SAPPHIRE announced three new models in its successful R9 series of graphics cards based on the latest GCN (Graphics Core Next) architecture from AMD. The SAPPHIRE R9 285 Dual-X is a new model from SAPPHIRE that features a new GCN core and the company's Dual-X cooler. Dual-X, with its two aerofoil fans, and set of graduated sizes of heatpipes, is an efficient and quiet cooler design which received industry acclaim in previous generations of products. The standard R9 285 model has 2GB of the latest GDDR5 memory clocked at 1375MHz (5.5GB/s effective) and a GCN core with 1792 stream processors clocked at 918MHz. The R9 285 OC model features the enhanced clock speeds of 965MHz for the core and 1400MHz for the memory (5.6GB/s effective).

At the same time SAPPHIRE introduces the R9 285 ITX Compact OC edition. Developed specially for small form factor PC systems, this model features a shorter PCB, measuring only 171mm long, and an efficient heatpipe cooler with a single fan. Sharing the same GCN core as the Dual-X models, the ITX Compact is no slouch with core clocks of 928MHz and memory clocks of 1375MHz (5.5GB/s effective).

All three models share the latest features of AMD GCN, including AMD Trueaudio technology for the most realistic sound reproduction in games, as well as AMD Image quality enhancement, AMD HD Media accelerator and AMD PowerTune for optimum performance. They offer support for the very latest games and applications with DirectX 12 and OpenGL 4.4 and the on-board Dual BIOS supports both UEFI and legacy systems.

All three models also support AMD Eyefinity, for multi-screen operation. They are CrossFire ready for accelerated performance using multiple cards in a CrossFire enabled mainboard. No interconnect cables are required as CrossFire is now enabled over the PCI-Express bus.

APP acceleration is also supported for enhanced performance in a wide range of applications using the stream processing capabilities and specific hardware features of the GCN graphics architecture. Typical applications include Video encoding and decoding, compression and multiplexing for media distribution, gaming and video conferencing. APP acceleration can also enhance everyday tasks such as Internet browsing, Office applications and file compression with supported software suites.

The SAPPHIRE R9 285 series of graphics cards will be available from September 2nd from etailers and retailers worldwide.