Introduction
We have our first look at a custom add-in-board partner video card based on the new AMD Radeon RX 7600 with the new SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 7600 video card. AMD released the RX 7600 video card on May 24, 2023. Our in-depth review of that card is located here. The SAPPHIRE PULSE AMD Radeon RX 7600 GAMING OC was released on May 25th, 2023, and is based on that platform but offers a factory overclock and an improved cooling solution.
Sapphire is a leading AMD graphics card partner and has been for quite some time. As of this writing their only offering in the RX 7600 class of video cards is the PULSE GAMING OC model. The SKU# is 11324-01-20G SAPPHIRE PULSE AMD Radeon RX 7600, 8GB, AMD RDNA 3 architecture. The SAPPHIRE PULSE AMD Radeon RX GAMING 7600 OC has been designed with 1080p gaming in mind with 8GB of video memory.
The MBA (made by AMD) model of the RX 7600 has a game clock of 2250MHz and a Boost clock of 2625MHz. The Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 7600 GAMING OC card reviewed today has a game clock of 2355MHz and a Boost clock of 2755MHz. These higher clocks are supplemented with a generously coated copper full-length heat pipe cooling design called SAPPHIRE Dual-X Cooling. In keeping with the current PULSE card designs, the cooling solution is quite robust and quiet. There is an included vented full aluminum backplate. The PULSE cards have a very muted red and black design, with no RGB elements.
As we write this, SAPPHIRE is offering this video card at the same price as the AMD reference model, $269, and offering a copy of Last of Us Part I (for the PC). That means no price premium for this custom video card with a factory overclock, which is amazing. We were sent a full retail boxed video card from SAPPHIRE to review. The warranty is listed as 2 years. The card is readily available on Amazon and NewEgg.
The SAPPHIRE PULSE AMD Radeon RX 7600 GAMING OC
This card displays the PULSE design elements we have seen in other PULSE cards of this generation. The top of the card is covered by a full plastic shroud. This is a rather diminutive card compared to the massive counterparts of the current generation. The back of the card is covered by a full aluminum backplate vented for increased airflow. SAPPHIRE claims a 5% performance advantage versus the made-by-AMD model, with the factory overclock on the PULSE. There is actually another component to this, the TGP is also increased versus the reference, as shown below.
The dual fans are fully connected by an outer ring, total measurement of 90mm. This is part of the SAPPHIRE Dual-X cooling solution. The heat sink extends the full length of the shroud and backplate, well beyond the PCB length. The heat sink is a copper/nickel composite. SAPPHIRE indicates that their cooling solution can keep the GPU cooler with less noise compared to the reference model MBA card.
As was said the PULSE RX 7600 GAMING OC is a small card, measuring in at 9 ½ inches x 4 x 1 ¾ inches. This is a dual-slot card. It weighs only 1 pound and 6 ounces. The board power is supplemented by one 8-pin PCIe adapter. Total board power is listed at 184W. However, the TGP (Total Graphics Power) has been increased to 145W from the reference 130W. The SAPPHIRE Dual-X cooling solution allows for improved cooling at higher wattages, with less noise than the reference cooler. Outputs consist of one HDMI 2.1 and three Display Port 1.4.
Discussion (7 replies)
Join Discussion →Nice card for 1080p gaming all things considered.
Surprisingly so......it feels like it could really overclock well, if the maximum wasn't capped.
Maybe there could be a 7600 xt with extra 50w to 70w budget (& doubling vram to 16gb) for $330 to $350
But, not sure if increasing power budget massively will retain the profit margin for AMD
If AMD wants to compete with Nvidia they need to get into AI acceleration in a big way. That's really the big hurdle to their path as a Trillion Dollar company leaving Intel in their wake and bringing competition to the AI market space.
But It's clear Intel is on that game plan as well. Yet they are doing it via dedicated code paths on their CPU's. Unfortunately for Intel they are not at the forefront of this technology, and the big players have the resources to fab their own custom chips to do this if it REALLY comes down to it.
Depends on how you want to compete, moreso than who you want to compete with.
nVidia is definitely pivoting into commercial AI. AMD so far has not, and has went the path of consumer devices / custom SOCs
I don't know that you necessarily want to compete against a company against their strength unless you have no other choice -- AMD has a lot of other things they are doing well without necessarily needing to throw the Billions of dollars it will take to dump into AI-specific computer R&D.
Will they catch nVidia at AI? Probably not - but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Nice review!
vs 1080ti? Sidegrade or upgrade? I don't give a hoot about ray tracing. I mean not that I really need to, it's doing Diablo 4 on 4K high at 60+ and looks great. Ultra punishes it a bit and I don't really see much difference....
Remember we tested at 1080. If you can run your games at 4K with what you have, I'd stay put. This card is not a 4K performer.....maybe, some games would be OK at 1440 as demonstrated, but not 4K.