Sapphire R9 280X VaporX Graphics Card

A Closer Look at the Sapphire Radeon R9-280X VaporX

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The packaging for the Sapphire card is a spotUV type just like the Toxic card but adorned in blue. Otherwise it carries key spec detail with a bit more indepth data on the rear.

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Here we see the accessory pack which includes dual power adapters, HDMI cable and even a crossfire bridge. Also the inclusion of a driver disc and user manuals. All of this is more than enough to get you running and even an included HDMI cable which is always nice in case you dont happen to have one on hand.

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The card looks much more natural with three matched fans, and I think the blue cooler design will definitely fit into alot of builds as the color while bright is subtle and shrouded by enough black that it doesnt necessarily jump out and snatch your eyeballs out.

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The display connectivity is about standard for what we have seen on the Kepler based lineup

• 2x DVI
• 1x HDMI
• 1x Displayport

This all digital connector arrangement allows for a multitude of displays in pretty much any connector mix you could chose to employ, and I do like that sapphire chose to employ Dual DVI connectors which allows for most standard displays without adapters to be used.

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Here you see that the custom PCB Sapphire 280x VaporX which utilizes dual 8 pin PCIe connectors to ensure plenty of power delivery even under the most extensive and strenuous loading conditions.

The Dual Crossfire bridge connectors allow for up to 4 Way GPU configurations for extreme gaming of benchmarking builds to ensure you can push the highest graphics performance possible from your rig.

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The Triple fans are a swept curved blade design which work well at pushing airflow without massive amounts of noise.

The top VaporX logo on the cooler is backlit blue and really adds a bit of eye candy for anyone with a windowed case.

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Stripping the cooler from the VaporX you can see that the VRM is more of a standard layout compared to the staggered inductors we saw on the Toxic model. This is not a bad thing but is a much more standard design. Sapphire still uses the grooved inductors here which are efficient units allowing massive power handling while the grooves allow extra cool operation via airflow from the cooler looming above.

Speaking of coolers as we mentioned before you can see the massive vapor chamber contact point along with the VRM thermal pads which all make excellent contact. The best part is the fact that the cooler mounts up to the card at multiple points  to allow stiffening of the PCB.

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The VRM as mentioned short while ago is a more standard layout but still uses top choice components to ensure great longevity and strong overclocking performance.

The memory is Hynix model H5G02H24AFR which if past experience is any sign they should clock quite well.