Non-Reference R9 290X Graphics Card Coming Late November

At the moment AMD have released the reference variant of the R9 290X  and AMD partners are only allowed to sell those reference models – nothing customised in any way. If you’re looking for a custom cooled R9 290X you need to buy a reference version and modify it with your own custom cooling solution, or you can get a retailer to do it for you – like the OCUK custom R9 290X (pictured above) which is sold pre-fitted with a Prolimatech MK-26 VGA cooler. SweClockers reports that this restriction is going to last through to late November because only in late November will AMD life restrictions on partners, enabling them to launch their custom solutions.

In late November AMD will lift restrictions on custom PCB and cooler designs. From late November you can expect to see the usual variants of an AMD graphics card such as the Direct CU II TOP (ASUS), Twin Frozr Gaming (MSI), Double/Triple Dissipation (XFX), WindForce (Gigabyte), Vapor-X (Sapphire) and more. There is no specific date for the restriction being lifted but anyone after a custom PCB design is definitely going to have to wait till then. Of course the first (reference) R9 290X graphics cards aren’t shipping until November 4th so you’ll only have to wait about 2-3 weeks “extra” for those custom designs.

Image courtesy of Overclockers UK