PowerColor R9 290 Review

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Externally there is nothing between the R9 290X and the R9 290. They both have the reference cooler that has been the subject of so much discussion. The 290 even runs on the same 8+6 power input as the 290X.

      

      

At the other end of the card you’d be hard pushed to differentiate it from the 290X too. If it wasn’t for the PowerColor sticker on the fan we wouldn’t want to put the two cards down next to each other and have to choose which is which.

When you look at the fan surround you can see why we find it a terrible design. Why have some of the air blowing back towards your hard drives rather than across the heatsink fins?