Kicking ass
With the Radeon HD3870 X2 reclaiming the performance crown for AMD/ATI, HEXUS.channel was able to email a few questions to Neil Spicer, UK and Nordic sales manager for Sapphire Technology.
HEXUS.channel: What’s demand like for the 3870 X2?
Neil Spicer: Fantastic! To claim the ‘King of the Hill’ crown is awesome and simply put, we just can’t produce enough! With the Industry’s first 55nm, DX10.1 and SM4.1 enthusiast graphics card, it has automatically generated huge interest among the hardcore gaming community.
All of the reviews have been positive and HEXUS.net said, outright, that it was ‘top dog’ for performance. AMD have not had that for some time – so we are really pleased.
HC: How important for overall graphics card sales do you think it is that ATI has a competitive card at the high end?
NS: The most powerful part of the story is that the halo
effect has kicked back in – and we are seeing a solid pick up from sales across
the range.
As well as the features I mentioned above, you then add PowerPlay technology, Cooler n’ Quieter designs, high-resolution HD Gaming, immersive big screen gaming with integrated HDMI and the soon to be announced multi GPU support, it’s just so exciting.
Sapphire has also pushed out new products in the Atomic and Toxic ranges that have advanced Vapor-X cooling. Enthusiasts love this stuff.
HC: Can you give me a breakdown of the price points at which most of your business is done?
NS: Northern Europe has one of the highest sell-out pricing in the world. Being the overall performance leader is important – and we are glad to have it with the 3870 X2. However, one of the most important SKUs for the channel is the around the £100 price point because this delivers a strong balance of volume and profit.
That’s where the 3850 and 3870 products have just kicked ass. Honestly, this product is like selling the Wii; every time we think we ship enough, we sell-out. It’s been a while since ATI has played in this segment and we’re winning significant share – exciting times!
For the mass market you need a low cost product that has all of the features that buyers are looking for. Now, when you look at 3450 available for £29 and with DX10.1, PCIe 2.0, Enhanced UVD, Hybrid GFX, Integrated HDMI and future proofed for Integrated DisplayPort… Why wouldn’t you be excited to sell the new Sapphire range.
HC: What do you think the future holds for the discrete graphics card market?
That’s a great question. Every time we hear about the demise of the ‘Discrete’ market, we hear about record shipments. I don’t believe the market is declining. I believe that the market is relatively flat but the mix is growing i.e. ASPs are increasing. Look, if someone two years ago told me we would sell so many 3850 and 3870’s I would have laughed, now it’s a reality.
The great news for me is that we are finding that when Sapphire is short-listed by customers, it is against a product from NVIDIA rather than one from another AMD partner. AMD’s latest products are compelling both from a price and performance point of view so we expect to see a strong sales drive all through 2008 and 2009.
HC: Do you have anything else you would like to share with the channel?
NS: Mainboards will be bigger for Sapphire in 2008 and we have partnered with acknowledged enthusiast leader DFI in this market. HEXUS readers will be able to see some great new products in the near future. We will also continue to drive demand for our channel through ‘special edition’ products like the Atomic 3870 card that came in a special metal case with an upgraded software bundle.
We also have a wealth of new products coming through with advanced cooling – and that will also be of genuine interest to the market. Sapphire values the channel highly and we will be working throughout the year to generate demand and interest for our partners in the channel.
