Gaming Examination I
The following benchmarks are obtained when running on an Intel Core i7-8700K augmented with 16GB of DDR4-3000 memory, a fast SSD, and graphics cards using the latest Adrenaline 18.8.2 drivers. Furthermore, we have also benchmarked the reference RX Vega 56 GPU to determine how much better, if at all, the Sapphire Pulse card is.
Futuremark Tests
Two observations here. Scores of over 10,000 marks and 5,000 marks for the Fire Strike and Time Spy, respectively, usually indicate good real-world gaming potential.
It's interesting to see that the custom-cooled RX Vega 56 Pulse card is comfortably faster than the reference model, even though it has a marginally faster peak speed. As we mentioned on the previous page, this is because the Sapphire card maintains it peak boost speed for longer.
Civilisation VI
There is a five-to-10-per cent jump when going from reference to custom RX Vega 56. That said, you don't need that card for smooth gameplay in the popular Civilization VI because the sub-£300 RX 580 Nitro+ is more than up to the task.
This is one case where upgrading to an RX Vega 56 is overkill. What's more, if paired with a quality FreeSync screen, the gamer ought to have a really decent experience.
