Pros: First of all, the cards come in a smaller box than what I was expecting. This was a pleasant surprise, as I save all boxes for expensive parts I purchase. The card looks ok, not as nice as some of the other cards out there, but this is a reference 290, so the design was to be expected. I use my two cards mainly for mining (To the moon with DOGE!) and after a bit of tweaking I am getting around 890 k/h. I am sure I can get it higher, I just need to mess it it a bit more. The gaming performance is top notch, especially when these puppies are in crossfire. I feel like I cheated when I bought two of these. The last ATI/AMD card I purchased was a 9800pro back in 2004 or so, and have been a dedicated Nvidia fan since 2005. Now, however, these two things outperform my two GTX680's in my main machine.

Cons: These cards are HOT. That isn't a con for this particular XFX card, but the reference 290's in general. Both of my cards are running at about 90 degrees celsius at full load, and can cause the room you have your computer in to become extremely warm. An after market cooler is recommended! The cards are also extremely loud. In my mancave I have my gaming PC, my mining rig, a big screen, and my PS4 / PS3 / Xbox One / every other game system. I have to turn the volume up very loud on whatever device I am using due to the loud noise these fans produce. Again this isn't XFX card specific but the reference 290's in general, so I can't deduct an egg. An after market cooler will reduce the noise The only big Con with the card is the promotion for Battlefield 4. Every time I go on to redeem my free game, it tells me they are out of stock. It is a shame, as I would REALLY like to keep a copy and give my other to my brother so we can game together :)

Overall Review: Overall I feel like this is a top notch card. Both worked right out of the box and with little tweaking was able to obtain the hash rates I was expecting. Once the custom 290's come out I may pick a couple of those up as well, or if these drop in price I may just pick up a couple more.