Sapphire RX 7700 XT Pure 12GB Graphics Card Review

How Much Does it Cost?

As of launch, the RX 7700 XT Pure will set you back $469, so $20 above MSRP and honestly, I’m fine with that. For a card that is white, you will ALWAYS be expected to pay a premium. White costs more to manufacturer, and if the PCB was white too, you’d be expected to pay even more, and that’s how Sapphire have managed to keep the cost down on this card.

For the money, you’ll be getting a great-looking card that performs well and is just a little bit different, and if you do want a little more, then you have the likes of the Nitro+, and if you’re restricted and on a budget, then you have the Pulse model at MSRP so really there is something for everyone.

Overview

With any new model of GPU, there’s always the unexpected as even us as reviewers don’t know what to expect until we’ve tested it and yes while the likes of AMD will show you their own tests, they can generally be taken with a pinch of salt and should be ignored….to a degree. Luckily as we’ve seen from our main RX 7700 XT content, the GPU is good and offers a strong proposition at a good price though, even if the 7800 XT is the one we’d choose and the same can be said about new models from AIB partners which is what the Pure card from Sapphire is. A new untried, untested model.

Again though, coming into it not having any idea on what to expect, and being shown some very respectable figures in terms of cooling performance, fan speed and board power, while also looking absolutely amazing.

Now I’ll be honest, I’ve been a long-term fan of Sapphire going all the way back to the start of the 2000’s and looking back now, the designs were, shall we say…interesting. They’ve released some great products over the years, and also some not-so-favourable ones too, but the Pure is definitely up there with the best of them and is a bold move that I really think will pay off for them.

There aren’t too many brands who make white graphics cards and when they do, they typically go full white with a white cooler, backplate and PCB but Sapphire hasn’t done that. While they’ve gone for two out of the three, they left the PCB black, and I’m not even mad because you can’t see it anyway because the cooler and backplate are that big, and encompass the whole card so you don’t end up seeing the PCB and by keeping it black, it helps to keep costs down and I’m all for that.

I honestly can’t wait to see more models sporting the Pure cooler to see how it can potentially handle something a bit beefier like the 7900 XTX GPU, with my only real gripe being to do with that red piece of plastic and red LED, but luckily, the LED can be turned off.

Should I Buy One?

If you’re looking for a 7700 XT, and want something a bit different, then you really can’t go wrong with the Pure from Sapphire. It’s clean, it’s crisp, and it’s not just about the aesthetics as it also performs great too. It really is all show and all go and for not much more money either and if you find the 7700 XT version isn’t beefy enough for you, then they always have the 7800 XT Pure too.