Hello guys, i currently have a pair of HD5870's in CFX and id really like to upgrade my cards, i was thinking on waiting for R9 390 (which SHOULD be 400 USD, or around that) but with the latest price drops on R9 290x id like to know which would be a wiser decition? I read that i could sometime this year get a R9 290X 8GB (Yes id love to get 8 GB VRAM) but i dont know if i should just wait for R9 390 which is suposedly going to have HBM (faster than gddr5 mem + 20nm). Will it be too long since they release them? what are the odds on AMD releasing 8gb Vram models on release? Thanks in advance!
Well, just to mention it, I'm afraid your 920 @ stock clocks will bottleneck both... I'm not sure you'd get the real performance boost of a 390X because of that. And around here (Europe - Austria, no kangaroos), the 290X with 8GB are already available, the MSI gaming model going for 400€ right now.
I have a similar system as you but I upgraded the cpu + mb. Kept the same RAM. I can tell you my GPU performance actually increased! Your 5870/50 CFX still has more power in it for a little while longer. So upgrade your cpu+mb now then get the 390X later. I'm in the same situation.
Buy 290(x) for its price it is very good. 390(x) will not have twice as much horsepower, but cost is likely to double. 8GB gddr does not matter. Waiting for r9-390(x) makes sense only if you are thinking about getting 2x r9-290(x) as price would be similar and you would not have to deal with CFX.
Haha, that made me chuckle Do you often get people say you've spelt Australia wrong? OP, if I had your cards I'd hold out for a while longer.
Well, back then when the Olympic Games were about to start in Sydney (in the year 2000), a clerk in Quebec, Canada asked me where I'm from as I don't speak any French. I said 'Austria', and he answered something like 'oh cool, so you're going back to the Olympics soon!'. No, Austria, Autriche...
Id agree with the above, upgrade the CPU, Motherboard etc..., and wait for the 390s, as they are rumoured to be coming Februrary, so not long to wait.
No chance for 8gb vram on release only the second-generation HBM is expected to use 8gb dies. So probably a 390 "vapor-x" could have the possibility of 8gb.
About MB and CPU aaand ram, ill wait for skylake, im already saving up for that, so no, im not buying cpu + mobo atm, also, i know ill get a real good boost with a new vcard atm, so the main choice would be between buying R9290x or waiting for R9390... im still really confused, any pros or cons on waiting? ive got 1gb VRAM atm... and its kinda frustrating, thats why i want an 8gb model, also, if the new consoles have got around 8gb VRAM, would it be safer to go >6gbVram? Also, my i7920 isnt bottlenecking me atm w CFX (when i run BF4 at low spec i get amazing fps, specially with cfx off so i guess having a single card would be good enough until skylake arrives)
Just wait it out man, I'm on the same boat as you (thinking about upgrading my GPU). I've been having a really hard time passing on all of the great 290Xs deals we've been seeing for a while now (that MSI 290X Lightning at Amazon for ~$370 jeez). R9 390 series is rumored to be launching in January or February, and it's supposed to be coming with 3D stacked memory.
hmm I would hold back to but also wait to see how the new drivers pan out, bugs, glitches etc, im guessing the r9 290/x drivers are stable and fairly bug free these days that's about the only avantage they will have on release of new cards.
Ok atm im between MSI R9 290x Lightning which looks simply awesome or wait for a R9 390 (Not X, nor aftermarket cooled because of my savings) will there be much difference between the both of them? is it worth the wait? Is the lightning worth that much? aaand, will the R9290x be FULLY dx12 compatible? Thanks!
We do not know final reference design for r9-390(x) or if they use 2 different reference cooling solutions. And r9-290(x) is fully DX12 compatible, but certain features may not be done by HW therefore bit lower performance may be expected. But, you get DX12 at Q4 2015. There will be very few games at launch. And it will take time till companies start to use DX12 to full potential. Therefore I would not be worried about not having full HW acceleration on that. As in 2016/2017 we will have very different HW due to 14/16nm.
you have stuck with your current setup so far, will waiting another couple of months be a bad idea?, would probs be a wise choice. even if the 390 does not impress you, you might be able to pick up an 290x 8gig cheaper than they are now don't quote me on it though heeh you never know they may also offer a cheaper 4gig version of the 390 if 8gig is going to become the new top dog. thinking about it they could decide to offer the 390 with 4g and the 390x with 8gig to justify the 390x's higher price .. guess we will find out over the next couple of months?
I heard there may be a refresh of the 290/290x by Dec. The 3xx will probably be out the later part of the first quarter next year.
I have i7-930@3.9 (HT on) and have no any issues with CPU bottleneck in any game i play with 290x CFX(for 60 fps stable). My advice is to replace i7 920 by used 6 core Xeon X5650(in Russia I bought one for 90$), overclock it@4Ghz and wait for r9 390 just because CFX as for me, not working perfect even in AAA titles, and few of them do not have any CFX profiles. Cheap i7-970,980 etc is good for standing on 1366 too.
The best part about upgrading your mobo/cpu, beyond not ever having to quit any apps before launching a game, is that the FPS floor generally goes up and makes gameplay feel better. I don't know how anyone could argue a 930 wouldn't bottleneck a 390 but, I mean, whatever you gotta tell yourself I guess.
390X will be a bit overkill for 1080p, no? Unless your planning to go at least 1440p or above I'd probably just get the 290x, especially at its current price, the 390X will command a premium price!
