R9 290 gaming rig

[Bendistocratic]

Hi guys, may I know which non-reference R9 290 card is better? I've read online about the different specifications of each card. I'm not sure if the price difference is really worth it.

Gigabtye R9 290 OC WF -- $645
MSI R9 290 TF -- $685
PowerColor R9 290 PCS+ -- $600
Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X -- $615 (About the 2 years warranty...no)
ASUS R9 290 Direct CU -- $729

*Prices mostly from Tradepac (except ASUS from Bizgram)


I am thinking of building a new desktop at a budget of 1.5k - 1.7k. No need SSD, monitor (can I use any LCD tv instead? or must the LCD tv support something? If not what monitor is good for 1080p?) and OS. Any cheap keyboard and mouse?

It will be used mainly for gaming, and I hope to include a R9 290 card.

Thank you!

 

[royfrosty]

Asus is out of the question. So as Sapphire.

Among the 3 brands remainder you can go for Gigabyte. One of the highest clocked OC out of the box. With their cooling WF is good, a little noisy side but it does the job.

Can go for MSI if you want the BF4 copy. It has a much quieter cooling fans as compared to Gigabyte.

If you are gonna pump in all that budget to your GPU only. Then most of the things you got to tone down. And probably the rig dont look aesthetically nice.

Only go for it IF you do not care about looks

Asrock B75M DGS + i5-3350p ~ $271
Crucial 8gb 1600mhz ~ $89
WD Blue 1tb ~ $76
Plextor m5s 128gb ~ $128
Gigabyte r9 290 4gb 3x Windforce ~ $645
Seasonic g650 650w 80+ Gold Modular PSU ~ $135
Sharkoon BD28 ~ $77
Samsung ODD ~ $21
Windows 7 home Premium 64bit OEM ~ $115
Logitech mk120 Keyboard and Mouse Combo ~ $18

Total ~ $1575. Buy at tradepac. DIY

I recommend you to reconsider this build instead with a 1080p monitor.

MSI B85M G43 + i5-4570 ~ $347
Gskills Ripjaws 1600mhz 2x4gb kit BLUE ~ $110
WD Blue 1tb ~ $76
Crucial m500 240gb ~ SGD$169 (Amazon)
MSI r9 280X 3gb Twin Frozr ~ $469 (With BF4 copy and also works well with VGA Boost with any MSI mobo)
Seasonic G650 650w 80+ Gold Modular PSU ~ $135 (Modular gives better wire management and also reduce unused wires cluttered)
Fractal Design Arc Midi ~ $129 (Better build quality and has a fan controller build in, can turn up or down if necessary)
Samsung ODD ~ $21
Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OEM ~ $115
Logitech mk120 Keyboard and Mouse Combo ~ $18
Dell S2340L 23inch IPS Panel ~ $219 (Go for monitor instead over TV. TV pixels are not being packed closely, they are never meant for close view. Get a monitor and it will be more dense and eventually good for viewing movies and better color production.)

Total ~ $1808. Buy at tradepac. DIY

FYI r9 290 is a bit overkill on a 1080p monitor on 60hz. A r9 280X will be fine.

 

[Bendistocratic]

MSI B85M G43 + i5-4570 ~ $347
Gskills Ripjaws 1600mhz 2x4gb kit BLUE ~ $110
WD Blue 1tb ~ $76
Gigabyte r9 290 4gb 3x Windforce ~ $645
Seasonic G650 650w 80+ Gold Modular PSU ~ $135
Fractal Design Arc Midi ~ $129
Samsung ODD ~ $21
Logitech mk120 Keyboard and Mouse Combo ~ $18
Dell S2340L 23inch IPS Panel ~ $219

Total: $1700

Can I use this build instead? I don't need SSD and OS ("have" it).

Thanks for the fast reply!

EDIT: Are there any good wireless adapter for desktops? I would prefer a slot-in rather than a USB one (I've heard USB ones stop working when it gets too hot).

 

[shadow84]

That is acceptable, although 290 is a bit too much for 1080p 60hz. 280x is more than enough.

And do consider ssd. It will make a big difference down the road.

 

[royfrosty]

Reconsider the ssd option rather than no ssd. This helps better in every ways. You spend so much and you dont consider a ssd.

The build is fine. But for 1080p r9 290 is a bit too much. Rather you get a ssd option.

Once you go ssd you wont wanna go back to hdd. Lastly, usb adapter do not turn off by itself. And this type of things are small and generally do not produce much heat.

 

[chaoswar]

Do consider a ssd in ur rig, u fell in love with it loading speed in fps games

 

[Gaminator]

Do consider a ssd in ur rig, u fell in love with it loading speed in fps games

Given the TS budget, SSD for OS and essential programs only, forget about putting games in the SSD. I have a couple of powerful gaming rigs, yet all my games are installed in HDD's, perfectly acceptable to wait a second or two longer for games to load.

 

[Felfirez]

What about the Seagate 600 SSHD? The new controller algorithm seems to work better than the momentus

 

[Hailgod]

What about the Seagate 600 SSHD? The new controller algorithm seems to work better than the momentus

SSHDs are rubbish. get a real ssd + hdd

 

[XeonHacker]

Do check with the store if they have stock for 290, Selling like hotcakes !!!