that than the PCOnline info. I genuinely think the PCOnline info is not fake. Benches could be off from drivers but it seems people have got retail cards and boxes. That graph is very standalone (untrustworthy), even following the source link. It's also two resolutions and three games aggregated, seriously? Plus they've got the 290 and 290X benched. I'm less believing of that than the PCOnline info. I genuinely think the PCOnline info is not fake. Benches could be off from drivers but it seems people have got retail cards and boxes. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 10:15 Reply

#17 Xzibit













I don't think anyone is going to be buying these cards for 1920x1080 gaming.



How much is the 780 ? $650



AMD has a price window of $350-$650 to play with. Its there for them to make it good or screw it up like the TITAN. Splinter Cell: Blacklist comparisonI don't think anyone is going to be buying these cards for 1920x1080 gaming.How much is the 780 ? $650AMD has a price window of $350-$650 to play with. Its there for them to make it good or screw it up like the TITAN. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 10:46 Reply

#18 Assimilator

WTF is the point of measuring power consumption in FurMark? Give us the power consumption in the tested applications/games alongside the frame rates so we can draw a useful conclusion about the power vs FPS numbers.



I'm also skeptical about Hawaii's performance in general. It still seems to be slower than the GK110 clock-for-clock, so there's nothing stopping nVIDIA from releasing a "780 Ultra" or somesuch with 1GHz core clock, which will then blow R290/X out of the water. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 11:34 Reply

#19 the54thvoid

Xzibit Splinter Cell: Blacklist comparison



www.techpowerup.com/img/13-10-16/116f.jpg



videocardz.com/images/2013/10/R9-290X-1600p.jpg



I don't think anyone is going to be buying these cards for 1920x1080 gaming.



How much is the 780 ? $650



AMD has a price window of $350-$650 to play with. Its there for them to make it good or screw it up like the TITAN. That 2560x1600 Blacklist result for the 780 looks wrong. It's over 20% slower than the Titan. I ran it at 1440p and it didn't use anywhere near 3GB in VRAM. Wonder how the 780 scored so low :confused:



As for pricing.... you're totally right, they could screw it up but Titan pricing isn't relevant. Unless you need 6GB memory or DP the 780 made Titan redundant. If AMD price the 290X around the 780, I can see it doing little to market share. AMD guys will buy AMD, Nvidia guys will stick with a 780 (even if it performs worse).

But, if AMD price the 290x at £400-450 (GTX 780 is £500-550) then i can see Nvidia fans switching to AMD.



And maybe when time allows the custom cards will shine through (again , as long as they don't cock it up like Titan with shitty boosts and low power limits). Assimilator I'm also skeptical about Hawaii's performance in general. It still seems to be slower than the GK110 clock-for-clock, so there's nothing stopping nVIDIA from releasing a "780 Ultra" or somesuch with 1GHz core clock, which will then blow R290/X out of the water. The base clocks for Titan are irrelevant. A stock Titan will generally boost to 993MHz. It can drop as low as 876 though if temps get past 80 degrees si the clocks could be anywhere from 876 - 993 in those tests. That 2560x1600 Blacklist result for the 780 looks wrong. It's over 20% slower than the Titan. I ran it at 1440p and it didn't use anywhere near 3GB in VRAM. Wonder how the 780 scored so low :confused:As for pricing.... you're totally right, they could screw it up but Titan pricing isn't relevant. Unless you need 6GB memory or DP the 780 made Titan redundant. If AMD price the 290X around the 780, I can see it doing little to market share. AMD guys will buy AMD, Nvidia guys will stick with a 780 (even if it performs worse).But, if AMD price the 290x at £400-450 (GTX 780 is £500-550) then i can see Nvidia fans switching to AMD.And maybe when time allows the custom cards will shine through (again , as long as they don't cock it up like Titan with shitty boosts and low power limits).The base clocks for Titan are irrelevant. A stock Titan will generally boost to 993MHz. It can drop as low as 876 though if temps get past 80 degrees si the clocks could be anywhere from 876 - 993 in those tests. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 11:40 Reply

#20 thematrix606

Xzibit Splinter Cell: Blacklist comparison



www.techpowerup.com/img/13-10-16/116f.jpg



videocardz.com/images/2013/10/R9-290X-1600p.jpg



I don't think anyone is going to be buying these cards for 1920x1080 gaming.



How much is the 780 ? $650



AMD has a price window of $350-$650 to play with. Its there for them to make it good or screw it up like the TITAN. Most of the gamers use 1080, of course they will be used for 1080. Why in hell would you think otherwise?



Have you never played beyond 60Hz on a monitor? And they barely even reach 60FPS in Crysis 3 and other games! Most of the gamers use 1080, of course they will be used for 1080. Why in hell would you think otherwise?Have you never played beyond 60Hz on a monitor? And they barely even reach 60FPS in Crysis 3 and other games! Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 11:41 Reply

#21 bogami

It is wonderful to see such a competitive product has great potential that I'd also will be much cheaper than NVIDIA products wich behaves like a pig with the young to thecustomers. If the price variable $ 500-550 ˘ seriously considering buying at least three or four R9-290X .

:rockout:

Because R9-290X has reasonable price and wery good preformance it will bee other highly desirable blow between nVidia legs for manipulation with the price and products.

nVidia did not develop anything new and sale of old technology with a new label .

If customers are paying such a high price you would expect at least 200% the best product in the next year given that it should be paid for the development of new technologies.we all know that k104 did not get improvements as would normally be expected and sold throughout the year as Kepler's best for 500$ while holding in reserve k100 with a bunch of excuses.And when it was year around presented TITAN with the more abnormal price.Unfortunately, I only have two kidneys and would not cover SLI (2xTITAN) price !

I hope at a reasonable price and good preformance good slap in the face too nVidia:laugh: Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 11:55 Reply

#22 HammerON

The Watchful Moderator Still waiting for W1zzard's review...

Hopefully soon. Until then I will try not to bite on all of this speculation:) Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 12:21 Reply

#23 tigger

I'm the only one I love the smell of new hardware in the morning.



whether these are better than Nvidia cards or not, I still love it when new GPU's come out, all the speculation and "discussion" is interesting and sometimes fun to read.



Personally for me, a 280x or a 7970. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 12:26 Reply

#24 RCoon

tigger I love the smell of new hardware in the morning.



whether these are better than Nvidia cards or not, I still love it when new GPU's come out, all the speculation and "discussion" is interesting and sometimes fun to read.



Personally for me, a 280x or a 7970. 7970 prices are to die for right now. If I didn't have a 780, I would have been all over these 7970's. It's not like they're even slow either, 1080p muncher without a doubt. 7970 prices are to die for right now. If I didn't have a 780, I would have been all over these 7970's. It's not like they're even slow either, 1080p muncher without a doubt. Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 12:31 Reply

#25 Lionheart

tigger I love the smell of new hardware in the morning.



whether these are better than Nvidia cards or not, I still love it when new GPU's come out, all the speculation and "discussion" is interesting and sometimes fun to read.



Personally for me, a 280x or a 7970. I love that smell as well, speaking of new PC hardware smell I just recently bought a new Seasonic PSU, installed & everything... 5mins later my bedroom smelt like new PC hardware lolz:rockout: I love that smell as well, speaking of new PC hardware smell I just recently bought a new Seasonic PSU, installed & everything... 5mins later my bedroom smelt like new PC hardware lolz:rockout: Posted on Oct 16th 2013, 12:40 Reply