Power, Temperature and Noise
The standard R9 290 uses the same PowerTune technology as the 'X' model, albeit one designed to maximse the core clock with the Catalyst 13.11 beta 8 driver. What's interesting to see is that the at-wall consumption starts at 310W or so, then drops to 290W within a couple of minutes.
AMD's search for frequency headroom comes at the cost of temperature. We wonder just how far partner boards will clock once outfitted with quality coolers.
Leading on from the system setup page, the sample R9 290's fan is noticeably louder than the standard 290X version, which itself can't be termed quiet. This is due to the new driver forcing maximum core speeds. Nvidia's comparable cards are much quieter.
