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Sapphire X800 Series Roundup
[Abstract]
Sapphire's Radeon SistersIt is not too often that we get a whole posse of hot aliens of the female persuasion dropping in on our labs. Well, we don't actually remember any or at least we don't ...
[Content] PCDigitalMobileGame
The Hot One
Now, we're calling the Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO 256MB Fireblade 'hot' not because of its operating temperatures, but because of its huge cooler and its potential. Incidentally, its two slot cooler is the same as ATI's reference cooler found on the X850 XT Platinum Edition and helped to make the Fireblade the best overclocker among Sapphire's Radeon X800 GTO cards. Now that's hot in our books.
A typical ATI two-slot cooler provides the Fireblade with more than sufficient cooling power. |
The back of the Fireblade edition Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO 256MB. |
Obviously, from the choice of cooler used, performance comes first among the considerations for the Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO 256MB Fireblade. It may not be the most original or quietest cooler design around but contrary to its appearance, it was fairly silent. It also handled the overclocked speeds that we threw at it with ease and operating temperatures were kept reasonably low. These are very compelling reasons for anyone to get the Fireblade edition even though the cooler takes up an extra expansion slot. Hence, if you're uncomfortable with overclocking, then you will be stuck with the default clock speeds of 400MHz for the core and 980MHz DDR for the memory, making the 'lost' expansion slot more of a liability. In that case, you would be better off getting the normal Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO 256MB, which should cost quite a bit less too.
Another view of the cooler. |
If you're still unaware, the Fireblade takes up two slots instead of the usual one, due to the cooler's size. |
As for the bundle, the contents are similar to the other Sapphire Radeon X800 GTO cards. The only difference is that for the Sapphire Select DVD, you get to unlock two full versions of the games included instead of just one. Here's the complete package for your reference:
DVI-to-VGA adaptor
9-pin mini-DIN to Composite converter
9-pin mini-DIN to Component converter
Composite extension cable
S-Video extension cable
User Manual
Driver CD
Sapphire Select DVD (Choose two of the following games: Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30, Richard Burns Rally, Tony Hawk's Underground 2)
TriXX Overclocking Utility
CyberLink Power DVD 6.0
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