[section_title title=Conclusion]
Conclusion
So what has the ASUS R9 390 STRIX OC graphics card got which most don’t? Well for one a large 8GB portion of GDDR5 VRAM is served up across a lovely 512-bit bus which is very nice to see; the previous version (R9 290) only came with 4GB so those VRAM lovers will appreciate the upgrade. Aside from this, the ASUS STRIX model has the latest Direct CUIII (DCU3) cooler which certainly does its intended job in terms of cooling performance and also noise; the semi-passive nature is particularly appealing and I had it set to 60c before the fans would turn on thus making games like CS:GO run effectively fan less without issue or worry.
Gaming and synthetic performance is just behind the R9 390x, but that’s exactly where it should sit in terms of performance so nothing out of the ordinary there! It isn’t too far behind a 390x so depending on price, an R9 390 might actually be a suitable candidate and the ASUS R9 390 STRIX is highly recommended as it combines the 3 key areas to a good graphics card; performance, design and of course value.
Touching more on the pricing, the ASUS R9 390 STRIX OC costs around £285 depending on your retailer of price which is, of course, a lot cheaper than an NVIDIA GTX 980 and it isn’t too far away in terms of performance. It also features 8GB of VRAM as opposed to the 980’s 4GB, which for multi-card solutions at 4K is going to be a more suitable candidate as 4K is still too much for 1 card alone; this is why we still don’t consider 4K a viable testing ground for a single GPU. You do get a lot of card for the money however and from my personal point of view, the addition of built in XSplit Gamecaster streaming capability to the ASUS GPU Tweak II software further enhances the STRIX to be a serious gamers solution for playing games across hosts such as Twitch.tv or Hitbox.tv.
At the end of the day, with an AMD card you know it’s going to be better bang for buck than an NVIDIA counterpart, but ASUS have done a really good job of making it a premium option as opposed to some other “branded” cards on the market. Adding the DCU3 cooler to the STRIX is nothing short of a benefit and anyone looking for a top quality AMD card should surely make sure the ASUS R9 390 STRIX OC is close to the top of their list; if not the top!
