I found a second hand sapphire reference r9 290 for 200 euros and a sapphire tri-x model for 250. i am considering buying one of them. My first question is which one should i get and will my psu be able to handle the card ?
My rig
cpu: amd fx 8320 8-core cpu 3.5/4 ghz
cpu cooler: CM hyper evo 212
mobo: asus m5a97 r2.0
ram : crucial balistix 8 gb 2x4 1600 mhz
psu : corsair vs550 watt
case : corsair carbide 200r
Hdd : western digitan 1tb 7200rpm caviar blue
sound card : Asus Xonar DG (pci)
3 case fans !
Idk how the prices are in Europe but in the states at least you can find those cards for around that price new. So just look around.
Def get the Tri X. It will run cooler and faster.
Yes that is enough power too.
TriX is indeed the better card. However €250,- used might be a bit on the expensive side. i would definitely make that person a €200 ish offer.
In the Netherlands the Sapphire 290 TriX OC cost arround €290 brand new.
Psu if decent one, should be fine.
Thank you for your replies. I'll try to bargain with him to get the tri-x at 200 euros. In any circumstance do you know any European shop with English language ? A lot of German and Dutch shops that have great prices don't have English language
https://translate.google.com/
That VS550 will be enough, I wouldnt advice heavy overclocking though (both on the cpu and proposed gpu).
If you were to upgrade the psu - 650-700w so you have plenty of headroom and be it from a good OEM - brands to trust - XFX, Seasonic, Antec HCG's, Silverstone, FSP, Superflower, some Corsairs and a few others.
Just be careful buying 2nd hand 290's and any AMD gpu card for that matter as it may have been heavily mined with and may be on its last legs.
dejeeta is absolutely right about this. When buying used cards of ebay, make sure you get the original invoice and some warranty left on them. I had two 7950s that were pretty worn out and had issues, but with the invoice the ebay seller send me I was able to actually replace them and sell them off afterwards at a pretty decent price.
I payed 210 Euros for my Tri-X, and that was like 4 month ago. You can get it new for 271€ at alternate4 right now. But the cheapest decent R9 290 right now in Europe is the ASUS R9290-DC2OC-4GD5 DirectCU II OC for 260,99€
http://geizhals.de/eu/asus-r9290-dc2oc-4gd5-directcu-ii-oc-90yv05f0-m0na00-a1054782.html?hloc=at&hloc=de&hloc=pl&hloc=uk&hloc=eu
Used ones average at 218€ on ebay right now.
http://bidvoy.net/R9_290/27386
By the way, I went with a 750W Corsair PSU because I was running the two 7950s in that system at first. you don't really need that much. This one is decent and affordable:
http://geizhals.de/eu/cooler-master-g650m-650w-atx-2-31-rs-650-amaa-b1-a1010363.html?hloc=at&hloc=de&hloc=pl&hloc=uk&hloc=eu
I like Overclockers UK. Not sure about shipping cost to the rest if europe but it is good to Ireland.
Edit: you have to covert everything from pounds though if that is a problem. Just check the prices against local to be sure if you are going to buy from them.