AMD's gaming video adapter based on Radeon R9 390X appeared on the world market quite recently, but managed to attract the attention of not only fans of dynamic games, but also many independent test laboratories. The fact is that the manufacturer did not provide retail original video cards, respectively, all the information about this chip in the media is based on the oral statements of the manufacturer. The description, specifications and owner reviews in this article will concern ready-made solutions on the R9 390X chip from world-famous manufacturers of video adapters.
Declared Specifications
The Radeon R9 390X graphics card is built on the Hawaii XT graphics core (the same chip used by the early R9 290X model). Accordingly, with the previous modification, the novelty has a lot of common parameters:
- technical process 28 nanometers;
- core area 438 mm 2 ;
- the number of transistors on one chip is 6.2 billion pieces;
- the graphics core operates at a frequency of 1050 MHz;
- 2816 shaders, 176 texture blocks and 64 rasterization blocks are used;
- GDDR5 memory works on a 512-bit bus, has a capacity of 8 GB and operates at an effective frequency of 6000 MHz;
- power consumption is 275 watts (power 6 + 8 pin).
AMD got a rather strange product if we compare it with the previous model: the difference is observed only in increasing the frequency of the graphics core by 50 MHz and accelerating the memory bus by 1000 MHz. Because of this, the bandwidth of the Radeon R9 390X (384 GB / s) has improved at 60 gigabytes per second. Also, buyers will appreciate the price: 30 thousand rubles instead of 45 000 rubles for an R9 290X card.
Mobile version of the video adapter
Apparently, the manufacturer is seriously determined to remove its competitor Nvidia from the market, once presented to the world the mobile version of its new AMD Radeon R9 390X chip. The graphics accelerator for the laptop has the same architecture as a regular video game adapter, but the characteristics have still changed. To reduce the power consumption of the video card to 125 watts, the manufacturer halved the amount of RAM (from 8 GB to 4 GB), respectively, and reduced throughput (instead of 512 bits, the video chip runs at 256 bits). The graphics core operates at a frequency of 723 MHz, and memory - at 5000 MHz.
As a result of all the changes, the performance of the mobile platform in the tests is unlikely to be able to compete with the original video adapter, but in the notebook class it has very few competitors. The same GeForce GTX 980M, which has identical characteristics, loses in all tests at high resolutions (2560x1440 dpi). One conclusion can be made - within the walls of AMD Corporation, they seriously took up the elimination of competitor products on store shelves.
Hot Sales First Acquaintance
It so happened that the first video adapter with a new chipset, which appeared on the world market, was the MSI Radeon R9 390X Gaming 8G device. Users liked it so much that the products of other brands became uninteresting to many potential buyers. First of all, the packaging of the video card itself is attractive - the company logo in the form of a red dragon always appears on boxes with powerful devices. On the back of the package is a detailed description of all the technical characteristics of the device, including the capabilities of the cooling system.
The manufacturer did not stop there - for safety, the video accelerator was placed in a special container made of foam rubber (MSI motherboards for the gaming segment are also packed). The owner will also be pleased with the equipment: several splitters for connecting power and adapters for combining digital video devices. Also in the box there is a full instruction manual for the video card and branded disks with drivers and utilities for fine-tuning the device.
See firsthand and buy
It is enough to pick up the MSI Radeon R9 390X Gaming graphics card once to make a purchase, many owners say in their reviews. And this is true, because the best designers and constructors from around the world worked on the design of the cooling system. The video adapter is not limited to an attractive look, because the branded cooler cools the gaming device perfectly.
Aluminum plates cover the printed circuit board on both sides (tightened with screws to each other). A huge aluminum radiator is installed on the front of the lining, which is divided into two sections. The radiator grilles are interconnected by six copper tubes. They are all reduced to a copper pad in contact with the graphics core.
An aluminum casing with two huge fans is installed on top. The black and red color of the cooling system looks quite attractive, and the dragon logo on the ends of the device will not make you doubt that the user has an MSI gaming graphics card.
Destroying legends
The MSI Radeon R9 390X video adapter has undergone minor changes. The manufacturer notes that improvements were required by the power system, which does not cope with the tasks during overclocking. MSI technologists replaced the PWM controller, all the coils and capacitors on the printed circuit board. The changes also affected the transfer of all heating elements to the front of the video card, closer to the mounting grid. As measurements of the device’s temperature in tests showed, this solution allows you to more efficiently remove hot air from the video adapter outside the system unit.
AMD products have never stood out with high potential for overclocking, so owners of video cards with the appropriate chips should not expect grand results. The increase in overclocking is only 100 MHz for the core and 75 MHz for memory, however, as many users note in their reviews, this performance is enough to outperform all competitors of Nvidia on the GTX 980 graphics chip in tests. A very serious result, which unambiguously led many AMD fans to triumph. Apparently, the day is not far off when Geforce Titan X will be able to give way to a cheaper product based on the Radeon graphic core.
The first after the sales leader
Another device that catches the eye of customers in the market for high-end video adapters is the Sapphire Radeon R9 390X Tri-X. A feature of this video card is a powerful cooling system, which has three powerful fans. The manufacturer acted extraordinary, he increased the length so not a short video device to accommodate a huge cooler.
The cooling system is great. Two aluminum covers fit the printed circuit board of the video card on both sides. An aluminum radiator is installed on the front side, which is permeated around the entire perimeter with copper tubes. A plastic casing is installed on top, which has three fans operating at low speeds.
Effective cooling always bears fruit: for example, the graphics core was able to overclock to 1150 MHz (as well as the sales leader), but the improvement in memory performance can surprise all users at 6800 MHz. This is a serious indicator, considering that the installed Hynix memory chips have a limit of 6000 MHz in operation.
Strange market player
In the store you can find another instance of the video card from the manufacturer Sapphire, built on the basis of the Radeon R9 390X chipset. The review of the novelty boils down to the fact that the video adapter strongly resembles the Tri-X modification released earlier. A distinctive feature of the video card is the appearance of the cooling system: black color with blue accents and the inscription "Vapor-X" on the fans and packaging.
A very strange solution from a well-known manufacturer Sapphire is positioned on the market as an exclusive device released by a limited batch. As many users note in their reviews, there is no point in purchasing, because the video card’s performance has not improved after the update, so no one wants to overpay (by the way, the novelty is 1000 rubles more expensive than the Tri-X version) for its purchase.
Scary beast
PowerColor, apparently, also decided to surprise its fans. The release of a video adapter based on the Radeon R9 390X chipset led the manufacturer to a complete failure in the market for computer components. Users did not see the point of acquiring a gaming device with a hybrid cooling system called Devil. The fact is that the appearance of the video card is very attractive, but the overclocking potential is completely absent. And if you compare the video adapter with the gaming devices MSI and Sapphire, then for lower performance the buyer will have to overpay 5,000 rubles (the manufacturer rated the hybrid cooling system at that amount).
What PowerColor technologists had hoped for is unknown, but such a solution will definitely lead to a fall in the value of the company's shares in the securities market. Marketers of the company announced another product based on the R9 390X chipset, which is due to appear soon, but many fans, judging by their reviews in the media, have already preferred other brands.
Finally
For the modern market of graphic video adapters, the Radeon R9 390X chipset, built on the Hawaii XT graphics core, will obviously be the last. After all, the manufacturer of it “squeezed” everything that is possible. The practical lack of overclocking potential clearly hints to the manufacturer that it is time to develop something new. However, the two companies on the market were still able to breathe life into gaming video devices. Technologists at the MSI and Sapphire factories managed to accomplish the impossible - to present users with truly productive gaming graphics cards. If the price of a device from the High-End class is a priority for a potential buyer, then the R9 390X video adapter will be the best purchase for him. But if you need a lot of potential for overclocking, then it's better to pay attention to something else.