16May Radeon R9 290x used prices down to $300
If you haven’t already, you might want to check out my rendering tests with the R9 290x. While the 290x doesn’t support CUDA, openCL has come along way in terms of rendering performance in Adobe CC and the used prices make it a very attractive option. Right now the used prices for the R9 290x are down in the low $300 range. While most of these cards were probably used for virtual currency mining, they’re still perfectly suited for rendering work in Adobe CC and even some 4k gaming (depending on the game).
At around $300 an R9 290x starts to look pretty attractive compared to a $500 GTX 780. If i’m lucky I might have a chance to do some testing with a GTX Titan in the next few weeks to see how well R9 290x stacks up. It’ll be very interesting to see how well a $1000 GPU competes against a budget unit in terms of rendering speed in Adobe CC. My guess is the Titan will win the race, but real question is, by how much?
May 16th, 2014 at 11:34 am
Im glad you are back from your adventures! Are you going to be getting the new sony a7s? Would love to hear your input as far as real world usability.
May 16th, 2014 at 11:46 am
Its on my list to buy. 😉
May 16th, 2014 at 2:43 pm
I wonder how this would compare to the GTX770. I use the superclocked version.
May 16th, 2014 at 9:16 pm
The GTX 770 is pretty much a GTX 670 in a re-branded package. So the 670 vs 290x tests are basically the same for rendering. For gaming the 290x has a 30 to 40% advantage.
May 16th, 2014 at 11:10 pm
Actually, it’s an overclocked 680 with higher voltage. The Radeon edged it out but the 770 made a good showing in online tests in the game market. Not sure how it would compare in rendering speeds.
May 17th, 2014 at 7:13 am
You’re right Rob, sorry about that. I always get that confused, the 670 was almost a 680 clocked back and the 770 is almost a 680 pushed forward. In rendering the 290x and 670 were neck and neck with the 290x being only slightly faster. I would guess things would work out the about the same with the 770.
Testing the Titan should be pretty interesting.
June 6th, 2014 at 2:27 pm
Im really stuck on whether to buy an r9 290x used or new. I really dont want to get a card that was used for mining. I had x-fired 7950’s and I know from experience that those cards do not work as well as the 7950 that was in my gaming rig. And they were only used for mining for a short time and were never left running for 24 hours a day. I would only PPS mine so I didnt need to keep them running the whole time.
Was your 290x obtained used or new?
June 6th, 2014 at 2:45 pm
Douglas my card is used and I’m pretty sure it was in a mining rig. No idea how long or how much it was abused, but my testings results seem to match those from new cards. I picked a used 290x that had better 3rd party cooling for that reason. Even if it was abused in a mining rig it was keeped in much better temp ranges than a stock cooler units would be in the same situation.