The card
We took a look at the
Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 512MB card, here, and
found that the Vapor-X cooling worked pretty well, keeping the GPU
well below reference-heatsink temperatures. Sapphire's global marketing
director, Bill Donnelly, further talked about the Vapor-X family on HEXUS.tv.
Looking back at the HD 4850 Vapor-X, the same heatsink is used to keep the HD 4870 GPU cool. However, this time, there's an extra heatsink, to the right, that covers the also-hot-running voltage components. The overall look is pretty cool, subjectively speaking, and the mainly-black cooler contrasts well with the dark-blue PCB.
Take a look at the back and rear-mounted heatsink is a little more substantial than it looks. Knowing that the card is imbued with 2GB of GDDR5 memory, the heatsink covers the 1GB memory chips on the rear. Much like the core speed, set at 750MHz, the memory also runs at a HD 4870 default of 3,600MHz. There are two other Radeon cards with 2GB frame-buffers, but the HD 4850 X2 and HD 4870 X2 are both dual-GPU affairs, where the memory is split over each core. This card, then, is the first consumer Radeon with a dedicated 2GB buffer for a single GPU.
A couple of side-on shots show the Vapor-X in all its glory. Unlike the reference heatsink, it's not quite as enclosed, meaning that hot air, pulled from the GPU, can escape into the chassis.
Quiet when idling and raising just a hum when under the cosh, the heatsink and 80mm fan do a good job at keeping noise in check. Temperatures, too, are good, idling at 38°C and hitting 69°C under load - some 20°C better than generic cards.
Two six-pin PCIe connectors are the norm for high-end offerings, and users should have a quality 500W+ PSU if running the card. Add another 200W if attaching a second for CrossFireX.
Note how the card 'stands' up a little. Don't worry, the rear-mounted heatsink won't impinge upon the next slot in a motherboard.
Output options include dual-link DVI, VGA, and HDMI - just like the HD 4850 Vapor-X.
The bundle is the same as the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 512MB Vapor-X's, save for the addition of a second power cable.
The package is backed up by Sapphire's standard two-year warranty. Claims in the first year are handled by the supplier from whom the card was purchased from. Claims after this period are handled by a U.K.-based service centre.
Summary
Costing around £220 at etail, the Vapor-X commands a ~£75 price premium over a reference 512MB card and around £50 above a 1GB's - with all cards shipping at the same frequencies of 750MHz core and 3,600MHz. The salient advantages here are the 2GB frame-buffer and better-than-reference cooling.
