Sapphire Announces Two New HD 4890 Graphics Cards

Coming to meet a growing demand for higher-performance graphics solutions, Sapphire Technology has announced today the expansion of its latest Radeon graphics cards, with the introduction of the new HD 4980 Toxic Edition and the HD 4890 Vapor-X. Both cards integrate AMD's latest HD 4890 graphics processing unit and take advantage of Sapphire's Vapor-X cooling solution, designed to effectively remove the heat that builds up on the GPU. There are some significant differences between the two models, as one is targeted at the high-performance market, while the other is designed to provide users with a wide range of connectivity options.

The launch of Sapphire's latest Radeon HD 4890-based graphics cards follows the introduction of an earlier version of the same GPU, the HD 4890 ATOMIC Edition, which was designed to deliver a GPU core speed of 1GHz. The new models build on the performances of the ATOMIC edition, but provide different specifications.

According to Sapphire, the HD 4980 Toxic Edition has been built on ATOMIC edition, but has been designed with a slightly lower GPU speed. The card's graphics processing unit has been set to 960MHz and has been paired with 1GB of GDDR5 memory rated at 1050MHz. It also boasts two dual-link DVI connectors and a TV-out. The card has been designed for performance, which is why it features Sapphire's Vapor-X heatpipe cooling technology, also featured on the ATOMIC Edition model.

The other card, dubbed Sapphire HD 4890 Vapor-X, features the manufacturer's original design and also makes use of the Vapor-X cooling solution. It features 1GB of GDDR5 memory and its clocks have been set at 870MHz and 1050MHz. Unlike the Toxic Edition, this model has been fitted with four connectivity ports, including Display Port, HDMI, VGA and dual-link DVI.