AMD based video gaming adapterRadeon R9 390X appeared on the world market quite recently, however, 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 retail the original video cards, respectively, all information about this chip in the media is based on the oral statements of the manufacturer. The description, characteristics and reviews of the owners in this article will relate to ready-made solutions on the R9 390X chip from well-known global manufacturers of video adapters.
The Radeon R9 390X is built onHawaii XT graphics core (the same chip used by the early model R9 290X). Accordingly, with the previous modification, the novelty has a lot of common parameters:
AMD has a rather strange product ifcompare it with the previous model: the difference is only in increasing the frequency of the graphics core by 50 MHz and accelerating the memory bus by 1000 MHz. Because of this, the Radeon R9 390X (384 GB / s) bandwidth has improved by 60 gigabytes per second. Also, buyers will appreciate the price: 30 thousand rubles instead of 45 000 rubles for the card R9 290X.
Apparently, the manufacturer is seriousis set to remove its competitor Nvidia from the market, once presented the world and the mobile version of its new AMD Radeon R9 390X chip. The graphics accelerator for a laptop has the same architecture as a regular gaming video adapter, but the characteristics have undergone changes. To reduce the video card's power consumption to 125 watts, the manufacturer halved the amount of RAM (from 8 GB to 4 GB), respectively, the throughput decreased (instead of 512 bits, the video chip runs on 256 bits). The graphics core runs at 723 MHz, and the memory runs at 5000 MHz.
As a result of all the changes in performancethe 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). The conclusion can be made one - in the walls of the corporation AMD seriously undertook to eliminate competitor products on the shelves.
It happened that the first video adapter with a newChipset, which appeared on the world market, became the device MSI Radeon R9 390X Gaming 8G. Users liked it so much that products from other brands became uninteresting to many potential buyers. First of all, the packaging of the video card itself attracts - the corporate logo in the form of a red dragon always appears on the boxes with productive 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.
At this manufacturer did not stop -The video accelerator for safety was placed in a special container made of foam rubber (MSI gaming segment motherboards are also packed). Will delight the owner and equipment: several splitters for power supply and adapters for combining digital video devices. Also in the box there is a complete instruction manual for the video card and proprietary disks with drivers and utilities for fine tuning the device.
It’s enough just to pick up a video cardMSI Radeon R9 390X Gaming, to make a purchase, consider many owners in their reviews. And this is true, because the best designers and designers from all over the world worked on the design of the cooling system. The video adapter is not limited to an attractive look, because the brand cooler perfectly cools the gaming device.
Aluminum covers cover the circuit board withboth sides (tightened with screws to each other). On the front of the lining is set a huge aluminum radiator, which is divided into two sections. Between themselves, the radiator grilles are connected by six copper tubes. They are all reduced to a copper platform in contact with the graphics core.
Top mounted aluminum casing with twohuge fans. The black-and-red coloring of the cooling system looks quite attractive, and the dragon logo at the ends of the device will not doubt that the MSI gaming card is before the user.
Видеоадаптер MSI Radeon R9 390X всё-таки has undergone minor changes. The manufacturer notes that the revision required a power system that does not cope with the tasks set during acceleration. MSI technologists have 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 shown by measuring the temperature of the device in the tests, this solution allows you to more effectively remove the hot air from the video card outside the system unit.
Продукция компании AMD никогда не выделялась high overclocking potential, so the owners of video cards on the corresponding chips should not hope for tremendous results. The gain during 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 beat all competitors of Nvidia on the GTX 980 graphics chip in the tests. A very serious result, which unequivocally led many fans of AMD products to triumph. Apparently, the day is not far distant when Geforce Titan X will be able to yield to a cheaper product based on the Radeon graphics core.
Another device that lures eyesBuyers in the high-end video adapter market are 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 came out extraordinarily, he increased the length of the so-not-short video device to accommodate a huge cooler.
Cooling system is great.Two aluminum lining fits the video card PCB on both sides. On the front side there is an aluminum radiator, which is permeated around the perimeter with copper tubes. A plastic casing is installed on top, which has three fans running at low speeds.
Efficient cooling always brings results:so, the graphics core was able to overclock up to 1150 MHz (as well as the sales leader), but the improvement in memory performance can surprise all users - 6800 MHz. This is a serious indicator, given that the installed Hynix memory chips have a limit of 6000 MHz in operation.
In the store you can find another copy.video card from the manufacturer Sapphire, built on the basis of the Radeon R9 390X chipset. The review of the novelty comes down to the fact that the video adapter strongly resembles a modification of the Tri-X, 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.
Very strange decision from the famousmanufacturer Sapphire is positioned on the market as an exclusive device, released a limited edition. As many users note in their reviews, there is no point in acquiring, because the performance of the video card did not improve after the upgrade, so no one wants to overpay (by the way, the new product is 1,000 rubles more expensive than the Tri-X version).
The company PowerColor, apparently, toodecided to surprise her fans. The release of the video adapter on the Radeon R9 390X chipset led the manufacturer to a complete failure in the market of computer components. Users did not see the point in 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 MSI and Sapphire gaming devices, then the buyer will have to overpay 5,000 rubles for the lower performance (the manufacturer has estimated the hybrid cooling system for that amount).
What PowerColor technologists were hoping forIt is not known, but such a decision will definitely lead to a fall in the value of the shares of this company on the securities market. The company's marketers have announced another product based on the R9 390X chipset, which should appear shortly, but many fans, judging by their reviews in the media, have already given preference to other brands.
For the modern market of graphic video adaptersThe Radeon R9 390X chipset, built on the Hawaii XT graphics core, will definitely be the last. After all, the manufacturer of it "squeezed" all that is possible. The practical absence of overclocking potential clearly hints to the manufacturer that it is time to develop something new. However, the two companies in the market were still able to breathe life into gaming video devices. Technologists of MSI and Sapphire 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 prior to a potential buyer, then the R9 390X video adapter will be the best purchase for it. But if you need a large potential for overclocking, it is better to pay attention to something else.
