XFX R9 290 DD Double Dissipation Review

[section_title title=”Conclusion”]Conclusion

This is the first XFX graphics card to grace the Play3r test bench and before I even get into my final thoughts, it was a real surprising experience especially since my previous experience with the R9 290’s haven’t exactly been the “greatest”.  That being said, XFX have equipped their DD Double Dissipation so what difference does that make?  Let’s find out…

Performance wise, the XFX R9 290 DD Double Dissipation graphics card features the brilliant Hawaii core which runs over a 512bit bus and has 4GB  of GDDR5 VRAM; a pretty potent combination.  With all that performance obviously comes heat and the XFX DD cooler does an absolute stellar job in taming what has been touted as a card with molten lava inside of it!  Not only does the Double Dissipation variant from XFX deliver superb cooling performance, not only is it more than reasonable in terms of noise but it looks absolutely gorgeous; this is probably controversial but it is the best looking one of the current generation of graphics cards in my opinion.

Touching more on the gaming performance of the XFX R9 290 DD, it pretty much competes with its NVIDIA rival, the GTX 780.  Now with games, frame rates can be won or lost for a card depending on the development of the game as some drivers clearly favour certain games and both camps are constantly improving things from a software/firmware point of view.  That being pushed aside, the R9 290 on offer here offers fantastic performance at 1080p and it’s safe to say at that resolution you aren’t going to struggle with any of the latest titles and even at 1440p, the 4GB of VRAM will get you through all but the most modded of games such as Skyrim with all those crazy texture packs.  In 3D Mark, the XFX R9 290 DD does very well and sits just behind the more expensive ZOTAC GTX 780 which is good and when you throw in the wider 512bit bus and the extra 1GB of VRAM on offer, it certainly makes more appealing; well at least in my opinion.

As I have previously mentioned, I am a huge fan of the latest variant of the XFX Double Dissipation cooler and my lord, this is one gorgeous looking card.  From the sleek black cooler and the premium silver trim around the outsides, this card ticks my boxes in terms of design and is of course bolstered by the fact it performs well.  A particular highlight for me is the XFX logo which illuminates on the cooler itself; it would much better in cases where the interior is upside down as to show off the card or in an M-ITX case such as the BitFenix Prodigy.  It would have also been nice to have a back plate included like Club3D as in my opinion; it would have finished this card off completely.  Can you tell I like it?

The XFX R9 290 DD graphics card can be purchased for as little as £259.99 from Overclockers UK.  This is around £70 cheaper than Gigabyte’s GTX 780 Windforce x 3 graphics card which shows just how value for money the AMD clad XFX offering actually is.  In fact I will go out on a limb and say that this XFX card is probably the best value card of all the R9 290/GTX 780’s currently out there today and when you combine the stunning aesthetics and good performance, who can argue?

Over the past week or so, my personal opinion has been transformed and I am so happy to say that XFX are back in town with their fantastic R9 290 DD Double Dissipation graphics card and if you are in the market for a top of the range graphics card with 4K HD resolution support, AMD Mantle API compatibility, want a stunning and well performing cooler and a total bargain to boot, then make sure this card is on your wish list as you won’t be disappointed.

To add extra weight, when you purchase this card via Overclockers UK, they have a 48hr express RMA service direct with OcUK and of course you can remove the cooler to fit water cooling or any aftermarket cooler; this service is only via Overclockers UK.