Sapphire Technology, one of the world's leading vendors of desktop graphics cards, has announced today the introduction of its new line of Radeon HD 5000-series, which now incorporate the proprietary Vapor-X cooling technology. The new cards have been designed for computer enthusiasts looking for an alternative to reference boards, which adopt the traditional cooling solutions and will usually run hotter and at increased noise levels. Moreover, the series offers a choice for either a Radeon HD 5870 or a Radeon HD 5750 card, depending on the user's requirements.

According to the graphics card maker, the new Vapor-X-based Radeon HD 5870 comes with enhanced clock speeds of 870MHz for the core and 1250MHz for the memory (5GHz effective), making it one of the fastest cards in its class. In addition, with the help of the aforementioned Vapor-X technology, users can further increase the clock speeds of their graphics cards, while also taking advantage of a cooler, quieter graphics card. As per Sapphire, the card runs at as much as 15 degrees C cooler and 10dB quieter than the reference model.

Sapphire's updated line of Vapor-X-equipped Radeon graphics cards also includes a new HD 5750, a card that has been designed for the budget-conscious users. It is built with 720 Stream processors that have been coupled with 1GB of GDDR5 memory, and offers full support for DirectX 11 applications. With the help of the Vapor-X technology, the card runs at cooler temperatures and is quieter than standard models, making it a valid choice for users looking to built themselves a performance-capable desktop PC.

Optimized for Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system, these cards should start shipping on November 3rd, according to the company, although pricing details are yet to be announced. However, Sapphire revealed that retail editions would include a coupon for Dirt2 – the PC version, enabling users to take full advantage of the DirectX 11 capabilities of said cards.