[Butthurt Beluga]

Hey guys, I'm looking to upgrade my GPU.
I'm in the price range of an R9 390 or an R9 290x, but I'm unsure of which GPU to choose - from what I understand (please correct me if I'm wrong) the R9 300 series is a refresh of the R9 200 series, so shouldn't that mean that the performance of an R9 290x should be equivalent to an R9 390x, but why is the pricing so different?
I understand that the R9 390/x has 4GB more of VRAM, but is that really worth $100 USD?

Thanks in advance

 

[BradleyW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Butthurt Beluga

Hey guys, I'm looking to upgrade my GPU.
I'm in the price range of an R9 390 or an R9 290x, but I'm unsure of which GPU to choose - from what I understand (please correct me if I'm wrong) the R9 300 series is a refresh of the R9 290 series, so shouldn't that mean that the performance of an R9 290x should be equivalent to an R9 390x, but why is the pricing so different?
I understand that the R9 390/x has 4GB more of VRAM, but is that really worth $100 USD?

Thanks in advance

290X is quicker, but the 390 has 8GB VRAM, future HDR support, better VSR support and "possibly" higher driver priority (as it's a newer product, but that's just speculation).
A used 290X can be had for a good price these days. Much cheaper than the store price. I'd go with a known working lightly used mint condition cheaper used 290X unless you plan to run 4K which may require higher than 4GB VRAM.

 

[Butthurt Beluga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BradleyW

290X is quicker, but the 390 has 8GB VRAM, future HDR support, better VSR support and "possibly" higher driver priority (as it's a newer product, but that's just speculation).
A used 290X can be had for a good price these days. Much cheaper than the store price. I'd go with a known working lightly used mint condition cheaper used 290X unless you plan to run 4K which may require higher than 4GB VRAM.

ah okay, thank you for the input.
I think I'm going to go with a used 290x as I'm still using a 1080p monitor as of right now (probably upgrade to 1440p sometime later this year).

 

[ZealotKi11er]

Same price and you dont OC 390 is probably better buy. If more then 290X.

 

[PontiacGTX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Butthurt Beluga

ah okay, thank you for the input.
I think I'm going to go with a used 290x as I'm still using a 1080p monitor as of right now (probably upgrade to 1440p sometime later this year).

you can use VSR to play at 1440 with no problem the 290x at the same clock speed will be faster

 

[DMatthewStewart]

Get a used 290x Lightning. You can find them used for under $300 right now and its a killer card. Then, later, when you may need more than 4gb of vram you can make a decision on a brand-new upgrade. I have a few of these cards and I dont expect to get rid of them for a while. In benchmarks those cards beat or tie 390x's

EDIT: I should add that I was offered a 390x as a replacement when I RMA'ed a Lightning a few weeks back. I denied it, took the refund check from MSI (which was awesome) and bought another Lightning used

 

[Klocek001]

Well, I'd get the 390, for the 8GB of VRAM, but more importantly for the cooling. I read Nitro blows the competition away when it comes to noise/temperature. I hope it's better than TriX I had on my 290, it was nice when running auto fan, but anything over 75% fan sounds like a leaf blower (of course you only need that fan speed for OC with extra voltage).

 

[BradleyW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klocek001

Well, I'd get the 390, for the 8GB of VRAM, but more importantly for the cooling. I read Nitro blows the competition away when it comes to noise/temperature. I hope it's better than TriX I had on my 290, it was nice when running auto fan, but anything over 75% fan sounds like a leaf blower (of course you only need that fan speed for OC with extra voltage).

That 8GB of VRAM is nice. So is the HDR support and improved VSR support. If the OP is not too interested in all that, the 290X is the better option. Cheaper and higher performance. 290X's also have a good range of aftermarket coolers like the 390, but the range is not as wide.

 

[Butthurt Beluga]

Is there certain sites that you guys prefer to buy used hardware from?
I know that Amazon has a "used" options but I've never used it, and I've personally never used Ebay for more than clothes so I don't know how much of a gamble buying used hardware from these places is.

Also I've been looking at an XFX Radeon R9 290x 8GB with a non-reference cooler.

 

[ZealotKi11er]

I dont think alone 290X or 390X can use 8GB.

 

[diggiddi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Butthurt Beluga

Is there certain sites that you guys prefer to buy used hardware from?
I know that Amazon has a "used" options but I've never used it, and I've personally never used Ebay for more than clothes so I don't know how much of a gamble buying used hardware from these places is.

Also I've been looking at an XFX Radeon R9 290x 8GB with a non-reference cooler.

Ebay is good, just make sure seller has good reviews

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZealotKi11er

I dont think alone 290X or 390X can use 8GB.

I think You are right on that

 

[Butthurt Beluga]

I ended up getting an XFX Radeon R9 290X 8GB, I'm pretty excited about it.
Thank you all for your input, it's been very helpful and is much appreciated.

 

[Klocek001]

best choice of all.

 

[DMatthewStewart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Butthurt Beluga

I ended up getting an XFX Radeon R9 290X 8GB, I'm pretty excited about it.
Thank you all for your input, it's been very helpful and is much appreciated.

Cool. Where did you get it from?

Just an FYI: I purchased a used Lightning from Amazon Warehouse. It was listed as "Very Good". It was also listed for $50-60 more than a private seller with ones listed as "Very Good". I bought the Amazon Warehouse Deals card thinking that it would be better than the ones from the private seller & returns would be easier if there was a problem. I got the card from Amazon Warehouse and it was loaded with dust. I plugged the card in and it ran for ten minutes before locking up and then black-screening. Tried LN2 BIOS and got black screen from power-on/POST. It was dead. I printed the return label and dropped it off at UPS less than one hour from the time I received it. So they DID NOT test it. And they DID NOT even bother to try and dust it off. Thats pure laziness.

I talked to the seller who actually had two Lightnings listed as "Very Good". Since I didnt want to chance getting a bad card I ordered both from him even though I only needed one. Both cards were immaculate. Just a word of advice that if you see a used card from Amazon Warehouse Deals and a private seller with the same item, message that seller first and engage them. It may give you a better idea of what they have and if its worth taking the chance with them or Amazon Warehouse Deals

 

[Butthurt Beluga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DMatthewStewart

Cool. Where did you get it from?

Just an FYI: I purchased a used Lightning from Amazon Warehouse. It was listed as "Very Good". It was also listed for $50-60 more than a private seller with ones listed as "Very Good". I bought the Amazon Warehouse Deals card thinking that it would be better than the ones from the private seller & returns would be easier if there was a problem. I got the card from Amazon Warehouse and it was loaded with dust. I plugged the card in and it ran for ten minutes before locking up and then black-screening. Tried LN2 BIOS and got black screen from power-on/POST. It was dead. I printed the return label and dropped it off at UPS less than one hour from the time I received it. So they DID NOT test it. And they DID NOT even bother to try and dust it off. Thats pure laziness.

I talked to the seller who actually had two Lightnings listed as "Very Good". Since I didnt want to chance getting a bad card I ordered both from him even though I only needed one. Both cards were immaculate. Just a word of advice that if you see a used card from Amazon Warehouse Deals and a private seller with the same item, message that seller first and engage them. It may give you a better idea of what they have and if its worth taking the chance with them or Amazon Warehouse Deals

I got it from Ebay, I made sure to message the seller first and just asked a few questions.
I'll be sure to be weary of Amazon Warehouse Deals though, I'd hate to buy a card and then have it shipped DoA and/or in poor condition.

 

[Vellinious]

Sapphire and XFX both have 8GB versions of the 290X.