Low hashrate with cgminer 3.7.2 kalroth edition @ ubuntu 13.10 x64 @ R9 290 MSI GAMING EDITION @ 16 gb ram @ core i7 860
Since you have R9 290 you likely need patched Catalyst drivers as well as patch cgminer itself as described here. If you already done so, then search reddit and experiment with different configurations. You should be getting around 840-870kH/s with your card.