The Radeon RX Vega series launch has been particularly disappointing for gamers and PC enthusiasts because their otherwise interesting price-performance ratios at $499 for the RX Vega 64 and $399 for the RX Vega 56, were quickly stripped away by dwindling stock and sky-rocketing prices, with the RX Vega 64 even going above $1k in some places. We are not even sure if the miners are to blame or whether supplier-level pricing has been adjusted after the launch to a higher price point that makes AMD's promised pricing impossible to achieve.

It turns out that retailers might not be the ones making a quick buck at this madness. Leaked invoices show that distributors (entities that supply inventory to retailers) have inflated prices even at their level. A San Jose-based distributor, Ma Laboratories Inc., is quoting USD $675 per unit of a reference-design (not Limited Edition), Radeon RX Vega 64 SKU to a computer store. The $499 price AMD launched the RX Vega 64 at, is supposed to be the end-user price (minus government taxes). The retailer we're in touch with confirmed that they were offered no volume pricing discount due to low stock at the distributor itself. A distributor should ideally sell the product to a retailer at a much lesser price than $499, so the retailer can make their margin. The higher up the supply-chain, the more control AMD gets. The company is in a better position to rein in on distributors than retailers. If distributors are inflating prices with apparent impunity, it wouldn't surprise us if this goes even higher up.

SAPPHIRE Technology has announced the launch of the much-anticipated SAPPHIRE Radeon Vega 64 enthusiast graphics cards. The Vega architecture boasts significant improvements focused on maximizing the performance. Vega cards are designed for enthusiasts seeking top-of-the-chart framerates in games of today and tomorrow - in Ultra details and VR.

SAPPHIRE Technology is introducing three Vega-powered models:

• SAPPHIRE Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB HBM2 Liquid Cooled
• SAPPHIRE Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB HBM2
• SAPPHIRE Radeon RX Vega 64 8GB HBM2 Limited Edition

Ah mining. The revival of an old craze. Who doesn't want to make their room's temperature increase to insane levels over the summer in order to cash in on the mining wagon? Who doesn't want to pull their hardware by the ankles and wrists, stretching it in utilization so as to maintain the PoW (proof of Work) cryptographic security in cryptocurrencies? Apparently, a not insignificant number of users and would-be miners does want that. That has, in turn, placed a whole lot of pressure on the graphics card market from both AMD and NVIDIA, with prices climbing and skyrocketing for graphics cards in the $200-$400 price ranges, as you know. It remains to be seen whether the flow of new miners decreases somewhat now, considering the recent market correction (read: dip) in the cryptocurrency market value (down around 42% from the all-time high of 357€ [~$400] of June 12th.)

After ASUS, it would seem like it's Sapphire's time to try and sway miners from their consumer-oriented, gaming graphics cards, through the launch of five different graphics cards models especially geared for mining. These are currently available for pre-order on Overclockers UK, and there are five different products in total, one based of RX 560 silicon, and four different takes on the RX 470 silicon (no, that's not a typo; it really is the 400 series.)

At its Computex 2017 showcase, Sapphire showcased (ahem) an upcoming e-GFX enclosure. The unit delivers its display signal through a Thunderbolt 3 port, which is being hailed as "The USB-C that does it all", with up to 40 Gb/s connections, dual 4K @ 60Hz support, charging capabilities, and support for the USB and DisplayPort interfaces.

The unit makes use of what appears to be a SFF PSU (it isn't clear whether or not a PSU comes bundled with the chassis), and space for a dual-slot high performance graphics card. The side of the enclosure presents an airflow-enabling grill, so that your graphics card can pull in fresh air from the exterior. There's also what seems to be an Ethernet port and 2x USB 3.0 ports, which means this enclosure can be used as a hub, or as an extra charger for your other pieces of tech. Aesthetics-wise, this unit uses the tried and true black and white contrast, with a black design language on the front and back, and a smooth white contour on the top and sides of the enclosure. I enjoy the understated design here, with no extremely hard and "gaming" screaming angles, and the neutral color scheme and LED design doesn't look half bad. It remains to be seen whether that blue LED lighting is too strong so as to be distracting, but if it's not, it stands as a good complement to the overall design. Expect this unit to be released sooner rather than later, though no details on pricing or specifications were at hand.

Sapphire showed off a Radeon RX 550 graphics card with an off-spec DVI-I connector. This is significant, as it has analog (D-Sub) wiring, and an included DVI to D-Sub dongle lets you plug in ye olde analog displays. AMD stripped analog display support off its Radeon "Polaris" family, limiting them to modern digital standards such as DVI-D, HDMI 2.0, and DisplayPort 1.4. Sapphire got around this by deploying a custom DAC chip on the card, so you can have DVI-D (D-Sub via dongle), without needing an active adapter that's half the price of the card itself.

SAPPHIRE Technology is unveiling brand new products at Computex 2017. The SAPPHIRE NITRO Gear Series will provide SAPPHIRE users with more customization options than ever, with LED fans as well as new backplate & shroud sets. After the enthusiastic reception of the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 580 Limited Edition, SAPPHIRE will offer a Special Edition version with blue shroud and backplate, and high factory overclock as part of its regular offer. For ultrabook owners, SAPPHIRE is bringing new Thunderbolt 3 dongles with 2x DisplayPort or 2x HDMI outputs.

Accessories for NITRO-charged gamers
Demand for personalization in PC gaming hardware is increasing. To meet it, SAPPHIRE is introducing a brand-new NITRO Gear Series of accessories. To begin with, the company will offer extra LED fans (with dual-ball bearing) in 3 backlight colors - white, red and blue. SAPPHIRE users can easily swap their stock fans with the SAPPHIRE Quick Connect system. Packs with one 95 mm fan in selected colors will be available to buy. The fans are compatible with all SAPPHIRE NITRO+ and Pulse RX 580 / 570 models as well as NITRO/NITRO+ RX 480 / 470 models.

SAPPHIRE Technology is launching its new GPRO E-Series graphics cards series for professional and industrial usage. A comprehensive lineup of models, ranging from the best-performing to most compact and power-efficient units, will suit the varying needs of businesses. Increased computational through put and further power optimizations allow for more immersive visuals and sophisticated applications - from digital gaming and casinos to industrial automation, medical, aerospace, and defence.

Available starting in Q3 2017, the SAPPHIRE GPRO E-Series includes 4 models with different power levels and outputs. The E-Series lineup starts with the SAPPHIRE GPRO E9260, the fastest of the debuting cards, with 2.5 TFLOPS of computing power in single precision operations. SAPPHIRE has included 8 GB of GDDR5 memory and 4 DisplayPort 1.3 outputs. Thanks to the latest generation of Polaris GPU architecture, with updated display engine, the card can drive up to 2 screens in 5K resolution and 60 Hz refresh rate or up to 4 screens in 4K and 60 Hz. The applied thermal solution is active, with a single efficient, dual ball bearing fan. The GPRO E9260 model is dedicated to the most graphically-demanding and compute-heavy scenarios such us high-end digital gaming, advanced Real-time medical imaging as well as military.

Sapphire announced the Radeon RX 560 Pulse series graphics cards. Available in 2 GB and 4 GB variants; and in sub-variants of reference-clocked and factory-overclocked; the RX 560 Pulse combines a PCB that closely resembles AMD reference PCB for the RX 560; with a fan-heatsink cooler. The cooler features a simple aluminium monoblock heatsink with a copper core, and spirally-projecting, forked aluminium fins; ventilated by a 70 mm spinner. Both the reference and OC variants come with a baseline core clock of 1175 MHz, but while the reference-clocked variant boosts to 1275 MHz, the OC variant touches 1300 MHz. The memory ticks at 7.00 GHz (GDDR5-effective) on all four cards, producing a memory bandwidth of 96 GB/s. Pricing starts at $99 for the 2 GB variant, and $119 for the 4 GB variant.

BYKSKI, Known as one of the leader brands of the water blocks in Asia, released the A-SP58PLAT-X water block for Sapphire RX580 NITRO+ edition. The A-SP58PLAT-X full cover water block is based on pure copper of the metal part. With the nickel-plating technics, it allows the water block longer lifespan and excellent corrosion resistance with the coolant soaking. By the precision cutting of the copper base, the space between the fins of Micro-Flow system is only 0.5mm, which makes the water blocks more efficiency. High quality acrylic is used to cover the water blocks and let use could see the coolant flow of the water block.

SAPPHIRE Technology has bolstered the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Gaming Series lineup with the new SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 580 Limited Edition graphics card. With a cherry-picked Polaris GPU made in an enhanced FinFET 14 nm process, extra LED fans for swap and unique shroud, it's the best performing and the best-looking SAPPHIRE NITRO+ card to date. Along with the limited-quantity, ultra-overclocked model, SAPPHIRE also introduces new SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 580 and RX 570 cards.

Thanks to continuous streamlining of FinFET 14 nm production process, the latest Polaris GPUs that power SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 580 and RX 570 cards are even more energy-efficient. This allowed SAPPHIRE to crank up the clocks and reach up to 10% better performance compared to previous series. To add even more headroom for overclocking, SAPPHIRE is cherry-picking Polaris chips for the SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 580 Limited Edition.

The floodgates have opened on AMD's recently-launched RX 500 series, which features a more polished, revised, 3rd-gen 14 nm FinFet process. Graphics cards based on the new GPUs will, as such, feature higher clocks than their RX 400 series counterparts, even if the number of graphics processing resources remains relatively unchanged. PowerColor (with its Red Devil and Red Dragon RX 580 and RX 570 graphics cards), ASUS, Sapphire, Gigabyte, and MSI have all announced their take on the new GPUs, with distinct enterprise identity, cooling solutions and audio profiles - as well as VRM and power delivery subsystems - competing for your money.

TechPowerUp today released the latest version of TechPowerUp GPU-Z, the graphics subsystem information, monitoring, and diagnostic utility that no PC enthusiast can leave home without. Version 1.19.0 adds support for new GPUs and improves some features. To begin with, GPU-Z 1.19.0 supports upcoming AMD Radeon RX 500 series, new NVIDIA TITAN Xp, Quadro M600M, and M1200. It also adds the ability to extract video BIOS from GeForce GTX 1080 Ti. It also improves NVIDIA driver version detection on Windows 8, and a new vendor ID for Sapphire Technology was added. Grab it from the link below.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 1.19.0

The change-log follows.

Vendor lists for RX 500 series cards keep popping up, and this time, it's Sapphire and MSI's time. And it would seem that Sapphire has just seen the entirety of its RX 500 series lineup leaked (sans the still absent in battle RX 560.) Apparently, Sapphire will launch a new PULSE line of graphics cards, in addition to its already known NITRO series. This new PULSE line of graphics cards will likely carry previous-gen Polaris 10 chips, judging from the difference in pricing between the top of the line RX 580 PULSE (20G) model and its NITRO (40G) counterpart: a 40€ premium can't really justify a differentiation in overclocking alone. A similar situation is seen in regards to the RX 570 cards, with a NITRO-branded, 8 GB RX 570 (40G) being priced higher than a 4 GB, PULSE-branded RX 570. Looking at the model numbers, it would seem differentiation between the Polaris 10 chips and the Polaris 20 XTX and XL is done by the last characters in the product number, with the "40G" products carrying a hefty premium over the "20G" parts.

If the PULSE series are based on the Polaris 10 chips, and the NITRO are based on the newer, freshly confirmed Polaris 20 XTX, the expected difference in clock speeds (with overclocked variants of the RX 500 reaching 1500 MHz) and the newer, as-of-yet-unconfirmed LPP fabrication process would go a long way towards justifying such a premium. This could speak for an approach on clock-speeds towards differentiating the multiple RX 580 price-points, akin to the 7970's GHz Edition - likely, top-of-the line Polaris 20 XTX and XL chips will board higher-tier graphics cards, marketed at exceedingly high clock-speeds.

It looks like AMD Radeon RX 500 series SKUs, such as the RX 580, RX 570, and RX 550, will launch later this month after all, with various ASUS and Sapphire branded SKUs getting listed on popular online stores. While predictably, these SKUs are overpriced on account of pre-launch orders, these are widely expected to be re-brands of the RX 480, RX 470, and RX 460, with slightly higher reference clock speeds, and improved power delivery.

ASUS is readying at least six SKUs based on this series, including two RX 580 8 GB STRIX models, two RX 570 4 GB STRIX models, and two RX 550 SKUs with 4 GB and 2 GB memory amounts. Sapphire, on the other hand, has a gargantuan 12 SKUs based on the three chips, including 8 GB and 4 GB variants of both the RX 580 and RX 570, both 4 GB and 2 GB variants of the RX 550, and two new brand extensions - Pulse and Mini, besides its iconic NITRO+ series.The list of SKUs follows.

As TPU has reported before, some versions of AMD's RX 460 graphics cards were able to be unlocked to their full configuration with a simple BIOS update. This raised some questions as to why AMD didn't initially launch the RX 460 as such, increasing their competitiveness against rival NVIDIA's offerings, but now, it seems at least one of AMD's AIB partners has decided to take action in releasing a fully unlocked Polaris 11 GPU.

Marketed as the Sapphire Radeon RX 460 Nitro OC, this is the first officially launched retail version of the full, unlocked Polaris 11 chip, with all of its stream processors unlocked, for a grand total of 1024 SPs against the usual, and much more meager, 896. This brings the card's peak theoretical throughput at 2.56 TFLOPs (versus the base 2.2 TFLOPs on the 896 SP version), while keeping the card's 75 W TDP.

AMD is readying a new graphics card promotion for Holiday 2016. The company is planning to give away game keys to "Sid Meier's Civilization VI" with both the 4 GB and 8 GB variants of its Radeon RX 480 graphics cards. Available through participating retailers, and in select markets, the promotion will be applicable to both the reference and custom-design graphics cards. Sapphire, for example, is giving away keys to the game with both its NITRO+ and reference-design RX 480 cards. Purchase receipts for the cards will come with special promotion codes that can be redeemed on the AMD Rewards website to enable the game directly to your Steam account. The 6th edition of the smash-hit turn-based strategy game, "Civilization VI" takes advantage of DirectX 12 through its latest patch, the Radeon RX 480 meets or exceeds its recommended system requirements.

It turns out that the new SKU based on the Polaris 10 "Ellesmere" silicon AMD is working on, to fill the gap between the Radeon RX 460 and RX 470, could be named the "Radeon RX 470D," after all. It is also being reported that AMD is planning to launch this SKU only in China, for now. It is further cut down from the RX 470, in featuring 1,792 stream processors, by enabling just 28 out of 36 GCN compute units physically present on the chip. The SKU further features 112 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and 4 GB of GDDR5 memory across a 256-bit wide memory interface.

AMD is clocking the RX 470D slightly higher than the conventional RX 470. Its core ticks at speeds of up to 1266 MHz (Boost clock), and its memory at 7.00 GHz (GDDR5-effective), compared to the 1206 MHz (Boost clock) and 6.60 GHz (GDDR5-effective) speeds of the RX 470. The RX 470D will be built to a cost, and it shows, on the Sapphire RX 470D NITRO. The PCB is shorter, and the cooler leaner. Chinese tech publication PCOnline got its hands on a sample, and tested it to be faster than the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti, yet slower than the RX 470. The card is expected to be priced about 14 percent less than the RX 470. Find more benchmark figures in the PCOnline review linked below.Sources: PCOnline.com.cn, Videocardz

Sapphire today released version 6.0.0 of TriXX its graphics card overclocking, tuning, and monitoring utility, included with Sapphire graphics cards, yet compatible with a wide variety of graphics cards. Version 6.0.0 comes with a revamped user-interface that not only gives you key readouts of your graphics cards, but also organizes its key functions so the main window doesn't look cluttered.

Since it's the first major release since AMD launched its new generation "Polaris" GPUs, TriXX supports the Radeon RX 480, RX 470, and RX 460; with special features supported on Sapphire custom-design graphics cards. To begin with, on the new Sapphire NITRO+ series graphics cards, it features the Fan Check function, which tests the health of the fans, and alerts customer support to send replacement fans. It also supports NITRO Glow, letting you customize RGB LED lighting, including 5 lighting presets. Lastly, you can now set up to five profiles for your settings.DOWNLOAD: Sapphire TriXX 6.0.0Image Courtesy: ZeppMan217

In addition to the RX 470 Platinum Edition OC, Sapphire unveiled a pair of Radeon RX 470 NITRO+ series graphics cards. This includes a 4 GB variant, and an 8 GB variant. Besides memory, the two differ slightly with their factory-overclock. The 4 GB variant ships with 1143 MHz core, 1260 MHz boost, and 8.00 GHz (GDDR5-effective) memory; while the 8 GB variant ships with 1121 MHz core, 1260 MHz boost, and 8.00 GHz (GDDR5-effective) memory. Both variants feature Sapphire's new generation Dual-X cooling solution, which made its debut with the RX 480 NITRO+ series. The PCB appears to be similar, too.

Sapphire announced the Radeon RX 470 Platinum Edition OC graphics card. This card is the closest it gets to a market-available reference design AMD board for the RX 470. It sticks to the AMD reference design PCB, with a negligibly higher 1216 MHz engine boost clock (vs. 1206 MHz reference); but a significant 7.00 GHz (GDDR5-effective) memory clock (vs. 6.60 GHz reference). Sapphire customized the cooler design to feature a silvery finish on the cooler shroud, and a matching silver+black backplate covering the length of the PCB. This card could be priced close to the $179 MSRP set for the RX 470.

AMD's upcoming 14 nm Polaris 11 "Baffin" ASIC, which powers the Radeon RX 460, was pictured up close, and it's tiny! Pictured as part of a Sapphire Radeon RX 460 Dual-X disassembly by PCOnline.com.cn, the Polaris 11 chip features a tiny package substrate owing to its low pin-count, wiring out a 128-bit wide GDDR5 memory interface; a PCI-Express 3.0 x8 host interface (it fits into x16 slots but has wiring for just x8); and electrical pins to cope with its <75W TDP requirements. The card relies on the PCI-Express slot for all its power draw. Sapphire's Dual-X cooling solution looks beefy from the outside owing to its cooler shroud and pair of fans, but underneath is a fairly simple monoblock aluminium heatsink.Sources: PCOnline.com.cn, VideoCardz

Here's the first picture of Sapphire Radeon RX 460 NITRO OC, a premium RX 460 offering by Sapphire. The card combines a custom-design PCB with a larger than reference cooling solution that employs heat pipes, an aluminium fin-stack, and a pair of 90 mm spinners, to keep the GPU cool. The RX 460, based on the 14 nm "Baffin" Polaris11 silicon, features 896 stream processors spread across 14 compute units; and 4 GB of GDDR5 memory across a 128-bit wide memory interface. The NITRO OC, as its name suggests, features factory-overclocked speeds. The RX 460 is expected to be available from 8th August, 2016.Source: VideoCardz

Here are some of the first pictures of the Radeon RX 470 Platinum Edition by Sapphire. The card design is a close variation of AMD reference design, with a silvery plastic panel on the cooler shroud, a metallic sticker on the fan hub, and a back-plate covering the length of the PCB. This PCB features two fewer power phases than the RX 480, and 4 GB of 7 Gbps GDDR5 memory. The RX 470 features 2,048 stream processors, 128 TMUs, 32 ROPs, and a 256-bit GDDR5 memory interface. It draws power from a single 6-pin PCIe power connector; and its TDP is rated at 150W. The MSRP for the RX 470 is rumored to be set at US $179.Source: VideoCardz

Sapphire announced its premium Radeon RX 480 graphics card, the NITRO+. Featuring a completely custom design, the card features the company's latest Dual-X cooling solution that combines a dense aluminium fin-stack heatsink, with a pair of easily detachable 95 mm fans, and an air-channel that directs hot air towards the top; and a custom-design PCB with a strong VRM, which draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector.

The Radeon RX 480 NITRO+ comes in two variants, 4 GB and 8 GB. The 4 GB variant comes with clock speeds of 1208 MHz core, 1306 MHz boost, and 7 Gbps memory; while the 8 GB variant ships with 1208 MHz core, 1342 MHz boost, and 8 Gbps memory. Display outputs include two each of DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0b, and a dual-link DVI connector. The unique NITRO Glow feature lets you make the LED-lit Sapphire logo useful, by cycling it between its default blue color, to a random RGB color, gradients based on PCB temperature and fan-speeds, a Sapphire TriXX-set color, or stay off.

Here are some more pictures of the Radeon RX 480 Nitro by Sapphire, which was first pictured in June. This is the company's premium RX 480 offering, featuring a custom-design PCB, and a large new-generation cooling solution. Unlike its first pictures, which showed a silver/chrome color on the metal cooler shroud; the final design features a gunmetal finish. The cooler features a dense aluminium fin-stack heatsink to which heat drawn from the GPU by copper heat pipes, is dissipated under the airflow of two 100 mm fans, which stay off when the card is idling. These fans are easily detachable, letting you clean the heatsink underneath.

The card draws power from a single 8-pin PCIe power connector, located along the rear side of the PCB, and not the usual top. The Sapphire logo along the top features RGB LED lighting, with a selection button on the PCB. The card is rumored to feature GPU clocks of up to 1350 MHz. Also featured is dual-BIOS. A back-plate runs along the entire length of the card. The card is listed for pre-order by OCUK for 249 GBP (incl VAT), a 20 GBP premium on the reference-design card.