Date: February 25th, 2009
Article by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Sapphire
 <--CLICK FOR PRICES ON A SAPPHIRE VIDEOCARD IN AMERICA
 <--CLICK FOR PRICES ON A SAPPHIRE VIDEOCARD IN CANADA
PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS & FEATURES
- I/O Output: Dual DL-DVI-I x 4 +HDTV
- Core Clock: 625 MHz & Stream Processors: 2 x 800
- Memory Clock: 993 MHz, 1986 Mbps
- PCI Express 2.0 x16 bus interface
- 2x 1024MB or 2x 512MB /2x256bit GDDR3 memory interface
- Dual Slot Dual Fan Active Cooler with Fan Speed Control
- HDMI compliant via dongle
- 7.1 Audio Channel Support
- Microsoft® DirectX® 10.1 support
- Shader Model 4.1 support
PRODUCT COMPOSITION
So what do you exactly get for US$300 when you purchase this dual core videocard? This is a card that Sapphire is aggressively pursuing some new customers so hopefully no corners are cut.
Sapphire supplied a rather complete software package complete with DVD creation, playing and burning software along with Sapphire's installation and driver CD. Also included is a user's manual, a Ruby ROM disc and a full version copy of 3DMARK Vantage for testing. Only missing is a game to test the card out with. I personally would do without all the DVD, benchmarking and other software and supply a good game to go with it. does anyone really use the software included with these packages? Would you prefer a game? I know I would.
The hardware kit is equally well equipped and includes an component HD dongle, an HDMI converter adapter, an S-video adapter, a digital to analog monitor adapter, a power cable and a cross-fire bridge. As I said, is is complete, but videocard manufacturers need to throw in TWO digital to analog adapters instead of one seeing a lot of enthusiasts might be using two analog monitor for a dual display setup.
And last out of the box is the videocard itself. First thing I have to say is that this card is A MONSTER! If you have any space problem in your case, don't even bother. This card is made for standard mid to full towers with full motherboards. In fact, this card stretches one inch past the edge of the motherboard so keep that in mind. Everything to do with this card is big, bulky and impressive. But more on that in the next section.
|
