Sapphire releases Crossfire XPRESS 3200 "Pure" mainboard

[Darksaber]

Building on the success of its new generation motherboards, Sapphire Technology has just announced two new models in its Pure CrossFire series which are the first products to offer true 16x performance on both PCI-Express slots in a dual GPU system together with a host of advanced features delivering top performance and quality to enthusiasts and value to system builders.


Extreme Overclocking!
Exclusive to Sapphire, the PURE CrossFire PC-A9RD580 motherboard looks stunning with its unique design in white and its extreme overclocking and expansion features make it the most desirable board in its class. Based on the latest CrossFire Xpress 3200 chipset and SB450 Southbridge it combines support for the powerful and highly acclaimed AMD Athlon64TM, FX and dual core processors with the most complete set of performance tuning features available today.

For the first time, both of the dual PCI-Express graphics slots on this mainboard provide full 16-lane performance ensuring the highest possible performance with dual graphics cards and CrossFire modes. Supporting 2000MT/s HyperTransport interface and up to 4GB of Dual Channel DDR memory, BIOS options also allow CPU, bus and memory speeds to be adjusted over a wide range - delivering the extreme overclocking facilities demanded by enthusiasts.

An additional PCI-Express x1 plus one standard PCI slots meet the need for expansion, and a full range of onboard communications options include Marvell Gigabit LAN and Firewire as well as eight USB 2.0 ports and on-board High Definition Azalia 7.1 8-channel sound. Peak hard drive performance is assured with four SATA-I RAID and four SATA-II RAID connections as well as IDE ATA133 support.

PURE CrossFire Advantage
Based on the same exciting architecture, the new Sapphire PURE CrossFire Advantage PC-A9RD580ADV board offers system integrators the most cost effective solution to a high performance dual graphics system with any AMD Athlon64 series processor. Full Dual 16-lane PCI-Express is again supported, together with two PCI-Express x1 ports and two PCI slots. On board features include both Gbit and 10/100 LAN, 4x SATA-I plus 2x SATA-II and two ATA133 ports, eight USB 2.0 and one parallel port. With it's on board 8-channel sound and SPDIF out this board provides the most integrated and thus cost effective solution for an AMD based dual graphics system.

Software Bundle
In addition to a WHQL Driver CD, Sapphire mainboards are now shipping with a comprehensive software bundle, including Trend Micro Internet Security 2004, StompSoft PC BackUp, Stompsoft Privacy Protector and Stompsoft Trial Software (Recover LostData, Spyware X-terminator) as well as a Sapphire Select DVD, the exciting new way to deliver a choice of games to the end user. The DVD contains a selection of top applications and games from several leading software houses. The end customer can play each of the games for a one hour trial before choosing which titles to keep and using the activation codes for those titles.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Darksaber]

well just wanted to mention..."Pure"...true...one old skool PCI slot *G*...well I guess that is a very nice looking mainboard...

cheers
DS

 

[Bull Dog]

Looks nice but becuase of the fact that the ONLY PCI slot is directly below the 2nd PCI-E x16 shot (blocked with a dual slot cooler) I'll never buy it.

 

[Solaris17]

pretty nifty that they figured out how to get it so both cards run at x16 though benches are going to shoot through the roof.

 

[Thermopylae_480]

You could never even get a sound card in there. Even if you went with a card that was a single slot cooler it would be to close for comfort.

 

[Polaris573]

I would consider buying one if it had two or three PCI slots. What a shame.

 

[Dippyskoodlez]

oooohh pretty...

I want one.

 

[Dynamic]

Only one PCI slot and worse yet in a bad location. Anyone here not using on-board sound and has a sound blaster card is not going to be happy with two x1800/x1900 in CF on that board....

 

[oldschool]

Is Sapphire completely clueless or what?

What were they thinking - ONE PCI slot ?

This mobo wouldn't even make a good paperweight. Based on the problems Sapphire, Asus, DFI and most other mobo makers have had with the RD480 chipset boards and their inability to fix the long lists of problems with those boards, why would they expect anyone to buy an RD580 chipset Mobo?

Maybe this is just a doctored photoshop picture? Even Sapphire can't be so dumb as to make a Crossfire board with only one PCI slot - can they?

FWIW, benches won't change much if at all with X16 because none of the graphics cards come close to saturating the PCIe X8 slots. In fact if you compare the few late model ATI PCIe and AGP cards, you'll find AGP X8 isn't max'ed out either. PCIe was a sales job for future use. AGP X8 still has the ability to run a current high end Vid card as fast as it will run without limitation. You'll note that the SLI X16 boards don't run any faster than the X8 SLI boards either. SLI32 and Crossfire32 are just a sales job. That of course has not stopped fools from paying $300 for an Asus SLI32 mobo only to find it's no faster than any other SLI16 mobo costing a $100 less.

 

[Solaris17]

ouch sry

 

[oldschool]

In a real ironic twist we find that Asus has been chosen...

...to represent ATI's launch of the RD580 chipset mobos.

From HardOCP.com :

" Editor’s note: This review serves as a bit more than just simple motherboard review, it debuts ATI’s new motherboard chipset to the public. ATI has struggled with their motherboard chipsets for the past year and they are working hard attach a fresh image to their new “CrossFire Xpress 3200” chipset, previously codenamed “RD580.” Instead of delivering their usual reference engineering sample, ATI has selected ASUS to be the company that pushes the CrossFire Xpress 3200 into the enthusiast spotlight. This will be a “hard launch,” a term that you are likely as fond of as we are, that signifies immediate retail availability. To put it succinctly, the ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe motherboard sporting its ATI CrossFire Xpress 3200 chipset look to be the real deal. No smoke, no mirrors, just a damn good motherboard that does what it is supposed to do, plus a whole lot more. "

Well not really, but the hype will sell a lot of mobos I'm sure.


From VR-Zone's review of the Asus A8R32:

"**A point to take note however, the HTT overclocking on this board via the BIOS is a little buggy. You cannot hit on the high HTT in excess of 220MHz on first boot up. You need to first boot up at below 220MHz HTT, set it to 220MHz HTT and then to 230MHz HTT, and so on. Once you turn off the system, booting up at your last saved high HTT configuration will result in no boot and a repower up produces a screen indicating that your overclock has failed. You will need to redo the steps over again. This is very irritating. Hopefully, ASUS can get this issue ironed out in future BIOSes. I suspect it has to do with the board booting up at 5x HTT multiplier at every first power up regardless of the Hyper Transport Frequency set."

Already BIOS and boot issues with the A8R32. Evidently Asus didn't learn from the A8R-MVP.


From Anandtech's fanboy tales:

"With today's launch of the new ATI Dual x16 PCIe chipset you will be able to buy motherboards on launch day from at least one manufacturer. The Asus A8R32-MVP Deluxe is expected to be widely available for sale on March 1, and it represents an upgrade of the current A8R-MVP with improved performance and Deluxe features. Asus also continues their use of passive cooling on the A8R32-MVP, with no active cooling fans. "

Well no I don't believe the Asus A8R32 is "readily available" on March 1st in the U.S.


From what I read we do know:

1. Sapphire is clueless with only ONE PCI slot on the RD580 Crossfire

2. There are NO Asus A8R32 Mobos for sale in the U.S. that I have been able to find online

3. BIOS and boot issues have already been confirmed on the Asus A8R32 mobo

4. I haven't found any Sapphire RD580 or DFI RD580 mobos for sale in the U.S.

5. The RD580 based mobos show zero performance gains over the ill fated RD480 mobos based on reviews at numerous websites.


Ya really gotta wonder what is going on between ATI and Sapphire when ATI designates Asus to lead the charge of the not-ready-for-prime-time RD580 mobos??? What a strange world we live in! When will consumers be able to actually purchase a properly functioning ATI chipset mobo?

 

[Darksaber]

look at the power connectors...8 pin for CPU, and 2x 12V? for what? both graphic cards?...darn, this board is really pure...graphics only *G*

 

[oldschool]

Based on what I see and read - Clueless sums up the Sapphire folks. What a pity as they should be able to clone ATI's reference designs and deliver stellar mobos for everyone but they aren't. I like Sapphire's graphics cards which are just ATI reference designs, but Sapphire sure has a lot to learn about the mobo market.

 

[TooFast]

well i got a sound and scsi card so no go for me

 

[oldschool]

That is PRECISELY the point!

Dumber than a rock to make a mobo with only one or two PCI slots.