AMD 290X Video card. Titan performance: $450 cheaper
- Thread starter snowhiker
- Start date
ddrueding
Fixture
Is AMD still doing that frame-skipping thing that was padding the benchmarks?
I think they updated the driver to "fix" the problem, at least on single monitor setups. Can't recall if multi-monitor setups are fixed. Seems that Nvidia multi-card setups were always a bit to a LOT better. Don't know how the NO-SLI-Bridge required setup of the 290X will change this.
It's nice to see a card get close to the Titan in performance and surpass it in some cases. What I like the most is that it will possibly cause nvidia to lower their prices to be more in line with AMD so I can get the card I want rather than AMD's catch-up card.
ddrueding
Fixture
Indeed. I'll likely still go nVidia because of the better power/heat/noise situation. Not that I'm in any hurry to upgrade; I'm running one Titan per system now @ 2560x1600 and it is fine.
Agree with the lower heat/power of Titan vs 290X. The 290X was designed to be run @95C with the fan @ 40%. That does seem very hot and would reduce the life of the card. And plus I DO NOT want 200+ degree air pumped into my room in the middle of the AZ summer.
It is not the absolute temp of the air being pumped in the room that matters because you do not know how much air every second is being added at 200C. A better comparison is 400W (290x) vs 350W (Titan) at load or 89 (290x) vs 80W (Titan) at idle. So the difference at maximum load for the 290 is an extra 50W/9W heater running in the middle of the summer.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I'm sure these things are breathtaking for GPU computing, but do these things offer any subjective improvement for 1080p single-screen gaming over the $500 cards that were out a couple years ago?
ddrueding
Fixture
1080p? Almost certainly not. But how many out there are considering spending $500+ on a video card while playing on a $300 monitor?
We may be able to answer that question with real data. I believe Steam publishes (or used to publish) numbers on the system configurations used for gaming when the collect it from their user-base. I don't know if monitor make/model is in there but that would be interesting data to see.
I'm sure certain games see some improvements in the 1080P resolution when the highest levels of anti-aliasing are used along with all the other visual options set to the maximum. Is it worth upgrading from cards of a couple years ago...I doubt it.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
But that's the problem with PC gaming: The number of individuals with multiple-monitor setups or screen configurations larger than 1920x1200 is vanishingly small, and most PC games are just going to be shitty console ports with only the most minimal of graphics engine improvements over and above whatever consoles are able to do. If you don't have a GPU computing application, these top-end cards are just generating premium amounts of waste heat.
ddrueding
Fixture
The percentage of users with >1920x1200 is small, but so is the market for $500+ GPUs. I can say that the Titan makes a huge difference, even on console ports (Dirt 3, for example) at 2560x1600.
Apparently 290X Crossfire is faster than Titan SLI in all cases. $900 cheaper than Titan SLI. Stuttering eliminated from multi-monitor setups and 4k gaming. 20-40% faster than 780 SLI. HardOCP review here. Nvidia is lowering their prices. Very impressive showing for AMD on the uber high end of the video card spectrum.
And now we have the AMD R9 290 video card. Only $400 and matches the GTX 780.
HardOCP review here.
Anandtech review here.
Nvidia must be annoyed that the 290X and 290 are going to seriously cut-down the huge margins on their high-end cards. Competition is good.
Nvidia's GTX 780ti is coming soon at $700. 2880 CUDA cores vs 2688 for Titan vs 2304 for the 780. It's going to be close on what will be the fastest card. But in any case AMD will win most bang-for-the-buck.
HardOCP review here.
Anandtech review here.
Nvidia must be annoyed that the 290X and 290 are going to seriously cut-down the huge margins on their high-end cards. Competition is good.
Nvidia's GTX 780ti is coming soon at $700. 2880 CUDA cores vs 2688 for Titan vs 2304 for the 780. It's going to be close on what will be the fastest card. But in any case AMD will win most bang-for-the-buck.
I doubt they are annoyed. Nvidia had a window of time where they had a two cards unmatched by AMD. I'm happy that there is equal ground now causing a price war. Nvidia seemed ready for the new from AMD because their prices dropped fairly soon after the R290X reviews flooded in. Maybe the GTX 780 will drop again in price with the release of the R290 so I can pick up another one.
