After having issues with the MSI R9 390 (Not Getting Into Details But Stay Away From This Card), I was told to go with the Asus R9 390 so I did.
Today, I said what the heck test T:ANE even though I am far removed from Trainz Anymore......
Card Under Review: Asus R9 390 8GB
1) Compared to the MSI R9 390 which has better base clock speeds and effective memory speeds, the Asus R9 390 performs better in T:ANE
2) Utilizing Asus GPU TweakII, clocking the 1050 core clock and 6100 Memory Clock, C&O Hinton Performed Better than I have been able to experience prior.... Speeds of the soon to be released Styrix Version
3) Heat with the MSI R9 390 is bad, whereas the Asus R9 390 runs about 12 Degrees Celsius less under load and 15 to 17 Degrees Celsius in 2D Efficiency Mode.
4) Cooling is ample when the fans are needed to be at a higher RPM, but I can say at full rpm you will know you have a powerful video card cooling down... Not any different than other High End Video Cards.
5) Utilizing Asus GPU TweakII Game Booster and choosing Performance, this did add additional benefits to T:ANE and FPS.
6) T:ANE never exceeded 3GB VRAM usage which is a crying shame :'( , but I am not going into why this would be a Great Optimizing Feature.
7) With in regards to PSU Power, do not go below a EVGA 850G2 for this card and DO NOT DAISY CHAIN the 8Pin/6Pin on one power wire...... Run two for stable clean power.
8) With the 8GB VRAM, this truly extends my need for a future upgrade by twice that of other video cards especially given that Nvidia 2nd Generation 970's on the market are going to be obsoleted within the next 4 to 5 months.....
Does this mean I am so excited I found a solution to T:ANE via video FPS Performance? No, because T:ANE is an ABSOLUTE MESS.
Grand Theft Auto V (ALL MAX SETTINGS minus MSAA getting 61 to 65fps via 1080p) is what I am truly enjoying when I have the time now that I figured out a stupid RockStar Games Directx Installer Issue and I mean STUPID causing crashes. What gets me is their tech support told me to do everything but take out the trash and it came down to something they have no clue on and is a Physical Disk Installer Issue......
Absolutely funny tidbit: with SpeedTrees and SpeedGrass Galore whereas even at Max Settings these don't hurt your FPS cause they knew how to hardcode SpeedTree For Games Properly..... Could they be built better, ABSOLUTELY and I PROVIDE BETTER QUALITY to the Trainz Community for T:ANE. Witcher3 though, now those are top notch SpeedTrees but keep in mind that person is paid a significant wage I don't get so well uhm yea........
So this is it in a nut shell on this Rebranded R9 290 with double the VRAM.
I have been a Nvidia Fan since day one. You may ask, why did I go to this R9 390..... Simply Put, Double The VRAM, Optimized GPU Pipeline Communications, Installed Back Plate, lower price point instead of the 2nd Gen Nvidia 970's. The 970's held their prices at a level I think is now overpriced given the memory bit is only 256mb and the exceeding the 3.5GB VRAM results in overall lower clock speeds and effective memory speeds. Here is where Nvidia Shines: Drivers are better and the GUI is much cleaner..... 3D Application Customizing is much more advanced..... AMD Driver Installation is a little more time consuming given it is truly best to utilize and really can not go without using Display Driver Uninstaller with AMD Catalyst Drivers/Software....... This software is in fact beneficial to Nvidia GPU Reference Cards as well, but the benefits are minor.....
Today, I said what the heck test T:ANE even though I am far removed from Trainz Anymore......
Card Under Review: Asus R9 390 8GB
1) Compared to the MSI R9 390 which has better base clock speeds and effective memory speeds, the Asus R9 390 performs better in T:ANE
2) Utilizing Asus GPU TweakII, clocking the 1050 core clock and 6100 Memory Clock, C&O Hinton Performed Better than I have been able to experience prior.... Speeds of the soon to be released Styrix Version
3) Heat with the MSI R9 390 is bad, whereas the Asus R9 390 runs about 12 Degrees Celsius less under load and 15 to 17 Degrees Celsius in 2D Efficiency Mode.
4) Cooling is ample when the fans are needed to be at a higher RPM, but I can say at full rpm you will know you have a powerful video card cooling down... Not any different than other High End Video Cards.
5) Utilizing Asus GPU TweakII Game Booster and choosing Performance, this did add additional benefits to T:ANE and FPS.
6) T:ANE never exceeded 3GB VRAM usage which is a crying shame :'( , but I am not going into why this would be a Great Optimizing Feature.
7) With in regards to PSU Power, do not go below a EVGA 850G2 for this card and DO NOT DAISY CHAIN the 8Pin/6Pin on one power wire...... Run two for stable clean power.
8) With the 8GB VRAM, this truly extends my need for a future upgrade by twice that of other video cards especially given that Nvidia 2nd Generation 970's on the market are going to be obsoleted within the next 4 to 5 months.....
Does this mean I am so excited I found a solution to T:ANE via video FPS Performance? No, because T:ANE is an ABSOLUTE MESS.
Grand Theft Auto V (ALL MAX SETTINGS minus MSAA getting 61 to 65fps via 1080p) is what I am truly enjoying when I have the time now that I figured out a stupid RockStar Games Directx Installer Issue and I mean STUPID causing crashes. What gets me is their tech support told me to do everything but take out the trash and it came down to something they have no clue on and is a Physical Disk Installer Issue......
Absolutely funny tidbit: with SpeedTrees and SpeedGrass Galore whereas even at Max Settings these don't hurt your FPS cause they knew how to hardcode SpeedTree For Games Properly..... Could they be built better, ABSOLUTELY and I PROVIDE BETTER QUALITY to the Trainz Community for T:ANE. Witcher3 though, now those are top notch SpeedTrees but keep in mind that person is paid a significant wage I don't get so well uhm yea........
So this is it in a nut shell on this Rebranded R9 290 with double the VRAM.
I have been a Nvidia Fan since day one. You may ask, why did I go to this R9 390..... Simply Put, Double The VRAM, Optimized GPU Pipeline Communications, Installed Back Plate, lower price point instead of the 2nd Gen Nvidia 970's. The 970's held their prices at a level I think is now overpriced given the memory bit is only 256mb and the exceeding the 3.5GB VRAM results in overall lower clock speeds and effective memory speeds. Here is where Nvidia Shines: Drivers are better and the GUI is much cleaner..... 3D Application Customizing is much more advanced..... AMD Driver Installation is a little more time consuming given it is truly best to utilize and really can not go without using Display Driver Uninstaller with AMD Catalyst Drivers/Software....... This software is in fact beneficial to Nvidia GPU Reference Cards as well, but the benefits are minor.....
Last edited: