One of the most anticipated versions of the RX 480 has finally arrived. Sapphire has announced the release of the Nitro+ RX 480 with improved cooling and a 1342MHz clock.
One of the most anticipated versions of the RX 480 has finally arrived. Sapphire has announced the release of the Nitro+ RX 480 with improved cooling and a 1342MHz clock.
Sapphire has officially launched the Nitro+ edition of the RX 480. Sapphire’s Nitro cards are among the most liked variants available for AMD based cards, so it comes as no surprise that AMD fans have been eagerly awaiting the Nitro+ RX 480’s arrival.
Like the other AIB RX 480 cards, the Nitro is built for overclocking. The card comes clocked at 1342MHz by default, giving it a fairly sizable boost over stock versions. The Nitro+ also features an 8 pin power connector for added power draw to fuel higher clock rates.
The main feature of the Sapphire Nitro+ RX 480 is its improved cooler. Sapphire has designed a new Dual-X cooler with two 95mm fans and improved airflow. Sapphire also claims that this new iteration of the Dual-X cooler is 10% quieter than the previous one. Sapphire also included a fully redesigned backplate with ventilation to allow air that was pulled in from the fans to pass through the back of the card, preventing the stagnation of hot air. One of the more interesting features of the new Dual-X cooler is the ability to easily replace the fans with a quick connect system. Sapphire has stated that, instead of the lengthy RMA procedure, they will simply send replacement fans in case of failure. The Dual-X is also designed to run in passive mode while the card is experiencing light workloads. In order to give potential overclockers more control, Sapphire is allowing users to set specific limits on when fans should enter passive mode through the Nitro’s software.
Like many of the other AIB RX 480s, the Nitro+ comes with RGB LEDs that can be controlled from the included software. Aside from just allowing users to control the color of the LED backlit Sapphire logo on the side of the card, the Nitro+ also has preprogrammed light modes, one of which changes the color of the LEDs based on the temperature of the card.
The Sapphire Nitro+ RX 480 doesn’t appear to be available from retailers just yet, but they should start appearing soon.
