Crossfire 290x: AMD Radeon R9 290X CrossFire Review

Sapphire R9 290X Tri-X 8GB CrossFireX Review

Rikki Wright / 8 years ago

1. Introduction2. Test Systems and Procedures3. 3DMark4. Batman: Arkham Origins5. Battlefield 46. Bioshock Infinite7. Hitman Absolution8. Metro Last Light9. Tomb Raider10. Unigine Valley11. Performance Summary12. Noise Levels13. Power Consumption14. Temperatures15. Final Thoughts16. View All Pages

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Introduction

Here at eTeknix, we strive to give the consumer the best possible advice in every aspect of technology. Today is no different, as we have a pair of Sapphire’s amazing R9 290x 8GB Tri-x edition graphics cards to combine together for some CrossFireX action. The dedicated review for this graphics card can be found here. When striving for the best results, it is favourable to test 2 of the same models to allow for no variation in any clock speeds or variations in any integrated components, so today we should see some excellent results.

In the dedicated review, this graphics card has more than enough power to play most games at 4K resolution at 60FPS, faltering slightly in the more demanding Metro Last Light.

We inserted both graphics cards onto our Core i7 5820K and X99-based test system, ensuring adequate spacing for optimum cooling and that both have access to sufficient PCI-e bandwidth for CrossFire operation.

The typical ‘hot spot’ when arranging a CrossFire or SLI configuration is the closest graphics card to the processor, due to both of these cards being equipped with the Tri-x cooler, positioning isn’t an issue.

As these graphics cards have been subject to Sapphires treatment, they have slightly higher clock speeds than a reference model, but as these are both the same cards, there should be little to no variation in clock speeds; this will result in maximum gains during testing.

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Topics: 8gb, AMD, bequiettb, CFX, crossfire, crucialtb, gigabytetb, graphics card, lianlitb, R9-290X, radeon, review, sapphire, thermaltaketb, Tri-X, trixx, VGA, vram, xfire

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TITAN X vs. 290X CrossFire vs. GTX 980 SLI

We are using 33 games to benchmark the performance of three top single-GPU video cards which represent the fastest from AMD and from Nvidia – the GTX TITAN X, the GTX 980, and the R9 290X. We have already tested them before at stock and overclocked, but never before using TITAN X versus 290X CrossFire and against GTX 980 SLI. The TITAN X is in a class by itself as it is the only card with 12GB of vRAM which allows it to play with some AA and maxed-out settings, even up to 4K resolutions. In our earlier testing, the GTX 980 won decisively over the 290X, but we only tested up to 2560×1600 resolution. Now we’d like to also see how GTX 980 SLI and non-throttling R9 290X CrossFire performance compare with each other, and also with the stock and the overclocked GTX TITAN X.

Since we have two reference versions of the 290X – a very capable PowerColor overclocked PCS+ card and a recent VisionTek 290X – we are going to need to run them each with their fans running at 100% to prevent throttling when they are in CrossFire. The GTX 980 and 980 SLI are tested at stock, while the GTX TITAN X is benched at both stock and also at moderately overclocked speeds.

The GTX TITAN X is the undisputed king of single-GPU performance. However, performance comes at a premium as it costs $1000. What we want to find out is if a $600-$700 pair of R9 290Xes in CrossFire (or even GTX 980 SLI for $1100), can deliver the same or a similar experience as a single TITAN X.

AMD’s R9 290X are generally priced beginning from $299 to well over $400, sometimes with a rebate, and often bundled with DiRT Rally at Newegg. com. The overclocked versions are generally clocked from 1030MHz to 1050MHz on the core, up 30MHz to 50MHz over reference, similar to our PowerColor-clocked PCS+ 290X. At the time of writing, not one reference version of the 290X is available at Newegg. The GTX 980 and GTX 970 are both now bundled at participating etailers with the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and with Batman: Arkham Knight.

The Myth of the Throttling Reference 290X & the lack of a proper CrossFire Solution

The reference versions are evidently quite unpopular, originally getting a bad reputation for running hot and throttling well below AMD’s “up to 1000MHz” on the core when it first launched. We were quite fortunate to get a PowerColor PCS+ overclocked reference version of the 290X at launch from retail that is clocked at 1030MHz on the core, and it does not throttle in cool ambient temperatures. And in testing our recently purchased VisionTek reference version which also pegs 1000MHz, we find it does not throttle either at stock Uber (55%) fan profile. Neither card throttles at all – either separately or in CrossFire with a space between them – when their cooling fans are set to a nearly unbearably noisy 100%.

Evidently the early Hawaii GPUs at their launch barely met specifications as the reference cooler was unable to cool them properly without throttling the clock speeds. At Hawaii’s launch, AMD was determined to beat the original TITAN’s performance even if it meant running the 290X on the edge with the Uber clocks and uber noise.

Newer Hawaii GPUs evidently have no such issues with the reference cooler as long as the gamer is willing to put up with what most consider excessive noise from a fan that spins up to 55% when the GPU hits 94C. This is a rather big issue that CrossFire users face when picking a 290/X video card – either use reference and put up with extreme noise from two cards, or use an open design for two hot-running cards and roast the interior of your case and the PC hardware inside. Of course, the ideal solution is to use water to cool two hot-running Hawaii GPUs, but even a highly overclocked watercooled R9 290X will not catch a less expensive aftermarket air cooled GTX 980 in performance.

The VisionTek reference version of the R9 290X is clocked up to 1000MHz while the PowerColor 290X PCS+ Edition is clocked up to 1030MHz . Memory clocks are 1250MHz at stock GDDR5 5000 speeds. When we ran them together in CrossFire, both of the GPU speeds are normalized so that they both peg at 1000MHz. Also, PowerDraw is set to its maximum +50%, and the fans are set to 100% using the latest version of MSI’s Afterburner. We could tell that there was no throttling with the fans screaming at 100% since we had very uniform results across all of the runs over long benching sessions.

The reference GTX 980 and TITAN X were left at stock clocks and fan profile although we maxed out Power and set the thermals to 94C using EVGA’s PrecisionX.

What about overclocking?

Both of our evaluation samples of the reference GTX 980 overclock well on stock fan profile and stock voltage so that they performs significantly faster than our mildly overclocked PowerColor R9 290X which can only reach 1050MHz together with the VisionTek 290X in CrossFire. Hawaii does not overclock particularly well on air, so we only overclocked our TITAN X. We are able to add +200MHz offset to the core and +200MHz to the memory.

Since we do not want any chance of our CPU bottlenecking our graphics, we are testing all of our graphics cards by using our Intel Core i7-4790K at 4.0GHz/4.4GHz Turbo, 16 GB Kingston “Beast” HyperX DDR3 at 2133MHz, and an ASUS Z97E SLI/Crossfire motherboard. The Core i7-4790K which turbos all 4 cores to 4.4GHz is fast enough to differentiate even high-end video cards at high resolution and at high detail settings.

Before we look at our test bed and run benchmarks, let’s check out test configuration.

Killing Floor 2. Impressions of the game and performance testing

An early version of the co-op shooter Killing Floor 2 was released on Steam Early Access last year. During this long period, various changes were made to the game, and it was overgrown with new content. Recently, full Russian voice acting has even been added. The final version should go on sale on November 18, but now you can fully evaluate the game. Our opinion on Killing Floor 2 and comparative testing of video cards in this article. nine0003

The overall concept of the game sounds familiar — several players fight off hordes of monsters on different maps together. An analogy with the unforgettable Left 4 Dead dilogy immediately arises, but Killing Floor 2 has different game mechanics and more different nuances. Studio Studio Tripwire, the authors of the Killing Floor and Red Orchestra series, are generally scrupulous about the nuances that are tied to the cooperation of the players, which distinguishes their games from the general background.

Killing Floor 2 offers a clear gradation into different playable classes and a leveling system with individual perks for each. At the moment, there are nine classes in the game, and each has its own starting set of weapons. For example, an Assault Trooper immediately starts with an assault rifle, a Support wields a shotgun, a Pyro is equipped with a flamethrower, and a Medic has a special pistol with healing darts. Each such specialist has two firearms, some kind of knife and his own grenade. All this is also individual, each knife has its own effectiveness, and grenades have different properties — freezing, electric shock, there are even healing ones. nine0003

Players must fight off several waves of mutants. The levels do not offer large open spaces. These are often labyrinths of corridors, small rooms and intersecting streets with rare large areas. Monsters spawn in different directions and can attack from any direction. The simplest enemies take in quantity. But there are also more powerful creatures in which you need to release a fair amount of lead. Therefore, the coherence of the team’s work plays an important role. If the players stick to each other, then they will be able to cover their backs in time and better control all directions around. Additional features of the players also play an important role. For example, a medic can remotely heal teammates, you can get ammo replenishment from a backpack of support fighters, etc. nine0003

If some thick-skinned monster enters the arena, it will be very difficult here without teamwork. You need to quickly concentrate fire on one target, you can quickly neutralize the threat. And if you act disunitedly, then the monster will have time to shed a lot of blood.

To keep the monsters from flowing, you can block the doors using a special welding machine.

The pace of the game is peculiar. In part, the movements of the characters can be called leisurely. Monsters are also not hyperactive. Against the background of Left 4 Dead or Warhammer: End Times — Vermintide, the game may not seem so dynamic, but in reality everything is different. The surprise factor, when monsters crawl out of different cracks, the complex level design, the abundance of powerful opponents and other nuances make the game very tense. It is worth noting that enemies can easily block the player solely due to the mass character. You can’t jump over your head here. The complex level structure always provides some escape routes, but it also makes it possible for you to find yourself in a corner and you can’t get through the crowd and die if your teammates don’t help you. nine0003

You may also encounter the fact that the heroes cannot jump over and overcome some small rises or railings. Sometimes it’s downright annoying. But as you get more familiar with the maps and character control features, there will be fewer ridiculous situations.

During the game, we earn money and spend it in special vending machines between waves to prepare for the next game stage. The starting set of weapons can be seriously upgraded. Each class has its own set of powerful weapons. You can buy something designed for a different class, but such weapons may be less effective in the wrong hands. As you level up for each class, new levels open with bonuses for your weapons in the form of better penetration, increased damage, and more. So the longer you play one specialist, the higher his level and his effectiveness in wielding his weapons. nine0003

The ranking system of matches is also connected with the development of the player. At high levels of the selected specialist, the game automatically offers higher levels of difficulty.

One match can consist of 4, 7 or 10 waves with ever-increasing difficulty, where the number of tenacious monsters increases. At first, the “extras” are diluted with various jumpers and monsters with blades, fat men spitting acid, sirens with a death cry. Then invisible monsters appear, mutants that shoot with fiery charges. Of particular danger are a bull with a chainsaw and a big man with hammer arms of no smaller dimensions. This pair is particularly survivable and deals maximum damage. nine0003

At the end there is always a battle with one of the two bosses. Each is a powerful death machine with its own unique features and combat techniques that allow you to hit players at close and long range. In addition, one can temporarily turn on invisibility, while the second uses a shield. At the same time, they also replenish health. As a result, you need to not only survive, but also constantly keep the boss in the line of fire. You can beat him pretty badly, but he will run away, heal and come back with renewed vigor. nine0003

The general strategy is to scatter around the enemy in crossfire, but it is impossible to predict how the fight will develop. In terms of tension and complexity, the final battle can surpass all previously repulsed waves. It is possible that the team will have to run around the entire level, shoot all the ammunition, and at the end there will be one or two players who will flee from the boss. Or it may happen that a well-armed team cuts the monster into nuts with almost no loss.

The main mode of Killing Floor 2 is survival, but there is also a confrontation, where teams alternately play for people and monsters in compliance with the main rules of the game. That is, people are still fighting off waves of mutants, and in between they buy new weapons. The other team is trying to quickly get them out of the game, trying on the role of the most dangerous monsters. Here, by the way, the factor of cooperation also plays an important role. Individually, mutants are more vulnerable, and in the case of a group, attacks are much more dangerous. Some adaptation is also needed to develop the right sense of control and use the blows and all the possibilities of such creatures at the right time. nine0003

A monster shooting game is meant to look dark, and Killing Floor 2 lives up to that expectation. These are dark levels, some kind of laboratory complexes and gothic dungeons, where heavy music hits the ears. The soundtrack is great for hard gunfights and constant gore on the screen, but it’s still so harsh that some would prefer to turn off the music.

The game uses a heavily modified Unreal Engine 3 and supports DirectX 11. In general, the picture is not bad. Even if the dark nooks and crannies look nondescript, the fountains of blood, acids and various pieces quickly turn the game into a bright show of bloody particles, body parts and splashes on the screen. In this regard, the game is somewhat reminiscent of DOOM, where you get the maximum visual impressions in combat. nine0003

Much of this experience comes from special effects powered by NVIDIA Flex technology. They provide additional bloody lumps when bursting carcasses and pools of dynamic blood. All this not only scatters around more actively, but also reacts to explosions and shots. Therefore, in especially massive battles, the game turns into a real bloody meat grinder with flying biomass. It looks very impressive, especially if slow-mo is turned on. But it is available only on GeForce video cards, and system requirements with such effects seriously increase. nine0003

At normal Ultra quality, the game puts forward moderate power requirements for graphics cards. We will be convinced of this by the example of comparative testing, in which different models of NVIDIA GeForce and AMD Radeon will take part. Detailed specifications can be found in the recent Deus Ex: Mankind Divided performance test.

Test bench

Processor: Intel Core i7-3930K @4.4GHz
motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Formula
Memory: Kingston KHX2133C11D3K4/16GX, 1866MHz, 4x4GB
hard drive: Hitachi HDS721010CLA332, 1 TB
power supply: Seasonic SS-750KM
operating system: Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 x64
GeForce driver: NVIDIA GeForce 372. 54
Driver Radeon: Crimson Edition 16.8.2

The «Evacuation Point» level was chosen for testing, where immediately after the start there was a small run with shooting. As far as possible, the actions were repeated as much as possible. Up to 8 repetitions were performed for more accurate results. nine0003

Note that this sequence was possible until recent updates, when the player always started from the same position when starting the level.

Graphics quality set to maximum, frame rate unlocked (variable frame rate option), Flex effects disabled.

The main test resolution is Full HD (1920×1080). The results are below.

The results show that even budget video cards provide good fps. GeForce GTX 760 gives out under 60 fps and is faster than GeForce GTX 950 and Radeon R9 270X. The GeForce GTX 960 has even better performance. In combat with heavy effects, performance may be lower, but it is clear that you will not experience any real discomfort with the GeForce GTX 760 or GeForce GTX 960. If you need stable 60 fps with synchronization, then the GeForce GTX 780 will provide them. It is noteworthy that the performance of the GeForce GTX 970 and Radeon RX 480 is on the same level, and the GeForce GTX 1060 is faster than them.

Higher graphics cards have been additionally tested at a higher resolution of 2560×1440. nine0003

The GeForce GTX 960 can’t handle this resolution, the slideshow is already starting on the Radeon R9 270X. You can comfortably play on the GeForce GTX 970. The Radeon RX 480 and Radeon R9 290X score slightly higher, but the GeForce GTX 1060 is still faster than the competition. GeForce GTX 980 Ti gives out about 90 fps, and GeForce GTX 1080 record 100-120 fps. We also note that at this resolution the game uses about 3 GB of video memory.

Conclusions

Killing Floor 2 is a solid cooperative shooter about shooting monsters with fireworks of bloody lumps. The game has a developed class system, a large arsenal of weapons and a leveling system. Player interaction plays an important role in survival. The presence of powerful monsters and thick-skinned bosses is very conducive to such cooperation. A single mode is present, but without support it is extremely difficult to play and not so provocatively. Perhaps it requires a longer adaptation against the background of other shooters. With some features you need to get comfortable in order to act more effectively. But if you’re into zombie shooters and co-op games, you’ll love Killing Floor 2. nine0003

You can comfortably play in Full HD on the GeForce GTX 950 and GeForce GTX 950. A wide range of graphics settings will allow you to achieve high fps even on old video cards. If you use a higher resolution of 2560×1440, then you will need a GeForce GTX 970. You will get the maximum visual experience with the inclusion of additional NVIDIA Flex effects, which will cause each enemy carcass to spew more lumps and bloody parts. And for this mode, the power of older NVIDIA video cards is already needed. We will talk more about these effects and performance in this mode in a separate article. Follow our updates via VKontakte, Facebook and Twitter! nine0003

AMD A6-3670K Overview — CPUAgent

The A6-3670K is one of AMD’s entry-level Desktop processors. it was released in 2011 with 4 cores and 4 threads. with a base frequency of 2.7 GHz, a maximum speed of 2.7 GHz and a rated power of 100 W. The A6-3670K is based on the Llano family, 32nm and is part of the A6 series.
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The AMD A6-3670K marks another explosion from the AMD team, increasing the intensity of the AMD vs. Intel CPU war. however, when it comes to a mainstream processor, it’s not just the number of cores, as single-core performance should be on point, especially if you’re hoping to play the best PC games.

AMD’s K10 series has entered the market, upping the ante to Intel in their high-stakes game for desktop market dominance with a well-thought-out lineup of new chips that are pushing mainstream platforms to higher core counts and more raw computing than we’ve ever been before. or seen. As a result, Intel’s dominance of the enthusiast community is under threat in a way we haven’t seen in over a decade.
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like the more expensive version of the A6-3650, the A6-3670K has higher base and boost frequencies of 2.7 and 2.7 GHz, respectively. it’s an increase in base frequency and an increase in clock frequency, but the real benefit should be a higher packet power tracking (ppt) envelope, which is a measure of the maximum amount of power delivered to a socket. The A6-3650 maxes out at 100W, while the motherboard can pump up to 142W to the A6-3670K at peak performance. This opens up much more aggressive acceleration behavior on both single and multiple cores, which could widen the performance gap beyond what we see in the spec.
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As we’ve seen, gaming remains an advantage for Intel, so if you need to squeeze every last frame, Intel processors are a good choice. Most of this performance advantage will be less noticeable when playing games at higher resolutions or if you pair the processors with a weaker graphics card.

Value seekers who aren’t afraid to hit the precision boost button and have adequate cooling should look to the A6-3650, which delivers roughly equivalent performance to the A6-3670K, especially if the buying decision is heavily game-driven. This could save you money, confirming our decision to award the A6-3650 an Editors’ Choice award.
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One of the nice things about the AMD A6-3670K processors is that boxed retail models come with a CPU cooler. So you can pick up something like the $115.65 AMD A6-3670K and you won’t have to spend extra money on CPU cooling.

The boxed AMD A6-3670K processor comes with a traditional pancake cooler. nothing fancy but it gets the job done on this cpu which is rated for 100w tdp. You don’t need to have an aftermarket cooling solution if you don’t want one.
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The AMD A6-3670K seems like a very capable chip that you can easily get for $115.65 at your favorite store. This processor’s main competitor is the Core i3-2102 2-core non-locking desktop processor with Intel HD 3000 graphics ($58 shipped).

Bottom line, the AMD A6-3670K doesn’t get much media attention as it’s an entry-level gen 1 processor with an Llano core, but it’s a very powerful processor that still provides good computing experience for entry-level users.
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However, AMD is still behind in frequency with the Core i3-2105 running at 3.1GHz at all times and 3.1GHz when it comes to the extreme.

if advanced overclocking and overclocking are trivial to you, AMD also offers the A6-3650 for $115.65. it still features 4-cores and 4-threads, but runs at a slower 2. 6GHz frequency and only peaks at 2.6GHz.

The A6-3670K supports clock speeds up to 2.7 GHz as promised on the box, and with AMD software you can use one of the cores up to 2.8 GHz. however, don’t expect to get much better without a major cooling upgrade and manually tweaking voltages below operating system levels.
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there’s a saying that two heads are better than one, and, well, 4-core is better than 2. The extra processing power of the A6-3670K puts Intel processors to shame, including both its closest competitor and the much higher-spec part.

That being said, to squeeze out the full potential of this surprisingly powerful entry-level chip, you need (and should) splurge on an enthusiast-level A55, A75 motherboard.

Core i3 Intel are one of the main products of the mass market. they make up the most popular brand for entry-level builds. AMD wants to shake it up with true 4-core processors that sell even for less than 2 cores.