ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC Review
Category : AMD
Published by Hiwa Pouri on 03.04.14
There are quite a few custom Radeon R9 290 graphics cards available meanwhile and today we are going to have a look at the ASUS one, the Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC. The Radeon R9 290 version is no different from other high-end DirectCU II cards from the manufacturer, you don't change a formula that works. The R9 290 DirectCU II OC features a custom PCB with a beefed up power design and is chilled by the latest version of the DirectCU II cooler. Other than the obvious the card has a factory overclocking on both the core and memory as well as a BIOS DIP switch allowing users to choose between a silent or a performance operation.
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Presentation
The new ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC graphics card features a custom PCB design, which received a beefed up power design, the quite famous DirectCU II cooler as well as a decent factory overclock. At a first glance it looks like the new R9 290 DirectCU II OC shares the same cooler as the R9 290X and the GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II series while the PCB is similar to the one on the R9 290X DirectCU II series, which are definitely good starting points.
Since this is the DirectCU II OC version of the ASUS Radeon R9 290 series, the graphics card comes with a decent factory overclock. While the reference AMD Radeon R9 290 GPU is set to work at up to 947 MHz, the ASUS DirectCU II OC one works at 1'000 MHz. ASUS also decided to overclock the GDDR5 memory on its card from 1'000 MHz (4'000 MHz effective) to 1'260 MHz (5'040 MHz effective).
During our testing the ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC held 1'000 MHz most of the time while being under load. We have only experienced downclocking when running FurMark, where the GPU clock was going down to to 920 MHz with the temperature increase. We did not notice any throttling while gaming which is a very good point for the custom ASUS card compared to the reference cards which were throttling most of the time.
Specifications
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | Radeon R9 290X | Radeon R9 280X | |
| Chip | Hawaii Pro | Hawaii XT | Tahiti XT2/L |
| Process | 28 nm | 28 nm | 28 nm |
| Transistors | 6.20 billion | 6.20 billion | 4.31 billion |
| GPU clock | 1'000 MHz | up to 1'000 MHz | 1'000 MHz |
| Memory GDDR5 | 4'096 MB | 4'096 MB | 3'072 MB |
| Memory clock | 1'260 (5'400) MHz | 1'250 (5'000) MHz | 1'500 (6'000) MHz |
| Memory interface | 512 Bit | 512 Bit | 384 Bit |
| Memory bandwidth | 322.6 GB/s | 320.0 GB/s | 288 GB/s |
| Shader Cores | 2'560 | 2'816 | 2'048 |
| TMUs | 160 | 176 | 128 |
| ROPs | 64 | 64 | 32 |
| PCB Type | Custom Design | Reference Design | Reference Design |
| Slots | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Cooler | DirectCU II | AMD Reference | AMD Reference |
The card
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ASUS decided to equip the Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC with the latest revision of their famous DirectCU II cooler. It is exactly the same cooler ASUS puts on the GeForce GTX 780 and the 780 Ti DirectCU II series, and no changes have been made. In this case you get no less than five heatpipes, two of which are six millimeter, two eight millimeter and one with a massive ten millimeter diameter. The heatpipes have been nickel plated and are in direct contact with the GPU core. Soldered to the heatpipes you will find the fin stack which is being provided with fresh air via two 95mm fans. The fan closer to the I/O shield is a hybrid axial/radial fan which ASUS likes to call "CoolTech". They claim that this fan is able to provide a higher airflow than standard axial or radial fans at the same noise level. In case of the second fan you find a standard axial fan. Both fans are being manufactured by Everflow and strangely share the same model name, T129215SU.
Overall the cooler is well made and the finish is on a very reasonable level too. Good thermal paste has been spread all over the core in large quantity but the memory chips did not get active cooling.
Like the reference model, the ASUS DirectCU II OC has a DIP switch to select between two BIOS options. Unfortunately, the switch positions are not labeled. The SW1 position is silent mode and the SW2 is the performance mode. There is also no note in the bundled documentation or on the website product page. Unlike the reference model, ASUS chose to equip this graphics card with a silent mode BIOS and a performance mode BIOS, rather than a normal/uber mode BIOS options. In our opinion ASUS made the right choice. We have tested both modes and surprisingly we did not experience any performance loss while using the silent BIOS. The only difference we noticed were regarding the temperatures and fan speeds. In case of the silent BIOS, the fan was always around lowest speed between 20-25% and in this case the GPU temperature was around 90°C. These temperature readings are nothing to be worried about as the R9 Series chip can take it. With the performance BIOS, the card was trying to keep the GPU temperature between 73 and 77°C (fan speed range: 40-50%).
This card allowed for a maximum stable
overclock to 1100 MHz on the GPU side and 1375 MHz on the memory side. We
used Furemark V1.11.0 Geeks3D benchmark with 15 minutes duration in order to
test the stability. With these
clocks we had to feed the GPU with 1.15 Volt and the memory ran at stock
voltages.
Like most of ASUS' recent high-end cards, the PCB on the ASUS R9 290 DirectCU II OC has been completely reworked and the power design has been beefed-up. A closer look at it shows an 8-phase power implementation for the main power design where the GPU gets six (there are five on the reference card) and the memory gets remaining two phases. The PCB design looks a lot like the one you get with the R9 290X DirectCU II model.
The main power design MOSFETs are being actively cooled via a black aluminum heatsink/thermal pad combo. The manufacturer decided to equip its Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II with both metal reinforcement (located at the top end of the card) and full backplate to prevent bending and protect the card at the same time.
Component wise ASUS uses a high quality design, so called Super Alloy Power, components. Last but not least, located at the rear of the PCB there are several voltage and modification points (VDDCI, MVDD, VDDC, OVCI, OVM, OVC) as well as the ROG Connect soldering points.
Checking the voltage regulation chip we find a digital multi-phase controller labelled Digi+ ASP1300 for the GPU, and one uP1631P from uPI Semiconductor for the memory.
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The memory chips used are made by Elpida and carry the model number W2032BBBG-6A-F. They are specified to run at 1'260 MHz (5'040 MHz effective).
Photo Gallery
Delivery
The card ships well bolstered in a foam made mold. Bundled with the graphics card are the user guide, the driver CD, two power converters (2x6-Pin-PCIe to 1x8-Pin-PCIe) as well as a case badge. We would have loved to find a few additional goodies in the box but the bundle is not that bad either.
Test Setup
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3DMark - Fire Strike Performance
| Graphics Cards | Score | Graphics Score |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 11'024 | 13'020 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 10'455 | 12'225 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 9'690 | 11'452 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 9'400 | 10'988 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 9'115 | 10'399 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 9'043 | 10'566 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 8'970 | 10'185 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 8'639 | 10'883 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 8'396 | 9'420 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 7'877 | 8'734 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 7'294 | 8'146 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 7'091 | 7'922 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 7'093 | 7'837 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 6'679 | 7'408 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 6'578 | 7'215 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 6'350 | 7'207 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 6'402 | 7'102 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 5'801 | 6'338 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 5'624 | 6'099 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 5'318 | 5'784 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 5'243 | 5'645 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 5'059 | 5'483 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 5'009 | 5'436 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 4'885 | 5'270 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 4'545 | 4'975 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 4'415 | 4'707 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 4'176 | 4'460 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 3'762 | 3'962 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 3'742 | 3'880 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 3'546 | 3'823 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 3'338 | 3'446 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 3'232 | 3'299 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 3'031 | 3'182 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 2'991 | 3'096 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 2'710 | 2'751 |
| More is better | ||
3DMark - Fire Strike Extreme
| Graphics Cards | Score | Graphics Score |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 5'668 | 6'028 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 5'340 | 5'641 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 5'011 | 5'336 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 4'823 | 5'101 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 4'658 | 4'854 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 4'619 | 4'884 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 4'550 | 4'747 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 4'406 | 4'562 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 4'271 | 4'420 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 4'007 | 4'121 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 3'634 | 3'757 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 3'568 | 3'720 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 3'564 | 3'668 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 3'319 | 3'448 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 3'185 | 3'274 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 3'291 | 3'383 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 3'176 | 3'286 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 2'904 | 2'970 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 2'805 | 2'872 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 2'657 | 2'739 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 2'610 | 2'655 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 2'503 | 2'562 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 2'484 | 2'560 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 2'378 | 2'440 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 2'213 | 2'350 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 2'178 | 2'202 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 2'044 | 2'073 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 1'842 | 1'848 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 1'784 | 1'760 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 1'585 | 1'555 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 1'456 | 1'437 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 1'101 | 1'025 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 1'005 | 1'005 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 942 | 983 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 959 | 878 |
| More is better | ||
Unigine Heaven 4.0 Extreme Preset
| Graphics Cards | Score | fps |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 2'181 | 86.6 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 2'040 | 81.0 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 2'046 | 81.2 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 1'805 | 71.6 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 1'754 | 68.9 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 1'744 | 69.2 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 1'645 | 65.1 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 1'603 | 63.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 1'594 | 63.3 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 1'537 | 61.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 1'261 | 50.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 1'204 | 47.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 1'156 | 45.9 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 1'137 | 45.1 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 1'135 | 45.0 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 1'113 | 44.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 1'034 | 41.1 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 1'028 | 40.8 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 1'004 | 39.9 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 951 | 37.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 915 | 36.3 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 886 | 35.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 866 | 34.4 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 832 | 33.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 826 | 32.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 801 | 31.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 705 | 28.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 684 | 27.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 620 | 24.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 568 | 22.5 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 556 | 22.1 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 510 | 20.3 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 498 | 19.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 478 | 19.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 403 | 16.0 |
| More is better | ||
BattleField 3
| High Preset, 1920x1080, 4xMSAA, Ultra, SSAO | Average FPS |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 120.4 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 118.9 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 101.0 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 100.9 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 99.4 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 99.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 96.4 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 94.0 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 92.9 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 90.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 78.4 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 77.0 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 76.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 76.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 72.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 71.2 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 67.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 66.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 65.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 62.0 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 58.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 55.8 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 55.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 54.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 50.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 48.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 44.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 44.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 36.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 35.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 33.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 32.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 32.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 29.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 26.6 |
| More is better |
Bioshock Infinite - Benchmark
| Ultra Preset, 1920x1080, AA, no DDOF | Average FPS |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 122.41 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 122.16 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 113.45 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 103.53 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 103.24 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 102.86 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 102.20 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 100.03 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 95.55 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 90.78 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 78.98 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 78.01 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 76.80 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 75.68 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 75.44 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 73.48 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 71.54 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 70.13 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 67.87 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 62.41 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 60.36 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 54.79 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 52.91 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 51.11 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 51.04 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 50.55 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 45.77 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 43.20 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 43.13 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 39.28 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 38.13 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 34.89 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 34.65 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 33.69 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 32.42 |
| More is better |
Crysis 3
| High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA, Very High | Average FPS |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 41.4 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 41.2 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 34.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 33.8 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 33.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 31.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 30.2 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 28.0 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 27.3 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 26.8 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 25.9 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 25.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 24.4 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 23.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 22.2 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 20.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 20.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 19.8 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 19.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 18.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 18.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 17.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 16.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 15.0 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 15.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 14.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 14.2 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 14.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 12.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 11.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 10.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 8.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 8.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 8.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 7.6 |
| More is better |
Call of Duty Black Ops 2
| High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA, High | Average FPS |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 176.2 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 172.1 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 146.3 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 146.0 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 141.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 137.2 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 134.0 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 133.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 130.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 127.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 121.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 109.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 105.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 103.6 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 103.0 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 102.8 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 99.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 95.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 93.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 86.0 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 84.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 81.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 81.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 79.2 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 79.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 72.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 69.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 68.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 64.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 62.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 62.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 58.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 54.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 48.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 46.4 |
| More is better |
DIRT Showdown - Benchmark
| High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA, Ultra | Average FPS |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 119.36 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 119.29 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 108.86 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 107.93 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 105.76 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 98.04 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 94.90 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 89.13 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 87.97 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 82.36 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 81.65 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 80.30 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 79.22 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 76.46 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 71.63 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 68.79 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 67.04 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 64.63 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 62.99 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 62.53 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 58.98 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 58.50 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 54.27 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 52.48 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 50.61 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 48.92 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 45.35 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 44.19 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 43.28 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 38.94 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 38.02 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 36.48 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 30.35 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 30.05 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 29.13 |
| More is better |
Far Cry 3
| High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xMSAA, Ultra | Average FPS |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 65.4 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 62.8 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 54.9 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 53.3 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 53.2 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 52.4 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 50.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 50.2 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 49.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 47.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 39.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 38.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 35.6 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 34.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 32.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 31.0 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 30.9 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 30.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 29.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 27.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 27.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 24.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 24.6 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 23.8 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 22.4 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 22.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 21.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 20.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 18.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 17.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 15.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 15.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 13.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 13.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 10.6 |
| More is better |
Sleeping Dogs - Benchmark
| High Preset, 1920x1080, Extreme, High-Res Textures | Average FPS |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 80.9 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 76.0 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 72.4 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 69.9 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 69.8 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 66.3 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 65.9 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 63.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 62.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 58.7 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 56.6 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 52.1 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 51.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 51.7 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 50.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 48.7 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 47.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 42.7 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 42.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 38.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 38.7 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 36.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 35.1 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 34.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 33.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 32.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 30.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 27.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 27.3 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 26.3 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 26.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 22.9 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 22.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 22.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 19.9 |
| More is better |
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
| High Preset, 1920x1080, 8xAA, Ultra | Average FPS |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 136.5 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 136.4 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 135.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 135.0 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 133.3 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 133.2 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 132.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 127.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 126.2 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 123.1 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 110.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 109.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 109.0 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 107.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 106.4 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 106.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 98.6 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 96.7 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 96.4 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 90.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 87.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 85.2 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 84.8 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 82.8 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 81.4 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 73.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 71.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 64.0 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 63.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 58.4 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 56.6 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 56.2 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 52.0 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 48.6 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 47.2 |
| More is better |
Metro: Last Light - Benchmark
| Very High, 1920x1080, SSAA, DX11 | Average FPS |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 55.19 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 54.83 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 48.14 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 46.58 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 45.19 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 43.36 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 44.49 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 42.94 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 39.94 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 38.18 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 33.97 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 33.78 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 33.41 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 32.53 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 30.98 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 30.56 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 27.65 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 27.30 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 27.28 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 25.09 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 23.97 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 23.46 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 23.25 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 21.93 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 21.58 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 20.84 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 18.09 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 17.83 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 17.05 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 15.22 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 14.94 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 13.83 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 13.33 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 12.37 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 11.11 |
| More is better |
Grand Theft Auto V
Power Consumption
| Power Consumption Idle* | Watts |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 92 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 (Ref) | 80 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 (Ref) | 69 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 67 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 65 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition (ASUS Matrix P.) | 60 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 59 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 57 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 (Ref) | 57 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 (Ref) | 57 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 57 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 (Ref) | 56 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 (Ref) | 54 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 (ASUS DC2OC) | 54 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (ASUS DC2T) | 54 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 (Ref) | 53 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 (ASUS DC2OC) | 53 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 (ASUS DC2OC) | 53 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 (ASUS DC2T) | 52 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 (Ref) | 51 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 (ASUS DC2T) | 50 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 49 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 48 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti (GBT GHz) | 48 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 (ASUS DC2T V2) | 48 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X (ASUS DC2T) | 48 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X (ASUS DC2T) | 48 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 (XFX DD - Ref PCB) | 47 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN (Ref) | 47 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti (ASUS DC2T) | 45 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 (ASUS DC2T) | 45 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 (ASUS DC2OC - Ref PCB) | 45 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 (ASUS DC2OC) | 45 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost (Ref) | 43 |
| *Entire system | Less is better |
| Power Consumption Load (FurMark)* | Watts |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 (Ref) | 481 |
| PowerColor LCS R9 290X | 425 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 421 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 401 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 383 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 380 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition (ASUS Matrix P.) | 360 |
| MSI Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 358 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti (GBT GHz) | 333 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 (XFX DD - Ref PCB) | 323 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 OC Edition | 321 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X (ASUS DC2T) | 320 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN (Ref) | 306 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 (ASUS DC2OC) | 302 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 (Ref) | 258 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 (ASUS DC2OC) | 257 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 (Ref) | 254 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 (Ref) | 244 |
| MSI GTX 760 Gaming MINI-ITX | 241 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 (Ref) | 232 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 (ASUS DC2T) | 227 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X (ASUS DC2T) | 223 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 (ASUS DC2T V2) | 220 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 (ASUS DC2OC) | 218 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 (Ref) | 208 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 (Ref) | 200 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 (ASUS DC2T) | 195 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 (ASUS DC2OC) | 194 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 (Ref) | 193 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (ASUS DC2T) | 178 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 (ASUS DC2T) | 177 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost (Ref) | 169 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 (ASUS DC2OC - Ref PCB) | 152 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti (ASUS DC2T) | 151 |
| *Entire system | Less is better |
Temperatures / Noise levels
Fan Speed
| Auto | Auto | 50% | 70% | 100% |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II OC | 1'129 | 1'493 | 2'078 | 3'023 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 1'040 | 1'910 | 2'650 | 3'770 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 980 | 1'490 | 2'080 | 3'000 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7970 Matrix Platinum | 1'100 | 2'180 | 2'780 | 3'000 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II Top | 1'020 | 1'860 | 2'620 | 3'000 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X Matrix Platinum | 1'050 | 2'090 | 2'900 | 3'200 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 1'025 | 1'805 | 2'575 | 3.040 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II | 1'050 | 1'930 | 2'680 | 3'040 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 1'035 | 1'875 | 2'630 | 3'000 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 GHz Edition | 780 | 2'180 | 3'100 | 4'380 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 OC V2 | 780 | 2'180 | 3'100 | 4'380 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 | 1'040 | 1'450 | 2'000 | 2'900 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 1'035 | 2'045 | 2'470 | 3'040 |
| PowerColor Radeon R9 280X TurboDuo OC | 995 | 2'000 | 2'740 | 3'520 |
| PowerColor Radeon R9 290X LCS |
Watercooled |
|||
| NVIDIA Reference | 1'250 | 2'060 | n/A | 4'240 |
| Less is better | ||||
Noise Level
| Auto | Auto | 50% | 70% | 100% |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II OC | 33.2 | 37.1 | 43.0 | 51.4 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 32.0 | 36.6 | 42.7 | 51.2 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 32.8 | 37.2 | 43.0 | 53.4 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7970 Matrix Platinum | 34.1 | 40.7 | 49.4 | 51.9 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II Top | 33.4 | 36.3 | 50.5 | 54.0 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X Matrix Platinum | 33.5 | 37.1 | 43.3 | 49.5 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 32.9 | 41.6 | 49.2 | 52.5 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II | 33.0 | 41.8 | 49.5 | 52.5 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 33.0 | 41.2 | 49.6 | 52.7 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 GHz Edition | 32.0 | 37.1 | 44.4 | 52.3 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 OC V2 | 32.0 | 37.1 | 44.4 | 52.3 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 | 32.0 | 34.3 | 40.2 | 50.0 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 32.0 | 36.6 | 44.0 | 49.0 |
| PowerColor Radeon R9 280X TurboDuo OC | 32.3 | 34.0 | 43.3 | 49.5 |
| PowerColor Radeon R9 290X LCS |
Watercooled |
|||
| NVIDIA Reference | 33.2 | 39.8 | n/A | 56.2 |
| Less is better | ||||
For the noise level results, we measured the noise level using a decibel meter (Voltcraft SL-200) located at 1 meter away from the graphics card.
Idle Temperature
| Temperature | Auto | 50% | 70% | 100% |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II OC | 30 | 29 | 28 | 28 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 37 | 37 | 36 | 34 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7970 Matrix Platinum | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II Top | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X Matrix Platinum | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 38 | 36 | 35 | 34 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II | 36 | 35 | 34 | 34 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 37 | 36 | 35 | 34 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 GHz Edition | 29 | 27 | 26 | 26 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 OC V2 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 28 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 27 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 |
| PowerColor Radeon R9 280X TurboDuo OC | 32 | 32 | 31 | 30 |
| PowerColor Radeon R9 290X LCS |
29 |
|||
| NVIDIA Reference | 32 | 30 | 29 | 29 |
| Less is better | ||||
Idle, temperature is taken after 15 minutes @ lowest, 40 %, 50 %, 70 % and 100 % fan speed.
Room Temperature: 25°C
Temperature under Furmark
| Temperature | Auto | 50% | 70% | 100% |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II OC | 83 | 71 | 63 | 56 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 77 | 77 | 72 | 68 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 90 | 81 | 72 | 62 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7970 Matrix Platinum | 76 | 70 | 69 | 69 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II Top | 90 | 71 | 64 | 63 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X Matrix Platinum | 77 | 73 | 71 | 70 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II | 89 | 90 | 85 | 81 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 88 | 85 | 82 | 78 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 90 | 87 | 81 | 77 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 GHz Edition | 90 | 80 | 73 | 58 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 OC V2 | 90 | 83 | 75 | 63 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 | 73 | 71 | 63 | 56 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 80 | 77 | 72 | 69 |
| PowerColor R9 290X LCS |
46 |
|||
| PowerColor R9 280X TurboDuo OC | n/A | n/A | 74 | 68 |
| NVIDIA Reference | 90 | 83 | 76 | 68 |
| Less is better | ||||
For FurMark, temperature is taken after 15 minutes of GPU Burn test at lowest, 40 %, 50 %, 70 % and 100 % fan speed.
We stopped the test when the GPU temperature hit 90°C.
Room Temperature: 25°C
Temperature and fan speed under BattleField 3
| Auto | Temperature |
| PowerColor R9 290X LCS (watercooled) | 39 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming R9 280X OC Edition | 60 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 66 |
| ASUS Radeon HD 7970 Matrix Platinum | 66 |
| MSI Twin Frozr Gaming GTX 780 | 66 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 GHz Edition | 67 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X Matrix Platinum | 68 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 68 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 DirectCU II OC | 69 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 280X DirectCU II Top | 69 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 OC V2 | 70 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Poseidon Platinum | 71 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 72 |
| PowerColor R9 280X TurboDuo OC | 73 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X DirectCU II | 79 |
| NVIDIA Reference | 79 |
| Less is better |
For BattleField 3, temperature and fan speed values taken are the highest achieved after 1 hour gaming @ auto fan speed.
Performance/Watt
| Graphics Cards | Performance Index | Power C. (Watts)* | Performance/Watt*10 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti (PowerColor DC2T) | 53.55 | 178 | 3.01 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN (Ref) | 85.05 | 306 | 2.78 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 (PowerColor DC2OC) | 70.92 | 257 | 2.76 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 104.63 | 383 | 2.73 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 (PowerColor DC2T) | 62.00 | 227 | 2.73 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti (GBT GHz) | 90.53 | 333 | 2.72 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 (PowerColor DC2OC) | 81.66 | 302 | 2.70 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 (PowerColor DC2T) | 47.37 | 177 | 2.68 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 (Ref) | 68.36 | 258 | 2.65 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 (PowerColor DC2OC) | 56.63 | 218 | 2.60 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 (PowerColor DC2OC) | 50.00 | 195 | 2.56 |
| ASUS GeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | 100.42 | 380 | 2.51 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost (Ref) | 40.87 | 169 | 2.42 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X (PowerColor DC2T) | 53.85 | 230 | 2.34 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 (PowerColor DC2T V2) | 50.53 | 219 | 2.31 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 (PowerColor DC2T) | 42.39 | 190 | 2.23 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 (PowerColor DC2OC - Ref PCB) | 33.44 | 151 | 2.21 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | 88.15 | 401 | 2.20 |
| PowerColor Radeon R9 290X LCS | 91.19 | 420 | 2.17 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition (PowerColor Matrix P.) | 70.75 | 325 | 2.18 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X (PowerColor DC2T) | 68.85 | 321 | 2.14 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 83.78 | 421 | 2.09 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti (PowerColor DC2T) | 30.80 | 151 | 2.04 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 (Ref) | 50.49 | 254 | 1.99 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 (XFX DD - Ref PCB) | 64.27 | 329 | 1.95 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 (Ref) | 36.83 | 208 | 1.77 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 (Ref) | 41.19 | 252 | 1.63 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 (Ref) | 31.88 | 200 | 1.59 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 (Ref) | 30.05 | 193 | 1.56 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 (Ref) | 35.98 | 232 | 1.55 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 (Ref) | 73.44 | 500 | 1.47 |
| *Entire system | More is better | Less is better | More is better |
The "Performance Index" value is calculated as the sum of all benchmarks results divided by the amount of games (3DMark and Unigine are not included into the calculation).
Performance/Price
| Graphics Cards | Performance Index | Price (€)* | Performance/€*10 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290X Matrix Platinum | n/A | n/A | n/A |
| ASUSGeForce GTX 780 Ti Matrix Platinum | n/A | n/A | n/A |
| AMD Radeon HD 7790 | 33.44 | 91 | 3.67 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7870 | 50.53 | 143 | 3.53 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270 | 50.00 | 144 | 3.47 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7850 | 42.39 | 124 | 3.42 |
| AMD Radeon R9 270X | 53.85 | 159 | 3.39 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti Boost | 40.87 | 121 | 3.38 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 | 47.37 | 144 | 3.29 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 650 Ti | 30.80 | 100 | 3.08 |
| AMD Radeon R9 280X | 68.85 | 241 | 2.86 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 760 | 56.63 | 199 | 2.85 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 660 Ti | 53.55 | 193 | 2.77 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 | 64.27 | 232 | 2.77 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 670 | 62.00 | 228 | 2.72 |
| AMD Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition | 70.75 | 260 | 2.72 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 770 | 70.92 | 266 | 2.67 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 580 | 50.49 | 190 | 2.66 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6870 | 31.88 | 126 | 2.53 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 680 | 68.36 | 291 | 2.35 |
| ASUS Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC | 83.78 | 379 | 2.21 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 | 81.66 | 415 | 1.97 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6950 | 36.83 | 205 | 1.80 |
| PowerColor Radeon R9 290X LCS | 91.19 | 577 | 1.58 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX 780 Ti | 90.53 | 582 | 1.56 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6970 | 41.19 | 310 | 1.33 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5850 | 30.05 | 260 | 1.16 |
| AMD Radeon HD 5870 | 35.98 | 335 | 1.07 |
| AMD Radeon HD 6990 | 73.44 | 708 | 1.04 |
| nVidia GeForce GTX TITAN | 85.05 | 832 | 1.02 |
| Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 Ti GHz | 104.63 | 613 | N/A |
| * 06/01/2014 | More is better | Less is better | More is better |
For the price we took the lowest price available on geizhals.eu.
Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| With the new Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC ASUS has an almost flawless custom R9 graphics card in its portfolio. The card is fast but not as fast as its big brother, the R9 290X, does not throttle like reference models since the DirectCU II cooler does a great job, has a nice design, a decent factory overclock of more than 50 MHz over the reference design and even the memory is overclocked, which is quite rare these days. Thanks to custom PCB and the strong VRM design with three phase more than reference design on GPU as well as the Digi+, a digital phase controller which is controlling eight phases, the new ASUS R9 290 Direct CU II will probably end up to be one of the best R9 290 graphics cards on the market. ASUS has been using the same controller for a long time now and it has been also used on some high-end motherboard in the past. The cooling performance is on a very competitive level and we really liked the fact that ASUS decided to equip the card with a DIP switch but went for a different BIOS configuration, with silent and performance BIOS options. In addition to the backplate ASUS also used a reinforcing bar which adds to the overall quality of the R9 290 DirectCU II OC. |
- Performance
- Cooling performance - Design - colored stickers bundled - Backplate - Memory Clock - Noise levels - BIOS DIP switch |
- Bundle | |
| Cooling / Noise Level | + | - | |
| Honestly, we are quite positively surprised by this
cooler. In the past we did not agree with several decisions made
regarding fan profiles, but this cooler is excellent and it definitely
can't be compared to any reference cooler. In performance mode (BIOS SW2) temperatures are very good but in this case the graphics card starts to be well audible under load (49.2 dBA). With the silent BIOS (SW1) temperatures are high, and hover around 95°C for the GPU, but the result is a very silent graphics card as the fans do not spin much higher than when the GPU is in idle state. The BIOS DIP switch is really a nice feature here and we would love to see this on all high-end graphics cards. |
- Cooling performance
- Noise levels |
||
| Performance | + | - | |
| Overall, the performance is very good since the DirectCU
II model does not throttle like the reference cards. The factory overclocking on the
GPU and the memory, paired with the good cooling
solution, make this Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC, a tad bit faster than
the reference Radeon R9 290. A closer look at the power consumption reveals that the figures are reasonably good with 57 Watts in idle. It is 10 Watts lower than the R9 290X Matrix for example. Under load, it is a different story. The measured 421 Watts is quite something, but can also be expected, since there is a Hawaii GPU doing its job underneath the massive cooler. The overall performance/watt is therefore not as competitive as with NVIDIA graphics cards. |
- Performance | - Power consumption | |
| Recommendation / Price | + | - | |
| The Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC from ASUS is a very good graphics card. The noise levels with the performance BIOS could be a tad little bit better, but since it is a performance BIOS there is definitely nothing too serious to complain about. Also the pricing is appropriate. This card might cost 45 Euro more than a reference R9 290 but since it is as fast as a lot of other versions, which costs the same or even higher, pricing is just about right. | - Gaming | ||
| We gave the Radeon R9 290 DirectCU II OC from ASUS 4.5 out of 5 stars. | |||
