We are finally reaching the last high-end segment of the latest AMD Radeon video card series, which is composed of the R9 290 and R9 290X. These cards contain GPUs which are no longer rebrands from the previous generation and sport the Hawaii code name. The GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture has been taken to the next level (version 1.1) and now we are dealing with a better optimized and higher performance product which does also bring new features to the tablet (some of them which are shared with the rebrands too).

Let’s take a look at the technical specifications and compare with the Tahiti 280X:

The 6.2 Billion transistors are fitted on a 438 mm2 die which is still smaller than Nvidia’s GK110. AMD has decided to go with a 512-bit memory bus this time (and this is not the attempt from AMD since we have also seen this with the AMD RADEON HD 2900XT quite some time ago), by using eight 64-bit memory controllers in total.

The next PowerTune version is also present here, which acts like a GPU Boost; the GPU comes with a standard frequency and also a max. frequency -> depending on factors like power draw, performance and temperature, the frequency will automatically adjust along with the fan speed and voltage.

What brings the Gigabyte 290X OC Windforce 3X model new to the table? Well, we have an adaptation of their proven 2-slot 450W cooling system for keeping the temperatures at bay and avoid throttling as we have seen with the stock cooling model, but also a small overclock of the GPU to 1040MHz; Gigabyte has left the memory clocks the same as on the stock model. Two fan profiles are preloaded (Silent and Performance); these can be accessed by using the small switch present on the card.