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While we squarely took aim at it with our liquid cooled CryoVenom R9 290 that offered faster GPU and memory speed than both a stock 290 and 290X, we knew there was a monster lurking in the 290X just waiting to be unleashed by our Custom Shop team.
Thus began our quest to create the best single graphics card for PC modding and gaming enthusiasts. Having already established our CryoVenom R9 290 as the leader in Radeon based cards as well as topping the best comparative card from NVIDIA, we had to redefine what the "best" actually means.
Our criteria was that it had to be superior in terms of actual real world performance, exclusivity, and just flat out geeky coolness.
After an arduous development process, our Custom Shop team once again created a graphics card that surpasses expectations and the competition... the liquid cooled CryoVenom R9 290X LE.
If you just base a graphics card's potential for performance on GPU and memory speed comparisons, you're only considering half the relevant numbers. While easy to compare to other cards, you have to dig deeper and look at the number of stream processors a card has and the compute performance those processors offer.
Simply explained, stream processors can be thought of as multiple individual processors within the GPU that are used to process data. Compute performance is the speed in which those processors work.
Using intensive stress test benchmarking tools like Heaven and Valley from UNIGINE as well as 3DMark's Fire Strike Extreme, we pushed both our CryoVenom 290 cards to their limits to see what effect speed and GPU design has on real world results.
As the chart shows, when cards are evenly matched in terms of speed, the difference in real world gaming performance is indeed affected by the GPU design. The CryoVenom 290X LE outperforms the CryoVenom 290 by 5% in Heaven, 7.3% in Fire Strike, and 7.8% in Valley.
GPU (Mhz) | RAM (Mhz) | Heaven | Valley | Firestrike | Temperature | |
290X | 1100 | 1450 | 905 | 1738 | 5612 | 51°C |
290 | 1100 | 1450 | 862 | 1612 | 5228 | 51°C |
To prove obtaining the best in-game frame rates and contrast ratios isn't exclusive to the fastest speed GPU and memory, we pitted a slightly faster CryoVenom R9 290 against a CryoVenom R9 290X. In all three game simulation benchmarks, the CryoVenom 290X still delivers higher scores despite being "slower."
GPU (Mhz) | RAM (Mhz) | Heaven | Valley | Firestrike | Temperature | |
290X | 1100 | 1450 | 905 | 1738 | 5612 | 51°C |
290 | 1175 | 1500 | 885 | 1651 | 5472 | 53°C |
To meet our goal of making the CryoVenom R9 290X LE superior to any other graphics card on the market, we created a complete package that would blow you away from the very moment you receive it. Each of the limited edition CryoVenom R9 290X LE we'll hand build will ship to you in a custom designed and manufactured wooden crate that boldly displays a laser etched CryoVenom logo. Whether you use it as a container for hauling gear to a LAN event or storing accessories in your gaming room, it will set you apart from the crowd.
To make a visible statement that you indeed rule the gaming world, a black t-shirt emblazoned with yellow CryoVenom logos is enclosed within the crate. It's the perfect way to "inject" some special attitude into your gaming persona.
Lastly, but certainly in the spirit for what this card was designed, we include a redemption code for Battlefield 4™ – the latest, most acclaimed first-person shooter game so you can prove you have the moves and the gear that makes you reign supreme.