Packaging

The Card

Sapphire's card looks identical to the RX 5700 XT Pulse. It uses relatively clean geometry paired with highlights in red and silver. The metal backplate explores the "Pulse" theme even further with a waveform resembling a heartbeat line.


Dimensions of the card are 25.5 x 13.5 cm.


Installation requires a little bit over two slots in your system, so it's a three-slot card.


Display connectivity options include three standard DisplayPort 1.4a and an HDMI 2.0b.


The board uses one 8-pin power connector. This input configuration is specified for up to 225 watts of power draw.


AMD's Navi generation of GPUs no longer supports CrossFire. DirectX 12 does include its own set of multi-GPU capabilities, but the implementation requires game developers to put serious development time into a feature only a tiny fraction of their customers might ever use.

In this area, you'll also find a dual-BIOS switch, with the default setting being "Boost" and the other BIOS "Silent". It not only runs a quieter fan curve, but also comes with slightly lower clocks and voltages, which helps the card stay cool with even the reduced fan speeds.

Disassembly

Sapphire's thermal solution consists of two separate pieces—the fan assembly and the cooling plate. The two fans are large, 100 mm in diameter.


Under the hood we find a copper baseplate paired with three heatpipes to transport heat away from the chip quickly. Unlike the RX 5700 XT Pulse, this piece of the cooler also provides cooling for the memory chips and voltage regulation circuitry.


The backplate is made out of metal; it adds to the card's aesthetic and protects components on the PCB when handling the card.