12-08-2014, 12:22 PM
Thank you for the very quick response! I haven't paid attention to video cards for years until this recent decision to build a server, and it feels good to get direct advice from an expert. Your posts here have been a great resource during my research. Thanks for helping out newbies like me!
Actually, I now recall bookmarking a thread where you recommended the reference design HIS 7970. I'm assuming you've used the HIS R9 290X as well? Just wondering if the strong affinity comes from experience with previous cards or with the 290X in particular.
Based on your advice, I caved in and bought one used XFX R9 290X on eBay from a bitcoin miner. The BIN price was too good to pass up ($223 w/ shipping), and I wanted to treat myself for the holidays. Looking forward to experimenting with GPGPU in the coming month!
Interestingly, there appear to be several versions of the XFX 290X Core Edition. There's the current R9-290X-ENFC model, but there's also older models that have the primary number R9-290X-EN followed by a second number that is either R9-290X-ENF V1.1 or R9-290X-ENF VP.0. I don't know if there is any difference at all, but I found no existing information about the matter, so I'm throwing it out there. I sent a question about it to XFX and will update if they reply.
I'll be on the lookout for a HIS R9 290X in the future. I'm expecting that 290X prices will fall significantly yet again as AMD releases its Radeon R9 390X within the next six months. Maybe at that point I'll snag a HIS and write up an anecdotal report on how it compares to the XFX.
Lastly, I found out about a few more 290X reference manufacturers and added them to the first post for completeness: Club 3D, Colorfire, VTX3D, Yeston.
Actually, I now recall bookmarking a thread where you recommended the reference design HIS 7970. I'm assuming you've used the HIS R9 290X as well? Just wondering if the strong affinity comes from experience with previous cards or with the 290X in particular.
Based on your advice, I caved in and bought one used XFX R9 290X on eBay from a bitcoin miner. The BIN price was too good to pass up ($223 w/ shipping), and I wanted to treat myself for the holidays. Looking forward to experimenting with GPGPU in the coming month!
Interestingly, there appear to be several versions of the XFX 290X Core Edition. There's the current R9-290X-ENFC model, but there's also older models that have the primary number R9-290X-EN followed by a second number that is either R9-290X-ENF V1.1 or R9-290X-ENF VP.0. I don't know if there is any difference at all, but I found no existing information about the matter, so I'm throwing it out there. I sent a question about it to XFX and will update if they reply.
I'll be on the lookout for a HIS R9 290X in the future. I'm expecting that 290X prices will fall significantly yet again as AMD releases its Radeon R9 390X within the next six months. Maybe at that point I'll snag a HIS and write up an anecdotal report on how it compares to the XFX.
Lastly, I found out about a few more 290X reference manufacturers and added them to the first post for completeness: Club 3D, Colorfire, VTX3D, Yeston.