SAPPHIRE launches Vapor-X HD 5870 and HD 5750

Top graphics processors get world leading cooler technology

Following  the  storming  introduction  of  the  SAPPHIRE  HD  5000  series,  the company has now introduced two new models with its world-leading Vapor-X cooler technology* delivering even greater performance, whilst working at lower operating temperatures and significantly more quietly.

The SAPPHIRE HD 5870 Vapor-X is based on the latest graphics architecture from the ATI division of AMD,  the  second  generation  of  GPU  to  be  built  in  its  40nm  process. It  supports the  advanced graphical  features  of  DirectX  11,  and  delivers spectacular video clarity, speed and visual effects, including over multiple monitors with the new ATI Eyefinity mode.

Sporting a new 150GB/s memory  interface supporting  fifth  generation GDDR5 memory  and  a  new architecture with  a  total  of  1600  stream  processors and 80 texture units the  SAPPHIRE HD  5870 Vapor-X has  twice  the computing power of  the previous generation. With enhanced clock speeds of 870MHz core and 1250MHz (5GHz effective)  the SAPPHIRE HD 5870 Vapor-X model  is  the  fastest card in its class, and SAPPHIRE’s World leading Vapor-X technology not only allows the card to run as much as 15 degrees C cooler** and 10dB quieter** than the standard model, it provides additional headroom for performance tuning (overclocking).

The  new SAPPHIRE HD 5870  Vapor-X  is lightning fast with existing DirectX10.1, DirectX  10  and DirectX 9.0 games and applications, and will support stunning new levels of detail, transparency and lighting effects in new releases of software using DirectX 11. All of this comes with the modest active power consumption of less that 190W – and using Dynamic Power Management the card has a new super low-power idle mode at 27W.

At  the  same  time,  for  the more budget  conscious, SAPPHIRE introduces the SAPPHIRE HD 5750 Vapor-X, with the configuration of 720 stream processors and 1GB of GDDR5 memory offering users access  to  the  same new generation technology, and  full DirectX 11  support at a  lower price point. Again the Vapor-X cooler runs cooler and more quietly than other solutions, increasing reliability and allowing enthusiast users significantly greater headroom for performance tuning.

Both  cards  incorporate the latest features  in  order  to  support Microsoft  DirectX  11,  including DirectCompute  11  instructions,  hardware  Tessellation  and multi-threaded  communications with  the system CPU. These combine to provide new capabilities such as the interaction between transparent objects, new  lighting and accelerated post processing effects as well as  supporting ATI Stream  for accelerating applications such as video transcoding.

Like the previous generation, the SAPPHIRE HD 5000 series has an 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.  In  the SAPPHIRE HD  5000 series the UVD has been enhanced to be able simultaneously to decode two 1080p HD video streams and to be able to display HD video in high quality with Windows Aero mode enabled. HDMI capability  has also been upgraded to  HDMI  1.3a  with  Dolby  TrueHD  and  DTS-HD Master  Audio support.

In  addition  to  spectacular  image clarity,  speed  and  visual  effects,  the  SAPPHIRE HD  5000  series supports a new multi-monitor mode known as Eyefinity. This allows a single GPU to display a choice of images over an array of several monitors. Each card supports up to three monitors, with an overall resolution of up to 7680 x 1600. This opens up exciting possibilities not just for multi-screen gaming, but also for information systems, multimedia systems and promotional displays.

The SAPPHIRE HD 5000 series is supported by AMD's DirectX 11 WHQL certified graphics driver for Windows 7 and Vista 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.

The SAPPHIRE HD 5870 and HD 5750 Vapor-X models are shipping from 3rd November. Full  retail editions will include a coupon for Dirt2 – the PC version of this exciting driving game which has full DirectX 11 support.

 *About Vapor-X
Note** Internal SAPPHIRE data

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