SAPPHIRE R9 290X Vapor-X OC

SAPPHIRE technology, the leading manufacturer and global supplier of AMD-based graphics products, has just added another new model to its highly acclaimed Vapor-X family of graphics cards in the successful R9 series. The SAPPHIRE R9 290X Vapor-X OC features several of the company’s industry-leading technologies and a factory overclock to deliver best in class performance with very low noise.

Based on the award-winning Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture from AMD with 2816 Stream Processors, the SAPPHIRE R9 290X Vapor-X is an Overclocked edition which boasts 4GB of the latest GDDR5 memory running at 1410 MHz (5.64GB/s effective) and high speed engine clocks of 1080MHz. Together these clocks deliver industry leading performance – but to achieve this performance with stability and reliability demands high quality components throughout the design (especially in the power control circuitry) together with a sophisticated cooling solution.

SAPPHIRE Innovations
The advanced cooling system for the new SAPPHIRE Vapor-X series has been engineered with a combination of SAPPHIRE innovative technologies to provide not just efficient cooling, but also quiet operation. At the core of the cooling system is the SAPPHIRE exclusive Vapor-X technology. SAPPHIRE pioneered the use of vapor chamber technology on graphics cards and has now used it in several generations of highly successful products. The vapor chamber is mounted between the GPU itself and the base of the heatsink and cooler assembly to ensure the maximum transfer of heat away from the GPU into the cooler.

The new Vapor-X cooler uses SAPPHIRE’s latest and highly acclaimed Tri-X structure comprising five heatpipes and three efficient fans. The core heatpipe is an industry leading 10mm pipe, flanked by two 8mm pipes and two 6mm pipes ensuring even heat distribution across the cooler. The three 90mm fans use aerofoil section blades for maximum airflow with minimum noise, and are each equipped with two sets of dust repelling ball bearings. The stylish fan shroud also contains moulded guides to control the airflow across and through the cooler, including over the Power Control circuitry.  The combination of Vapor-X and Tri-X technologies results in GPU temperatures between 5 and 10 degrees cooler than with Tri-X alone – delivering industry leading cooling for this generation of graphics cards.

Another new feature of the cooler on this new model is a PCB Component heat spreader. Along the edge of the card the PCB is extended and one of the copper layers left exposed. An additional heatsink mounted directly to this copper layer allows heat absorbed into the PCB from the GPU and other components to be transferred to the heatsink and cooled by the airflow. This feature alone can reduce core temperature by several degrees.

New VRM Engine
To deliver sufficient power for maximum performance, the Vapor-X series uses Digital Power control and a new Aero10 VRM section delivering 10-phase power with high power Direct-FET technology to the GPU, memory and control circuitry. The power design uses the latest version of SAPPHIRE Black Diamond chokes, so called because they feature a black ferrite cooler for cool running and better efficiency. High reliability solid electrolyte capacitors are used throughout. The Aero10 gets its name because the layout of the 10-phase power circuits, chokes and the dedicated FET cooler resembles the appearance of a high performance engine.

Recognising that the R9 series will not always be running at high performance, SAPPHIRE has incorporated another new feature in the Vapor-X models, Intelligent Fan Control (IFC). With IFC engaged, if the system is running simpler applications such as 2D work or watching video, only one of the three fans will operate, resulting in near silent operation. As soon as the GPU temperature rises, when performing more demanding tasks such as gaming or 3D rendering, all three fans will operate, and continue to run with fan speeds regulated by the temperature profile. Extreme users or keen gamers might want to have all three fans running all the time, so the card is equipped with an IFC override switch.

How Cool is that?
The user has a simple visual indication of the temperature of the card as the colour of the LED illuminated SAPPHIRE logo on the side of the card will change from blue when cool, through yellow and on to red when running hot.

Universal Compatibility
The SAPPHIRE R9 290X Vapor-X is equipped with a Dual BIOS – so at the touch of a button it can be switched between compatibility with the latest UEFI or for use in legacy based systems. For optimum performance this card should be used in a mainboard with PCI Express Gen3.0 expansion slots. Multiple cards can be used in AMD CrossFire in a compatible mainboard.

Latest Displays
The SAPPHIRE R9 290X Vapor-X is equipped with Dual DVI-D, High speed HDMI 1.4a and DisplayPort 1.2 outputs enabling it to support the latest digital monitors. It is ideal for use with three monitor Eyefinity set-ups, with no active adapter needed, or up to five displays in total, as well as with the latest high resolution 4K displays.

The SAPPHIRE R9 290X Vapor-X is shipping now and will be available from the usual SAPPHIRE etailers and retailers.

For more details please visit www.sapphiretech.com

New SAPPHIRE HD 7950 gets Vapor-X Cooler Dual BIOS and performance features

SAPPHIRE Technology has just added a new HD 7950 Vapor-X model to its successful series of high performance graphics cards based on the latest GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture from AMD.

The SAPPHIRE HD 7950 3GB Vapor-X Edition shares many of the features of the recently announced industry-leading HD 7970 Vapor-X Editions, but at a more affordable price point.  With the versatile output configuration of Dual-link DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort it is ideally suited to multi-screen gaming as well as providing the performance required for demanding professional applications such as content creation, video editing or rendering.

On its standard settings, the SAPPHIRE HD 7950 Vapor-X Edition engine clock runs at 850 MHz with 3GB of the latest DDR5 memory clocked at 5000 MHz effective. When the Dual BIOS button is operated, the base clocks are the same but the PowerTune Dynamic Boost is enabled allowing the clocks to rise to 950 MHz or more on the engine. The fan profile and PowerTune limit is also changed to performance settings. In addition, users will be able to individually tune the card with SAPPHIRE TriXX, the company’s free to download software tool that allows key parameters to be adjusted for maximum performance.

The Vapor-X cooler on this model is based on a new vapor chamber designed especially for this series. Heat is carried away by four heatpipes (2 x 8mm plus 2 x 6mm), and finally dispersed by two 90mm fan with aerofoil blades and dust repelling bearings. The Vapor-X cooler easily handles the heat generated from the HD 7950 Vapor-X Edition quietly and efficiently even under extreme load conditions.

The SAPPHIRE HD 7900 series Vapor-X Editions are based on AMD’s Graphics Core Next architecture and support all the latest demands of multi-screen applications, multi-threaded Application Acceleration with stream processing, fast HDMI support for high resolution and stereoscopic 3D displays and all the Direct Compute features incorporated in the latest operating systems.

Further information at www.sapphiretech.com

SAPPHIRE Low Profile HD 7750 suits HTPC or ITX chassis Full performance and specification including Eyefinity support

SAPPHIRE Technology, a leading manufacturer and global supplier of graphics solutions has just announced a new low profile card in its successful HD 7000 series.

The SAPPHIRE HD 7750 1GB Low profile model is based on the highly acclaimed Graphics Core Next architecture from AMD, and retains all the features of the HD 7700 series but in a truly low profile format. Many low profile cards use a cooler that is actually larger than the PCB format, and cannot be used in slimline cases. The SAPPHIRE solution uses a specially developed single slot cooler with an efficient ball bearing fan and heatsink design that truly follows the low profile format. This makes it ideally suited to applications like HTPCs or installation in even the slimmest styles of mini-ITX cases.Performance is the same as other implementations of the HD 7750, with core clock speed of 800MHz and 1GB of GDDR5 memory clocked at 4500MHz (effective). Output configuration is very flexible, including multi-monitor support for AMD Eyefinity. Its Dual-Link DVI-I, HDMI and Displayport outputs are all mounted within the low-profile backplate. This has been achieved by the use of mini-DP and micro HDMI sockets. A set of Mini-DP to DP, micro-HDMI to HDMI, and DVI-I to VGA adapters are all supplied with the card, as well as both low profile and standard height backplates.

As it is based on AMD’s Graphics Core Next architecture, the SAPPHIRE HD 7750 Low Profile model supports all the demands of multi-screen applications, multi-threaded Application Acceleration with stream processing, and fast HDMI support for high resolution and stereoscopic 3D displays. It also supports all the Direct Compute features incorporated in current and next generation operating systems. But with its exclusive low profile cooler, it can achieve all of this in even the slimmest format of consumer or industrial chassis.

Two New SAPPHIRE HD 7970 Vapor-X Editions Released Choice of 6GB and 3GB frame buffers and performance features

SAPPHIRE Technology has now added two new Vapor-X Models to its HD 7970 series of high performance graphics cards based on the latest HD 7970 GHz Edition GPU from AMD.

The SAPPHIRE HD 7970 6GB Vapor-X Edition shares many of the features of the recently announced industry-leading TOXIC Edition. Its 6GB frame buffer makes it ideally suited to multi-screen gaming as well as providing the extra memory required for demanding professional applications such as content creation, video editing or rendering.
On its standard settings, the SAPPHIRE HD 7970 6GB Vapor-X Edition runs at 1000 MHz and with PowerTune Dynamic Boost rises to 1050 MHz on the engine with the memory clock at 6000 MHz effective. When the Dual BIOS button is operated, the core clock speed is raised to 1050 MHz with PowerTune Dynamic Boost to 1100 MHz on the engine. The fan profile and PowerTune limit is also changed to performance settings. In addition, users will be able to individually tune the card with SAPPHIRE TriXX, the company’s free to download software tool that allows key parameters to be adjusted for maximum performance.

Stable performance at these enhanced speeds is ensured by the sophisticated power control system developed by SAPPHIRE. The Vapor-X Dynamic Power suite has many premium design features. These include a 10 phase power design, double sided Black Diamond Chokes as well as DirectFET technology and all mounted on a 12 layer PCB to ensure the board runs fast and stable. For additional peace of mind, a series of LEDs display PCB temperature. Output configuration of the 6GB model is Dual-link DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI and two mini DisplayPorts.

The second new model is the SAPPHIRE HD 7970 3GB Vapor-X Edition delivering similar high performance at a more aggressive price point. It has 3GB of the latest GDDR5 memory clocked at 6000MHz effective, and runs with a core clock speed of 1000 MHz which with PowerTune Dynamic Boost rises to 1050 MHz on the engine. It has a slightly less sophisticated 8-phase power design and the versatile output configuration of Dual-link DVI-I, DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort.

The Vapor-X cooler on both these models is based on a new vapor chamber designed especially for this series. Heat is carried away by four heatpipes (2 x 8mm plus 2 x 6mm), and finally dispersed by two 90mm fan with aerofoil blades and dust repelling bearings. The Vapor-X cooler easily handles the heat generated from the HD 7970 GHz Editions even under extreme load conditions.

Both SAPPHIRE HD 7970 Vapor-X Editions are based on AMD’s Graphics Core Next architecture and support all the latest demands of multi-screen applications, multi-threaded Application Acceleration with stream processing, fast HDMI support for high resolution and stereoscopic 3D displays and all the Direct Compute features incorporated in the latest operating systems.

SAPPHIRE HD 7970 Vapor-X Editions are in production now and will be available through SAPPHIRE etailers and retailers.

SAPPHIRE HD 7970 6GB TOXIC Edition is Fastest in the World Legends never die!

With Exclusive Lethal Power technology and Lethal Boost button

SAPPHIRE Technology has just announced its HD 7970 6GB TOXIC Edition graphics card boasting the highest clock speeds in its class and believed to be the fastest single GPU graphics card in the world.

The SAPPHIRE HD 7970 6GB TOXIC Edition is based on the latest HD 7970 GHz Edition GPU from AMD, together with a host of industry first and exclusive features to deliver maximum performance. Its unique 6GB frame buffer is a World first for a consumer graphics card and makes the TOXIC Edition ideally suited to multi-screen gaming as well as providing the extra memory required for demanding professional applications such as content creation, video editing or rendering.Performance is also World leading. By default, the HD 7970 6GB TOXIC Edition runs at 1050 MHz and dynamic boosts to 1100 MHz on the engine with the memory clock at 6000 MHz effective. By pressing the new SAPPHIRE exclusive Lethal Boost Button, the beast is unleashed, boosting the core clock speed to 1100 MHz with dynamic boost to an industry first of 1200 MHz on the engine while the memory is further overclocked to 6400 MHz effective. The fan profile and PowerTune limit is also changed to performance settings. In addition, users will be able to individually tune the card with SAPPHIRE TriXX, the company’s free to download software tool that allows key parameters to be adjusted for maximum performance.

This astonishing performance is achieved partly as a result of a completely new power control system developed by SAPPHIRE – the Lethal Power Suite. The Lethal Power suite consists of many premium design features. These include a new 8 phase power design for the GPU VDDC, with an additional one phase each for VDDCI and MVDD. The design uses a brand new double sided Black Diamond Choke for the first time, as well as DirectFET technology and all on a 12 layer PCB to ensure the board runs fast and stable. (The double sided Black Diamond Choke design reduces the temperature around the power design portion by 40 degree Celsius in lab test when compared to the reference PCB design.)

Cooling a card with such extreme performance demands a special solution – and the SAPPHIRE HD 7970 6GB TOXIC Edition has it – with a new implementation of SAPPHIRE’s World acclaimed Vapor-X technology. The Vapor-X cooler on the TOXIC Edition is based on a new vapor chamber designed especially for this model. Heat is carried away by four heatpipes (2 x 8mm plus 2 x 6mm), and finally dispersed by two 90mm fan with aerofoil blades and dust repelling bearings.

The Vapor-X cooler easily handles the heat generated from Toxic HD 7970 even when it is running at over 1200 MHz. Additional peace of mind for the user is provided by another new feature – the PCB Temperature LED: The SAPPHIRE HD 7970 6GB TOXIC Edition has a built in onboard LED for users to monitors the PCB temperature.

Based on AMD’s Graphics Core Next architecture, the SAPPHIRE HD 7970 6GB TOXIC Edition supports all the latest demands of multi-screen applications, multi-threaded Application Acceleration with stream processing, fast HDMI support for high resolution and stereoscopic 3D displays and all the Direct Compute features incorporated in the latest operating systems. But with its exciting feature set the SAPPHIRE HD 7970 6GB TOXIC Edition is able to deliver all this with the highest levels of performance ever achieved from a single GPU.

The SAPPHIRE HD 7970 6GB TOXIC Edition is a limited edition product that will be available to order from SAPPHIRE etailers and retailers from 17th July 2012.

New SAPPHIRE HD 7870 FleX also features Dual-X cooler

Direct support for up to four monitors in Eyefinity

SAPPHIRE Technology has just announced the SAPPHIRE HD 7870 Flex Edition – only the second model in the highly acclaimed HD 7000 series of graphics cards based on the Graphics Core Next architecture from AMD to feature SAPPHIRE’s unique solution to multi-screen graphics.

Most graphics cards based on AMD technology require the third monitor in an Eyefinity set-up to be a DisplayPort monitor, or connected with an active DisplayPort Adapter. The SAPPHIRE FleX family can support three DVI monitors in Eyefinity mode and deliver a true SLS (Single Large Surface) work area without the need for active adapters. The first two monitors are connected to the two DVI ports and the third to an HDMI to DVI cable (supplied) with no extra active hardware required. The DisplayPort outputs are still available for the connection of additional monitors – for example the recently announced SAPPHIRE HD 7950 FleX with its two DisplayPort outputs can support up to 5 screens in Eyefinity.The SAPPHIRE HD 7870 FleX brings this feature to the performance segment with its core clock speeds of 1000MHz and 1200Mhz (4.8Gb/sec effective) for the 2GB of on board high speed DDR5 memory. It also features the company’s latest Dual-X cooler technology, with its graduated heatpipes and two aerofoil fans with dust repelling bearings for efficient cooling and low noise operation. The FleX feature enables users to connect low-cost DVI monitors for the first three screens in landscape or portrait mode providing a cost-effective solution for multiscreen gaming or increased productivity in content creation and editing applications. Using the DisplayPort output, the SAPPHIRE HD 7870 FleX supports four screens in Eyefinity, providing additional display options.

The SAPPHIRE HD 7870 FleX also features a Dual BIOS. When the second position is selected, performance is increased by a factory programmed overclock. For enthusiasts wishing to maximise performance, a new version of the SAPPHIRE overclocking tool, TriXX supporting this latest generation of technology is available free to download from the SAPPHIRE website. TriXX allows tuning of GPU voltage as well as core and memory clocks, whilst continuously displaying temperature. Manual control of fan speed is supported, as well as user created fan profiles and the ability to save up to four different performance settings.

The HD 7000 series is the third generation of DirectX 11 compatible solutions from the graphics division of AMD - formerly ATI. The SAPPHIRE HD 7870 FleX is ready for DirectX 11.1 and the new Windows 8 operating system as well as delivering all the features of the current DirectX 11 such as DirectCompute11 and multi threaded communications with the CPU. Communication with the host PC is optimised with the implementation of the latest high speed PCI-Express Gen3.0 interface, and multiple cards can be used to further enhance performance in CrossFireX mode on a suitably specified mainboard.

HDMI specifications have also increased in the HD 7000 series. Fast HDMI 1.4a supports Stereoscopic 3D with enhanced frame rates of 60Hz per eye - 120Hz total. It is also ready for the next generation of 4K displays that can be driven from a single high speed input of 3GHz HDMI 1.4a or DisplayPort 1.2 HBR2.

APP Acceleration is the name given to the enhanced performance of a wide range of applications using the stream processing capabilities and specific hardware features of the graphics architecture. The HD 7000 series has been optimised for this type of task. Typical applications include Video encoding and decoding, compression and multiplexing for media distribution, gaming or video conferencing. APP acceleration can also enhance everyday tasks such as Internet browsing, Office applications and file compression with supported software suites.

Eyefinity made simple with SAPPHIRE HD 7950 FleX

Direct support for 3 DVI monitors in Eyefinity mode now on 7K series

SAPPHIRE Technology has just announced the SAPPHIRE HD 7950 Flex Edition brining the company’s unique solution for multi-screen gaming to the highly acclaimed HD 7000 series of graphics cards based on the Graphics Core Next architecture from AMD.

Most graphics cards based on AMD technology require the third monitor in an Eyefinity set-up to be a DisplayPort monitor, or connected with an active DisplayPort Adapter. The SAPPHIRE FleX family can support three DVI monitors in Eyefinity mode and deliver a true SLS (Single Large Surface) work area without the need for active adapters. The first two monitors are connected to the two DVI ports and the third to an HDMI to DVI cable (supplied) with no extra hardware required.The SAPPHIRE HD 7950 FleX is now the highest performing card with this feature, allowing gamers to use low-cost DVI monitors for all three screens. Additional monitors can be added to the setup, but must be DisplayPort connected. With its core clock speeds of 860MHz and 1250Mhz (5 Gb/sec effective) for the memory this model is slightly faster than the HD 7950 standard edition and brings easy to configure multi-screen enjoyment to even hard-core gamers.

For enthusiasts wishing to maximise performance, a new version of the SAPPHIRE overclocking tool, TriXX supporting this latest generation of technology is available free to download from the SAPPHIRE website. TriXX allows tuning of GPU voltage as well as core and memory clocks, whilst continuously displaying temperature. Manual control of fan speed is supported, as well as user created fan profiles and the ability to save up to four different performance settings. The HD 7000 series is the third generation of DirectX 11 compatible solutions from the graphics division of AMD - formerly ATI. The SAPPHIRE HD 7950 is ready for DirectX 11.1 and the new Windows 8 operating system as well as delivering all the features of the current DirectX 11 such as DirectCompute11 and multi threaded communications with the CPU. Communication with the host PC is optimised with the implementation of the latest high speed PCI-Express Gen3.0 interface, and multiple cards can be used to further enhance performance in CrossFireX mode on a suitably specified mainboard.

HDMI specifications have also increased in the HD 7000 series. Fast HDMI 1.4a supports Stereoscopic 3D with enhanced frame rates of 60Hz per eye - 120Hz total. It is also ready for the next generation of 4K displays that can be driven from a single high speed input of 3GHz HDMI 1.4a or DisplayPort 1.2 HBR2.

APP Acceleration is the name given to the enhanced performance of a wide range of applications using the stream processing capabilities and specific hardware features of the graphics architecture. The HD 7000 series has been optimised for this type of task. Typical applications include Video encoding and decoding, compression and multiplexing for media distribution, gaming or video conferencing. APP acceleration can also enhance everyday tasks such as Internet browsing, Office applications and file compression with supported software suites.

SAPPHIRE adds new overclocked HD 7770 Vapor-X model Successful graphics card series enhanced with SAPPHIRE exclusive cooler

SAPPHIRE Technology has just introduced a new model in the successful HD 7000 series. The SAPPHIRE HD 7770 Vapor-X OC Edition is the first card based on the revolutionary new graphics GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture from AMD to feature the SAPPHIRE exclusive and world acclaimed Vapor-X* cooling technology.

The SAPPHIRE HD 7770 Vapor-X OC Edition is the first card in this generation to use the SAPPHIRE exclusive implementation of Vapor chamber cooling technology. Previous products with Vapor-X have received world wide acclaim for delivering very efficient cooling that allows the card to run at higher speeds but with very low noise levels. Based on the latest GPU technology from AMD, the SAPPHIRE HD 7770 Vapor-X OC Edition has 1GB of the latest DDR5 memory, and is factory overclocked with core clocks of 1100MHz and memory clocks of 1300MHz (5.2 GB/s effective) to deliver excellent performance. Working or gaming with multiple monitors is becoming increasingly popular, and the SAPPHIRE HD 7700 series supports this with AMD Eyefinity, now in its second generation. The SAPPHIRE HD 7770 Vapor-X OC Edition has two DVI ports (DVI-I and DVI-D), HDMI and a single DisplayPort output, supporting up to four monitors. In addition, the SAPPHIRE HD 7700 series cards can output multiple, independent audio streams allowing the correct audio content to be associated with different applications on different screens.

HDMI specifications have increased in the HD 7000 series. Fast HDMI 1.4a supports Stereoscopic 3D with enhanced frame rates of 60Hz per eye - 120Hz total. It is also ready for the next generation of 4K displays that can be driven from a single high speed input of 3GHz HDMI 1.4a or DisplayPort 1.2 HBR2.

APP Acceleration is the name given to the enhanced performance of a wide range of applications using the stream processing capabilities and specific hardware features of the graphics architecture. The HD 7000 series has been optimised for this type of task. Typical applications include Video encoding and decoding, compression and multiplexing for media distribution, gaming or video conferencing. APP acceleration can also enhance everyday tasks such as Internet browsing, Office applications and file compression with supported software suites.

The HD 7000 series is the third generation of DirectX 11 compatible solutions from the graphics division of AMD - formerly ATI. The new SAPPHIRE HD 7700 series is ready for DirectX 11.1 and the new Windows 8 operating system as well as delivering all the features of the current DirectX 11 such as DirectCompute11 and multi threaded communications with the CPU. Communication with the host PC is optimised with the implementation of the latest high speed PCI-Express Gen3.0 interface, and multiple cards can be used to further enhance performance in CrossFireX mode on a suitably specified mainboard.

SAPPHIRE SMALLEST PC GETS APU!

Latest AMD combined graphics and processor technology gives Mini-PC the EDGE in the Home, Office and even Gaming

21st February 2012 - Building on the success of its first Mini PC, hailed as the smallest PC in the world, SAPPHIRE Technology – a world leading manufacturer and supplier of PC graphics cards, mainboards and multimedia solutions has just introduced a new model – the SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD3 based on industry leading APU technology from AMD.

The SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD3 shares the same slim, stylish outline as the earlier models but delivers increased graphical capability and higher core performance as a result of incorporating the latest E450 APU technology from AMD. At less than half a litre in volume, it is slimmer and smaller than most wireless access points – in fact around the size of a paperback book! Its stylish design and simple pedestal mount make it equally at home next to a TV or a business monitor whilst occupying the minimum of desk or shelf space.
Despite its small size, the SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD3 is a fully featured PC for home, education or business use. In the home, its compact size is a welcome replacement for a bulky traditional PC whether for browsing the internet, children’s homework or home office tasks, with many applications accelerated by its state-of-the-art technology. Its HD video capability enables the smooth streaming of video content over HDMI to a TV or monitor and its stylish design is just as at home in the living room as in the study.

For business, the stream processing technology in the SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD3 accelerates Office tasks and many business applications, whilst occupying a fraction of the desk space of a regular PC - and consuming many times less power. In education, it is more than capable of running the multiple applications required, and its small size allows easy transfer to different locations as needed. In both cases the built in networking by cable or wireless is easily configured, and inclusion of the socket for a Kensington lock ensures security against unauthorized removal.

The casual gamer will find delight in the SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD3, which takes most mainstream games in its stride, as well as internet and more serious applications. It is easily carried to share experiences with friends and can be quickly set up with TV or monitor. Even the more hardcore LAN party visitors will find the easily portable EDGE-HD3 a useful weapon in their armoury.

Specifications of the SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD3 include an AMD E450 APU, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 320GB hard drive and built in wireless connectivity as well as high speed LAN port, two USB 3.0 and two USB 2.0 ports. It provides high resolution graphics output with a full HD (1920x1080) HDMI interface (with an HDMI cable and HDMI-DVI adapter also supplied) as well as a VGA monitor output and it has built-in audio with mic-in and line-out sockets.

The SAPPHIRE Mini PC family is a top scorer in power efficiency. Consuming less than 30W even under load, the members of the SAPPHIRE Mini PC family use around 10 times less power than a typical desktop PC – and less than most notebooks – making it one of the Greenest PC solutions available. Power and space savings alone can justify switching to the Mini PC for many businesses.

The SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD3 Mini PC is ideal for integration into an office or education environment. The end user or system integrator has a free choice of keyboard or mouse, which can be either wireless or USB connected.

The new SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD3 is compatible with Microsoft Windows 7, Vista or Windows XP. All appropriate drivers are supplied on CD.

For more details please visit www.sapphiretech.com

SAPPHIRE Launches HD 7700 Series

Three new models deliver affordable HD 7000 series features with a choice of performance

February 15th 2012 - SAPPHIRE Technology has just introduced an entirely new series of affordable graphics cards based on the revolutionary new graphics GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture from AMD.

The new SAPPHIRE HD 7700 series is a new family of graphics cards targeting the enthusiast on a budget and mainstream users looking for increased graphics performance. It is based on the second family of GPU’s from AMD built in its new 28nm process and featuring the highly acclaimed GCN graphics processing architecture. The new HD 7770 and HD 7750 GPUs have an optimised internal structure sharing many of the features of the high performance HD 7900 series already released but with fewer Stream processors and a simplified 128-bit high speed memory interface to the latest DDR5 memory types.

Two models of the HD 7770 are being introduced by SAPPHIRE at launch. The SAPPHIRE HD 7770 is the first mainstream production graphics card to ship with a core clock speed of 1GHz, and will be known as the SAPPHIRE HD 7770 GHz Edition. It is equipped with 1GB of the latest DDR5 memory clocked at 1125MHz (4.5 Gb/s effective). At the same time SAPPHIRE is introducing a high performance model, the SAPPHIRE HD 7770 GHz OC Edition, which is factory overclocked to 1150 MHz core and 1250MHz memory (5Gb/s effective). Both models have a highly efficient SAPPHIRE original single fan heatpipe cooler.
For the more budget conscious, the third model in the series is the SAPPHIRE HD 7750, which shares all the features of the HD 7770 version except that it ships with the lower core clocks of 800MHz and different output configuration as well as a lower Stream processor count. It has 1GB of memory clocked at 1125MHz (4.5 GB/s effective), and a single fan heatpipe cooler.

For enthusiasts wishing to maximise performance, a new version of the SAPPHIRE overclocking tool, TriXX supporting this latest generation of technology is available free to download from the SAPPHIRE website. TriXX allows tuning of GPU voltage as well as core and memory clocks, whilst continuously displaying temperature. Manual control of fan speed is supported, as well as user created fan profiles and the ability to save up to four different performance settings.

The HD 7000 series is the third generation of DirectX 11 compatible solutions from the graphics division of AMD - formerly ATI. The new SAPPHIRE HD 7700 series is ready for DirectX 11.1 and the new Windows 8 operating system as well as delivering all the features of the current DirectX 11 such as DirectCompute11 and multi threaded communications with the CPU. Communication with the host PC is optimised with the implementation of the latest high speed PCI-Express Gen3.0 interface, and multiple cards can be used to further enhance performance in CrossFireX mode on a suitably specified mainboard.

Working or gaming with multiple monitors is becoming increasingly popular, and the SAPPHIRE HD 7700 series supports this with AMD Eyefinity, now in its second generation. With Dual-link DVI, HDMI and two mini-DisplayPort outputs, the HD 7770 models can support configurations of up to 6 monitors. The HD 7750 has Dual link DVI, HDMI and a single DisplayPort output, supporting up to four monitors. In addition, the SAPPHIRE HD 7700 series cards can simultaneously output multiple, independent audio streams allowing the correct audio content to be associated with different applications on different screens.

HDMI specifications have also increased in the HD 7000 series. Fast HDMI 1.4a supports Stereoscopic 3D with enhanced frame rates of 60Hz per eye - 120Hz total. It is also ready for the next generation of 4K displays that can be driven from a single high speed input of 3GHz HDMI 1.4a or DisplayPort 1.2 HBR2.

APP Acceleration is the name given to the enhanced performance of a wide range of applications using the stream processing capabilities and specific hardware features of the graphics architecture. The HD 7000 series has been optimised for this type of task. Typical applications include Video encoding and decoding, compression and multiplexing for media distribution, gaming or video conferencing. APP acceleration can also enhance everyday tasks such as Internet browsing, Office applications and file compression with supported software suites.

The SAPPHIRE HD 7700 series products are now available through SAPPHIRE’s established channel and etail partners.

Full specifications are available on our website at www.sapphiretech.com

SAPPHIRE Launches HD 7950 with Two Stunning Models Single and Dual fan versions deliver choice of performance

January 31st 2012 - SAPPHIRE Technology has now added two exciting new models of graphics cards based on the revolutionary new graphics GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture from AMD.

The new SAPPHIRE HD 7950 models are only the second family of graphics cards to incorporate the latest generation of GPU’s from AMD built in a new 28nm process and featuring the new GCN optimised graphics processing architecture. The HD 7950 GPU has a new internal structure with 1792 Stream processors and a 384-bit high speed memory interface with over 264GB/sec memory bandwidth.
Two models are being introduced at launch. The standard SAPPHIRE HD 7950 ships with a core clock speed of 810MHz, slightly higher than the reference design, and a dual slot, single fan cooler. At the same time SAPPHIRE is introducing a high performance model, the SAPPHIRE HD 7950 OC Edition, which is factory overclocked to 900Mhz and features SAPPHIRE’s new dual-extractor technology - Dual-X - a highly efficient multi-heatpipe cooler with dual fans providing quiet and very cool operation during normal operating conditions, and superb cooling performance even under extreme load. Both models have a large 3GB array of the latest DDR5 memory with effective clocks of 5Gb/s.

For enthusiasts wishing to maximise performance, a new version of the SAPPHIRE overclocking tool, TriXX supporting this latest generation of technology is available free to download from the SAPPHIRE website. TriXX allows tuning of GPU voltage as well as core and memory clocks, whilst continuously displaying temperature. Manual control of fan speed is supported, as well as user created fan profiles and the ability to save up to four different performance settings. Both of the SAPPHIRE HD 7950 models have a dual BIOS, allowing for further experimentation by the enthusiast. On the OC edition, the second BIOS is pre-programmed to allow a higher maximum overclock and more aggressive fan profile.

The HD 7000 series is the third generation of DirectX 11 compatible solutions from the graphics division of AMD - formerly ATI. The SAPPHIRE HD 7950 is ready for DirectX 11.1 and the new Windows 8 operating system as well as delivering all the features of the current DirectX 11 such as DirectCompute11 and multi-threaded communications with the CPU. Communication with the host PC is optimised with the implementation of the latest high speed PCI-Express Gen3.0 interface, and multiple cards can be used to further enhance performance in CrossFireX mode on a suitably specified mainboard.

Working or gaming with multiple monitors is becoming increasingly popular, and the SAPPHIRE HD 7950 supports this with AMD Eyefinity. With its DVI, HDMI and two mini-DisplayPort outputs the card can support configurations of up to 6 monitors. In addition, the SAPPHIRE HD 7950 can simultaneously output multiple, independent audio streams allowing the correct audio content to be associated with different applications on different screens.

HDMI specifications have also increased in the HD 7000 series. Fast HDMI (with 3D) supports Stereoscopic 3D with enhanced frame rates of 60Hz per eye - 120Hz total. It is also ready for the next generation of 4K displays that can be driven from a single high speed input of 3GHz HDMI (with 3D) or DisplayPort 1.2 HBR2.

APP Acceleration is the name given to the enhanced performance of a wide range of applications using the stream processing capabilities and specific hardware features of the graphics architecture. The HD 7000 series has been optimised for this type of task. Typical applications include Video encoding and decoding, compression and multiplexing for media distribution, gaming or video conferencing. APP acceleration can also enhance everyday tasks such as Internet browsing, Office applications and file compression with supported software suites.

The SAPPHIRE HD 7950 and HD 7950 OC are now available through SAPPHIRE’s established channel and etail partners.

Find out more at www.sapphiretech.com

SAPPHIRE Set to Launch X79 mainboard

SAPPHIRE Technology, a leading manufacturer and global supplier of graphics, mainboard and multimedia solutions has just announced a new mainboard developed to support the latest family of CPUs from Intel, the SAPPHIRE Pure Black X79N.

The SAPPHIRE Pure Black X79N is a full ATX sized board that supports the latest generation Intel processor family using socket LGA2011. It has 4 DDR3 DIMM slots supporting up to 32GB of quad channel memory, including the latest high speed types.The board is firmly aimed at the enthusiast, with many high end features such as a new SAPPHIRE UEFI BIOS, Dual BIOS switch, status monitor, voltage test pads and thermal monitoring. The multi-channel Digital power management circuitry uses server grade PWM components capable of delivering up to 270W on demand. Hardware monitoring tools and the SAPPHIRE proprietary Mainboard TriXX software allow users to review and adjust a range of system parameters while optimising performance of the CPU.

In addition to the core chipset features SAPPHIRE has added extensive expansion and connectivity options. The board has a total of six PCI-Express Gen 2.5 and Gen 3.0 slots all of which have x16 or x8 bandwidth and support CrossFireX technology. For extreme overclockers, the board has PCI-E jumpers which allow some channels to be disabled.

Extensive storage options are provided by a total of four SATA III 6Gb/s and four SATA II 3Gb/s ports as well as two e-SATA ports on the rear panel. I/O support includes a total of 6 USB 3.0 ports (4 on rear panel) and 10 USB2.0 ports (6 on rear panel). Connectivity is provided by two RJ-45 Gigabit LAN ports and Bluetooth with EDR (enhanced data rate) and the board has 8-channel HD audio with Optical SP-DIF out as well as rear and front panel connectors.

The build quality of the SAPPHIRE Pure Black series is high. It has a black multilayer PCB, and uses high quality gold plated connectors for USB 3.0 and LAN. It incorporates many high end features associated with the SAPPHIRE brand, such as the use of high reliability solid capacitors throughout. The voltage regulation circuitry incorporates the world renowned SAPPHIRE Diamond Black chokes with coolers that have featured on SAPPHIRE’s high end graphics cards,

The SAPHIRE Pure Black X79N will be available globally through SAPPHIRE’s established channel and etail partners. Please visit www.sapphiretech.com for more details.

SAPPHIRE Pure Black 990FX supports latest AMD CPUs

Quality board has many enthusiast features

SAPPHIRE Technology, a leading manufacturer and global supplier of graphics, mainboard and multimedia solutions has just introduced a new mainboard developed to support the latest high performance FX CPU family from AMD, and fully backwards compatible with previous generation AM3 CPUs.

The SAPPHIRE Pure Black 990FX is a full ATX sized board making full use of the features of the AMD 990FX and SB950 chipsets. Four dual channel memory sockets are provided, supporting up to 16GB of DDR3 memory with current technology, and capable of supporting up to 32GB when suitable modules become available. There are four USB 3.0 ports (two at the rear and two on a header supported by a high quality front panel kit) as well as eight USB 2.0 ports on the rear panel plus four more on headers.

Advanced connectivity is provided by Dual Gigabit LAN sockets plus Bluetooth with EDR (enhanced data rate). The board has eight SATA 3GB ports, featuring AHCI and RAID support, conveniently mounted on the edge of the board with right angle connectors and an additional SATA 3GB port brought out to the rear panel on an eSATA connector. The back panel also carries optical and SPDIF outputs as well as the standard I/O configuration for the on board HD 7.1 Audio.

Extensive expansion support is provided by six PCI-Express Gen2 slots which allow up to six single slot cards or three dual slot cards such as high end graphics cards in CrossFireX to be used. A standard 4-pin Molex connector on the edge of the board can be used to provide additional power when multiple cards are used.

Many user friendly features have been incorporated in the SAPPHIRE Pure Black 990FX, such as digital debug display and a push button reset for the BIOS, as well as start and system reset buttons. These are especially useful for enthusiasts interested in performance tuning or overclocking. This is the first board to feature the SAPPHIRE QBIOS – an easy to use UEFI BIOS with many overclocking features. The board has a Dual BIOS, allowing for experimentation and updates, and includes S_BIOS which allows the user to update and back up the BIOS from a BIOS screen – there is no need to boot from an external disk. For the hard-core enthusiast, voltage test pads have been brought out to the edge of the board for the critical voltages on the CPU and memory.

The build quality of the SAPPHIRE Pure Black 990FX is high. It has a black multilayer PCB, and uses high quality gold plated connectors for USB 3.0 and LAN. It incorporates many of the high end features associated with the SAPPHIRE brand, such as the use of high reliability solid capacitors throughout. The multi-phase PWM voltage regulation circuitry for both the CPU and memory modules incorporate the SAPPHIRE Diamond Black chokes with coolers that have featured on SAPPHIRE’s high end graphics cards. Low profile coolers on the PWM section give users a wide choice of CPU cooler without risk of obstruction.

Hardware monitoring tools and the SAPPHIRE proprietary Mainboard TriXX software allow users to review a range of system parameters while optimising performance of the CPU, memory and chipset.

The SAPPHIRE Pure Black 990FX is in production now, and will be available through SAPPHIRE’s usual channel partners and retailers. For further details please visit www.sapphiretech.com

SAPPHIRE FleX delivers Eyefinity to the mainstream!

New low cost graphics card with direct support for 3 DVI monitors

SAPPHIRE Technology has just introduced a new mainstream model to its FleX family of graphics cards that can support three standard DVI monitors in AMD Eyefinity mode, out of the box, without the need for costly DisplayPort monitors or active adapters.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6450 FleX incorporates this SAPPHIRE exclusive feature into a mainstream graphics card and delivers the most cost-effective Eyefinity solution available for increased productivity in tasks such as editing or business applications. It can also be used in multi-screen information display systems where three low cost monitors can be directly connected to each FleX card installed.Working on multiple monitors has been shown to increase productivity in business applications and editing tasks with the ability to view more detail in larger windows as well as to see content in multiple open windows or applications at the same time. In the SAPPHIRE HD 6000 series, support for AMD APP Acceleration means that the latest Office applications and internet browsers are accelerated by Stream processing on the graphics card.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6450 FleX is a PCI-Express graphics card that requires no additional power connector, making it ideal for upgrading existing PC systems and providing additional monitor support. It has 160 Stream processors and 1GB of DDR3 memory, which together with clock speeds of 625MHz core and 800MHz (1.6GHz effective) for the memory deliver excellent performance and great value.
The SAPPHIRE HD 6450 FleX can support three DVI monitors in Eyefinity mode and deliver a true SLS (Single Large Surface) work area. The first two monitors are connected to the DVI outputs, as usual. A third DVI monitor can be connected to the HDMI output with the passive cable adapter supplied. Thus three DVI monitors can be used in Eyefinity mode without any additional investment. It is a low profile card, and ships with an alternative dual slot low profile rear bracket that allows the card to be mounted in slim cases.

The SAPPHIRE FleX family all have on-board hardware UVD (Unified Video decoder), considerably reducing CPU load and delivering smooth decoding of Blu-ray™ and HD DVD content for both VC-1 and H.264 codecs, as well as Mpeg files. The UVD can decode two 1080p HD video streams simultaneously and display HD video in high quality with Windows Aero mode enabled. The HD 6450 has HDMI 1.4a with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio including support for Stereoscopic 3D output.

The SAPPHIRE FleX family is supported by AMD's DirectX 11 WHQL certified graphics driver which delivers support for all of the key DirectX 11 level features required for the acceleration of next generation high performance applications. For more details please visit www.sapphiretech.com

SAPPHIRE HD 6850 gets a Boost with 2GB Buffer

Meeting the increasing demands of the latest games and applications, world leading graphics card supplier, SAPPHIRE Technology has just introduced a new model of the SAPPHIRE HD 6850 with an enhanced frame buffer memory of 2GB.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6850 2GB has the same internal architecture as the standard model, based on the second generation 40nm DirectX 11 graphics core from AMD with 960 stream processors and 48 texture processing units. It has clock speeds of 775MHz for the core and 1000Mhz (4.0 Gb/sec effective) for the memory delivering excellent performance for a wide range of applications. The larger 2GB frame buffer more easily caters for more demanding applications and specific graphical demands such as large texture maps in the latest games.The versatile output configuration of the SAPPHIRE HD 6850 2GB includes one DVI-I, one DVI-D, one HDMI and one standard DisplayPort connectors. One legacy VGA monitor can be supported from the DVI-I port with the adapter supplied. Using two of the DVI/HDMI outputs as well as the DisplayPort output enables this card to support three monitors in Eyefinity (SLS) mode, with a suitable DisplayPort monitor or active adapter.

The efficient SAPPHIRE original cooler ensures that there is a good margin for performance tuning (overclocking) by enthusiast users. A new overclocking tool - TriXX - is available free to download from the SAPPHIRE website – just follow the links to the TriXX pages.

In the SAPPHIRE HD 6850 the third generation UVD (Unified Video Decoder) supports MVC (Multi-view Video Coding) for the smooth decoding of Blu-Ray 3D with reduced CPU load as well as other HD file formats. Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio are supported, and HDMI capability has also been upgraded to HDMI 1.4a. This now provides deep colour, enhanced high resolution output for Digital Theatre applications and 3D stereoscopic support as well as 7.1 high bit-rate audio.

The multiple stream processors of the HD 6800 series can be used to accelerate other applications such as video transcoding. The latest generation of web browsers can be GPU accelerated, and this is also supported for enhanced productivity in Microsoft Office 2010.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6800 series is supported by AMD's DirectX 11 WHQL certified graphics driver which delivers support for all of the key DirectX 11 features for enhanced gaming experiences as well as GPU acceleration of supported applications (APP Acceleration).

SAPPHIRE HD 6670 Single Slot Low Profile is a first!

Low profile card with single slot cooler is ideal for media systems

The SAPPHIRE HD 6670 series is the highest performing graphics card family in its extensive range that does not require an additional power connection, making it ideal for users looking to upgrade existing systems to be compatible with the latest games and applications. Now SAPPHIRE has introduced a new model in this series in a low profile format, but with a slim single slot cooler, believed to be the first and only graphics card available with his specification.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6670 Low Profile model has 480 Stream Processors and 24 texture processing units and like other models in this series, sports 1GB of the latest DDR5 memory. With clock speeds of 800MHz core and 1000MHz (4GHz effective) for the memory, it delivers the same performance as the other models, but in a low profile format with a single slot cooler, making it one of the fastest and most capable low profile graphics cards available today.The output configuration is the versatile configuration of Dual-Link DVI, HDMI and VGA, and the card is supplied with both standard and low profile back plates, making it a good choice for media centres as well as general purpose PCs. It is ideal for use as the add-in card for Dual Graphics in an AMD Fusion APU based system, and native CrossFire support allows two or more cards to be used together for additional performance on a suitable CrossFireX compatible mainboard.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6670 Low Profile Edition delivers new gaming experiences and acceleration of next generation high performance applications in a low profile format. All of this comes with low active power consumption and Dynamic Power Management delivering super low-power operation in 2D or idle. As the core technology is low power, no external power connection is required, making this series ideal for system upgrades or mainstream PCs that do not have high end power supplies.
All products in the SAPPHIRE HD 6000 series deliver on-board hardware video decoding with the AMD UVD (universal Video Decoder) – now in its third generation and including support for MVC and decoding Blu-Ray 3D for stereoscopic 3D over HDMI 1.4a.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6000 series is fully DirectX 11 and Windows 7 compatible and also supports AMD’s APP Acceleration for applications such as video transcoding and rendering tasks by executing instructions on the GPU architecture rather than the system CPU. The series is supported by AMD's Catalyst DirectX 11 WHQL certified graphics driver which enables all of the key DirectX 11 level features including DirectCompute 11 instructions, hardware Tessellation and multi-threaded communications with the system CPU.

SAPPHIRE announces new HD 6970 with Dual Fan

New HD 6970 has SAPPHIRE exclusive cooler and Dual BIOS for tuning

SAPPHIRE Technology has just announced a new model in its successful HD 6900 series of graphics cards - the HD 6970 2GB with a new super efficient Dual fan cooler and Dual BIOS giving users the choice of fast, quiet operation or performance tuning.

The new SAPPHIRE HD 6970 has the same internal architecture as the standard model, with 1536 stream processors and 96 texture processing units, and clock speeds are 880MHz for the core and 1375Mhz (5.5Gb/sec effective) for the 2GB of GDDR5 memory. This new design has two 90mm fans with thin impellers that can move the same amount of air at 10% lower rotation speeds than conventional fans, keeping noise low, and their special dust repelling bearings contribute to high reliability.With the Dual BIOs set to the standard position, the Dual fans keep this model quiet and up to 25% cooler than the standard model even under load conditions. With the BIOS switched to the performance setting, the core voltage of the GPU is raised to 1.2V, the fan speed is set to a high performance profile and the powertune adjustment for overclocking is raised to 50% allowing the user to maximise performance of the card by increasing clock speeds either with AMD Overdrive or with SAPPHIRE TriXX up to a ceiling of 1500MHz core, 2000MHz memory.

SAPPHIRE TriXX is a dedicated overclocking tool which allows users to adjust and save settings of core clocks, memory clocks, core voltage and fan speeds to optimize performance whilst continuously monitoring temperature. It is available free for anyone to download from the SAPPHIRE website, www.sapphiretech.com – just follow the TriXX buttons!

Eyefinity and APP acceleration

The SAPPHIRE HD 6970 has the versatile output configuration of two DVI, one HDMI and two mini DisplayPort connectors, and can support a VGA monitor with the dongle supplied. Using the DVI or HDMI outputs together with the two DisplayPorts enables this card to support multiple monitors in Eyefinity (SLS) mode.

The third generation UVD (Unified Video Decoder) in the SAPPHIRE HD 6970 supports MVC (Multi-view Video Coding) for the smooth decoding of Blu-Ray 3D with reduced CPU load as well as other file formats. Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio are supported, and HDMI capability has also been upgraded to HDMI 1.4a. This provides deep colour, enhanced high resolution output for Digital Theatre applications and 3D stereoscopic support as well as 7.1 high bit-rate audio.

The multiple stream processors of the HD 6900 series can be used to accelerate other applications such as video transcoding. The latest generation of web browsers can be GPU accelerated, and this is also supported for enhanced productivity in Microsoft Office 2010.

Second Generation DX11 support

The SAPPHIRE HD 6900 series features the second generation of graphics technology from AMD designed to support all the features of Microsoft DirectX 11 and DirectCompute 11. These GPUs are built in AMD’s 40nm process to deliver high performance with low power consumption.

Advanced hardware features include an enhanced Tessellation unit, dedicated HDR Texture compression, multi-threaded communication with system CPU cores, embedded support for many of the DirectCompute 11 instructions, 3D stereoscopic support, HDMI 1.4a and DisplayPort 1.2.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6900 series is supported by AMD's DirectX 11 WHQL certified graphics driver which delivers support for all of the key DirectX 11 features required for enhanced gaming experiences as well as GPU acceleration of supported applications.

For more information please visit www.sapphiretech.com

SAPPHIRE CELEBRATES BF3 LAUNCH WITH SPECIAL EDITION!

Limited Edition SAPPHIRE HD 6970 combines SAPPHIRE FleX and Vapor-X Technology for greatest performance yet!


Celebrating the launch of the much anticipated Battlefield 3 game, SAPPHIRE Technology is introducing the SAPPHIRE HD 6970 BF3 Special Edition - featuring two SAPPHIRE exclusive technologies, SAPPHIRE FleX and Vapor-X cooling as well as performance enhancing options for the enthusiast and access to a FREE copy of the full game!

The SAPPHIRE HD 6970 BF3 Special Edition is based on AMD’s award winning second generation DX 11 graphics engine with the powerful configuration of 1536 stream processors and 96 texture processing units delivering smooth and detailed graphics to the latest generation of games and applications. SAPPHIRE FleX technology allows the direct connection of three DVI monitors in Eyefinity mode without the need for special adapters, making it the simplest solution to multi-screen enjoyment, and the highly efficient SAPPHIRE Vapor-X cooling enables performance to be maximised whilst keeping noise levels low.On this card, a Dual BIOS switch allows users to choose between two performance settings delivering the best performance in its class. The ‘normal’ setting has clock speeds of 880MHz for the core and 1375Mhz (5.5Gb/sec effective) for the memory, and a quiet fan profile, whilst the ‘boost’ setting raises the core clock to 930MHz, as well as increasing the core voltage, fan speed and overclock limits to deliver higher performance. Enthusiasts can further optimise performance using the SAPPHIRE TriXX tool, free to download from the SAPPHIRE website, which allows users to adjust clock speeds, voltages and fan speeds whilst monitoring GPU temperature.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6000 series family all have on-board hardware UVD (Unified Video decoder), considerably reducing CPU load and delivering smooth decoding of Blu-ray™ and other video content for both VC-1 and H.264 codecs, as well as Mpeg files and including 3D content. The UVD can decode two 1080p HD video streams simultaneously and display HD video in high quality with Windows Aero mode enabled. HDMI output conforms to HDMI 1.4 which supports Stereoscopic 3D output.

SAPPHIRE graphics cards are supported by AMD's DirectX 11 WHQL certified graphics driver which delivers support for all of the key DirectX 11 level features required for new gaming experiences and acceleration of next generation high performance applications.

SAPPHIRE announces new HD 6870 Dirt3 Special Edition

New HD 6870 has faster clocks and SAPPHIRE exclusive cooler

SAPPHIRE Technology has just announced a new model in its successful HD 6800 series of graphics cards - the HD 6870 1GB Dirt3 Edition with Dual fan cooler and a voucher code for the full game in the package!

The SAPPHIRE HD 6870 Dirt3 Edition has the same internal architecture as the standard model, with 1120 stream processors and 56 texture processing units, but clock speeds are increased to 920MHz for the core and 1050Mhz (4.2Gb/sec effective) for the 1GB of GDDR5 memory giving users a boost in performance.

The new SAPPHIRE exclusive cooler design has Dual fans to keep this model cool and quiet even when under load conditions, keeping even extreme gamers happy! This new design has two 90mm fans with thin impellers that can move the same amount of air at 10% lower rotation speeds than conventional fans, keeping noise low, and their special dust repelling bearings contribute to high reliability.

Enthusiast users can tune up performance even more with SAPPHIRE’s dedicated VGA overclocking tool TriXX, which is available free for anyone to download from the SAPPHIRE website, www.sapphiretech.com – just follow the TriXX buttons!

Eyefinity and APP acceleration

The SAPPHIRE HD 6870 Dirt3 Edition has the versatile output configuration of two DVI, one HDMI and two mini DisplayPort connectors, and can support a VGA monitor with the dongle supplied. Using two of the DVI/HDMI outputs together with the two DisplayPorts enables this card to support up to four monitors in Eyefinity (SLS) mode.

The third generation UVD (Unified Video Decoder) in the SAPPHIRE HD 6870 supports MVC (Multi-view Video Coding) for the smooth decoding of Blu-Ray 3D with reduced CPU load as well as other file formats. Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio are supported, and HDMI capability has also been upgraded to HDMI 1.4a. This provides deep colour, enhanced high resolution output for Digital Theatre applications and 3D stereoscopic support as well as 7.1 high bit-rate audio.

The multiple stream processors of the HD 6800 series can be used to accelerate other applications such as video transcoding. The latest generation of web browsers can be GPU accelerated, and this is also supported for enhanced productivity in Microsoft Office 2010.

Second Generation DX11 support

The SAPPHIRE HD 6800 series features the second generation of graphics technology from AMD designed to support all the features of Microsoft DirectX 11 and DirectCompute 11. These GPUs are built in AMD’s 40nm process to deliver high performance with low power consumption.

Advanced hardware features include an enhanced Tessellation unit, dedicated HDR Texture compression, multi-threaded communication with system CPU cores, embedded support for many of the DirectCompute 11 instructions, 3D stereoscopic support, HDMI 1.4a and DisplayPort 1.2.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6800 series is supported by AMD's DirectX 11 WHQL certified graphics driver which delivers support for all of the key DirectX 11 features required for enhanced gaming experiences as well as GPU acceleration of supported applications.

SAPPHIRE announces HD 6850 Vapor-X Edition

New HD 6850 has faster clocks and SAPPHIRE exclusive cooler

SAPPHIRE Technology has just announced a new high performance model in its extensive series of graphics cards - the HD 6850 Vapor-X Edition with SAPPHIRE exclusive Vapor-X® cooler*.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6850 Vapor-X Edition has the same internal architecture as the standard model, with 960 stream processors and 48 texture processing units, but clock speeds are increased to 800MHz for the core and 1100Mhz (4.4 Gb/sec effective) for the memory giving users a considerable boost in performance.

The SAPPHIRE exclusive Vapor-X cooler ensures that the card runs quietly and efficiently. Together with other special hardware features including on-board 10-phase power control and SAPPHIRE’s highly efficient, cool running second generation Black Diamond chokes this ensures there is a good margin for performance tuning (overclocking) by enthusiast users. SAPPHIRE’s overclocking tool for these models - TriXX - is available free for anyone to download from a link on the SAPPHIRE websitewww.sapphiretech.com

Eyefinity and APP Acceleration

The SAPPHIRE HD 6850 Vapor-X Edition has the versatile output configuration of two DVI, one HDMI and two mini DisplayPort connectors. Using two of the DVI/HDMI outputs as well as the two DisplayPorts enables this card to support up to four monitors in Eyefinity (SLS) mode.

In the HD 6850 Vapor-X Edition the third generation UVD (Unified Video Decoder) supports MVC (Multi-view Video Coding) for the smooth decoding of Blu-Ray 3D with reduced CPU load as well as other HD file formats. Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio are supported, and HDMI capability is HDMI 1.4a. This provides deep colour, enhanced high resolution output for Digital Theatre applications and 3D stereoscopic support as well as 7.1 high bit-rate audio.

The multiple stream processors of the HD 6800 series can be used to accelerate other applications such as video transcoding. The latest generation of web browsers can be GPU accelerated, and this is also supported for enhanced productivity in Microsoft Office 2010.

Second Generation DX11 support

The SAPPHIRE HD 6800 series features the second generation of graphics technology from AMD designed to support all the features of Microsoft DirectX 11 and DirectCompute 11. This family of GPU’s is built in AMD’s 40nm process to deliver high performance with low power consumption.

Advanced hardware features include an enhanced Tessellation unit, dedicated HDR Texture compression, multi-threaded communication with system CPU cores, embedded support for many of the DirectCompute 11 instructions, 3D stereoscopic support, HDMI 1.4a and DisplayPort 1.2.

The SAPPHIRE HD 6800 series is supported by AMD's DirectX 11 WHQL certified graphics driver which delivers support for all of the key DirectX 11 features required for enhanced gaming experiences as well as GPU acceleration of supported applications.

About Vapor-X

SAPPHIRE Technology was the first company to implement cooling for PC graphics cards based on Vapor Chamber Technology and has now implemented it in several successful product series. SAPPHIRE’s Vapor-X cooler technology was first introduced in 2007 with its HD 3870 ATOMIC Edition graphics card and then rolled out to the global market with the successful HD 3870 and HD 4870 TOXIC Editions and the Vapor-X series.

More recently Vapor-X cooling has been used on several highly successful HD 5000 and 6000 series TOXIC Edition and Vapor-X models for the global market.

For more information please visitwww.sapphiretech.com