Asus Radeon R9290 Graphics Card

The quest to build the perfect graphics card is, essentially, a never-ending one. There will always be new chipsets and new advancements, thanks to the unstoppable march of technology that sweeps us (and out wallets) along in a maelstrom of upgrades and expenditures. In fact, it’s pretty much impossible to keep up, unless you print your own money. So the next best thing is to get hold of a graphics card that is going to remain a viable option for some time. And that means going big… both in terms of price and specification.

There isn’t too much bigger than Asus’ rather remarkable Radeon R9290. Powered by an AMD Radeon R9290 chipset, this card has a blisteringfast graphics processor. But that’s not all. It also features a whopping 4GB of RAM, putting it right at the top end of cards we have seen in the past. And reminding us how fast technology is progressing… it wasn’t that long ago (in real world terms) that a 500MB card was considered somewhat extravagant, and maybe even unnecessary.

The same cannot be said for the large amount of RAM featured on this card; all that space makes for even smoother performance. And the proof really is in the pudding. This card is one that pretty much flies through even the heaviest loads with ease, while not generating lots of noise or eggfrying temperatures. And it’s pretty big in terms of actual physical dimensions, too; this card is a bit bigger than “normal”, but isn’t the largest we have seen.

The Radeon R9290 comes with all the features one would expect from an Asus graphics card. These include things like their extremely efficient Direct CU II cooling system, which gets rid of heat extremely fast thanks to 10mm copper heat pipes and a larger dissipation area (not to mention direct contact with the GPU). And then there’s the rather sweet DIGI+ VRM system, which uses 10-phase power and digital voltage regulators to ensure less noise and a longer life-span. And, of course, there is the GPU Tweak software, which helps overclockers and other squeeze a little more power out of the card through easily-modified clock speeds.

Being a really powerful card, with a fantastic chipset and more than a little RAM, this component won’t be found in the cheap seats. However, saving up the cash and getting a device like this is going to serve you better than a quick (cheaper) fix that will not go the distance that the R9290 can – both in terms of ability and longevity. Its performance will quickly set aside any woes generated by an empty wallet – the capabilities of this card are worth every cent.

Verdict:

The Radeon R9290 costs a pretty penny, but it is packed with excellent performance and expected Asus reliability.

Manufacturer: Asus

Distributer: Asus

Online: www.asus.com

Tech Specs: