Graphics guru Chris Angelini strongly recommended an upgrade from AMD’s fleshed-out Catalyst 13.12 graphics drivers used in PowerColor LCS AXR9 290X: Water Makes Hawaii Comfortable to a beta version of Catalyst 14.1. A few benchmarks revealed why, as the new driver boosted the performance of the lower-model R9 290 beyond the previous 290X results.
| Test System Configuration | |
|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-4770K (Haswell): 3.5 to 3.9 GHz, 8 MB shared L3 cache, LGA 1150 Overclocked to 4.5 GHz, 1.25 V at 100 MHz BCLK |
| Motherboard | Asus Z87 Pro: Intel Z87 Express, UEFI 1707 (12/13/2013) |
| Reference Graphics | Sapphire R9 290 (100362SR): 947 MHz GPU, 4 GB GDDR5-5000 |
| RAM | Mushkin Redline Ridgeback 997121R 16 GB Dual-Channel Kit 2 x 8 GB XMP-2133 CAS 9-11-11-28, 1.65 V |
| Hard Drive | Samsung 840 Pro MZ-7PD256, 256 GB SSD |
| CPU Cooling | Thermalright MUX-120 w/Zalman ZM-STG1 Paste |
| Case | Nanoxia Deep Silence 1 |
| Sound | Integrated HD Audio |
| Network | Integrated Gigabit Networking |
| Power | Seasonic X760 SS-760KM: ATX12V v2.3, EPS12V, 80 PLUS Gold |
| System Software | |
| OS | Microsoft Windows 8 Professional RTM x64 |
| Graphics | AMD Catalyst 14.1 beta 1.6 |
Main system components are carried over from the LCS AXR9 290X review, except for the part that matters most: a retail-purchased Sapphire Radeon R9 290 (with reference cooling) replaces the air-cooled R9 290X in this comparison of VisionTek’s CryoVenom R9 290.

Because AMD’s driver attempts to keep fan speed under 60% and underclocks the GPU when its temperature climbs to 94° Celsius, air-cooled cards are highly impacted by ambient temperature. Unfortunately, it's still super cold here, and I'm unable to keep my lab above 19 °C, which means that the air-cooled card in this comparison will consistently perform better than it would in a more typical 21 to 24 °C gaming room.
| 3D Game Benchmarks | |
|---|---|
| Arma 3 | Version 1.08.113494, 30-Sec. Fraps "Infantry Showcase" Test Set 1: Standard Preset, No AA, Standard AF Test Set 2: Ultra Preset, 8x FSAA, Ultra AF |
| Battlefield 4 | Version 1.0.0.1, DirectX 11, 100-Sec. Fraps "Tashgar" Test Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AA, 4X AF, SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 4X MSAA, 16X AF, HBAO |
| Far Cry 3 | V. 1.05, DirectX 11, 50-sec. Fraps "Amanaki Outpost" Test Set 1: High Quality, No AA, Standard ATC., SSAO Test Set 2: Ultra Quality, 4x MSAA, Enhanced ATC, HDAO |
| F1 2012 | Steam version, in-game benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality Preset, No AA Test Set 2: Ultra Quality Preset, 8x AA |
| Metro: Last Light | Steam version, Built-In Benchmark, "Frontline" Scene Test Set 1: DX11, Med Quality, 4x AF, Low Blur, No SSAA, No Tesselation, No PhysX Test Set 2: DX11, High Quality, 16x AF, Normal Blur, SSAA, Tesselation Normal, No PhysX |
| Tomb Raider | Steam version, Built-In Benchmark Test Set 1: High Quality Preset (8x AF, FXAA), Motion Blur, Screen Effects Test Set 2: Ultimate Quality, (16x AF, FXAA), Tesselation, TressFX |
| Synthetic Benchmarks | |
| 3DMark Professional | Version 1.1, SystemInfo 4.17.0.0, Fire Strike Benchmark (Extreme Off/On) |
- Can A Liquid-Cooled Radeon R9 290 Be Affordable?
- CryoVenom R9 290: Meet The Card
- Test Hardware And Benchmark Settings
- Overclocking
- Results: 3DMark
- Results: Tomb Raider And F1 2012
- Results: Arma 3
- Results: Battlefield 4
- Results: Far Cry 3
- Results: Metro: Last Light
- Power, Heat, And Efficiency
- Making A Value Case For Water-Cooling A GPU