Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD4850 512MB Review

Sapphire recently released a new flagship in the Radeon HD4800 series (the HD4890), but they have also been busy refreshing some of the existing model numbers. The HD4850 and HD4870 have been on the shelf for a while now, but Sapphire has integrated a few electrical, aesthetic, and cooling updates in to the designs and have released them as their “Vapor-X” series of cards.

This review is going to take a look at the Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD4850 512MB graphics card, shown in the promotional image below. Compared to some original HD4850 cards, it features a much more compact PCB, with an interesting cooler that promises to deliver efficient, low noise operation. Couple these changes with the use of higher quality solid capacitors and a “Black Diamond Choke” intended to contribute to the energy efficiency, and it is clear that Sapphire has focused on refining the Radeon HD4850 in a variety of ways with this release.

Continue Reading…