Review: AMD Radeon R9 290X

by Tarinder Sandhu on 24 October 2013, 05:00

Tags: AMD (NYSE:AMD)

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Power, Temperature and Noise

As you will know, the GPU modulates the core frequency in order to keep within the TDP threshold. Power consumption is therefore similar to Titan and GTX 780.

Don't be overly alarmed at the high temperature - the R9 290X is specifically designed to run this hot, AMD says, but we really don't like seeing 90°C-plus figures per se. We read this as one method of achieving higher clocks and a lower noise profile at the direct expensive of heat. It's a clever trick that may well be replicated by Nvidia.

Benchmarked with the BIOS button in the regular position, the card is louder than the Titan and GTX 780, discernibly so, but the fan-speed profile can be manipulated to lower noise... at the direct expense of performance.