Sapphire Introduces Toxic Radeon X800

Introduction

Sapphire wants to address gamers and extreme overclockers with its new and gaudy Radeon Toxic X800 family. The first card to be available is the Toxic X800 Pro Vivo 256 MB, based on the 12-pipe version of ATI's new R420 graphics processor.

Particularly interesting on this card is its special cooling solution, assembled by Arctic Cooling and similar to HIS' IceQII cooler. What makes the Sapphire card look more toxic than the HIS model are the loud colors of the PCB and cooler. The blue PCB and the orange cooler with the word "Toxic" in huge letters on top give this card a very extravagant look. The cooler offers good cooling at low sound levels.

Special Sapphire features include the automatic overclocking utility APE (Automated Performance Enhancer), which drivers the memory of the card from 450 MHz to up to 550 MHz. Sapphire guarantees a max. clock rate of 520 MHz. The graphics processor needs to be overclocked manually with the clocking tool "Redline". The card also features temperature monitoring hardware connects (2-pin male connector), called TMR, which allow for the connection of an external temperature measuring display (not included in the package). The game bundle contains the titles Splinter Cell - Pandora Tomorrow and Prince of Persia.

Overview of the Sapphire Radeon Toxic X800 Pro Vivo 256 MB:

• A.P.E. Extends memory operating frequency to pre-tested levels that far surpass the competition
• TMR -Temperature Monitoring Ready Technology allows for output to display (not included) of TOXIC cards temperatures
• Lethal Cooling provides the definitive cooling solution for the overclocker while remaining quiet
• 256 MB of 'Xtreme performance GDDR3 memory accelerates the latest cutting edge 3D applications
• 256 bit quad-channel GDDR3 memory interface
• Twelve 'Xtreme parallel pixel pipelines
• Six programmable vertex shader pipelines
• Full support for DirectX 9.0 and the latest OpenGL functionality
• New SMARTSHADER HD technology allows for support for Microsoft DirectX 9.0 programmable vertex and pixel shaders in hardware as well as OpenGL via extensions.
• SMOOTHVISION HD technology provides enhanced image quality by removing jagged edges and bringing out fine texture detail, without compromising performance
• 3Dc High quality 4:1 Normal Map Compression delivers beautiful scenes without the performance hit.
• Unique VIDEOSHADER HD engine uses programmable pixel shaders to accelerate video processing and provide better-looking visuals
• HYPER Z HD is optimized for performance at high display resolutions, including widescreen HDTV resolutions.
• ViVo - Video capture and Video Output to big screen TV's