SAPPHIRE Radeon Nitro R9 390 --- Thoughts?

[skollieguns]

So I've been around a while but not very active on the forum.
But I need advice and hoping to hear some positive feedback from members.

I just ordered this rig from Rebeltech

Ordered everything but a GPU.

This is my current Rig.

My existing GPU (Sapphire R9 280x Dual X) and SSD are 2 years old and the rest of the rig about 4 years old.

I intend refurbishing this PC for my daughter.
As in a new PSU and custom cooling (I'll get to that later)
Hopefully extend the life by another year or two.
She won't put the PC under too much strain. She's 4, so basically kids games and you-tube.

With my existing setup I play everything on ultra 1080p including BF4, Crysis 3, etc.
No problems. Except the GPU fan rattles at certain speeds and drives me crazy.
Tried custom fan speed profiles which help a bit but eventually the rattle comes back.
Its not that the fans don't work. Heat is not an issue really and I'm usually in the mid to late 70's under load.
But Sapphire's Dual X cooling system is shit and I don't want to go through this again with my new rig.

For my new rig I considered all the alternatives. But its hard to beat Sapphire's value for money.
8GB GDDR5 and a 512 bit Memory Bus for only R5,500. (wootware) I can't find better performance per rand than this.

I know that Nitro is their new entry level cooling solution.
Probably replacing the Dual X cooling system I have now.

Questions

1. Does anyone here have Sapphire's Nitro R9 390? any problems?
2. What other bang for buck cards can I look at? At the risk of exposing my own fanboy-ism.
Regrettably only AMD cards will be considered.
3. What are my aftermarket cooling options with regards to the old card?
Ideally I would like to drop both the GPU and CPU of the old rig under water.
Custom GPU coolers for this card are few and far between as well and more than likely will have to be ordered abroad unless someone here can point me in the right direction?

Thanks

 

[Glordit]

1. Does anyone here have Sapphire's Nitro R9 390? any problems?
2. What other bang for buck cards can I look at? At the risk of exposing my own fanboy-ism.
Regrettably only AMD cards will be considered.
3. What are my aftermarket cooling options with regards to the old card?
Ideally I would like to drop both the GPU and CPU of the old rig under water.
Custom GPU coolers for this card are few and far between as well and more than likely will have to be ordered abroad unless someone here can point me in the right direction?

Thanks

1. No, but... Why are you going for an older GPU? When AMD has the RX series out, and Vega launching in Jan 2017. It's got Vulkan Support, DX12 and being newer tech will last longer than an already older card.

http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/AMD-RX-480-vs-AMD-R9-390/3634vs3481

2. Can look at getting a RX 480?

3. Personally I don't think it's worth it to water cool a card at that age, the block alone would be costly (if you can find one). Perhaps look at getting some Arctic GPU coolers? Accelo Extreme III and IV will fit. Have you though about undervolting the card slightly to reduce temperatures, and thus noise?

 

[AlienTaker]

Well i actually caved and went for a gtx 1060 6gb so i have defected from the red brand for the first time in 12 years. Hope i made the right choice over the rx480 devil edition. But the r9 cards are good i have the 380x and it preforms amazingly well, personal preff i would go 16gb mem but thats just me.

 

[skollieguns]

The RX suggestion taught me a few things. Read up a bit and realized that the new Polaris chips is far more efficient. I thought that the 512 bits of the older R9 series were where its at. But it seems like the 256 bit bus in these new cards are more than enough.

I guess its like super cars. All the new ones come out with smaller engines but are still somehow more powerful than their predecessors.

Thanks for the responses. I've decided on this card.

Its less than what I was prepared to pay on the 390.
The card itself is smaller.
It also looks wicked and the red will match my board and case