Sapphire R9-285 ITX Compact OC Edition – Review
Conclusion
From using this card for a while it’s almost a bit too easy to just end the review saying good things come in small packages. With the Sapphire R9-285 Compact OC Edition these words ring far truer than ever before. Sapphire have engineered a brilliant graphics card package with an exquisite cooling solution that has bags of performance. Whilst no doubt that the improved thermal efficiency of the Tonga GPU contained within helped when Sapphire compacted the card down, it’s still no mean feat, especially when you consider that they even managed to put a small overclock on the card out of the box.
I have seen the end mounted power connector talked about as a bit of an odd choice, considering that most cards have top mounted connectors, but I feel this is a shrewd choice from Sapphire. The card is so short that in an mATX or larger case and even most ITX cases it wouldn’t really hamper you (as the latter are often longer than they are tall). Whereas if the connector was on the top and you wanted fit it into a more media centre-esque case you would likely run into issues with clearance to the top panel.
It is not without its downfalls, especially price. CCL Computers currently have the card available for £191.88 which makes the Sapphire Radeon R9-285 Compact Edition one of the most expensive R9-285 cards available. Is this likely to change? at least anytime soon, I doubt it. This is more problematic when you consider that manufacturers from the green camp are managing to compact the GTX970 into an ITX size card a card which has greater performance…
It’s going to be a tough sell for the majority of people who don’t fit the niche, but based on the quality of the card and the performance. I feel I still have to give the Sapphire Radeon R9-285 Compact Edition a choice award. I mean it’s still a great card that is able to play games at 1920×1080 with (mostly) little noise and little heat.
