Sapphire Nitro+ RX 470 OC Graphics Card Review

Final Thoughts

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Price

Unfortunately, the pricing of AMD’s RX 470 hasn’t been divulged to reviewers in a swift and concise manner. Currently, the retail prices are subject to change and I’ve received some conflicting reports. Right up to the embargo being released, this section was edited to reflect new information. According to AMD, the Sapphire RX 470 OC will cost £164.99 in the UK from Overclockers UK. This isn’t a great exchange rate since US customers can acquire models starting from $179.99. Of course, the current devaluation of Sterling is probably the root cause of this and unavoidable. Custom models will rightfully cost more and I’ve been quoted a £189.99 price on the ASUS STRIX GAMING RX 470. This is perilously close to the RX 480 and I hope the pricing comes down after launch. For example, the Sapphire Nitro+ RX 480 OC 4GB is available to pre-order from Overclockers UK for £199.99 . This isn’t a basic reference model either and makes you question the RX 470’s price point.

In my opinion, the RX 470 reference model should cost no more than £154.99 to remain an enticing proposition. The small price gap to a highly-rated custom model will simply make consumers pay the extra even if the performance is similar. Furthermore, the reference model cannot uphold its maximum boost clock. Psychologically, owning the higher-end product creates a heightened sense of pride and users are more likely to display their systems with the RX 480. I’m not entirely sure how AIB partners can expect to market custom designs if they’re the same price or within £5-10 of the RX 480. Evidently, AMD hasn’t created a suitable price disparity between their two Polaris 10 chips and this is probably going to result in weak sales.

Overview

Aesthetically-speaking, the Sapphire Nitro+ RX 470 OC is sublime and a work of art. The understated theme revolves around a stylish black cooling shroud which compliments a wide range of components with different colour schemes. Not only that, the tiny holes scattered around the cooling shroud is an ingenious idea with simplicity at its heart. This gives the product a signature appearance without detracting from a sleek, subtle design. On another note, the silver backplate is stunning and leaves a lasting impression. As previously mentioned, it’s probably the most attractive backplate I’ve encountered and oozes such a premium feel. This is impressive because the GPU is targeted towards mainstream users. I’m also quite fond of Sapphire’s RGB implementation which has enough exuberance to please users who enjoy viewing the full colour spectrum. Amazingly, it’s included in a way which doesn’t distract you or come across as overly gimmicky. Evidently, the company’s aim was to unleash a mass market GPU which doesn’t make any concessions in the build quality department.

When it comes to cooling, the graphics card does remarkably well and greatly benefits from the large heatsink sporting a dense fin array and multiple heat-pipes. Additionally, the high-angled fan blades offer superb airflow and enhance thermal dissipation. Another great feature is the ability to uncouple the fans for cleaning purposes or to raise a swift RMA. The 0dB fan profile is fantastic for users who value silence and often use their PCs for non-gaming tasks like movie playback. Throughout the testing, the thermal output remained very low and the noise levels were much quieter than Sapphire’s RX 470 reference design. Thankfully, the fan bug which plagued the RX 480 model appears to have been fixed in AMD’s latest driver.

The Sapphire Nitro+ RX 470 OC’s performance is commendable and consistently outperforms the reference design by a large degree. Also, it’s able to compete with another premium RX 470 card due to the extreme 1260MHz boost clock. Unlike the reference unit, the boost clock is perfectly stable and doesn’t fluctuate. Throughout the testing, it was clear that the GPU has enough horsepower to tame games like Far Cry Primal, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Hitman while using demanding presets. In some circumstances, it’s even suitable for 1440p gaming while running advanced details. Overall, the graphics card is very similar to the RX 480 but there are some instances when this pattern doesn’t apply. For example, the RX 480 enjoys a significant lead in Hitman. Perhaps, the additional VRAM comes into play or there’s just some variation causing this in the benchmarking runs. Whatever the case, I was surprised to see how close the RX 470 is to custom RX 480s. Please note, I originally intended to include the reference RX 480 but this wasn’t possible as AMD required the sample back.

In terms of overclocking, the graphics card has lots of headroom and I manage to reach 1350MHz quite easily. This is higher than the PowerColor model but in all honesty, there’s not a lot of difference between these two editions. Nevertheless, you should be able to get at least 1330MHz, and perhaps 1370MHz on lucky samples. Sapphire’s overclocking utility which is going to be released soon could unlock the core’s full potential. However, this is speculation and requires further testing to verify.

Pros

• 0dB fan mode
• Dual BIOS
• Exceptional build quality
• Fast 1260MHz factory overclock
• Gorgeous backplate
• Great performance
• Low Temperatures
• Remarkably quiet
• Sophisticated design
• Superb overclocking headroom

Cons

• Priced too close to the RX 480 (Could change)

“The Sapphire Nitro+ RX 470 OC has an impressive 1260MHz boost clock which provides a wonderful performance boost over the reference model. Also, the stunning design exudes a premium feel and adds an elegant touch to any system build.”

Sapphire Nitro+ RX 470 OC 4GB Graphics Card Review

Thank you Sapphire for providing us with this review sample.