Radeon R9 390X: description, characteristics and reviews of the owners

The video game adapter from AMD based on Radeon R9 390X appeared on the world market quite recently, but managed to attract not only fans of dynamic games, but also many independent test labs. The fact is that the manufacturer did not provide the original video cards at retail, accordingly, all information about this chip in the media is based on the verbal statements of the manufacturer. The description, characteristics and feedback of the owners in this article will concern ready-made solutions on the R9 390X chip from the world famous video card manufacturers.

Declared technical specifications

The Radeon R9 390X video 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 many common parameters:

• A technical process of 28 nanometers;
• The core area is 438 mm ² ;
• The number of transistors on one crystal is 6.2 billion pieces;
• The graphics core operates at a frequency of 1050 MHz;
• Uses 2816 shaders, 176 texture blocks and 64 blocks of rasterization;
• Memory GDDR5 runs on a 512-bit bus, has a capacity of 8 GB and runs at an effective frequency of 6000 MHz;
• The power consumption is 275 W (power 6 + 8 pins).

A rather strange product was obtained from AMD, if we compare it with the previous model: the difference is only in the increase in the frequency of the graphics core by 50 MHz and the acceleration of the memory bus by 1000 MHz. Because of this, 60 gigabytes per second improved the throughput of Radeon R9 390X (384 GB / s). Also buyers will be pleased with the price: 30 thousand rubles instead of 45 000 rubles for a card R9 290X.

Mobile version of video adapter

Apparently, the manufacturer is serious about removing its competitor Nvidia from the market, once again presented the mobile version of its new AMD Radeon R9 390X chip to the world. The graphic accelerator for the laptop has the same architecture as the usual video game adapter, but the characteristics still changed. To reduce the power consumption of the video card to 125 watts, the manufacturer has reduced the amount of RAM (from 8 GB to 4 GB) by half, and the bandwidth (instead of 512 bits, the video chip works on 256 bits) has decreased. 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 tests is unlikely 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 dots per inch). The conclusion can be made one - in the walls of the corporation AMD seriously undertook the elimination of the competitor's products on the shelves of stores.

Leader of sales - first acquaintance

It so happened that the first video adapter with a new chipset, which appeared on the world market, was the device MSI Radeon R9 390X Gaming 8G. It was so popular with users that the products of other brands became uninteresting for many potential buyers. First and foremost, the packaging of the video card itself attracts - a corporate logo in the form of a red dragon always appears on boxes with productive devices. On the back of the package, a detailed description of all the technical characteristics of the device, including the capabilities of the cooling system.

At this the manufacturer did not stop - the video accelerator for safety was placed in a special container made of foam rubber (MSI motherboards of the game segment are also packed). Will please the owner and the equipment: several splitters for power connection and adapter for combining digital video devices. Also in the box there is a complete instruction manual for the video card and branded disks with drivers and utilities for fine tuning the device.

To see firsthand and buy

It is enough just once to pick up the MSI Radeon R9 390X Gaming video card to make a purchase, many owners believe in their reviews. And this is true, after all, the best designers and designers from all over the world worked on the design of the cooling system. An attractive form of the video adapter is not limited, because the brand cooler perfectly cools the gaming device.

Aluminum plates cover the PCB from both sides (tightened with screws to each other). On the front of the lining is installed a huge aluminum radiator, which is divided into two sections. Between each other, the grilles are connected by six copper tubes. They are all reduced to a copper pad in contact with the graphic core.

On top is an aluminum casing with two huge fans. Quite attractive is the black-and-red coloration of the cooling system, and the dragon's logo on the ends of the device will not give any doubt that the game video card MSI is in front of the user.

Destroying the legends

The MSI Radeon R9 390X video adapter has undergone some minor changes. The manufacturer notes that the development of the required power system, which does not cope with the tasks at the time of overclocking. MSI technology replaced the PWM controller, all coils and capacitors on the PCB. The changes also touched the transfer of all the heating elements to the front of the video card, closer to the mounting grille. As shown by temperature measurements of the device in the tests, this solution allows more efficiently to remove hot air from the video adapter beyond the limits of the system unit.

AMD products have never stood out as high potential for overclocking, so the owners of video cards on the appropriate chips should not expect huge results. The overclocking gain 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 overtake all Nvidia competitors on the GTX 980 graphics chip in tests. A very serious result that unambiguously led many Fans of AMD products to triumph. Apparently, the day is near, when Geforce Titan X will be able to cede a cheaper product based on the Radeon graphics core.

The first after the sales leader

Another device that attracts the eyes of buyers in the market for high-end video cards is the Sapphire Radeon R9 390X Tri-X. A feature of this video card is a powerful cooling system that has three powerful fans. The manufacturer acted out of the ordinary, he increased the length of so not a short video device to accommodate a huge cooler.

Cooling system is magnificent. Two aluminum covers fit the PCB of the video card on both sides. On the front side there is an aluminum radiator, which is permeated all over the perimeter with copper tubes. On top is a plastic casing, which has three fans running at low revs.

Effective cooling always brings its fruit: thus, the graphics core was able to overclock to 1150 MHz (as well as the sales leader), but improving memory performance can surprise all users - 6800 MHz. This is a serious indicator, considering that the installed Hynix memory chips have a limit of 6000 MHz in operation.

Strange player in the market

In the store you can find another copy of the video card from the manufacturer Sapphire, built on the chipset Radeon R9 390X. The review of the novelty boils down to the fact that the video adapter strongly resembles the modification of Tri-X, released earlier. A distinctive feature of the video card is the appearance of the cooling system: black color with blue inserts and the inscription "Vapor-X" on the fans and packaging.

A very strange decision from the well-known manufacturer Sapphire is positioned on the market as an exclusive device, produced by a limited party. As many users note in their reviews, there is no point in purchasing any, because the performance of the video card has not improved after the update, respectively, to overpay (by the way, the novelty is 1000 rubles more expensive than the Tri-X version) for its purchase no one wants.

Scary Beast

PowerColor, apparently, also decided to surprise its fans. The release of the video adapter on the Radeon R9 390X chipset led the manufacturer to a complete failure in the computer hardware market. 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 gaming devices MSI and Sapphire, then for a lower performance, the buyer will have to overpay 5000 rubles (in this amount estimated the hybrid cooling system manufacturer).

What the PowerColor technology was hoping for is unknown, but such a decision will definitely lead to a drop in the value of the company's shares on the securities market. The company's marketers have announced another product based on the R9 390X chipset, which should 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 from him "squeezed out" everything that is possible. The practical lack of overclocking potential clearly hints to the manufacturer that it's time to develop something new. However, two companies in the market still could breathe life into video game devices. The technologists at MSI and Sapphire have been able to do the impossible - to provide users with really productive gaming video cards. If the price of a device from the High-End class is prior to the potential buyer, then the R9 390X video adapter will be the best purchase for it. But if you need a lot of potential for overclocking, it's better to pay attention to something else.