SAPPHIRE Technology has just announced global availability of a new HD 4870 TOXIC Edition in its latest family of high performance graphics accelerators.

The SAPPHIRE HD 4870 TOXIC Edition features the award winning - and SAPPHIRE exclusive -Vapor-X cooler, SAPPHIRE's implementation of Vapour Chamber Technology (VCT). This advanced cooling solution is used for the core logic and together with three heatpipes and thermally controlled fan venting outside the case provides more efficient and quieter cooling than competing solutions for this generation of high performance graphics. The SAPPHIRE HD 4870 TOXIC edition ships overclocked out of the box for an immediate high performance graphical or gaming experience, and the advanced hybrid cooling solution provides enthusiasts with further scope for performance tuning.

The SAPPHIRE HD 4870 TOXIC has 512MB of high performance GDDR5 memory, clocked at 1000MHz (4Gbps effective) and the GPU core is pre-overclocked at 780MHz. Supporting AMD CrossFireX technology, two high speed connectors on each card allow 2, 3 or even 4 cards to be daisy-chained together for enhanced performance when installed in a suitable CrossFireX mainboard.

All SAPPHIRE graphics cards in the HD 4000 series incorporate the latest ATI Avivo^TM HD Technology for enhanced Video display and feature a second generation built in UVD (Unified Video decoder) for the hardware accelerated decoding of Blu-ray^TM and HD DVD content for both VC-1 and H.264 codecs, as well as Mpeg files, considerably reducing CPU loading. The dedicated HDMI adaptor has 7.1 surround sound support and delivers audio and video output on a single cable for direct connection to an HDMI ready display.

SAPPHIRE HD 4000 series graphics cards are Microsoft Windows Vista Premium certified and supported by the ATI Catalyst suite of software, ensuring customers have ongoing access to software updates for performance, stability and added features. Support for DirectX10.1 provides developers with access to enhanced programming techniques and new lighting effects. Full specifications and photographs are available at https://www.sapphiretech.com/

Benchmark Reviews has also tested the Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 Video Card 100243L