AMD's R9 390X was initially greeted with a mix of derision and hope. At first glance this ?new? card seemed to be nothing more than a rebranded R9 290X which set a lot of people on edge since it actually retailed for more than the outgoing Hawaii-based card. On the flip side of that coin, when we originally reviewed the R9 390X we actually found it to be a good value since it included 8GB of memory versus its predecessor's 4GB, faster GDDR5 speeds and a mature core architecture that allowed for lower power consumption and heat.

Whereas that original review featured an impressive Sapphire card, PowerColor is their hand at their own version. Dubbed the R9 390X PCS+, like every other competing solution it has been born out of necessity. AMD didn't release a so-called reference spec (other than clock speeds of course) for this product so board partners are left to their own devices to design a PCB and associated cooling solution. Clock speeds are a different affair altogether since, according to our contacts, at 1050MHz, AMD's baseline spec is precariously close to a maximum value that guarantees stability without some serious binning.