Benchmarks

We know from our previousXpress 200 benchmarks roughly how the board will perform. We will be publishing benchmarks from this board in an upcoming chipset roundup.

Accessories

Sapphire includes the manual, CDs, SATA cable, coaxial cable, external USB prot cable, and IDE and floppy cable. This is an ok accessory bundle, but we have seen a lot better.

Pricing and Availability

We can not yet find the A9RX480 for sale in the US. It is tough to gauge what the exact cost will end up being. One thing is for certain. In the Xpress 200 non CrossFire motherboard market they pretty much will have the high end to themselves.

Overclocking and Stability

It is clear that Sapphire is serious about overclocking, and it shows with an impressive amount of BIOS options. Couple that with attention to component cooling on the motherboard. Unfortunately we do not have a good Windows overclocking utility like ClockGen for the Xpress 200.

During testing we had no problems with stability during operation so it appears the chipset and motherboard are stable.

Issues and Suggestions

Again support for ClockGen, or some sort of Windows overclocking utility would be excellent. Also we are itching for some SATA 2 support which could be found using ULi's Southbridge solution instead of ATI's SB450. We really would like to see these boards for sale somewhere as well. It has been some time since announcement, and still none are to be found. Also the accessory list could be stepped up, and the manual could use some fleshing out.

The Good Stuff

Overclocking options in the BIOS are plentiful, and cooling on the board is definitely paid attention to. Having Firewire and 8 channel audio along with Gigabit is good. The look of the board is certainly unique as well with its white PCB and red components. It certainly is good to see someone taking the Xpress 200 chipset and making an attempt at an enthusiast board.

Conclusion

Sapphire has a good first shot at an enthusiast board with the Xpress 200 based Pure Innovation PI-A9RX480. We would hope to see some work on the manual, and some Windows overclocking support down the road. Also without a spot to buy the board currently we are somewhat disappointed. We are happy to see their design work, and the attention to overclocking. If you are looking for some ATI chipset action to pair your favorite Socket 939 CPU with, and aren't interested in CrossFire then the Sapphire A9RX480 is a worthy board. We hope to see more boards coming from Sapphire, and are particularly interested in how their CrossFire board turns out.

Score: 94

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