PowerColor R9 390 PCS+ 8GB Graphics Card Review

Introduction

We have all had mixed opinions on the R9 300 series upon release, the rebranded nature of the 200 series was seen as the fall of AMD and short-changing consumers. However, while they are in fact rebranded, they are great cards and provided an excellent performance boost over the previous generation and are a great foundation for the Fiji range to be based on.

Today in the test bench is the PowerColor R9 390 PCS+. This is the only version of the R9 390 that PowerColor offer which is good as it’s not confusing to consumers to have to choose between different models. As with all other R9 390’s, it features 8GB VRAM, a 6000MHz memory clock and over 1000MHz core clock.

This R9 390 PCS+ edition in particular, features a 3 fan monster metal cooling shroud which hugs a large heatsink; ideal for 0db operation at low load levels. The design of this card is extremely deceiving, the shroud is wide at the top and comes in. This makes the card look a lot larger than it actually is, being 10mm shorter than the Gigabyte G1 gaming and 7mm short than the Sapphire Tri-X cooler.

Packaging and accessories

The outer skin of the box is plain, but also extremely attractive to the eye. The trio of colours and simple design show that this is a no fuss card and the specifications along the bottom show that it means business.

The back of the box has some key features with some images to be more appealing.

The accessories aren’t bursting from the seams with this card, PowerColor just offering the driver disc, installation manual and PCI-e power adapter.