Gigabyte Windforce 3x Radeon R9 290 4Gb. Model GV-R929OC-4GD-GA, overclocked from the factory to 1040MHz core / 1250MHz memory. Full specs here: Model page No original box or packaging, just the card.
I bought this off overclockers in February as Clearance stock (B-Grade) and it's caused me nothing but trouble since it arrived - the card is fine, but the shroud of the fan is bent on one corner and the mounting plate where you screw it into the case is a bit chewed up - see photo. If you google about R9 290 issues then it'll make your hair curl, but I didn't know about the litany of issues that these cards have before buying. When I first got it I thought it was amazing, I just put it in my rig and it worked straight off, downloaded AMD drivers and enjoyed a night of playing games at stupid high settings. The next day my boy was playing one of the lego games and told me the computer was acting funny, I went through and it was showing anomolies all over the screen, the type you'd see when memory is dying or overheating.
Then the fun started. I rebooted and it worked fine, then when I quit out of a game it did it again. Weird I thought, and googled it. Turns out there's an issue with these cards and ATi powerplay. It doesn't do it for everyone, but they can be very touchy about certain setups and in particular certain motherboard/driver/memory setups. I'm running on an old H67 mobo with out of date BIOS and stone age DDR3 (seriously, it needs 1.85v to run, lol) So I tried all the fixes: different drivers, disabling powerplay, setting up 2D and 3D profiles in CCC, using afterburner to control everything, even a more powerful PSU and the upshot was I now have a working graphics card using old ATi drivers and specific settings in afterburner. It now does 2D work at the lowest clocks and volts, so stays quiet when not gaming, and runs all games maxxed out. However, it also glitches occasionally when I quit out of a game and back to the desktop - it usually lasts a couple of seconds and then you get a message saying 'ATI driver has recovered' and all is well - it used to hard lock, but not since I moved to older drivers. I know why it does it, but I'm not willing to do a complete system overhaul just to fix it, especially when there's no guarantee that it WILL fix it.
So if you fancy a graphics card that you may have to spend quite a lot of time tweaking (who knows, you might be lucky and it works perfectly in your setup) then this is a bargain, it's an awesome if somewhat noisy card but it's more hassle than it's worth to me. I considered returning it to OCUK, but there's nothing actually wrong with the hardware, it works, it's just that in my setup there's obviously a conflict somewhere that's causing issues. Nothing major, but enough to make me not want it, and i don't want to have an RMA turned down and pay out for return postage then have to sell it anyway. They've had it before and sold it on to me so they've evidently tested it and found it to be working, whereas the first buyer found it faulty like me.
So do you want to take a chance? if so then sold off forum and it's yours which is a good chunk cheaper than they go for on ebay. I won't go lower on this as the card is rock solid even in prolonged gaming sessions and ONLY glitches SOMETIMES when jumping from 3D to 2D settings. I'm overstating the problems just to clarify why I'm selling. Royal Mail insured in a sturdy box and plenty of cushioning - and obviously no returns, although I'll be here for help and advice if needed to whoever buys it.
I have 2 Logitech MX Anywhere wireless mice. Full details here: Amazon link both brand new boxed. ?25 delivered EACH.
Thermalright Venomous X CPU cooler. details No photos of this until I get it out of my case (I'll put some up for the weekend) but boxed and in great condition, comes with the amazing bolt thru mounting and full compatibility with Intel 775, 115X and 1366 socket types only - no AMD support. I'll also include a Thermalright TR-TY140 fan if desired as the heatsink doesn't come bundled with a fan. ?25 delivered
Paypal or bank transfer, it might be a couple of days before I can post, but I'll try to get stuff out next day. I don't usually get internet access through the day so I'll be slow to respond to queries, Sorry.
I bought this off overclockers in February as Clearance stock (B-Grade) and it's caused me nothing but trouble since it arrived - the card is fine, but the shroud of the fan is bent on one corner and the mounting plate where you screw it into the case is a bit chewed up - see photo. If you google about R9 290 issues then it'll make your hair curl, but I didn't know about the litany of issues that these cards have before buying. When I first got it I thought it was amazing, I just put it in my rig and it worked straight off, downloaded AMD drivers and enjoyed a night of playing games at stupid high settings. The next day my boy was playing one of the lego games and told me the computer was acting funny, I went through and it was showing anomolies all over the screen, the type you'd see when memory is dying or overheating.
Then the fun started. I rebooted and it worked fine, then when I quit out of a game it did it again. Weird I thought, and googled it. Turns out there's an issue with these cards and ATi powerplay. It doesn't do it for everyone, but they can be very touchy about certain setups and in particular certain motherboard/driver/memory setups. I'm running on an old H67 mobo with out of date BIOS and stone age DDR3 (seriously, it needs 1.85v to run, lol) So I tried all the fixes: different drivers, disabling powerplay, setting up 2D and 3D profiles in CCC, using afterburner to control everything, even a more powerful PSU and the upshot was I now have a working graphics card using old ATi drivers and specific settings in afterburner. It now does 2D work at the lowest clocks and volts, so stays quiet when not gaming, and runs all games maxxed out. However, it also glitches occasionally when I quit out of a game and back to the desktop - it usually lasts a couple of seconds and then you get a message saying 'ATI driver has recovered' and all is well - it used to hard lock, but not since I moved to older drivers. I know why it does it, but I'm not willing to do a complete system overhaul just to fix it, especially when there's no guarantee that it WILL fix it.
So if you fancy a graphics card that you may have to spend quite a lot of time tweaking (who knows, you might be lucky and it works perfectly in your setup) then this is a bargain, it's an awesome if somewhat noisy card but it's more hassle than it's worth to me. I considered returning it to OCUK, but there's nothing actually wrong with the hardware, it works, it's just that in my setup there's obviously a conflict somewhere that's causing issues. Nothing major, but enough to make me not want it, and i don't want to have an RMA turned down and pay out for return postage then have to sell it anyway. They've had it before and sold it on to me so they've evidently tested it and found it to be working, whereas the first buyer found it faulty like me.
So do you want to take a chance? if so then sold off forum and it's yours which is a good chunk cheaper than they go for on ebay. I won't go lower on this as the card is rock solid even in prolonged gaming sessions and ONLY glitches SOMETIMES when jumping from 3D to 2D settings. I'm overstating the problems just to clarify why I'm selling. Royal Mail insured in a sturdy box and plenty of cushioning - and obviously no returns, although I'll be here for help and advice if needed to whoever buys it.
I have 2 Logitech MX Anywhere wireless mice. Full details here: Amazon link both brand new boxed. ?25 delivered EACH.
Thermalright Venomous X CPU cooler. details No photos of this until I get it out of my case (I'll put some up for the weekend) but boxed and in great condition, comes with the amazing bolt thru mounting and full compatibility with Intel 775, 115X and 1366 socket types only - no AMD support. I'll also include a Thermalright TR-TY140 fan if desired as the heatsink doesn't come bundled with a fan. ?25 delivered
Paypal or bank transfer, it might be a couple of days before I can post, but I'll try to get stuff out next day. I don't usually get internet access through the day so I'll be slow to respond to queries, Sorry.
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