Here we review the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7900 XT. This graphics card is priced at $899, the same as the AMD 7900 XT reference, but is also available in the market for $849. The Pulse offers light factory overclocking, more attractive display output configurations, and quieter fan noise than the base model, all at an affordable price. Let’s take a closer look.
| Benefits • reference quieter than the model • Superior gaming performance at 1440p and 4K • Dual displayDual HDMI for use with ports To print • Simple and attractive design • 20 GB of GDDR6 memory • Better than competitor RTX 4070 Tinumber disadvantage |
Features, Specs, Design of “Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7900 XT”
The Sapphire Pulse was built using the same basic configuration as the reference GPU. More details can be found in our Radeon RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT review. In short, this graphics card is ideal for gaming at 1440p and 4K/60. 20 GB of GDDR6 VRAM, AMD Infinity Cache technology, AV1 encoding, DisplayPort 2.1 (Nvidia not included), Smart Access Memory, Radeon Super Resolution), FSR 2 and other Radeon features that improve game performance. And with the new RDNA 3 graphics architecture, Radeon is finally available for content creators as well.
The sapphire hasn’t changed much inside. The Pulse 7900 XT offers a slight overclock of 2075 MHz instead of 2025 MHz, but with only a slight increase in power consumption and no real change in performance (although the Pulse is still available with a pair of connectors from standard 8-pin power supply).
The most interesting technical change is the port configuration. While the reference model has two DisplayPort 2.1 connections, an HDMI 2.1a port and USB-C, the Sapphire Pulse 7900 XT offers an additional HDMI port instead of a USB-C port. This dual-port HDMI setup, which is rare these days, expands the options for monitor and VR headset users.
During this time, the exterior has been completely renovated. The custom cooling design of the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7900 XT incorporates several components and features that improve stability and thermals. This includes a metal backplate with thermal pads to help dissipate heat, three angular velocity fan blades (two ball bearings) which Sapphire claims generate 44% more downward air pressure and up to 19% more airflow than the previous generation on board), and intelligent fan control combined with highly precise rotational speed. With all of these components and features, the Pulse provides a pleasantly quiet gaming environment.
Sapphire has also reinforced the circuitry and internal components of the Pulse 7900 XT. It is equipped with a high-performance conductive polymer aluminum capacitor capable of 20-step power supply, a high-density copper-mixed PCB, and a fuse protection function that protects the GPU in the event of a power failure. ‘a component. Additionally, a bracket is provided to prevent the GPU from sagging inside the PC case. I think this support is absolutely necessary. The Sapphire Pulse’s 2.7-slot width seems reasonable compared to the huge 3- and 4-slot graphics cards common today, but it’s significantly thicker than AMD’s thin 2-slot Radeon RX 7900 XT benchmark. But thanks to its heavier weight and ample cooling, the Pulse is noticeably quieter than a reference graphics card.
What the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7900 XT doesn’t have are extra features. Users looking for advanced features like RGB, GPU fan headers, and dual-BIOS switches should look elsewhere. While these features are certainly nice, they cost a considerable extra. The Pulse line focuses on superior, solid, lean performance beyond what you can get from entry-level GPUs. If you want extra features, I highly recommend considering Sapphire’s higher-end Nitro+ line instead of the Pulse. This generation is particularly impressive. Now let’s take a closer look at performance.
Introduction to the test system
The graphics card test was performed on an AMD Ryzen 5900X PC used exclusively for GPU benchmarking. Since most of the latest gaming PCs released in the last four years support performance improvements either internally or through motherboard firmware updates, you can use them with PCIe resizable BARs (aka “Smart Access Memory on Ryzen systems”). Also, per Nvidia’s recommendation, the “Hardware Accelerated GPU Schedule” option was enabled in Windows to fully utilize the performance of the RTX 40 series. Most of the hardware was provided by the manufacturer, but I purchased the storage myself.
• AMD Ryzen 5900X, default settings
• AMD Wraith Max cooler
• MSI Godlike X570 Motherboard
• 32 GB of G.Skill Trident Z Neo DDR4 3800 memory, XMP compatible
• Corsair HX1500i PSU (and optional $20 12VHPWR 600 cable for Nvidia GPUs)
• 2 SK Hynix Gold S31 1TB SSDs
We typically test a variety of games on different engines, genres, sponsors (Nvidia, AMD, Intel) and graphics APIs (DirectX 9, 11, DX12, Vulkan) to determine performance. However, since the performance of the 7900 XT is already well known and the Sapphire Pulse does not come with strong overclocking, we only tested a few games on different APIs to show the performance difference between the Pulse and the card reference.
In conclusion, the difference in performance is negligible. If you’re interested in more detailed benchmarks and AMD RDNA 3 analysis, check out our Radeon RX 7900 XTX and 7900 XT review.
Each game was tested using in-game benchmarks and validated with Nvidia’s FrameView tool. Unless otherwise stated, premium graphics settings, VSync, frame rate limits, real-time ray tracing or DLSS effects, FreeSync/G-Sync, etc. have been tested with disabled. The same goes for vendor-specific technologies such as FidelityFX or Nvidia Reflex tools. I also enabled time-based anti-aliasing (TAA) where possible.
After each benchmark was run at least three times, the average results for each test were presented. Outside of esports, we’ve limited our references to 4K and 1440p resolutions, which are best suited for GPUs.
Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7900 XT Gaming Performance
Power and Thermal Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7900 XT
This is where the difference between the AMD reference design and the Sapphire Pulse becomes apparent. That’s because AMD designed the reference Radeon RX 7900 XT to fit the small two slots, while Sapphire designed the Pulse to increase sonic performance.
The power consumption test method is as follows. After completing all other benchmarks to warm up the GPU, I ran the “F1 22” benchmark at 4K for about 20 minutes. And I checked the peak numbers from Watts Up Pro, which measures the power consumption of the entire test system.
This is not a worst-case test. In order to measure the performance when the graphics card is heavily loaded, the game that mainly uses the GPU is run at a resolution that mainly uses the GPU. Please note that if you are playing a game that also requires a lot of CPU load, the overall system power consumption may increase. The performance of the Sapphire Pulse is almost identical to that of the reference 7900 XT, so it consumes almost the same amount of power. However, high-end GPUs have relatively high power consumption. High performance requires power.
The thermal test was performed by leaving the GPU-Z open during the “F1 22” power consumption measurement test and checking the maximum temperature at the end. The Sapphire Pulse ran hotter than the reference 7900 XT, but the temperature was acceptable. The higher temperature is due to the added pulse heatsink and slow spinning angular velocity fan running much quieter than the reference board.
Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7900 XT, should you buy it?
When AMD introduced the new RNDA 3-based Radeon 7000 series, the $899 Radeon RX 7900 XT didn’t offer compelling value for money to recommend. I’d rather spend the extra $100 and buy the high-end Radeon RX 7900 XTX.
Now that the discount is in effect, the attractiveness to purchase the Radeon RX 7900 XT has increased. The Sapphire Pulse can be had for as little as $849, and other models are available for even lower prices. When comparing the 7900 XT and the custom GeForce RTX 4070 Ti model, the Radeon card with faster 1440p/4K performance and ample 20GB memory wins each time. Nvidia has the edge when it comes to ray tracing and content creation, but for pure gaming purposes the Radeon RX 7900 XT offers much better value for money.
If you want a solid Radeon RX 7900 XT product without spending a lot of money, I highly recommend the Sapphire Pulse. The Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7900 XT delivers a fast, pixel-rich gaming experience with significantly less noise than the benchmark 7900 XT. It is not easy to get a product like this at the same price or cheaper than the reference model. Sure, the Sapphire Pulse is relatively thick to fit in a PC case and doesn’t have extra features like RGB or dual-BIOS switches, but instead it’s powerful, pleasantly quiet and comes with a one-touch configuration. dual HDMI port that you won’t have. not found on other graphics cards.
However, since the latest graphics cards are so expensive, you can enjoy 1440p and 4K/60 gaming with a cheaper previous generation GPU, such as the Radeon RX 6800 XT, which can be had for around $579 these days. . It’s certainly slower than AMD’s latest/best offering, but worth exploring other options if you can. The Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 7900 XT is an attractive value compared to the competition, but in today’s GPU market, buying a previous generation GPU may be your best bet.
editor@itworld.co.kr
